AP: Seafood From China Wasn't Screened

[RamboLiberal]

Source: MyWayNews.com/AP

At least 1 million pounds of suspect Chinese seafood landed on American store shelves and dinner plates despite a Food and Drug Administration order that the shipments first be screened for banned drugs or chemicals, an Associated Press investigation found.

The frozen shrimp, catfish and eel arrived at U.S. ports under an "import alert," which meant the FDA was supposed to hold every shipment until it had passed a laboratory test.

But that was not what happened, according to an AP check of shipments since last fall. One of every four shipments the AP reviewed got through without being stopped and tested. The seafood, valued at $2.5 million, was equal to the amount 66,000 Americans eat in a year.

FDA officials stuck the pond-raised seafood on their watch list because of worries it contained suspected carcinogens or antibiotics not approved for seafood.



Read more: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070807/D8QSDEQ80.html

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Get that Country of Origin Labeling Now!

[DeSwiss]

1. As things stand....

...I wouldn't even eat Chinese food that came from China.

- K&R

[PearliePoo2]

5. My brother was recently in China

The friend he was with got really sick and had to check himself into a hospital on his return to the U.S..
They were eating at a restaurant and their translator said she would order for them.
But he balked when she suggested the BBQ bat was very good that evening.
:puke:

[kurth]

8. You cannot be polite in China

when it comes to food. The word "NO" can save your life.

[Double T]

2. corporate america's revenue and profit is more important than.........

American's health. Simple solution; don't eat ANY frozen fish.

[PearliePoo2]

3. I carefully read every label now

I never used to.
The shrimp I buy come from the Baja area. Ocean Garden is a good brand and so is Ocean Boy Organic. Nothing pond raised from Thailand either.
After the pet food tragedy, if it comes from China, it goes back on the shelf with distrust and disgust.

[Old and In the Way]

4. If it's coming out of the South China Sea...you probably don't want to eat it.

I've been on a working junk that's bottom dragged out there and with the exception of some pretty sad looking (and tasting) shrimp, mostly just trash was caught.

[whistle]

6. How about microwave popcorn imported by WalMart from China?

...Has anyone heard if the cooking oils in these products are toxic? WalMart sells thousands of tons of that stuff to consumers :hurts:

I still pop my own using American ingredients only, Iowa popping corn, corn oil and Vermont butter, plus Kosher salt :patriot:

[Critters2]

32. I was going to say....

Why would anyone buy popping corn from China, when the stuff from Iowa and Indiana are so good? And plentiful. And close at hand.

[kurth]

7. Just ban every food product from China

Quit fucking around.

[EnricoFermi]

13. This is economic warfare

These can't all be mistakes and sometimes you have to wonder.

Who knows, but the increased in frequency, at least reporting, has to be questioned. It's not just a coincidence that in the last six months Chinese products have been greatly defective or deadly. This should be looked at, whether it is actual negligence or even intentional from the Chinese perspective. We took Iraq, and now we want to take Iran. Russia and China aren't going to be that excited about it. We'll need to turn both into enemies to justify attacking them and I would almost expect sanctions in the next few months. While it is preferable to the United States for them to just sit there and watch us take the whole center of Asia, it isn't very likely that they won't be worried about the strategic significance of it. You rule the world with that.

Just try to look at this from both sides. The natural reaction is to look towards the U.S. as being incompetent, but it is always possible that someone knew or was involved. I know this sounds crazy, and we get too many conspiracy theories these days, but it is at least important to look at how the US reacts to this.

[Javaman]

17. Of coure it is. especially since yesterday, china threatened to

cut off our debt life line.

[EnricoFermi]

20. What do you make of the motivation?

Why the recent tension?

[Deja Q]

24. Could be jealousy.

Over jobs they are getting and we are losing.

It ultimately could be as simple as that.

[Javaman]

25. Resources. all world disagreements are either over resources or wealth.

since china is growing in leaps and bounds and will more than likely hit an energy short fall within the next 5 years, I think they are just one short pissed off mood from cutting us off and getting the oil for themselves.

if they call in our debt the dollar will become worthless. If the dollar becomes worthless, no one will use it to trade for oil (which the majority of the world does at the moment), in steps China with the strong Yen and the rest is history.

I put nothing past anyone at this stage.

[EnricoFermi]

27. Doesn't this mean a fight over the control of Iran's resources?

If so, is this another Vietnam like scenario that we are both going to work our respective countries into?

I think both countries again want to avoid direct conflict, but who knows. Russia wants a piece as well.

I doubt anyone wants another world war, even the most hawkish of our elites, if they can manage it. Long drawn out wars are often very profitable anyway. However, we already have Iraq and I would suspect that getting such a valuable resource is far more important than the stakes were in Vietnam. We're talking global dominance to whichever country controls that region. The country that owns it is the superpower of the 21st century.

That's what all of this has been about, both Iraq wars, and even the Iran-Iraq war. Anything relating to China or Iran immediately throws up a red flag for me.

One of the keys to maintaining patriotism is to hate everything about your enemy, especially their products, and then their way of life. A lot of these recent scandals looks like political posturing.

[Javaman]

28. China has been making all sorts of deals with Iran regarding energy...

if the dollar goes belly up, any corporation that has a clue will go with the yen and leave behind the fiat dollar.

granted the leaders of this world are not so evolved to sacrifice their egos in order to save their nations.

however, I believe the main reason moron* hasn't bombed Iran yet is because the administration is tiptoeing around china.

if moron* and his room full of dopes did irradiate Iran, one very pissed off china and russia would have a few things to say.

China reminds me of an old story my dad once told me about the janitor that worked for a huge corporation.
Over the years the janitor invested every dime he made into stock of the corporation.

Many years later go by...

One day, the CEO walked by and caught janitor napping and fired him on the spot. The janitor sleepy eyed, laughed at him. The CEO all high and mighty got very offended and instructed the security guard to remove him from the building. The security guard balked and said he couldn't do that. Upon which the janitor instructed the security card to remove the CEO.
The janitor through planning and diligence had bought up the controlling portion of stock for the corporation.

We are now at that point with china regarding our debt.

[Deja Q]

23. Won't work. China would be hurting its financial self big-time in the process too.

Will they want to take that risk?

[Javaman]

26. Nations only take risks when they have a backup plan.

(Unless of course you are g.w.moron*)

I believe china has one.

They have been quietly making all sorts of diplomatic agreements all over the world for oil and other resources for the past 10 years. Yes, we buy their crappy goods, but so do other nations.

They also have an enormous surplus of cash.

They can piss us off and get pissed off all they want.

Once we are bumped off our pedistal as the financial power in the world, they will step right in. Russia is a shadow of what it once was and India isn't in the business (at least no just yet) of be coming a superpower. However, china has had it's eye on being a major super power since Mao first took over.

[OhioChick]

18. I Agree. n/t

[StClone]

9. Canned Mushrooms, Talapia, Salmon

Watch out. Simple things like sliced canned mushrooms, Frozen "Wild Caught" Salmon and frozen farm-raised Talapia from China can be purchased. I have purchased these in the past and got sick on the mushrooms, the talapia tasted weird and as for the salmon I don't trust it.

[EnricoFermi]

10. All this China stuff

All of these stories about China are an attempt to turn the public against them for our war with Iran with China as their ally. I know it represents real scandals, but you have to wonder where they are coming from and why. I mean, there are an awful lot recently, and they cover everything from food to economic warfare. I sincerely believe there is a bit of a cold war being reinitiated between the United States and China (also Russia). We're going to take Iran, and China and Russia aren't going to be that excited about us controlling such a strategic section of the world.

Mark my words, if we invade Iran, this is World War III (IV), and we are invading Iran next year.

[NYC]

11. The problem lies not with China alone,

but with our American corporations who import from China, and sell us the tainted food and dangerous products.

It's impossible to hate China without hating the American profiteers as well.

So, I don't see how that would work in turning us against China in preparation for a war.

?

[EnricoFermi]

14. If we take Iran

China and Russia will both be enemies. Whether it is just like the Korean and Vietnam wars, or something more, it is in our best interest to not like either nation and to set up a stranglehold on them economically beforehand. It was Bush remember who nearly turned China against us during the first months of his administration. China will not sit back as we take Iran.

[NYC]

15. Do you think

we will invade Iran? I used to think so, but now, I don't know.

[EnricoFermi]

19. Yes

However, there is absolutely no way that the public would go for another war at this time.

There would have to be a major shift in opinion. Iran (or Hezbollah) would need to do something to us and the people would need to believe it. It would have to be fairly major. I'm not saying that the Bush admin would necessarily orchestrate the act, but they would convince the public that Iran was somehow involved, like they have been for supplying the insurgency, even though we misplaced 190,000 weapons.

They've intended on taking both Iraq and Iran since before taking office and this goes back decades. Cheney and Bush both indicated that Iran needed to be resolved before leaving office. Cheney went on to say that he thought no successor (either party) would take care of the matter, and diplomacy seemed to be failing. This indicates that only the military option has really been on the table. So how are they going to sell the war is the question.

Expect a change in opinion over the next few months. They've alluded to this themselves.

[whistle]

33. Bingo, these corporations define the specifications of the products

....they license for manufacture in China, so they know what ingredients and materials go into these items and how they are designed. The whole purpose and strategy of American corporations out-sourcing was to circumvent product safety and inspections in the States and to avoid litigation and product safety law suits when consumers are injured. This certainly makes the people who run these corporations pretty evil, yet because of the international trade laws renders these people unaccountable.

[Deja Q]

22. I doubt it. We'd have to turn against India too.

Isn't India teaming up with the Chinese for more and more products?

[NJCher]

12. pics of Chinese fish farms

Saw some on TV and it was enough to me make me :puke:

They were basically muddy, stagnant ponds and they had plastic bottles and trash floating around. How fish could even live in these cesspools boggles my mind.

It reminded me of a mudhole in an auto salvage yard. That's how safe it looked.



Cher

[NYC]

16. And for a while,

I was eating unidentified shrimp. Never again. I'll wait for country of origin labeling.

[Deja Q]

21. Is this article giving terrorists an opportunity?

Just hide whatever inside some shrimp, and voila.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

31. It shows that the government has not been focussed on threats like this

this has been underfunded. I think Sen Schumer was complaining about this lately

[whistle]

34. How much shrimp does Pakistan produce for export?

[cliss]

29. What are they trying to do,

Kill us???

Because that's what's happening. And let's face it - there are 1.1 billion Chinese, and just 338 million Americans - about 4 to 1. We're outnumbered.:smoke:

[struggle4progress]

30. Budget Slashes Enforcement at FDA, EPA (2005)

Published: 02/22/2005

The White House's fiscal year 2006 budget submission will mean big cuts in food and drug safety inspection as well as state enforcement of environmental protections.

FDA

Amidst mounting concern over the safety of our food supply from threats such as mad cow disease and bioterrorism and after a storm of criticism about FDA�s botched inspection of British flu vaccine facilities, which led to a vaccine shortage this winter, FDA�s budget proposes cuts to nearly all of its inspection programs.

The new FDA budget proposes major cuts in both foreign and domestic inspection programs ~snip~

http://www.ombwatch.org/article/articleview/2691/1/299?TopicID=1