Tainted Chinese Imports Common

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Washington Post

Dried apples preserved with a cancer-causing chemical.

Frozen catfish laden with banned antibiotics.

Scallops and sardines coated with putrefying bacteria.

Mushrooms laced with illegal pesticides.

These were among the 107 food imports from China that the Food and Drug Administration detained at U.S. ports just last month, agency documents reveal, along with more than 1,000 shipments of tainted Chinese dietary supplements, toxic Chinese cosmetics and counterfeit Chinese medicines.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/19/AR2007051901273.html?hpid=topnews

[pnwmom]

1. Oh yummy. n/t

[Kurovski]

5. Putrefying bacteria

The perfect addition to any recipe!

[napi21]

2. So if they detained 107, how many weren't checked and got through?

When they talk about food imports, what does that mean? Finished food products, or ingredients that are going to BE used by US mfgs. to make consumable food products?

Perhapse that wasn't the impression the Post was trying to convey, but IMOP the FDA is doing a piss poor job. I admit, much of their failure is Shrub's fault becaused of cutbacks and lack of funding.

We really need to change that! With all the contaminations released recently, a hugh % of the American population could be wiped out in a very short time due to lack of inspection!!!!

[brer cat]

11. If we are importing finished food products

then it should be labeled as imported from China, and we can beware. However, if it is ingredients, such as happened with the pet foods, there is no way to protect ourselves.

As to potential deaths, it will hit hard infants, children and elderly.

This is deplorable! K&R

[napi21]

48. I wonder what they do with the "detained products"?

Are they returned to the shipper? Are they destroyed? If they're destroyed, how are they destroyed?

[DaveofCali]

69. They are simply sent back to China, which can then be sent to the U.S. again N/T

[napi21]

73. Why doesn't THAT surprise me! The FDA doesn't even have

the authority to recall contaminated products from the shelves, why would I ever think they would have to power to destroy contaminated shipments at a port? Damn, silly me!

[orleans]

116. we are so fucked:

"Dead pets and melamine-tainted food notwithstanding, change will prove difficult, policy experts say, in large part because U.S. companies have become so dependent on the Chinese economy that tighter rules on imports stand to harm the U.S. economy, too."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/19/AR2007051901273.html?hpid=topnews

and this lovely statement:
"For a growing number of important food products, China has become virtually the only source in the world."

[Shallah Kali]

122. isn't it nice that they are more concerned about companies making more $ than folks eating that junk

So what if a few thousand pets drop dead and people get sick! The almighty economy must generate higher and higher profits for corporations!!!

:sarcasm:

[Shallah Kali]

21. 1 to 1.3% of imports are inspected & increasing # of businesses dependent upon Chinese imports

The FDA might be willing to wait until people start dropping like those thousands of cats and dogs have but i am not!

[Lord Balto]

32. Make them analyze it and hold them responsible

Start a whole new US industry: Chinese food analysis. Screw the WTO. Or set up a government agency and have the government analyze it FOR A FEE. Lots of new well-paying civil service jobs. I can see it now: Secretary of Food Safety and Chinese Oversight. Stop coddling the corporate bastards.

[Eurobabe]

3. Read this article carefully, this is how China will bring us down

"Dead pets and melamine-tainted food notwithstanding, change will prove difficult, policy experts say, in large part because U.S. companies have become so dependent on the Chinese economy that tighter rules on imports stand to harm the U.S. economy, too."

[emilyg]

4. crap

[Judi Lynn]

6. Almost need to go lie down to recover after reading this article!

What's worse, it looks as if there is a hell of a problem looming just ahead. From the article:

"So many U.S. companies are directly or indirectly involved in China now,
the commercial interest of the United States these days has become to allow imports to come in as quickly and smoothly as possible," said Robert B. Cassidy, a former assistant U.S. trade representative for China and now director of international trade and services for Kelley Drye Collier Shannon, a Washington law firm.
(snip)

Now the rule that China really wants, allowing it to export its own birds to the United States, is in the works, said Richard Raymond, USDA's undersecretary for food safety. Reports in China have repeatedly hinted that only if China gets its way on chicken exports to the United States will Beijing lift its four-year-old ban on importing U.S. beef. Raymond denies any link.

Raymond said permission for China to sell poultry to the United States is moving ahead because recent USDA audits found China's poultry slaughterhouses to be equivalent to those here.

Tony Corbo, a lobbyist for Food and Water Watch, a Washington advocacy group, said that finding - which is not subject to outside review - is unbelievable, given repeated findings of unsanitary conditions at China's chicken slaughterhouses. Corbo said he has seen some of those audits. "Everyone who has seen them was grossed out," he said.
(snip)

This is really a sad picture.

[OneBlueSky]

7. "change will prove difficult . . in large part because U.S. companies have become so dependent . . .

on the Chinese economy that tighter rules on imports stand to harm the U.S. economy, too" . . .

what's more important -- preventing harm to the economy, or protecting consumers from some really bad stuff? . . .

[Warren DeMontague]

10. Yeah, the WaPo can't seem to resist sympathizing with the poor corporations

In a previous article, one of their writers actually tried to float this line:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003680068_chinafood25.html

"U.S. companies are under relentless pressure to cut costs, in part from consumers who demand low prices, and obtaining cheap ingredients from China has become an important strategy for many of them."

Oh, yeah. American Consumers are to blame- clearly, they're lined up around the block outside of their supermarkets, chanting "We don't care what kind of shoddy crap you put in our BABY FORMULA, for instance- just give us five cents off!"

Uh Huh.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

22. Consumers are a big part of the problem.

Nobody is forcing Wal-Mart down America's throat. Americans shop there because they like getting things cheap, the consequences be damed... or did you really think that cut-price food would be just as good as the regular stuff?

[loudsue]

46. People (not DUers, I hope) are shopping at Walmart because all our JOBS

have gone overseas, and nobody can afford anything anymore. Those same corporations that are poisoning us, and figure it's ok, are the same corporations that aren't giving people raises, aren't providing benefits, and that are giving billions to republican candidates so they can stack the "regulating agencies" with bushies that will let anything through, and stacking the courts and laws so that nobody can sue.

:kick::kick::kick:

[Malidictus Maximus]

67. Respectfully,

I think you (and many others) have the cart before the horse.

The jobs (*OUR* jobs) have gone overseas because every single stinkin' time that people, from redneck to yuppie metrosexual, have a choice between 'Union made in the USA' or the apparent same product for 20-50 percent less they buy the cheapest. Even Sam Walton, in his last days, seeing what he had wrought tried to get people to buy 'Made in the USA'; everybody voted otherwise with their dollars. I distrust corporations as much as ANY one else on DU, but this time we are as responsible as someone who knowingly returns to an abusive relationship- make as many excuses and justifications as we want- we share the blame and we whine while showing no signs of changing the behaviors that allow it to continue. Corporations are mindless brutes that do only one thing: whatever makes money.

IMHO *ANYONE* with one item 'made in China' has NO right to bitch. Eat local and organic, buy only Union made in America (took me WEEKS to find a broom!) or bend over and grab the KY. If it doesn't say Union made or organic then DO WITHOUT.
These days the ONLY vote we have is with our money.

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

78. I agree to some extent.

But tell me, where was your computer made? Buying organic doesn't solve shit when it comes to the bigger problem.

[Warren DeMontague]

83. I think when you're talking about a ten dollar lamp or a DVD player, you're right.

People will buy what is cheapest. Period.

When you're talking about the food people put on the table, there is increased awareness about what goes into it- organics, buying local- people's focus around these things has increased markedly in recent years.

As for "buying USA" or "not having the right to bitch"- I don't care whether I have the "right" to bitch or not, but it'll be a cold day in hell before I buy a car made by an American company. Sorry. That's not price, that's quality. They suck. I'll stick with my Toyota, TYVM.

[Critters2]

104. Thank you. nt

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

77. No, they aren't.

This is such a cop-out that I don't even know where to begin.

First of all,

"Nobody can afford anything any more."

Is that so? I see a fuck of a lot of cheaply-made SUVs on the roads whenever I go back to the US. I don't see too many hybrids.

When's the last time you did your washing by hand? When's the last time you dried it on a line instead of in a dryer? A lot of the industrialized world does this.

Those same corporations that are poisoning us, and figure it's ok, are the same corporations that aren't giving people raises, aren't providing benefits, and that are giving billions to republican candidates

Actually, they're pretty damn good at spreading the cash around to both parties. It isn't a Republican or a Democratic problem. It's an American problem.

and stacking the courts and laws so that nobody can sue.

If you honestly think that lawsuits are the solution to this problem, then we are truly beyond help.

[silverojo]

86. To answer your question

We wash our dishes by hand every day...I think I've used a dishwasher maybe once in my life. We no longer can wash our clothes by hand due to physical limitations, but we have an old washer that was made in the USA. We also do washing during off-peak hours.

We hang our clothes on lines instead of using a dryer to save $$ on electricity, as well as to help the environment.

I've built my own solar oven to cook foods outdoors--anybody else here done this? ;)

And Malidictus Maximus...you may be surprised, but most of the Made in USA stuff we have, we got at Wal-Mart. I'm *not* defending their business practices, but there seems to be a misconception that all they sell is Chinese goods.

[Malidictus Maximus]

120. Agreed,

It is possible to buy made in the USA stuff at Wal Mart. I don't like their business practices but like any corporation they will do whatever makes money. We just need to figure out how to keep the right kind of pressure on.

And YWS, I would love to find a computer made in AMerica; I think I'm hosed on this one, though.

[silverojo]

84. I had to shop at Wal-Mart till recently

Due to illness and my own disability case dragging on for years, we had very little money, and had to get food stamps. $180 for a family of three doesn't last long, unless you shop at a Wal-Mart Supercenter.

Sadly, my aunt passed away recently. Her life insurance money enabled us to get off food stamps...but at what cost?

It's nice that we no longer have to buy food exclusively at Wal-Mart, but when you're scraping to get by, you have no choice. :(

[Warren DeMontague]

82. I think that the overwhelming popularity of everything from organic produce to microbrews

PROVES that there is a big, lucrative market for quality food and beverages that may cost a little bit more. Which, of course, is why the big corporations have been pressuring the FDA to futz around with standards for "organic"- you know, so they can stick the fancy label on the same old crap, and pass it off as what the people really want to buy.

Sorry, I'm not accepting that line of reasoning- for sure, there may be some people who do all their shopping at wal-mart--uh, I don't, so I can't imagine your question was directed at me personally (somehow Costco manages to deliver cut-price goods without unduly sacrificing quality or fair treatment of their workers, but that's another story) but I think it's worth noting that in all these issues- like demands for truth in labeling about what is IN many of these foods, like GMOs- it's the corporations who squeal and whine and drag their heels. If people would rather pay less and get ingredients of dubious quality or origin, hey- prove that assertion by letting people KNOW what's in their food. Because as it stands now, to me, I look at the ingredients on the vegetarian sausage I've been eating every morning for the past 7 years, and I see "wheat gluten". I have no idea if that Wheat Gluten is coming from a regularly inspected plant in Michigan, or some shady dealer in China. So I'll keep eating it, but I'll be damned if I'll give it to my kid. And that shit is in everything- If it was just about food "from Wal-Mart", I wouldn't have to worry, now, would I?

[KoKo]

100. Are you eating Morningstar Farms Sausages? That's the one we just gave up

because of the stuff in it. There's not another alternative if you are a vegan or watching your cholesterol and can't eat bacon or real sausage. :-( There's also alot of salt in them. Probably not more than bacon...but alot...along with ingredients that sure sound like they could be on the CHINA watch list.

[Warren DeMontague]

103. Yup. They're very tasty, especially with hot sauce. Salt is the one sacrifice I haven't been able to

really do!

I've been eating those things for years. I'm not vegan, but I don't eat a ton of meat. It's a damn shame. I'd like to get an answer on where they're getting their wheat gluten from-- obviously there's nothing on the website. I'll probably write them when I get a free moment, but I've been pretty busy.

[WePurrsevere]

12. It seems to me that the way to fight this is by raising consumer awareness & encourage

folks to NOT buy certain products from China (like food). Our governments hands may now be tied to some degree (although with a CLEVER and INTELLIGENT Dem in charge of the country maybe not as much as this admin thinks) but the fact is that we the consumers still have a choice and can choose to buy only food products from the US and other countries we KNOW have higher standards like Canada, the UK, etc.

Although some trade is healthy, being dependent on other countries for things we currently NEED is not good for us in the long term. These substandard foods/health and beauty products can and (IMO) quite probably are hurting the health of all those who eat this stuff (especially those with compromised immune systems even more so like those who are already ill, our elderly and our children).

[Lord Balto]

25. But you don't know!

I emailed the manufacturers of Morningstar Farms veggie
burgers (Kraft, it turns out), and they sent we this weasel
worded reply that made it clear they either didn't know where
their wheat gluten (main ingredient) was coming from or they
wouldn't say. What are you going to do, live on only whole
foods prepared yourself?

How do you raise consumer awareness when you can't get any
good information from these clowns?

[WePurrsevere]

41. If enough consumers and voters make this a big enough issue

politicians will step in. Unfortunately the safety standards have slipped since the Neo-CONs have been in power. Since this effects the Dem base mostly IMO the Dems need to make this an issue and we grassroots folks need to raise a loud enough ruckus to get their attention.

We can start awareness by getting the word out to the public, give them information about which companies use substandard products or hide which products they use. Keep calling/writing the company and asking.. tell them if they won't say you'll assume the worst, won't do business with them and will spread the word to all those you know as well. We can talk all we want but IME the way to make businesses listen is by hitting them in the wallet.

Although I like convenience foods (and Morningstar Farms Veggie Burgers really are very good) they are just that.. a convenience and one that people somehow survived quite well without up until rather recently and many areas still do. :) Unfortunately we Americans have become a society that is addicted to speed and ease of use and these big corps like Kraft are all to gladly our enablers.

[NYC]

94. I've been writing lots of letters.

I keep writing and writing. If enough people write, the corporations may realize that we will keep writing until we find companies who sell clean food.

Little by little, I'm learning which foods I can eat. If it isn't identified, I assume it comes from China.

[WePurrsevere]

118. That's great! I agree.. happy people = profit; unhappy people = loss

We have a right to know what's going into the food we serve ourselves and our loved ones AND where it's from. If companies won't tell us, they need to know that we will assume the worst, act accordingly and "warn" others of the possibility of harm as is our civic and human responsibility to do so.

With the Republicans in power the government has failed and is failing miserably to do it's job in protecting us from HARM and DEATH on MANY levels. The fact is that Republicans only care about BIG business, power and money; they think incorrectly that feeding these beasts will trickle down to the little guy and gal.. well every time they've had enough power to repackage it it hasn't worked and it NEVER will... what WORKS is making sure that the middle and lower incomes are safe, healthy and financially comfortable enough that they can save a bit and spend a bit on extras now and then.

Although I truly believe that we'll get it back on track, sometimes I get so frustrated and angry as I watch the decimation of this country by these greedy, self serving neo-CONs and their koolaid drinking followers. x( Maybe the states should start doing and insisting on more. I think here in NY it's possible with Spitzer as gov, especially if we can get a bigger majority and that jerk Bruno voted out of office and back into the slime he oozed out of. :mad:

[NYC]

128. I also write complimentary letters to the companies that

have clean, non-chemical American food. They appreciate hearing that we want and need them. I do it to encourage them to STAY American and non-chemical. I also tell them that I'm telling my friends about them.

[Critters2]

105. I agree. I'm veg*n, and I've stopped eating the processed fake meats

I now depend on whole grain porridges of several types, bean dishes, peanut and other nut and legume butters, and tofu for protein in my diet. I try to buy ingredients as unprocessed as possible, and I read labels. Any food that doesn't have a label telling me where it's from, I can do without. Yeah, it's all a bit less convenient, but it's safer, and my money goes where I want it to go.

[Warren DeMontague]

111. Is there a reason people aren't calling it "Vegan" anymore?

What's with the asterisk? Just curious and trying to stay on top of things. :patriot:

[Critters2]

113. It's sort of a catch-all for veggies and vegans.

I'm by far mostly vegan, but my work causes me to sometimes have meals with no vegan alternatives, though I never eat meat. So, out of respect to those who are much better at being vegan than I am, I often avoid use of the term "vegan". I opt for "veg*n" instead.

[Warren DeMontague]

115. Gotcha.Thanks. nt

[Nikia]

49. They know where it came from

I don't work for Kraft, but I work in the processed food industry. For a company like Kraft not to know the country of origin of all of its ingredients is like a company like Kraft not having any official employment policies.

[True_Blue]

55. Ever since the pet food contamination

I'm afraid to buy anything with wheat gluten in it. All of the bread except for the fresh baked at the grocery store list wheat gluten as one of the ingredients, so I've been buying the fresh baked. After reading this article, I think I'll start eating fresh foods only.

[AllyCat]

74. Melissa and Doug toys are the same way

I called to find out about their paints since all their toys (wooden and all) are made in China. The lady on the phone just kept repeating how they met all US standards. I explained the US standards are consistently bent for China and wanted to know about the paint. Kept repeating her mantra. I finally asked flat out "do your toys have paint on them that contains lead". She never answered my question. I do not buy from them anymore.

[Burried News]

42. Modest Proposal: Bury the elderly; eat the children.

http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html

Of what use is a baby?

[silverojo]

87. I don't know why anybody would buy food made in China

Just look at the filthy conditions of the street vendors, etc., in China. Hasn't anybody ever seen these on TV? Those people have no clue or concern about cleanliness in food preparation.

[AllyCat]

34. That's what I thought too!

We'll kill people, but got forbid we do anything to hurt our poor, multi-billion dollar corporations! Poor babies...they might not get $20M this year for salaries and have to settle with $19.5M!

This is really disturbing.

[robinlynne]

38. or, wouldn't it be just terrible if companies actually had to PRODUCE their ingredients here?

CAn you imagine, producing food and vitamins in the US? what a concept?

[Nikia]

51. At this point, many of them do not have a choice

Some food ingredients are not grown or made in sufficient amounts at this point to come close to meeting the demand of American food processing companies. If American consumers are persistent enough about demands for pure American products (or other countires from an approved list) or with there are trade sanctions, it will take some time for American industry to respond.

[NYC]

92. That's what Tropicana said,

but Florida's Natural uses all Florida oranges.

I won't buy Tropicana.

[KoKo]

99. Florida had that freeze that killed alot of it's crop...I could notice the taste change

in the Tropicana which I've bought for YEARS! I've not seen "Florida's Natural" in my stores here and I refuse to buy Minute Maid reconstituted from concentrate...so I'm left with Tropicana. :-( but I know they are getting juice from somewhere else this year because of the taste change.

[NYC]

114. Read the carton.

Mine said USA & Brazil. It didn't even say Florida, just USA.

I always preferred Tropicana to Minute Maid. Thought there was a vast difference.

Lately, I didn't like Tropicana, but I didn't know why. I don't know what made me read the back of the carton, but I did.

The ruby red grapefruit juice was USA & Mexico.

[Critters2]

106. Me neither. I buy either Matt's Organic or Organic Valley

depending on which store I shop at. But if I weren't a stickler about organics, I'd go with Florida's Natural. I quit buying Tropicana when I saw the long list of countries their orange juice might be from!

[Shallah Kali]

123. They'll have to reopen the Vitamin C factories and such. Everything used to be made here

I am sure once the demand grows corporations will be shaking a leg to get things up and running here at home. Now some won't want to give up on China not because they can't get US ingredients but because they are doing their best to set up business over there to sell to China. Tyson and Misson foods who both said they would stop buying from China in a recent article are still cozying up to the Chinese gov. for exactly that reason.

[Warren DeMontague]

8. Imagine how much safer our food would be if the FDA wasn't run by right wing Jesus nuts

whose top priority these past 7 years has been keeping Plan B contraception off the Nation's pharmacy shelves.

[mzmolly]

110. Excellent point.

:(

[Daphne08]

9. I'm just about fed up with this crap!

And I'm fed up with the politicians and companies that are subjecting us to this madness. :mad:

[acmavm]

13. You know, I can't help but wonder how we ever did so damn well before

we became so beholden to the Chinese. What was the secret? How did we ever survive when we relied on the American farmer, the American manufacturer, the American worker?

This is all a racket for corporate America. They want to get into China. And the Chinese don't believe in a level playing field. It will not be to America's advantage to have full trade with China.

We need to do something, and fast, about the predator class in America. Because I can absolutely GUARANTEE you they aren't buying cheap Chinese crap or bad food.

[Lord Balto]

23. In Lieu of Tariffs

Perhaps we should demand that US manufacturers test their Chinese raw materials before using them, especially food products. That would put a dent in this hazardous game and employ a few American lab technicians and scientists as well. They want to make businesses liable for hiring illegal immigrants, why not make them liable for bad food too? That'll slow down this descent into dietary hell.

[acmavm]

OOPS! Haven't done that in a while.

[acmavm]

24. How about we go back to 'buy American'?

[Lord Balto]

27. How exactly do you do that?

When you can't get the food manufacturers to tell you where their ingredients are coming from? Go to a major manufacturer's website and email them asking where a major ingredient is coming from. They'll tell you they buy it on the open market and it varies. They won't give you a straight answer. Under those conditions, how do you "buy American"?

[Lord Balto]

28. And remember...

Even the stuff we get from countries other than China may have used Chinese ingredients, or fertilizer from China, or pesticides from China, or just plain trans-shipped stuff grown in China. Do you know what's going on in Chile, the source of much of our Winter fruits and vegetables?

[acmavm]

30. You adopt the laws like the UK has...

Product labelling and packaging
What you need to know about packaging and labelling
Under the Trade Descriptions Act any descriptions of goods you trade must be accurate - it's a criminal offence if they're not.

This applies to both the writing and illustrations on your packaging and labelling. Among other things, you must not be misleading about:


quantity or size
composition
method of manufacture
place and date of manufacture
fitness for stated purpose
endorsements by people or organisations
The law applies to you if you sell goods to the public or manufacture goods.

Origin marking
In most circumstances, there is no legal requirement in the UK or anywhere else in the European Union for goods to be marked with an indication of their origin - but you can do so if you wish.

However, if you do, the origin markings must be accurate or you will be committing a criminal offence under the Trade Descriptions Act.

(As for this one, tighten the regulation to include place of original manufacture.)

The Act says that the country of manufacture or production is where the goods last underwent a process or treatment that resulted in a "substantial change". Take advice from your local Trading Standards service if you're unsure.

__________________________________________________________________

A lot of this country's problems could be solved if we would just make corporate American FOLLOW THE LAWS. And if the laws is inadequate, take them to court for running a criminal enterprise, which, if they are knowingly selling a dangerous or harmful good, they can and need to be hauled into a court of law, civil or criminal.

[Nikia]

54. But you still have the ingredient issue

Many processed foods on American shelves are products of the U.S. by those standards. Most American companies do some testing, but it would never occurred to most companies to test for things like melamine.

[acmavm]

57. Well now we know better. And we test for all ingredients. That is possible

you know.

edit: I take it all back. Don't bother the adopt any safety standards like the UK. Don't friggin' test. Don't do anything at all because apparently there is NOTHING that can be done to make friggin' everybody happy, so Hell, don't do anything at all.

[Nikia]

58. Some ingredients are expensive to test for

If a company imports $1000 of a particuliar ingredient, it does not make sense to pay $10,000 or more to test it for everything.

[acmavm]

63. Like I said, forget it. Don't worry about it. Don't do anything.

Some people would bitch if they were shot with a new gun.

[silverojo]

88. Don't feel down

Your ideas are very good, and there WOULD be money for this, if our politicians would spend money on us instead of the war in Iraq.

[grasswire]

45. you start buying local food

Yes, this means you have to do more of the cooking. But the "buy local" food movement means that you get what you need from farmers within a hundred miles of your home. And if they don't have chickens all year, you don't eat chicken. And if they don't have raspberries in December, you don't eat raspberries.

This is a serious solution to a national security threat. If all of us even just TRY, we can begin to force change.

[nodehopper]

76. how is the local food supply safe?

all those hog farms in California that got Melamine-tainted pet feed? they are all "local" for the people in their 100 mile radius.

[catgirl]

101. Buy organic

from small local farms. That's the way to go. You can
usually find out if these farms sell their goods at farmers
markets or vegetable stands on the internet.

[grasswire]

102. okay, you buy from organic farms, I guess (eom)

[Critters2]

107. If you must eat meat (and I'm proof that you don't need to)

do NOT buy it from factory farm-type mass-producers. Local, organic farmers are NOT the ones who bought that tainted feed.

[Nikia]

52. Most companies do some tesing

But other testing is expensive when it would have to be done for everything that might be there. Who would have thought that melamine would have been in wheat gluten? I am sure that it never occurred to any U.S. food company to pay for the expense of testing for it.

[w4rma]

79. Tariffs worked for thousands of years, I'd prefer to go back to them at this point. (nt)

[seven79]

93. Me Too!

nafta, cafta. gatt, wto

congress removed the tariffs so that the multinationals could increase their profits by outsourcing to low wage and slave labor societies around the world, then import them to the american market without the tariffs our founders put in place for a damn good reason.

less tariffs
less inspections
more illicit drugs
more human trafficking


sincerely seven

[Double T]

14. As long as all this Chinese crap costs less and american corporations.......

are generating more profit for the insatiably greedy ceos, americans can live with being slowly poisoned to death.

[Vinca]

15. You can avoid stuff that's marked where it's made, but if

something is imported and used as an ingredient it's lost to the consumer. It's interesting that we're fed Shrub's "terror, terror, terror" mantra on a daily basis, but the biggest threat is being fed food from China that has legally passed through our borders without being inspected.

[Lord Balto]

29. exactly

[gobblechops]

16. If it affect profits

you can bet they wont do crap about it,the best that can be done anytime soon is to label country of origin on every package if it has 1 ingredient from china or anywhere else i want to know about it.

stopping the shipment of tainted food from china is gonna take years and years of fighting corp america with there media blackouts of what we are trying to do and there PR firms calling us crazy and saying its perfectly safe.

on a side note maybe this has a lot to do with our falling lifespan.

[AmyDeLune]

71. Welcome to DU!

...it might also have something to do with the increase in austim, cancer, obesity and any number of other systemic health issues which seem to have increased drastically over the past 10+ years.

[shenmue]

17. Thanks for all the outsourcing!

Greedy corporations don't give a shit about anything. So much for the immorality of Communism: they'll be best friends with the sons of bitches if they can make some money off of it.

:puke:

[liberal N proud]

18. Cheap shit is what we pay for, cheap shit is what we get

And the government, under control of the bu$h regime and cost cutting CONservatives have cut regulation to allow this to happen.

We don't need to worry about a bird flue pandemic but just food poisoning from food product imported from CHINA.

[Burried News]

59. Sometimes an echo is a good thing :)

"Cheap shit is what we pay for, cheap shit is what we get"

[michaz]

19. It is pretty simple. Just some common sense!

Just say no!!

[Lord Balto]

26. Just say no to what?

You don't know where your food is coming from. What are you going to do, stop eating? Only eat homegrown food? When's the last time you bought a loaf of bread that said, "Not made with Chinese gluten"? These simplistic answers are useless. We need a little serious regulation here. Government regulation. Screw Ronald Reagan's legacy.

[Critters2]

108. Buy local, buy organic

Or make your own bread.

[Lord Balto]

20. This is ancient news

I am a collector of Japanese antiques--rather than Chinese antiques--because it is so difficult to figure out when something was made in China. Phony reign marks are the rule rather than the exception and there are fakes that are so old now that *they* are antiques. "Ming Dynasty" pieces that were made in the Ching, "Sung" pieces made in the Ming, "Han" pieces made any time between then and now. Chinese culture just doesn't seem to penalize anyone who makes phony products. As long as it looks real, it doesn't seem to matter. My mother came back from her Chinese trip with an "antique" "jade" horse covered with dirt that had supposedly been dug out of the ground. Don't bet on it! Not that this is exclusive to the Chinese. The Iranians regularly drive cars over their rugs to make them look older than they are.

[KittyWampus]

112. I am looking for a nice old incense burner (or koro) and the Chinese knock offs are legion

so freaking many of them. Some are actually nice, but it annoys me they lie and call it antique.

China makes even the GOP look ethical.

[jwirr]

31. Maybe more important to us consumers is the question: What

stores are importing these items from China?

[Blue State Blues]

33. Demand country of origin labeling

It will give consumers choice and perhaps shame manufacturers into buying American, or at least tracking where stuff comes from.

More here (Democracy in Action):
http://preview.tinyurl.com/24lv2w

[On the Road]

36. That's Not a Bad Solution

or part of it at least. If companies have to list their sources, they will be more accountable and realize that there is a downside.

But fundamentally, this should be a matter for government regulation. And it would be a great addition to the platform of any Democratic candidate.

[kurth]

43. Should be a campaign issue next year - Americans are listening.

[On the Road]

75. What's Great About This Issue

is that it makes it extremely difficult for Republicans who have made political capital out of deregulation since the 70s. Here we see the downside of an uncontrolled food supply and the need for government regulation. Handled skillfully, imported food risks could lead to a paradigm change.

[seven79]

91. What's Next? Soylent Green?

COOL = Country Of Origin Labeling!
an idea whose time has come and is past due.
other countries have it.
has the u.s.a congress put it to a vote yet?
we americans deserve the informed choice of COOL!


sincerely, seven

[Blue State Blues]

95. "Soylent Green is People!"

Soylent Green
Ingredients: People (Produce of USA)

[Lex]

35. www.localharvest.org

www.localharvest.org --> "Use our website to find farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area, where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies."

[kurth]

37. Ban all Chinese food imports

Better safe than sorry.

"Chinese government is on track to get permission to legally export its chickens to the United States"

[WePurrsevere]

96. My DH read this & said "Import chickens from China, home of BIRD FLU & SARS? Are they NUTS?"

We're increasingly buying organic and grass feed/free range local, US or Canadian produce and our veggie garden will be much bigger this year then last. Until the gov steps in we may not know where every ingredient is from but at least the less "mystery" foods we put in our body the better.

[Rosemary2205]

39. We ship American chickens to China to process for US markets???

WTF?? -- We take chickens - send them all the way to china for processing, and then ship the product back to the US for sale?? So all that shipping is cheaper than just paying someone in America to do that job??

My god........... where to even begin the rant...........



"Last year, under high-level pressure from China, the USDA passed a rule allowing China to export to the United States chickens that were grown and slaughtered in North America and then processed in China -- a rule that quickly passed through multiple levels of review and was approved the day before Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Washington last April."

[Nikia]

56. That doesn't even make sense

I don't know how any company would come out ahead doing that.
How would we know for sure that they weren't swapping their chickens for our chickens or processing them all at the same time?

[w4rma]

80. That's probably what is happening. Some company is selling chickens to China and China

is selling a combination of Chinese and American chickens back to the U.S. (Probably labeling them "American farmed" chickens, too)

[seven79]

90. time for a 3rd and 4th party

corruption = it's not just for republicans anymore.

the legislation mentioned in rosemary's quote was passed by the democrat-controlled congress in april.

we need elected officials who care more about the vote of The People than they do about the $$$ of the Multi Corps.

sincerely, seven

[Rosemary2205]

97. Nice try. LOL

April 2006........snicker.

The Dems didn't take over until Jan 2007. Don't blame the Democrats for this one, skippy.



Last year, under high-level pressure from China, the USDA passed a rule allowing China to export to the United States chickens that were grown and slaughtered in North America and then processed in China -- a rule that quickly passed through multiple levels of review and was approved the day before Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Washington last April



Here's a WAPO piece on his visit in April 2006 - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/20/AR2006042001946.html

[depakid]

121. Let's see: Who was President when China was approved for the WTO?

Indeed- who led the charge?

That's right- Clinton, alongside Republicans and other sell out Dems.

See:

The High Cost of the China-WTO Deal
Administration's own analysis suggests spiraling deficits, job losses

by Robert E. Scott

No one can predict the future. But the Clinton Administration is confidently forecasting that the huge U.S. trade deficit with China will improve if Congress accords China permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) in order to accommodate Beijing's membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO). President Clinton claims that the recently signed trade agreement with China "creates a win-win result for both countries" (Clinton 2000, 9). He argues that exports to China "now support hundreds of thousands of American jobs," and that "these figures can grow substantially with the new access to the Chinese market the WTO agreement creates" (Clinton 2000, 10). Others in the White House, such as Kenneth Liberthal, the special advisor to the president and senior director for Asia affairs at the National Security Council, echo Clinton's assessment:

"Let's be clear as to why a trade deficit might decrease in the short term. China exports far more to the U.S. than it imports the U.S….It will not grow as much as it would have grown without this agreement and over time clearly it will shrink with this agreement."1

These claims are misleading. The Administration has proposed to facilitate China's entry into the WTO at a time when the U.S. already has a massive trade deficit with China. In 1999, the U.S. imported approximately $81 billion in goods from China and exported $13 billion - a six-to-one ratio of imports to exports that represents the most unbalanced relationship in the history of U.S. trade. 2 While exports generated about 170,000 jobs in the United States in 1999, imports eliminated almost 1.1 million domestic job opportunities, for a net loss of 880,000 high-wage manufacturing jobs. 3

http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/issuebriefs_ib137

[seven79]

126. Bill is my adopted son.

Isnt that what Barbara Bush declared after Bill attended a Bush family gathering shortly after the "W"s on the typewriters had all been replaced at taxpayer expense?
And remember the chinese restaurant owner who helped put Bill in the white house? .....hmmmmmmm ......

ah yes. theyre all in it together.
dems and reps are just names they use to fool the electorate into thinking there are two teams.

Team One: the multinationals and their paid lackeys.
Team Two: The People.

The People are being sold down the Multi Corp river.
It's unsavory. It's corrupt.

But who's letting them do it? The People?
maybe .... because of ignorance born of indolence
plus the ignorance born of Multi Corp Media... :tv: :radio:

thanks to both of you for the links! :patriot:


sincerely seven

[Shallah Kali]

125. My Mom recently bought a bunch of fish from the N Atlantic, went to Norway, then China, then USA

can't remember how much it cost, just that she said it was cheap. I too wonder how they can make a profit on this sort of thing. Is it a way of sucking up to the Chinese gov. so they can sell stuff to the vast Chinese population? Is it a way of the Chinese gov. to under cut America's and other countries' businesses and food supply by underselling? Think how walmart had moved into an area with those low low prices, driven out other stores and then raised the prices once they had a monopoly? I wonder....

[HuskiesHowls]

40. Thank you, BFEE!!!

emphasis added...

"So pervasive is the U.S. hunger for cheap imports, experts said, that the executive branch itself has repeatedly rebuffed proposals by agency scientists to impose even modest new safety rules for foreign foods.

"Sometimes guidances can get through, but not regulations," said Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group. Guidances, which the FDA defines as "current thinking on a particular subject," are not binding.

Under the Bush administration in particular, DeWaal said, if a proposed regulation does get past agency or department heads, it hits the wall at the White House Office of Management and Budget."

<snip>

"John C. Bailar III, a University of Chicago professor emeritus who chaired a 2003 National Academies committee that recommended major changes in the U.S. food safety system -- which have gone largely unheeded -- said he has become increasingly concerned that corporations and the federal government seem willing to put the interests of business "above the public welfare.""

The real face of the problem is described on the third page, toward the bottom....after most people quit reading!!!

[loudsue]

44. Just another example of corporate America's attitude:

" Until recently, however, many companies and even the federal government reckoned that, on average, those risks were worth taking. And for some products they have had little choice, as China has driven competitors out of business with its rock-bottom prices."

And where does the finger point?

"So pervasive is the U.S. hunger for cheap imports, experts said, that the executive branch itself has repeatedly rebuffed proposals by agency scientists to impose even modest new safety rules for foreign foods.

"Sometimes guidances can get through, but not regulations," said Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group. Guidances, which the FDA defines as "current thinking on a particular subject," are not binding.

Under the Bush administration in particular, DeWaal said, if a proposed regulation does get past agency or department heads, it hits the wall at the White House Office of Management and Budget."

Back to the urinary executive.

And, well, we already KNEW this:

"John C. Bailar III, a University of Chicago professor emeritus who chaired a 2003 National Academies committee that recommended major changes in the U.S. food safety system -- which have gone largely unheeded -- said he has become increasingly concerned that corporations and the federal government seem willing to put the interests of business "above the public welfare."

It's pretty clear to me that we're screwn.

:kick::kick::kick:

[grasswire]

47. EAT LOCAL FOOD

Many people are starting to eat only food produced within a hundred miles of home. That means you have to spend a little time cooking, instead of popping something in the microwave. But it benefits Americans and America.

Farmers flourish.
No oil spent on trucking stuff across the country or around the world.
Less packaging in our landfills.
Healthier food!
Less dependence on foreign entities -- a national security issue.


It means you eat what is seasonal and local within a hundred miles.

If we even make an attempt this year, we will force some change.

[Gregorian]

50. We have to decentralize. Ie., move away from corporations.

For whatever reasons, poisoned food would only affect the community in which it was distributed. But instead, we have huge suppliers.

I know what I'm saying means drastic sacrifice. Much more than any Americans are willing to live with. I don't even like thinking about it.

[Shallah Kali]

60. Good idea even if most can only do it in part. Make what changes you can 1 step at a time

Buy as much local food as possible. If you have land plant a garden starting small and adding more as you can. Every bit you do is that much less you are providing profits to corporate robber barons.

[amandabeech]

53. Granting China Most Favored Nation trading status

is looking like the worst mistake that Bill Clinton made.

Before MFN and China's ascention into the WTO, tariffs kept a lot of this bad stuff out. Unless we leave the WTO or revoke MFN, it will be very difficult to keep our food supply realtively safe. Of course, if we did that, China would stop buying our treasuries and we'd have to raise taxes and stop borrowing money.

Essentially, we've been living on the cheap far too long. We're about to pay the price not in dollars but to the health care system.

[kurth]

66. Bill Clinton got conned

U.S. wheat exports to China have gone down, not up.

[amandabeech]

70. For such an obviously smart guy,

this was an incredibly dumb decision.

If he had asked me, I would have told him don't do it. Obviously, he was hanging around with the wrong crowd there for a while. *smilie*

[kurth]

61. Chinese chemicals in food causing 50,000 cancer cases/year in Vietnam

Agence France-Presse

Chinese chemicals have also made their way into the foodchain in Vietnam where authorities have become so alarmed at the prevalence of adulterated food that Professor Nguyen Ba Duc of the Vietnam Cancer Association has blamed one third of the 150,000 annual cancer cases on tainted food.

Government health inspectors have found formaldehyde in the national dish, pho noodle soup, borax in traditional cakes, and whitening chemicals in rice noodles.

In March, the health ministry's drug administration ordered the nationwide confiscation of Chinese-made lipsticks, other cosmetics and foods containing Sudan Red.

State media reported suspicions it was also used in eggs and chilli products.

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,,21762976-23109,00.html

[BrklynLiberal]

62. Absolutley horrifying...even tho it comes as no surprise that this admin puts $$ over safety.

The fact that China owns about $20 BILLION in US bonds does give them alot of leverage over BushCo.

[seven79]

89. Afta NAFTA

I started noticing the corporate hostile takeover of our country when they (along with Wallstreet) were able to convince both houses of Congress to approve NAFTA against the will of the people.

That was in November, 1993, when pres.clinton had "fast track authority" .... then they went on to GATT-WTO ... bush admin began in 2001 .... now they're building the nafta superhighway up through mexico, through kansas, up to canada ... with no stops for border inspections from the time china offloads at the port in mexico.

straight from slave labor in chinese prisons to our supermarkets.
that's the Multi Corp diabolical goal.

Love of Money = Equal Opportunity Corruption

Sincerely Seven

[cliss]

64. There's something mysterious about all this

bad news coming from China. What about the Chinese? Do they eat this crap? Or do they just eat really good stuff and send the poisoned crap over to us?

If that's the case, then they are deliberately trying to poison us.

China
There's something strange about this country. I've heard that the flu comes from China. Every year, there is a new variant of the "Asian flu" it migrates from the east. Apparently, the Chinese let their chickens come in their houses. The chickens even go up on the table = bazillions of germs all over the place.
Now the Chinese are immune to all this stuff. But WE don't have chickens in our kitchens, so we are more vulnerable.

But what the hell?
Are Chinese SUPER-PEOPLE or something? How can they be swimming in this cesspool of shit, deadly germs, and still stay 1.3 BILLION strong??? (and growing)

[kurth]

65. "Cancer has become China's top killer, causing 1.5 million deaths annually"

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-04/16/content_434747.htm

Eating all that shit will kill you.

[cliss]

85. Yes, I believe the Chinese

have absolutely abysmal health conditions in that country. It must truly be "Survival of the Fittest".

Now as far as cancer, 1.5 million deaths per year does not seem that much. Chinese population is around 1.3 billion.

US population is around 390 million. I think we lose more people per year to cancer than China. Correct?

[debbierlus]

68. Isn't poisoning Americans through tainted foods a national security issue?

Just a thought...

[amandabeech]

72. I'm sure some people who don't like us too much are thinking the same thing.

Blow back is a b*tch.

And its not just Al Queda that I'm talking about.

[gobblechops]

117. You said it

How did we let it come to this?,wish I had a yard to grow a garden

[seven79]

81. Poison Profits

grrrrr .... multinational corporations have made the globe our grocer .... global supermarket .... poison pet food .... they supply the rope to hang ourselves .... and the food to poison our pets.

"Chinese pet food ingredients* spiked with a potentially dangerous chemical found their way into U.S.- manufactured pet food - as well as feed for hogs, chicken and farmed fish. After numerous pet deaths were attributed to the chemical, the FDA called for a series of recalls and quarantines beginning in March. Here is how the tainted ingredient spread."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/graphic/2007/05/20/GR2007052000047.html

[piesRsquare]

98. Kosher foods using ingredients from China now, too

I just posted this on another thread, but it's relevent to this one, too.

I learned this last night. Kosher products are still a much safer bet, but I'm furious that ingredients from China are being used. I just don't trust them.

Apparently, getting Kosher certification is the "big thing" among Chinese companies right now. From the Chicago Tribune (registration is required, so here are the most relevant points):

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0703310492apr01,0,5302586.story

A bit more enthusiastic than knowledgeable, China's factory owners are clamoring to go kosher. In an odd-couple embrace that only global commerce could produce, more than 2,000 Chinese plants have been certified in the past decade under Jewish dietary laws in hopes of tapping a world trade estimated at $150 billion a year.

<snip>

China is churning out a growing list of kosher products, from canned vegetables to candy to unpronounceable enzymes. The New York-based Orthodox Union, which administers the world's largest kosher trademark, is on pace to double in one year the 300 plants it has certified in China.

"Every two weeks we get applications from 15 or 20 new plants," said the union's Rabbi Mordechai Grunberg, who oversees factories across China.

<snip>

China is discovering that going kosher poses some particular challenges. There are only seven inspectors, or mashgiach, living full-time in China to perform meticulous factory visits, so backup rabbis have to fly in.

<snip>

Likewise, Chinese suppliers often bridle at the notion that even after years of successful inspections, a rabbi will persist in making annual verification visits.

"They say, 'I'm a nice guy and you can trust us.' But we have to say, 'Trust, schmust!'" Benjamin said.

[Lance_Boyle]

124. Annual inspections, feh!

Those plants are kosher one day a year.

[mzmolly]

109. Viva la free trade!

:toast:

[Cass]

119. So why aren't they suspending imports from China?

I don't have time to read the whole article right now - I'm bookmarking for later. I apologize in advance if my question is answered in the article.

[seven79]

127. Because they dont care about The People?

either that or because, if they did, china would sue usa in the world court (just like venezuela did to force usa to purchase their oil which violated our oil purity requirement laws).

ah yes .... world governance = world marketplace
(whether The People want the products or not)

(Just My Opinion, except the part about venezuelan oil.)


sincerely seven