This year’s Detroit Auto show was apparently much more subdued than in previous years. Automakers have scaled back, allowing room for Chinese car companies to peddle their wares. Consumer Reports says that the quality of the vehicles, and of the marketing material, has improved — sort of.
china
Chinese Dairy Companies Apologize For Melamine Scandal Via Text Message
By 1.9.09
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.”
Fisher-Price Kiddie Camera Comes With Fun And A Computer Virus
By 1.3.09
Jeff says his kid’s new toy, a working camera from Fisher-Price, tried to give his computer a virus when he plugged it in!
If You Can't Find That DVD Set Anywhere Else, Maybe It's Pirated
By 1.2.09
Phil found out that you don’t order DVDs from websites that look like this, or that offer sets that aren’t for sale elsehwere. Now his wife is the proud owner of some homemade discs with low-quality TV footage of the series and a “TBS” bug in the corner.
By 12.31.08
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Chairwoman of Chinese dairy company pleads guilty in melamine case, may face death penalty. [Reuters]
FDA Detains All China Milk Products
By 11.13.08
Two months after vast quantities of milk from China were found to contain melamine, sickening 53,000 children and sending 13,000 to hospital, the FDA announced all Chinese milk imports will be stopped at the border until they’re proven melamin-free.. While it’s taken them a while to do this, banning entire categories of products from specific countries is a rare move, and it will have long-lasting impact. “It’s impossible to get off the alert list,” said Benjamin England, a former FDA lawyer. Unscrupulous food makers adulterate products with melamine because they fool testing equipment to make the product look high in protein. In spring ’07, about two dozen pets died after eating pet food tainted with melamine.
China Announces $586 Billion Stimulus Plan
By 11.10.08
China will spend $586 billion in its own economic stimulus plan. [NYT]
By 9.26.08
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FDA warns consumers not to drink instant coffee made in China because it may be tainted with melamine. They specifically mention one brand, the hilariously-unappetizing-souding Mr. Brown. [MSNBC]
By 9.24.08
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Um, don’t eat those “White Rabbit” candies, they’ve got the melamine. [Gothamist]
Did China Cover Up The Melamine Milk Scandal Because Of The Olympics?
By 9.23.08
The New York Times says that China’s state-controlled media has admitted that “one of China’s biggest dairy producers received consumer complaints about its baby milk formula as early as December 2007 — much earlier than previously thought and nine months before the producer ordered a nationwide recall because of concerns that the formula had been adulterated with a toxic industrial chemical.”
Melamine Tainted Dairy Products Sicken 53,000 Children, Nearly 13,000 Hospitalized
By 9.22.08
China’s chief quality supervisor was replaced today as the total number of children sickened from dairy products tainted with melamine (the same substance that was found in contaminated pet food last year) grew to 53,000. Nearly 13,000 children have been hospitalized and 4 have died. Products manufactured by 22 companies were found to contain melamine, says Bloomberg.
By 9.19.08
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Morgan Stanley might sell a 49% share of itself to a Chinese government controlled fund, says Bloomberg. [Bloomberg]
Coca-Cola's Probably Regretting Sponsoring Argentina's Women's Soccer Team
By 8.21.08
Pictured above are members of Argentina’s olympic soccer team, celebrating their trip to the Olympics in Beijing. Although they’re not the first Olympic team to strike this tasteless pose, they are the first to do so while wearing their corporate sponsor’s name on their jerseys.
Government To Airlines: Improve Customer Service Or Else
By 8.3.08
The government is fed up with airlines whose crappy service and delayed flights incite passenger revolts. According to officials, “we will severely punish airlines which experience aircraft occupations and other incidents as a result of service reasons which originate with the airline.” Sounds great, right?
Sweatshop In Queens Produced Clothes For Macy's, the Gap, Banana Republic, Urban Apparel, and Victoria's Secret
By 7.24.08
New York state labor officials are bringing one of their largest cases ever against Jin Shun, a clothing factory in Queens, New York that employed Chinese immigrants. Inspectors say the company
- cheated its workers out of more than $5 million in pay;
- instructed workers to lie to state inspectors;
- required 6 and 7-day workweeks, sometimes for up to 120 days at a time;
- didn’t pay overtime or minimum wage;
- kept two sets of timecards to fake-out inspectors.
Macy’s says they’re “very concerned” about the case and are investigating it, the Gap says they’re cooperating with authorities, and Victoria’s Secret says they have a “zero tolerance policy” for factories that are unwilling to work with them to achieve compliance—all of which makes us wonder whether any of these companies ever investigated the factory personally. (It’s not like it was in some remote part of China.)
Keep Your Eye On $24 Million Recalled Pet Food Class Action
By 7.10.08
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.
Winco Frozen Fish: The Big U.S. Flag Tells You It's Made In China!
By 6.15.08
A reader in Redding, California was shopping at the local Winco and saw this ultra-patriotic bag of frozen tilapia—if it were any prouder to be an American it would have to start singing country music. But when glugory turned the bag over, the phrase “Product of China” was stamped across the bottom. “So now these bastards are lulling you into a false sense of patriotism in order to sell their commie fish,” writes glugory. That might be overstating it a bit, but we’re fans of overstating things here at Consumerist, so… yeah! Damned commie fish! Remember: never trust packaging. It’s just marketing you can hold.
