[rakpol]

Your original post mentioned that you thought the author was inappropriately associating low prices with low quality ... that's not prejudice, though, right? That's a bog-standard standard heuristic people in my culture use to establish value (see: putting weights in electronics to make them feel more 'premium'). IMHO, it is genuinely terrifying that melamine made it into so many chinese dairy products. Perhaps the media sensationalized it too much, making the event stand out in my memory over similar local events? Who knows.

I guess what I'm getting at is rushing to the conclusion that xenophobia is the only deciding factor here seems a bit premature, and that the problem itself is likely multifaceted.