That certified organic edamame you bought from the local supermarket may have been made and packaged in China. The exporting juggernaut is quickly and quietly muscling in on the thriving global trade in certified organic products. Organic exports from China are certified by private companies and carry the official USDA organic logo. The logo, however, does not guarantee that products are truly organic:
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Reporter Arrested For Faking Cardboard Bun Story
By 7.19.07
Chinese authorities have arrested a Beijing TV reporter for “faking” the cardboard bun story, according to the AP. The report by Beijing TV claimed that an unlicensed snack vendor had been serving buns filled with cardboard softened with caustic soda and flavored with pork.
Starbucks Kicked Out Of China's Forbidden City
By 7.16.07
Starbucks has been kicked out of China’s Forbidden City, according to the Seattle P-I, following months of controversy over remarks made by a Chinese State TV news anchor. According to the anchor having a Starbucks in the Forbidden City, “undermined the Forbidden City’s solemnity and trampled over Chinese culture.”
Cardboard A Main Ingredient In One Chinese Food
By 7.12.07
The AP reports that Chinese State TV has uncovered a “steamed bun” making operation in one Beijing neighborhood that uses pieces of cardboard collected from the street and softened with caustic soda as the main ingredient. From the AP:
The hidden camera follows the man, whose face is not shown, into a ramshackle building where steamers are filled with the fluffy white buns, traditionally stuffed with minced pork.
By 7.10.07
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China executes former food and drug regulator for taking bribes in return for giving the thumbs up to unsafe medicine, a punishment akin to getting pulled over and shot in the head for breaking the speed limit while keeping up with everyone else on the highway. [NYT]
Can China Tame The Chinese Poison Train?
By 7.8.07
Both The Washington Post and The New York Times have done a magnificent job examining the complex nature of the Chinese Poison Train, but the Times finally cut to the chase and asked the million-dollar question: can China tame the Chinese Poison Train? The solution requires China to reform an ailing regulatory regime.
As many as 17 bureaucracies have overlapping responsibilities in just the food and drug sphere, and they jealously guard their power. The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce, and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine have all vied for monitoring roles.
Death Sentence For Corrupt Chinese Drug Official
By 7.6.07
China has sentenced a high ranking official to death on charges of corruption, reports the New York Times. Cao Wenzhuang is accused of accepting over $300,000 in bribes from pharmacutical companies in exchange for approving bogus drugs. Mr.Cao is the second Chinese offical to be sentenced to death for corruption in less than 2 months.
"Veggie Booty's" Salmonella Seasoning Contains Contaminated Ingredients From China
By 7.5.07
Robert’s American has “pinpointed” the source of the salmonella ingredients: China. According to the company, the seasoning for Veggie Booty and the recently-added-to-the-recall snack “Super Veggie Tings Crunchy Corn Sticks” is made from ingredients that are primarily imported from China.
U.S. Companies Start Testing, Screening Chinese Products
By 7.1.07
U.S. companies are developing new safety measures in response to the continued rumbling of the Chinese Poison Train. The measures, along with renewed federal interest in food safety, suggest that we may be in the midst of a food safety revolution similar to the one that reformed the meatpacking industry after the publication of Upton Sinclaire’s “The Jungle.”
For the companies, the problem is two-fold: figuring out exactly what to test for and maintaining control over their network of suppliers, even as they turn to China for vast quantities of imports at lower prices.
Three companies are trying three different strategies to cope with the uncertain quality of China’s exports:
FDA Bans Import Of Chinese Seafood
By 6.29.07
The FDA is detaining all farm-raised catfish, basa, shrimp, dace, and eel from China over concerns that the fish may be on drugs. Tests since last October repeatedly revealed the presence nitrofuran, malachite green, and gentian violet – antibiotics that are not approved for human consumption in the United States. Though no general recall has been issued, the “FDA is concerned about long term exposure as well as the possible development of antibiotic resistance.” Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Wang Xinpei responded in classic form, saying:
China Shuts Down 180 Factories Using Illegal Chemicals In Food
By 6.27.07
Formaldehyde, illegal dyes, and industrial wax were found being used to make candy, pickles, crackers and seafood, it said, citing Han Yi, an official with the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, which is responsible for food safety.
New York Times Reporter Detained By "Thomas The Tank Engine" Toy Factory
By 6.26.07
David Barboza, a New York Times business reporter based in China, stopped by the RC2 corporation’s factory in Dongguan, China to investigate the recent recall of 1.5 million wooden Thomas & Friends toys. He was confronted, accused of trespassing and detained for several hours. Eventually, the police recommended that he write out a confession.
At Least 450,000 Imported Chinese Tires Missing Important Safety Feature
By 6.26.07
An importer of tires based in New Jersey is asking the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for help recalling 450,000 imported light truck tires from China, according to CNN Money. The tires are the focus of a lawsuit involving a fatal crash “in which two construction workers were killed and a third was severely injured when a van rolled over,” according to the New York Times. The lawyer representing the lawsuit claims that the company only came forward after being named in the suit. From CNN Money:
The tires, made by Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co., have an insufficient or missing gum strip, a safety feature that helps prevent the tires from separating, the lawyers and a consumers’ group said in a statement. The group, Safety Research & Strategies, is urging retailers and wholesalers to stop selling the tires.
The importer says the tires were sold under the names Westlake, Telluride Compass and YKS.
Every Toy Recalled In The U.S. Shares The Same Label: Made In China
By 6.19.07
The New York Times is reporting that China is responsible for each and every one of the 24 toy recalls issued this year. Chinese manufactures supply up to 80% of the toys sold on the U.S. market. A new record was even set last year after the CPSC yanked 467 Chinese products off U.S. shelves.
China’s own government auditing agency reported last month that 20 percent of the toys made and sold in China had safety hazards such as small parts that could be swallowed or sharp edges that could cut a child, according to a report in China Daily. Officials in China, of course, are fighting back, insisting that its food and other exports are safe and valuable, that new regulations are being put into place and that problem goods account for a tiny portion of all exports.
We wonder if the office of some Chinese official has a framed fortune reading: You shall tell many lies today. Lucky Numbers: 24 80 467 20. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
1.5 Million Thomas & Friends Toys Recalled Due To Lead Paint From China
By 6.13.07
Way to go, China! You’ve turned our “Chinese Poison Train” into something literal. Good job!
China Rejects, Destroys Unsafe Food From The United States
By 6.10.07
China has rejected and destroyed three shipments from the United States that failed to meet China’s notoriously strict food safety standards. China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ) objected to the shipments, which contained bee pollen, health capsules, and Sun-Maid Golden Raisins:
“The products failed to meet the sanitary standards of China,” the agency said in a brief notice posted on its Web site. No details were given on when or how the inspections were conducted.
We will be so bold as to suggest that the State Department respond to Beijing with the following: Kettle, this is Pot. You’re black. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
China: Consuming Low Levels Of Poison "Not Harmful"
By 6.3.07
China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine thinks the FDA overreacted by advising consumers to discard all toothpaste made in China:
So far we have not received any report of death resulting from using the toothpaste. The U.S. handling (of this case) is neither scientific nor responsible.
The FDA issued its warning after seizing several shipments of Chinese toothpaste containing diethylene glycol, a poison used in paint and antifreeze. 100 Panamanians died last year after consuming cough syrup made with diethylene glycol. According to Chinese logic, poison in toothpaste isn’t as deadly as poison in cough syrup. Besides, wasn’t it Confucius who said: “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” Either him or Nietzsche. We always confuse those two. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
