China Tainted Milk Problem Kept Secret For Months (HuffPost)

[eppur_se_muova]

BEIJING — Chinese authorities secretly investigated a dairy for nearly a year before announcing the company had been producing milk tainted with an industrial chemical, reflecting the country's unease with the transparency needed to restore public confidence in food safety.

The Shanghai dairy had been part of one of China's worst food safety crises, the 2008 tainted milk scandal in which six children died and more than 300,000 fell sick after drinking baby formula contaminated with an industrial chemical. Dairy and local officials were accused of keeping the scandal quiet until after the Beijing Olympics.

The government promised sweeping changes and more openness after the milk powder deaths became public, but a city official on Thursday said that authorities knew about the latest contamination in Shanghai Panda Dairy Co. products last February – and then kept it quiet until a vague announcement on New Year's Eve.

"We paid a very high price back in 2008 for the milk powder scandal, but now it seems the authorities still haven't learned their lesson from it," said Wang Xixin, a Peking University law professor.
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more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/07/china-tainted-milk-kept-s_n_414907.html

[gateley]

1. They can't be trusted on anything! No lead in the toys - really! So what do we fine?

lead! And what was that stuff in the pet food? My cat's raw rabbit food comes from China (American company, they source their rabbits there). I've been back and forth with them on this and they swear that the rabbit is safe and the factory is under strict supervision. I believe the company, I don't believe the Chinese. They're like BP - say you're doing (or not) doing something and hope that you don't get caught; when you do, promise you'll cease and continue on as before.

We have to stop this!

[glinda]

2. We had ten pets that ate poisoned pet food. Believe me when I say that even

buying so-called high end or natural guarantees nothing if any ingredients come from China.
America is stupid for not growing, selling and manufacturing their own ingredients/food.
Oh and the ingredients were melamine and rat poison.

[snagglepuss]

3. I was looking for sunflower seeds that didn't come from China. I finally went to

Whole Foods and the manager told me that almost all the world's supply of sunflower seeds come from China. Most apple juice comes from China which is incomprehensible. The list is endless.

[gateley]

6. Wow. Is there ANYTHING we don't get from China? Or, is there ANYTHING we

still grow, produce, manufacture HERE?

[glinda]

7. We most certainly can do sunflower seeds and apple juice!

Also the Full Circle so called natural brand gets stuff from overseas also. They don't have to claim it on their packaging just where it is distributed from.

[gateley]

8. Full Circle -- I'll remember that, thanks. In Washington State we used to grow

the most wonderful Red Delicious apples. I remember them from when I was young and they were heavenly. I recently red an article of how they tweaked them in order to be able to grow them more cheaply (of course), and that explains why they're now mushy and meh. So we do enough crap to our stuff here for the Love of Money, but I'm not sure we cut things with poison and whatever.

It's so scary!

[gateley]

5. That's right! It's the melamine I couldn't remember. I'm trying to switch to

another brand that's made in America and has a good rep (I feed her their raw venison). Just this reminder has prodded me to make sure I get on the phone tomorrow and special order it.

And I'm sure it's not just pet food they try to make on the cheap. All for the love of the almighty dollar. :grr:

How are your pets? I'm so sorry that happened!

[glinda]

9. Our little dog finally died recently. Our cat is on daily IV's but hangin in kind of, our

other dogs grew massive tumors and have finicky bladders/kidneys. So considering we are in debt from all of this but yet still have a home, I guess okay. Barely.
Just found out they might actually settle and pay out from the lawsuit soon. We have claims in and can seriously use the money for Vet bills.

[gateley]

11. Oh my God! I'm so sorry! Who's paying -- the individual companies? I can't

imagine China forking over any money for this.

[glinda]

10. What is the brand?

[gateley]

12. The brand that uses China-sourced rabbits is Nature's Variety - their Instinct

raw rabbit (I only feed my cat raw). The company I'd feel better about is Primal. She eats their venison and loves it, and they seem less "huge" than Nature's Variety. There are some local, small companies that tell you where they source their turkeys, chickens, etc and when I went to the links of those farms, I was further reassured. I have to be extra careful with her because of the raw, and even NOT raw I wouldn't want her food to contain ingredients from China -- but it's so hard to know!

Again, I'm so so sorry about your pets -- I'm just so sad for you. :hug:

[Mimosa]

4. And our buddies there make everythng we use or wear...

And they finance our wars to obtain control of the rare earths and minerals in the mountains of Afghanistan.

They help finance our empire. Why should we complain? ;)