Made in China: tainted food, fake drugs and dodgy paint

[CGowen]

World's biggest exporter faces a global crisis of confidence as scandals grow over the quality of many of its goods

Jonathan Watts in Beijing
Thursday July 5, 2007
The Guardian



China is facing a global crisis of consumer confidence as the country's food safety watchdog acknowledged this week that almost a fifth of the domestic products it inspects fail to reach minimum standards. Following a number of contamination scandals in the US, the world's biggest exporter is struggling to prove that it can match quality with quantity.

In the first half of 2007, 19.1% of products made for domestic consumption were found to be substandard, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a statement on Tuesday. Among products made by small firms, the failure rate was nearly 30%.


"These are not isolated cases," Han Yi, director of the administration's quality control and inspection department, told the state media. Underlining his concerns, officials said hundreds of bottles of fake human blood protein were found in hospitals and excessive amounts of additives and preservatives were detected in children's snacks.

The trust deficit is enormous and growing. Shi Ying, 50, a businesswoman, said she was so concerned about food safety that she found it difficult to shop. "I dare not eat farmed fish or meat because most are fed with growth pills or pumped with bad additives. I worry about vegetables in case they are tainted with pesticide. I even think twice about the water I drink because it might contain heavy metals."

Although Ms Shi lives in Shenzhen, one of China's most-advanced cities, she has started to grow her own vegetables, eat less meat and drink water only from respected bottled brands or the family well. When she does have to shop, she puts safety above patriotism.


....


http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/story/0,,2118920,00.html

[shenmue]

1. What's going on?

I hate this bullshit about not inspecting anything. Gee, do you think regulations might be important sometimes?! :grr:

My dog almost died from eating that messed-up food. I'm still mad.

[OHdem10]

2. Week after week Cnn and other Networks have

had stories about persons in this country coming dowsn
ill after using products made in China.
Toothpaste was one of the earlier stories--contained a
chemical similar to or was anti-freeze.
I do not have young children, so I cannot remember the
name of the toy--Little Train. Anyway, younger kids would
chew on it. Turns out the paint used contained Lead.(China)
First Catfish, now all seafood from China seems to catain
toxic chemicals. Water in which they (fish etc) are grown
is highly polluted.

The Rule of thumb--if it is something one puts in their
mouth or can be absorbed into the boy system from applying
to skin---avoid it like the plague.

Our Congressional Leaders and the WH are incredibly silent.

Do Investors who profit from Trade Deals carry more weight
than the American People. Of Course, they do.

[candice]

3. Strange how all of this was going on for years...and it took the death of

thousands of pets for the media to publicize the problem.

Meanwhile, China has surpassed the U.S. to become the #1 emitter of green house gases. A Congressman has introduced a bill for American taxpayers to help China address its pollution. L.A. air pollution is 25% imported from China, and the mercury that spews from the power plants (ours and the Chinese, who are building two per week) converts to methylmercury when it is absorbed by water and pollutes streams, oceans, and their inhabitants. This is why were shouldn't eat much fish higher on the food chain, the mercury is absorbed into their fat. The Clinton administration was in the process of addressing the reduction of mercury from coal power plants, but then Bu$h Co. got appointed and guess what? Eat your mercury!

Another way to address the inability of our FDA or the Chinese government or importers to verify the safety of imported food or products is to revise our "fair trade" agreements so that pollution controls and product inspection are part of the equation. If that were the case, other than artificially cheap labor and cheap oil to transport goods across the Pacific, then there wouldn't be much advantage in producing as many goods so far away.

If Congress can't make a difference, we can vote with our pocketbook by buying locally and only what we need. That means that less needs to be imported. A lot of the cost of goods is advertisement anyway. Maybe a local tailor could make clothing for less than what one of the fashion brand names sells clothes from abroad.

[CGowen]

4. China Executes Former Food and Drug Chief, Draws Up Safety Plan

July 10 (Bloomberg) -- China, facing global criticism over the quality of food and medicine exports, executed its former chief drug regulator for taking bribes and said it would take five years to stamp out fakes.

Zheng Xiaoyu's death was reported by the state-run Xinhua News Agency today as officials separately outlined a plan to improve drug and food safety, conceding the system isn't strong enough and the trend ``isn't promising.''

China, the world's biggest exporter of consumer products, is under pressure to strengthen regulation after a series of scares ranging from contaminated toothpaste to drug-tainted seafood. The approach of next year's Olympic Games, which will draw an estimated 1.7 million visitors to Beijing, has increased the urgency of bolstering public confidence.

``Corruption in the food and drug authority has brought shame to the nation,'' Yan Jiangying, deputy policy director of the State Food and Drug Administration, formerly headed by Zheng, said at a press conference in Beijing. ``What we'll have to learn from the experience is to improve our work to emphasize the protection of public safety.''

Toothpaste and drugs linked to Chinese producers have been blamed for deaths in Latin America. U.S. authorities halted imports of some Chinese fish, and Toys ``R'' Us Asia Ltd. recalled lead-painted ``Thomas & Friends'' railway toys made in China. Melamine, used to make plastics, was found in pet food blamed for killing cats and dogs in the U.S. earlier this year.

...

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aJeD2_hzypKc&refer=home

[Eurobabe]

5. That's the Chinese solution? Fuck that.

Boycott all their shit: poorly made products, tainted food, etc. Problem is though, you see, China's got us over a barrel with their investments in the US. Could they hold us hostage? Hmmmmm. You don't buy our goods, we bankrupt you. Who knows? :shrug:

Buy local, support CSA (community Supported Ag) eat organic, know where your food comes from, tell your grocery store, market that it MATTERS. We demand to know the country of origin for our food products. It's required in Europe, and you bet your ass I look carefully to see what I am buying and who has produced it.