ON WEDNESDAY, MANY BEIJING RESIDENTS found that there were no live freshwater fish on sale in supermarkets. The China Food and Drug Administration later said this was because somebody had leaked the information that they were planning an inspection to check for antibiotics and veterinary drugs in the fresh fish sold in supermarkets. Huashang Daily comments:

What measures would you take if you were selling products you knew the authorities planned to check for safety?

The best way is to make sure all your products are of good quality and can pass any inspection. However, the supermarkets in Beijing chose otherwise. And by withdrawing all their fresh fish from sale, they showed they wanted to avoid any inspection.