Consumerist
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chinese poison train
Radioactive Chinese Drywall Is Stinking Up U.S. Homes
The government thinks radioactive industrial waste from China is responsible for a recent sulfur stench that has plagued hundreds of Florida homes. Demand for Chinese drywall spiked during the housing boom, but federal regulators believe the drywall contained phosphogypsum, a banned waste byproduct that features prominently in Chinese construction. When used in drywall, the probable carcinogen can corrode "air conditioners, mirrors, electrical outlets and even jewelry." More » -
chinese poison train
Counterfeit Drugs Made In China Relabeled "Made In India"
The Chinese poison train makes plenty of stops outside of the United States. When those stops are in developing countries, bad things can happen. Even worse things happen when dangerous products from China are intentionally mislabeled as being from another country. Say, India. More »
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chinese poison train
KIller Flashlight Requires Goggles And Protective Clothing
Reading the title of this post, you may think, "well, evidently this is some kind of special industrial flashlight. Or maybe an experimental nuclear flashlight. No one would be stupid enough to put a warning like that on a regular consumer flashlight." You should know better. More » -
mattel
Mattel Will Pay $2.3 Million Penalty For All Those Lead Toys
Remember back when lead toys were all the rage? Oh, those dangerous days, when you couldn't lick a Dora the Explorer doll without fear of memory loss! Well, Mattel and the Consumer Prouct Safety Commission (CPSC) have reached an agreement on how much Mattel should pay for importing toys that exceeded U.S. lead safety guidelines, and the amount is $2.3 million. Maybe now the CPSC can use some of that money to grease the DC wheels and get their new chair nominee confirmed.
"Mattel to Pay $2.3 Million Penalty for Toy Hazard" [Bloomberg]
(Photo: IntangibleArts) -
news from the swamp
The FDA Isn't Yet Sure How To Make Our Food Safer But Lots Of Cash Might Help
The FDA is set to receive $3.2 billion next year but they don't yet have a plan to make our food any safer. That doesn't sit well with Congressional appropriator Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), who at a recent hearing told Acting FDA Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein: "A lot sounds to me like buzzwords from a past administration." More » -
chinese poisson train
Use Free Trade To Promote Food Safety
National Journal has an interesting article about the intersection of free trade and globalization with increased food safety abroad and at home. Rather than reject shipments of Chinese fish for being raised in disgusting environments, the US should require trading partners to set and enforce their own strict food safety standards and use globalization as a way to promote better standards worldwide, instead of a race to the bottom. More » -
Is Your Leather Couch Making You Sick? The Chinese Poison Train rides again, this time in the form of chemically treated leather couches that are inflicting burns and rashes on people who sit on them. [Consumer Reports Safety]
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news from the swamp
Obama Announces Plans To Make Food Safe For Human Consumption
President Obama this week declared war on the Chinese Poison Train, announcing that the FDA will receive $1 billion in new funds for modern testing labs and additional food safety inspectors. Inspecting less than 5% of our food processing plants is apparently a "hazard to public health, and "it is unacceptable." So what's really behind the new policy shift? No, it's not those melamine murders or salmonella outbreaks. It's seven-year-old first daughter Sasha Obama! More » -
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whoops
Private Food Safety Inspectors Routinely Give Seal Of Approval To Dangerous Food
Large companies routinely rely on private audits to prove that their food is safe even though private auditors are dangerously incompetent, according to a New York Times investigation. The private auditor who inspected the Peanut Corporation of America plant responsible for unleashing the massive salmonella contamination was trained to audit bakeries and repeatedly gave the plant a "SUPERIOR" rating, partly because he "never thought that [salmonella] would survive in the peanut butter type environment." More » -
omgwtf
Chinese Dairy Companies Apologize For Melamine Scandal Via Text Message
Twenty-two dairy companies sent out a text message to millions of Chinese consumers last week to apologize for selling tainted milk products. According to the BBC, it read, "We are deeply sorry for the harm caused to the children and the society. We sincerely apologise for that and we beg your forgiveness." More » -
chinese poison train
Chinese Poison Drywall Creates Sulfuric Acid Inside Homes
You know what would make for some good drywall? The waste materials from scrubbers on coal-fired power plants. That's apparently what some Chinese manufacturers thought during the housing boom. When they leak and combine with the moisture on AC coils, the result is sulfuric acid, according to complaints by some Floridian homeowners. The acid dissolves the coils on the AC units and in some cases the units fail. Imagine what it does to your lungs.
Drywall complaints go up [news-press] (Thanks to Richard!) (Photo: The County Clerk)
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toy safety
New Toy Safety Rule Has Collateral Damage: Handmade Toy Manufacturers
Thanks to big companies like Mattel, this may be the last Christmas season for a lot of handmade or custom toys from small businesses. More » -
lead
Some Outsourced Dental Implants Test Positive For Lead
If you're getting dental implant work done, you may want to ask if they outsource to other countries. A KPHO investigation bought 13 crowns from labs in China, Thailand and the US. Ten of them came back positive for lead, with levels from 110 parts per million to 240 parts per million. The problem may be from the surface stain used to whiten and brighten the teeth. Throughout history, lead has been used in paints because it's bright, cheap, and highly durable.
Some Dental Work May Contain Lead, Tests Show [KPHO] (Thanks to Nicole!) (Photo: dental ben)
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Milk Powder
10,000 Babies May Have Consumed Poison Milk
Remember melamine, last year's pet-killing poison? It's back with a vengeance, and this year it wants Chinese babies. As many as 10,000 may have consumed melamine-laced milk powder, according to authorities. Even worse, a New Zealand company detected the poison weeks ago but couldn't convince local officials to issue a recall. Only after New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark demanded action did the Chinese recall the death milk. More » -
chinese poison train
Mattel's Toy Blood Pressure Cuff's Paint Was About 5% Lead
Just how much lead was in that toy blood pressure cuff Mattel were so reluctant to recall back in February? The one they said "me federal regulations and international consumer product safety standards?" Well, a reader's scientist friend working in lab tested it on the equipment there. According to his results, the amount of lead in the paint was 4-5% lead by weight. "For reference," he writes, "U.S. EPA HUD guidelines set the action limit for paint at 0.5% lead by weight. Any level over 0.5% is considered to be contaminated...Lead paint used on houses 50 years ago had lead content of 2-15%." -
class actions
Keep Your Eye On $24 Million Recalled Pet Food Class Action
If you bought, or your pet ate, pet food recalled after March 17, 2007, keep tabs on this $24 million settlement. This would be the pet food purposely cut with melamine, a (poisonous) byproduct of coal production, because it made the food look it was higher in protein and was cheaper than actual protein. The case is called Re: Pet Food Products Liability Litigation, MDL Docket No. 1850, Civil Action No. 07-2867 (NLH). The final hearing is on October 14, 2008. The final date for submitting a claim form will be November 24, 2008. To see if you're eligible, check the list of recalled products affected by the settlement (PDF). Food by Nestle-Purina, Royal Canin, Sierra Pet products, Chenangono Valley Pet Food, CJ Foods, Diamond Pet Food, Hill's, American Nutrition, and Del Monte are on the list. Claim forms and more can be found at PetFoodSettlement.com.
PREVIOUSLY: Pet Food Companies Agree To $24 Million Settlement Over Killer Pet Food
(Photo: Ariana Lindquist) -
tainted
FDA Believes Heparin Contamination Was Intentional
The New York Times reports that the FDA is now working under the assumption that the deadly contamination of heparin was intentional. In her prepared testimony before a congressional subcommittee, Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation said,FDA's working hypothesis is that this was intentional contamination, but this has not been proven.
More details, inside... More » -
product safety
Senate Votes For Safer Products, Approves Consumer Product Safety Commission Overhaul
The Senate finally voted last week to send the ailing Consumer Product Safety Commission desperately needed funds, staff, and powers. The overdue reform bill passed with bipartisan support on a 79-13 vote. More »
chinese poison train
New York, 12:44 PM
Sun Jul 5
6 posts in the last 24 hours
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