Posted on 05/25/2007 6:02:33 PM PDT by traumer
A rumour spread by text message has badly hit the price of bananas from China's Hainan island, state media say.
The messages claim the fruit contains viruses similar to Sars, the severe respiratory illness which has killed hundreds of people worldwide.
Producers in Hainan say the resulting price slump is costing them up to 20 million yuan ($US2.6m) a day.
China's Agriculture Ministry has dismissed the Sars claim as baseless. Police are investigating its source.
"It is utterly a rumour," a Chinese Health Ministry official was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.
"There has not been a case in the world in which humans have contracted a plant virus, and there is not any scientific evidence."
Safety scares
Hainan bananas had already been subject to rumours they caused cancer, after the banana plantations were hit by blight earlier this year.
The banana fears come amid international concerns over tainted Chinese exports, including allegations of poisons in pet food and toothpaste.
The state-owned China Daily newspaper recently criticised China's food safety regulators and called on the government to do more to protect Chinese consumers.
“May I mambo dogface to the banana patch?”
Good ol bananas. They’re one of the funnier fruits. No one would think of suspending apples from the ceiling. It just wouldn’t be funny somehow.
What about pointed sticks?
LMAO! and WTF!? both at the same time, man that is the catch of the day!
According to ABC....LOL!
“And more Americans get their news from the ABC than from any other station...”
ROTFLMAO!
“I don’t care who you are, that’s funny!”
USA citizens are constantly bombarded with “information technology”.
We adapt and evolve.
ABCNBCCBSCNNFOXPBSALJAHIDIDISTS are just irritating white noise to our ears.
That banana’s bananas!
Egads! 30 some odd years after America suffered through our Attack of the Killer Tomatoes...
...China now in writhing in the midst of its own Attack of their Killer Bananas!
Aaaaaaaahhh!
(Remember, kids, fruit is your enemy. One must kill the fruit before eating it.)
:-P
Hmmmmmm
This is a classic commy-rat distraction operation.
The bananas were infected with virus’ to keep the people too agitated to notice that what they thought were just occasionally undercooked grains of rice in their bowl were actually “morning after” pills.
The Party will achieve the glorious goal of population stagnation. Even if they have to kill everyone to do it.
A text message.... an asymetric warfare !!
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