1 million lbs. of suspect Chinese seafood in U.S.

[Contrary1]

Experts question FDA’s ability to police safety of imported food

"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..."

More: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20163930/

[Bluebear]

1. Bush slowly poisoning American public: FDA food safety inspections down 47%

WASHINGTON - The federal agency that's been front and center in warning the public about tainted spinach and contaminated peanut butter is conducting just half the food safety inspections it did three years ago.

The cuts by the Food and Drug Administration come despite a barrage of high-profile food recalls.

"We have a food safety crisis on the horizon," said Michael Doyle, director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia.

Between 2003 and 2006, FDA food safety inspections dropped 47 percent, according to a database analysis of federal records by The Associated Press.

That's not all that's dropping at the FDA in terms of food safety. The analysis also shows:

-There are 12 percent fewer FDA employees in field offices who concentrate on food issues.

-Safety tests for U.S.-produced food have dropped nearly 75 percent, from 9,748 in 2003 to 2,455 last year, according to the agency's own statistics.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/853479/fda_food_safety_inspections_languish/index.html

[Contrary1]

2. I posted this all of 10 minutes ago...

The "Click for related content" stories have changed. There was a link to a story about Bush cutting inspectors. It's gone now. Looks like MSNBC is controlled too.

[Bluebear]

3. Good, I am glad to oblige with a better link :)

[Old and In the Way]

4. Gotta love that small government concept Republicans have been

espousing all these years. Because business cares more about our health than their profits. We may not drown in Grover Norquist's bathtub, but we might die of acute food poisoning in our beds.

[izzie]

5. Wonder where the WH is getting its food from?

Un-safe food and I guess we will be back to those bad births with bad drugs soon. Who is in charge at these agencies any how? Are they also these hacks Bush has found under rocks some place?

[Contrary1]

6. Kicking for the seafood lovers. n/t

[Bluebear]

7. Another kick

[progressoid]

8. Mmm...McFish

[bamacrat]

9. IF the US boycotted China would that not hurt them almost as bad as it would us?

We refuse to deal with Cuba and they are poor and we are not. Why would it not be the same with China? We have some 1.33 Trillion dollars invested in China, does anyone know how much they have in us?

[beastieboy]

13. Like Joe Biden said "they have the mortgage on our house"

So they have the upper hand.

[porphyrian]

10. I put the seeds from a cantelope in a bucket of dirt and they grew.

Now, there's about ten blossoms flowering on the vines, which will eventually be cantelopes themselves. Anyone want some cantelope?

[Disturbed]

11. The Busholini Regime is a failure on so many levels.

It is difficult to keep up with. Is their plan to destroy the Govt. & Amerika or are they merely incompetent?

[porphyrian]

12. Will we live long enough to learn the answer?

It's probably best if we don't count on it and start taking care of ourselves and each other.

[loudsue]

14. I get so sick of COMMUNIST Chinese politicians telling the U.S.

to look the other way while they're trying to poison us.

<snip>

"Chinese officials have promised to inspect fish farms closely for the use of drugs and chemicals, even as they called the FDA’s testing mandate illegal under world trade rules."

If, indeed, the FDA's testing to protect American citizens is ILLEGAL under the world trade rules, then the "world trade" needs to be OUTLAWED. We can trade just fine and dandy without any friggin' trade agreements. We need to repeal ALL of those friggin' NAFTA, CAFTA, etc. trade agreeements.... YESTERDAY!!!

:kick::kick::kick: