Primary school student Zhang Hao began investigating mushrooms -- one of his favourite foods -- after his mother barred him from eating them following reports casting doubt on their safety, the China Youth Daily said.

Hoping to disprove the latest fears to tarnish China's scandal-plagued food industry -- that harmful bleaching agents were used to whiten the fungi -- Zhang in July began gathering a range of mushroom samples.

He then tested them with the help of a research student at China Agriculture University using a microscope and fluorescent lighting.

Zhang found the chemicals were used on the overwhelming majority of the mushrooms tested, the report said.

Chinese press reports have said the whitening agents can cause a range of potential health problems including liver damage, skin allergies and respiratory ailments such as asthma.

Press and Internet reports of Zhang's probes celebrated him as a precocious young whistleblower, forcing city officials to issue a statement claiming that 97.7 percent of mushrooms were untainted and safe for consumption.

But an Internet survey showed that 1,100 respondents trusted Zhang while just eight believed the city government, the China Youth Daily said.

"I am very happy about the press coverage of my reports," Zhang was quoted as saying.

"We all know that mushrooms can be bleached, and by raising awareness of this, my objective has been achieved."

China's food industry is rife with safety problems and official attempts to gloss over them, despite numerous pledges by the government to better supervise the sector and eliminate such dangers.

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