And as processed meat products, such as ham, sausage and bacon aren't fresh, preservatives are added to keep them fresh, or methods, such as pickling, smoking are salting are used to preserve their shelf life, and the cancer risks come from these processes.

In the Ming and Qing dynasty, rooms in the royal palace placed ice cubes in cabinets which were hollow on the top to let the cool air flow. The space in the middle of the cabinets were used to store food such as watermelons and cold beverages etc.

The brewing of traditional Shaoxing huangjiu essentially respects the rules governing "the difference in the seasons and in the local environment, the quality of material and the level of skill in any craft," as referred to in the Book of Rites. They use pure white glutinous rice, top-grade wheat and unpurified water from Jian Lake as raw ingredients. In the seventh month of the lunar year they make the brewer's yeast. Then in the eighth month of the lunar year they make the wheat yeast or "qu". And in the ninth month they ferment the glutinous rice wine, and it is not until the start of winter that they put in the grain to start the brewing process, using the traditional Shaoxing compound fermentation craft for over ninety days. At the start of winter in the following year, they start to press it, then heat the alcohol, then they seal it in jars with clay and store it away. Only after several years, or even several decades of aging, do you get a high-quality alcohol like the Huadiao, Nuerhong or Shanniang varieties of huangjiu.

Of course! It's related to factors such as the conditions in which the wine is stored, the weather in the year the grapes were harvested and the soil! So you should choose the best year and not just the oldest wine, otherwise what you're drinking could be red wine vinegar and not top quality red wine!