Unsafe to eat

editorial ^ | 4/20/07 | courier

[Flavius]

Food inspectors have traced to China a contaminated ingredient in pet food that has killed an unknown number of animals. Wheat gluten is a common ingredient in pet food, cereal and pasta. The discovery of batches tainted with a pesticide illegal in the US raises questions about China's growing role in the international agricultural market. In 2006, 12 percent of world fruit and vegetable exports came from China, and gluten is not the first product to raise eyebrows. While the US inspects only a small fraction of imports, it rejected more than 200 Chinese shipments last year; other poisonous discoveries over the years include spinach, turbot, honey and more, all infected with chemicals better suited for industrial landfills. China has one of the highest rates of chemical fertilizer use in the world, and the onus is now on buyers to detect any problems. Chinese consumers have also suffered from contaminated food products, including the death of infants fed with counterfeit formula. Tainted food is tough to hide for long and triggers panic, reducing trade and productivity. China's inability to enforce consistent health codes on its producers endangers unwitting consumers worldwide and its own quest for prosperity. – YaleGlobal

[djf]

What gets me about this is all them suckers who spent big bucks buying high priced pet food like the Iams stuff, only to find out is was the same stuff as the cheap crap.

My loving mutt recently passed at 16. (Max, I miss ya, ya stinkin fool!)

While he was around, he got the best $5.99 40lb bags of stuff I could find.

[HossB86]

And to think: the United States used to feed the world. Now, we pay farmers to NOT grow food. We could be self-sufficient and not have to worry so much about all this. We could except for Globalism.

Hoss

[SWAMPSNIPER]

I just read the label on my little jar of garlic powder, yep, made in China.

[Old_Mil]

Terrifying as the tainted pet food scandal has been for those who love their animals, there's an even more frightening fact to consider: China also exports food consumed by human beings. This week it's your dog; next week it could be you, or your child.

We don't want to sound like scaremongers, but there is good reason for concern when it comes to Chinese food imports.

Thing is, you aren't being scaremongers. There have already been several children who have developed lead poisoning after swallowing Chinese trinkets that were made out of solid lead. Responsible consumers don't buy products from China. Yes it's difficult in the marketplace we face today, still many times it's better to do without than to buy a product that's directly harmful.

[syriacus]

A “rubber ducky” I bought for my grandson smelled strongly of pesticide when I removed it from the package. It was made in China.

[tkathy]

Sue the hell out of Walmart.

I suspect that it’s small companies that will go out of business over this, because Walmart types will go after our own small businesses.

[syriacus]

I collect used pottery from thrift stores. I don’t buy dishes made in China.

[sittnick]

Responsible consumers don't buy products from China.

I try, but it is impossible (unless you truly live an Amish lifestyle). We will pay double for non-Chinese fish, but not everyone can afford to do that.

That Taiwanese modem? Power supply made in Red China.

A computer made with legacy American brands? Intel brand motherboard made in Red China.

In an entire children's shoe store, ALL of the shoes (including the expensive ones) made in Red China. If you are lucky you might find a pair from Brazil, S. Korea or Spain.

Don't think those Chevy engines are the first Red Chinese components put into cars. The stuff is all over the place, just like it is in much of the pet food.

To be sure, we try to avoid buy Red Chinese (or do without when possible, including going to thrift stores for children's shoes), but for many true necessities it is no longer possible, especially if you include components.

[backhoe]

Added to:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=petfood

[Westlander]

Wally World = China World.

[kittymyrib]

As consumers, we should DEMAND that the country of origin be put on the label of everything we buy. This was supposed to be done years ago, but the food companies and produce importers are not obeying the law. They need to be shut down if they can’t follow US law and allow the consumer to protect the health of their family.

[Westlander]

Buy Red Wing Shoes.

[McGavin999]

I resent the fact that you can’t find out where a product was produced. You buy something assuming it is safe and produced in America only to find out some of the components or ingredients are Chinese.

[raybbr]

My father-in-law fed our dog Ol’ Roy from Walmart. When he brought her back from hunting three months later her hair was falling out. We put her back on Eukanuba and she was back to normal in one week.

[raybbr]

We can thank globalist “free trade” for the poisonings. Bypassing the controls we have here is goog for the stockholder, right? So if they settle a few lawsuits they are still ahead of the game financially.

[djf]

Mine had some skin problems for a while. I started giving him xtra Vit C and fish oil, and it cleared it up in no time. Still not sure what got him, he just got real lethargic one night and died the next morning. But he was 16, and the vet commended me that he was very healthy, and sent me a card after he died.

I was pretty broken about it. He was my housemate after my wife died.

[LZ_Bayonet]

"I resent the fact that you can’t find out where a product was produced. You buy something assuming it is safe and produced in America only to find out some of the components or ingredients are Chinese."

I resent the fact that I read a label on a bottle of apple juice that made it sound like the apples had been grown in the heart of America, picked by the most careful of Americans, and processed by grandma herself. Then I saw the hardly readable, tiny black print around the cap that said; "Produced from concentrate from China". And we're talking major brand here. Another brand I looked at said "Argentina/China".

[don-o]

mark

[raybbr]

Sorry for your loss. We have two springers name Oskar and Madison. Madison is about 9. Oskar 5. They had a litter five years ago of 10.

I am not looking forward to the day one of them goes to pheasant heaven.