Avoiding Chinese food products nearly impossible (CNN) {50% of US apple juice?}

[eppur_se_muova]

By Jennifer Pifer
CNN

(CNN) -- Few people read labels as closely as Sara Bongiorni. For a year, Bongiorni and her young family tried to go without buying anything produced in China. No shoes, no toys, not even mousetraps.

The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, mother of three wasn't trying to make a political statement. She just wanted to see if it was possible to remove "Made in China" products from her home.

"It was a way to try to understand in a very real and personal way my own family's connections to this big fuzzy concept of the global economy, and specifically to China," she told CNN.
***
Experts say that is pretty much impossible. You can lower your chances of eating foods with Chinese products by staying away from all processed foods and eating fresh "whole foods," such as fruits and vegetables. Many grocery stores are beginning to label where their fruits and vegetables are grown.

Eden Foods, a provider of organic food in the United States, says the number of calls from customers asking for country of origin information has doubled in the past few months. Tonya Martin, a spokeswoman for Eden Foods, says the company foresees a day when it will change labels to indicate where each ingredient in a product comes from.
***
more: http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/wayoflife/07/26/china.products/index.html

[Atman]

1. So, uh...don't drink apple juice.

I don't.

I've also thrown out anything with CHINA on the label.

.

[Rydz777]

15. I don't drink it either - just a lot of empty calories. But it really

riles me that our country which has grown a profusion of apples since before its founding is now importing apple juice from China. Excuse me while I go and check the label on my bottled water.

[PetrusMonsFormicarum]

2. Buy Local!

buying local goods, produce, etc. keeps money in YOUR OWN COMMUNITY! All of this recent horror involving Chinese imports IS the hidden cost on so many artificially cheap convenience items.

[porphyrian]

3. Not to excuse lax Chinese inspections...

...but isn't there some kind of FDA inspection of imports on our end? And wouldn't these be more important if we're in such dire danger of terror attack that the fucking Homeland Security branch of government was created?

Edit: stupid omission, stupider typo, grammatitarded

[LiberalFighter]

5. Less than 10% inspection

[porphyrian]

10. That figures. I'm sure no one ever takes money to sign off on things without inspecting them, either

...

[theoldman]

4. Since my wife is Chinese we eat Chinese food almost every

day and so do our Chinese friends. I haven't seen anyone drop dead yet. Think I will enjoy a bottle of Chinese beer after I post this message.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

6. It has nothing to do with Chinese food.

It has to do with the fact that most of our food products are produced in China. I like Chinese food. I go to PF Chang a lot. Nothing to do with Chinese food. However, everything from peanut butter, to soups, to juice, to our bread, to everything, has products manufactured in China in it. China is not the U.S., so it does not answer to us, the citizens of this country. Only the FDA answers to us. I have nothing against China, but we need to bring manufacturing of our food back where it belongs: HERE.

[brentspeak]

7. What's PF Chang? Is that a Chinese Food chain?

There's so many mom-and-pop Chinese restaurants, I've always wondered why there's no kind of Chinese food franchise.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

14. It's a chain Chinese restaurant - somewhat expensive. Sort of gourmet Chinese. :-)

[pitohui]

20. only if by "gourmet" you mean "shitty"

p.f. chang has got to be the worst restaurant evah

and people laugh at olive garden????

[Sarah Ibarruri]

21. :-) Well, all restaurant food is made by the Sysco corp. anyway nt

[eppur_se_muova]

24. Too close to the truth for comfort.

I picture a huge machine oozing goo into buckets on an assembly line ... someone throws a switch from "Chinese" to "Mexican" to "Homestyle" and the appropriate labels get slapped in place, with no other visible change ...

[Sarah Ibarruri]

25. That's pretty much the way it is, even with good restaurants.....

Unless you insist on going to the kitchen and sitting there while they prepare your food, you won't know if it's Sysco Slop or not.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

23. It's a "China Bistro"

:rofl:

[NewJeffCT]

12. there are quite a few Chinese out there, it seems

about 1 person in every 5 in the world. But, China has plenty of food problems & scares every year.

BTW, my wife is Chinese, too.

A major problem, I think, is the FDA on our end.

[OnceUponTimeOnTheNet]

8. What's made in China, Stays in China. nt

[kestrel91316]

9. Who NEEDS apple juice?? I just eat APPLES. I guess I'm weird.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

11. So what's wrong with the apple juice?

Other than being produced in China?

Has there been evidence that Chinese produced apple juice is tainted?

[pitohui]

19. all juice (other than tomato) is high glycemic index & a risk factor 6 metabolic syndrome/diabetes

don't drink juice, drink water

juice is terrible for your health, it's soda in a more expensive package

[proud patriot]

13. My Baby Apple Tree is 7 years old this year

It's the first year I've allowed the apples to grow on it .

They are getting so big :D :woohoo:

My peach Tree is the same age and is covered the fruit is just
started to turn peachy :bounce: :woohoo: :bounce:

I'm so glad I garden . In fact I'm making zucunni bread tonight.

:hi:

[sarcasmo]

16. When did the Chinese start producing our food products?

I never realized how much more than just materialistic crap they send us.

[SoCalDem]

17. Tell the supermarket manager that your "group" will no longer

buy CHINESE products.. have a few friends say the same to their grocers..

Plant the seeds, folks..

grocers want you to buy their stuff..

and once you say it..DO it!!

make iced tea, buy a Brita pitcher..drink water


apple juice is not all that good for kids anyway..lots of unnecessary sugar..

Buy a juicer and make your own juices :)

[KoKo]

18. Why would Chna need to export Apple juice to America? Aren't there millions there who might

want to drink the juice from their own trees? Where does the juice our own Apples make go? Are we unfairly importing Chinese Apple juice to keep the prices for our OWN Apple juice down for the growers here?

That's the problem with the China imports. They cut our prices down for our own growers of food products.. Same with the CAFTA deal...we will be driving our own growers out of business with cheap imports that dive down prices making farmers sell out to developers of their land for cheap.

I thought China had trouble feeding it's OWN people...so what are we sending them in exchange for their food products. They already dump, tools, appliances, tons of clothes, toys and everything else one can imagine. They even make our American Flags!

[shanti]

22. ramen from the USA!

I found some! it specifically says "made proudly in the usa". i was shocked. if you eat ramen, and many do, the brand name is "snack noodles".