How did these Chinese products and ingredients get past the FDA?

[Fire Walk With Me]

Who signed off on this? Is it due to their having bought up so much of us, and this is part of the deal?

Doesn't the FDA test things so that these sorts of problems do not occur?

It's about the world economy.

[debbierlus]

1. The FDA is just like FEMA

Nothing but planted top officials who specialize in New Speak, not safety.

[napi21]

2. the FDA doesn't test everything that comes into the US.

Thhye don't have the personnel to do that, and I doubt any number of people would be able to do that either.

The testing process is mostly up to the companies who buy the products. Some do a GREAT job, and some just don't GAS!

The amount of products that come into this country are far too many for any one agency to test. They do it by % I believe, and probably do as many as they can.

[Fire Walk With Me]

3. True. We need more agencies like Consumer Reports.

Freedom is defending ourselves; it's obvious that the government won't.

[aquart]

5. Bought the administration line hook line and sinker, I see. Buyer beware.

What is the job of government if it is NOT the protection of its citizens?

Testing products that the American people will use feels too much like women's work for this manly, virile administration. If you can't shoot it, they don't bother with it.

But this IS the vital job of government.

[napi21]

8. NO I didn't buy the admin. story. The FDA COULDN'T test

EVERYTHING and has never been expected to do so either!

Every business that deals in the mfgg. of consumables MUST test it's products, and the FDA performs surprise inspections of the facilities to check their equipment, the processes and their record keeping. The problem I see recently is that this Admin. has cut back on the budgets of all Depts. so they are forced to try to do their job with less people at a time when even more inspections are necessary!

THAT, coupled with this admins unwillingness to penalize any business for wrongdoing is destroying our systems.

[realisticphish]

4. same problem as with ports, really

why can't customs inspect everything? Because it's ludicrous to expect them to open every single one of the millions of containers that come into the us. Trade would come to a standstill, assuming they even had the manpower.

[Fire Walk With Me]

7. IIRC, in Hong Kong, they open every single item coming in through the ports.

Every single item. We could do that too if we actually wanted to do so.

[Rosemary2205]

6. less than 1% of food products coming from China are tested.

and 50% of what's tested is sent back.

No link saved but that came from the BBC website.


They also mentioned in the 1980's chinese fireworks were a big problem and Congress passed laws requiring importers to put their own employees into the chinese factories to assure standards and the importers could be held legally and financially liable for quality problems. The chinese were very resistant at first but once the US guidelines and the reasons for them were published in chinese then it got easier. Now over 90% of importers are with the program and there's no longer a safety problem with chinese firworks.

I believe something similar to this could work with other imported products. If Congress were to change the laws making the importer and distributors legally and financially liable for safety problems then US companies would very quickly figure out a way to get Chinese factories straightened out. -- IMHO these corporations that financially benefit so much from cheap chinese good SHOULD have the liability.