Chicken processed in China and you won't know

[Aerows]

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/09/china-chicken-usda/

I hate to be a broken record, but this is alarming. From the land of melamine in milk, 46-year old chicken, and enough horrible stories to make you never want to eat again, we are going to be shipping our chicken over there to be processed, and it is going to be your best guess what comes back. No one in the US will be overseeing this.

Our most vulnerable citizens will be subject to this - school children, those in elder care, anyone that is institutionalized will be getting heaven only knows what on their plate.

I'll take bets. How many days of China processed "cooked" chicken will it take before we get the first report of rat, dog, cat, or 46 year old chicken in our food supply?

[seveneyes]

1. To me it makes no sense economically

It would seem the cost of shipping it would be more than just manufacturing it here. My lizard brain tells me this is part of some master plan to keep the masses occupied so that all hell doesn't break loose.

[Aerows]

2. The idea

is that you ship it over there where labor is cheaper, and they get the benefit that Chinese view chicken feet and heads as delicacies. In the US, we don't.

In practice, we all know what is going to happen. They process it over there, and we get God only knows what back.

[seveneyes]

7. I suggest we ship them all the feet and beaks from our processing them

We seriously need to keep and create more labor right here. It's approaching critical mass and I think things can get real ugly exponentially once unrest starts in earnest.

[Aerows]

8. They prohibit us from trading in feet and heads

because we would dump too much on their market and lower prices.

See how that works? We can't sell excess goods in China, but they are free to do so.

[Le Taz Hot]

3. All the more reason to buy from local farmers/ranchers.

More and more you have no idea what is actually going into your food, if it's been genetically modified and/or what is being done to your food by way of processing, handling and transportation. The answer is to BUY LOCAL. Yes, you're going to pay $20.00 for a chicken and yes, I understand not everyone is able to do this. But having said that, I can easily get 10 meals out of one chicken . . . probably more. We forget that having access to cheap food has made us wasteful (40% as per a recent report). The problem is that we are paying a high price and sacrificing food nutrition and safety for that Always Low Price.

[Aerows]

4. Oh, I agree 100%

We need to be aware of what is happening to our food supply. Once this enters the market, we will have no idea, and our food supply will continue to be tainted. The big concern is those that do not have control over what they eat, like school children and those in institutions.

Chicken is headed to off limits in my home if it isn't from right down the street.

[global1]

5. If I Was An American Company That Processed Their Chicken Here In The States.....

I'd make sure in the future that my customers know that. They need to put it in their labeling and advertising. Shout it out!!!!!!

[Aerows]

6. I would too!

It's absolute insanity that this can come back to the US. Anything that is cooked chicken will be suspect.

[global1]

10. I Also Want To Know The Names Of The Restaurants That Will Be Using This China Chicken......

and for that matter - when I go to the food market and buy chicken - I want to know which companies are bringing in and packaging China Chicken.

[Aerows]

12. Not to mention frozen dinners

Do *you* want to eat a frozen dinner containing chicken now that you know this? I sure as hell don't. I realize that they aren't the healthiest things in the universe, but occasionally, they do save time.

I don't want to touch one now.

[PearliePoo2]

9. Aerows wrote: "I hate to be a broken record"

No! BE a broken record!

Type up a post every single day and spread the word!

Over at the link you supplied there was another very scary suggestion (if anything could possibly be more scary). The comment was this:

And how exactly do they know that the US exported chicken is the same meat that comes back as a nugget? No inspectors on the ground; sell the US goods in China as premium product, put the local product into the grinder

Nah...the Chinese would never be so deceitful...

K&R

[Aerows]

11. It's horrifying

Our food supply can become just as tainted as China's with things like this going on!

[Aerows]

13. Think about frozen dinners and canned soup, too

You won't know what is in it if there is "chicken" on the label.

[PearliePoo2]

14. Senator Chuck Schumer's letter to the USDA

This is a start but it doesn't go far enough. I did not read in his letter that a requirement is made to LABEL this as "Processed in China" chicken. That needs to be mandated too. He needs to hear from us. Call please, everyone!
Here's Senator Schumer's phone number:
[phone]

Dear Secretary Vilsack:

I am writing to request information about the recent decision by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to grant equivalence of the Chinese food safety inspection system, which will allow for U.S. chicken meat to be processed in China and exported back to the United States. I would like to express my deep concern that American consumers will be put at risk over this decision because of China’s inadequate food safety track record. For that reason I am urging FSIS to conduct at minimum comprehensive annual audits of the Chinese inspection system and all approved processing facilities. Additionally, it is critical that FSIS honor its commitment to increased re-inspections of the Chinese processed poultry. Re-inspection should be carried out with the highest level of scrutiny and frequency to protect the safety of the American food supply.

As you know, the Chinese food safety system has had significant failures in the enforcement of its food safety laws and regulations. In 2008, the contamination of milk and milk products with melamine resulted in the death of at least four infants and in illness for hundreds of thousands more. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has also determined that thousands of U.S. pets consumed contaminated chicken treats made in China.

In a 2010 audit of the Chinese food safety system, FSIS found many issues with quality control. Some of the main issues that arose and which led to the original ban on processed poultry imports from China were not properly trained poultry plant workers, a lack of a proper Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system, and not testing for microbiological contamination. These testing systems did not directly address Salmonella or Listeria contamination. Without ongoing and adequate inspectors on site at these processing plants, there is no way to be certain that these recent issues do not still exist or will not reemerge.

China’s history of weak enforcement of food safety regulations and laws makes it deeply troubling that U.S. poultry will be processed in Chinese plants absent of onsite U.S. inspectors to guarantee that food safety laws and regulations are in fact equivalent to the United States. Consumers must be assured that not only is chicken processed according to U.S. standards, but that the chicken they consume does not contain any Chinese poultry and entirely comes from approved sources.

I ask that your staff provide mine with information about what additional steps can be taken to assure American consumers that this decision will not put American consumers at risk. In addition, I hope you will work to ensure that each step of this decision-making process is transparent and rigorous. The Chinese food safety system and Chinese poultry industry absolutely should adhere to high food safety standards. I thank you for your attention to this important matter and look forward to working with you and American consumers.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Schumer
U.S. Senator

[Aerows]

15. Amen!

It needs to be labeled. People need to know where their food is coming from, and we need to protect our food supply. That goes for protecting our pets, too.

[Zater]

16. US health inspectors need to make sure

The meat and chicken sold in these establishment is not dog or some other kind of animal that is not the one being advertised.

[Aerows]

17. Health inspectors won't be there

So it's going to be your guess and mine what the "chicken" actually is ... which is rather terrifying.