http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/chineseimports/ en-us Sun, 2 Sep 2007 15:08:16 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1890175/posts When the 65 steel drums crossed from the Canadian border in late April, the accompanying documents said they contained honey from Canada, according to U.S. government officials. Since most food products from Canada are considered safe, the honey normally would have sailed through U.S. customs. But U.S. inspectors noticed something odd. The green steel drums were marked as containing apple concentrate from China, one official said. When Food and Drug Administration investigators examined the honey inside, they found chips of green paint -- most likely from the drums themselves -- floating at the bottom of some drums. And laboratory tests... The Chicago Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1890175/posts#comment Sun, 2 Sep 2007 15:08:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1890047/posts The piles of pills scattered across the desk of Wang Hai, China's leading consumer rights champion, look like painkillers and aspirin and come with convincing packaging. But appearances can be deceptive in China. "They're all fake. They don't contain anything dangerous, but they're all completely useless and just designed to rip off the consumer," said Mr Wang. There have long been cases of such phoney pills being exported to Africa. But the most recent spate of product and food quality scandals have left the "Made in China" label in tatters around the world. Since March, exports ranging from contaminated pet... The Sunday Telegraph (U.K.) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1890047/posts#comment Sun, 2 Sep 2007 02:15:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1884623/posts (LITTLE ROCK, ARK.) - Tests of two Chinese brands of dog treats sold at Wal-Mart stores found traces of melamine, a chemical agent that led to another massive pet food recall in March, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. Wal-Mart quietly stopped selling Chicken Jerky Strips from Import-Pingyang Pet Product Co. and Chicken Jerky from Shanghai Bestro Trading in July, after customers said the products sickened their pets. Company spokeswoman Deisha Galberth said 17 sets of tests done on the products found melamine, a contaminant that's a byproduct of several pesticides. "There were very small amounts of melamine found," Galberth told The... Forbes.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1884623/posts#comment Wed, 22 Aug 2007 03:08:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1883005/posts Reaping The Fruits Of A China-Dependent Economy http://www.tfp.org/TFPForum/TFPCommentary/reaping_the_fruits_of_a_china-dependent_economy.html For decades, American businessmen have been outsourcing production and setting up factories in Communist China. They cite a large and industrious work force with minimal labor costs as the reason that supposed allows them to manufacture a product at the lowest possible costs. American manufacturers employing American workers are hard-pressed to compete. Behind the façade of Asia’s industrial powerhouse, however, is the tragic reality of a society without morals. Chinese labor conditions are notoriously horrible with little or no provisions for worker safety. Wages are low, free trade unions not allowed and... TFP Forum http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1883005/posts#comment Sat, 18 Aug 2007 13:26:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1882453/posts Law would streamline regulations -- if it passes The apple-blackberry sauce sold widely in Seattle supermarkets, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture organic seal on the label, says it comes from Chino, Calif. It also says "Product of Canada." So how do you know where it's from? You don't. Dried banana chips are labeled as being from Sumner. But banana trees don't grow in Sumner. Peanut butter from Canada? There are no peanut farms in that country. Congress passed a law in 2002 saying that consumers were to be told where the food they buy comes from. But five years... Seattle Post-Intelligencer http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1882453/posts#comment Fri, 17 Aug 2007 10:45:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1880989/posts Wal-Mart Stores Inc... the world's largest retailer, reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit and cut its full-year earnings forecast on Tuesday, saying its customers remain under economic pressure. Chief Executive Lee Scott blamed the disappointing performance on economic pressure around the world. "It is no secret that many customers are running out of money toward the end of the month," Scott said on a recorded conference call, adding that higher fuel prices, interest rates, utility costs and "more financial pressure" are hurting sales in its international market, including Mexico and Canada. With more than 127 million customers visiting a Wal-Mart store... yahoo...Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1880989/posts#comment Tue, 14 Aug 2007 14:58:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1881379/posts Official: China knew about magnets BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- China knew about problems with magnets on toys as long ago as March, an industry official said on Wednesday, following a second massive recall of Chinese-made Mattel toys due to hazards from small, powerful magnets. Mattel's Barbie and Tanner doll set is one of the products being recalled. 1 of 2 Mattel Inc. the largest U.S. toy company, recalled millions more Chinese-made toys on Tuesday due to hazards from the magnets and lead paint, and warned it may recall additional products as it steps up testing. "We knew about the situation,... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1881379/posts#comment Wed, 15 Aug 2007 06:31:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1877981/posts Americans extremely wary of China goods: poll Tue Aug 7, 9:55 PM ET U.S. consumers are extremely wary of products made in China in the wake of a series of safety scandals, with nearly two-thirds saying they would support a boycott of Chinese goods, a poll showed on Tuesday. Asked by pollster Zogby International whether they were concerned about buying Chinese products, 82 percent of respondents said yes and only 30 percent said they believed food imports from China were safe. "The recent warnings and recalls about toxic toothpaste, tainted pet food, contaminated seafood and lead paint-laced toys from China... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1877981/posts#comment Wed, 8 Aug 2007 06:09:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1875600/posts Chinese officals defend food quality, criticize foreign media "fabrications" www.chinaview.cn 2007-08-02 23:13:28 Print BEIJING, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- A senior Chinese official has lambasted foreign media for fabricating scares over Chinese food products. Some foreign media had viciously sensationalized product quality problems and food scares concerning a small number of Chinese goods or companies, said Vice Commerce Minister Gao Hucheng. Some media fabricated safety problems in campaigns to block imports of Chinese goods, which he described as de facto trade protectionism, he said. Gao said some foreign media reports told of Chinese boys as young as six growing moustaches and... Xinhua http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1875600/posts#comment Fri, 3 Aug 2007 03:58:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1875567/posts It’s 9 a.m. and workers are rolling up the giant doors at Grand Central Market in downtown Los Angeles. Grocers are ready for business, their stalls colorfully stocked with vegetables and fruit – green beans, squash, tomatoes, lettuces, asparagus, oranges, apples, avocados, nectarines. This open air market, and scores of groceries and supermarkets throughout Los Angeles, once offered nothing but the bounty of California, the largest agricultural state in the nation. Long the salad bowl for the nation, we became the envy of easterners who face limited selections of vegetables and fruits during winter months. It’s still true that every... Los Angeles City Beat http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1875567/posts#comment Fri, 3 Aug 2007 02:27:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1875562/posts The importing of a number of fish into the US from China has been banned due to health concerns. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that all farm-raised catfish, basa, shrimp, dace and eel from China has been banned, due to concerns over drug residues that are not approved in the US for use on farm-raised aquatic animals, were found on fish. "We are taking this strong step because of current and continuing evidence that certain Chinese aquaculture products imported into the US contain illegal substances that are not permitted in seafood sold here," commented Dr David Acheson, FDA's... ArabianBusiness.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1875562/posts#comment Fri, 3 Aug 2007 02:09:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1875270/posts China on Thursday strongly defended the quality of its exports and said it would work with the US to improve product safety in the wake of another substantial recall of goods made in China. Mattel is recalling 1.5m toys worldwide, including replicas of popular children’s television characters such as Elmo, Dora and Big Bird, because they use paint that contains too much lead, the biggest such problem to face the US toy-maker in more than a decade. The high-profile toy recall is the latest in a string of problems to face China-made goods in the US, ranging from contaminated pet... Financial Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1875270/posts#comment Thu, 2 Aug 2007 15:36:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1873712/posts Hidden Import Dangers by: Bethany Stotts, July 26, 2007 In the last few months, a series of reports about the looming dangers of products from Communist China has sparked a public outcry against compromised foreign safety standards. Families at home now wonder whether the fish they eat will give them cancer, whether their medications contain poison, and whether it is safe to drive before buying new tires. With the revelation that 1.5 million Tommy the Train toys have been recalled because of lead-based paint, parents have realized that even their children are not safe from these hidden dangers. On July... campusreportonline.net http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1873712/posts#comment Mon, 30 Jul 2007 17:13:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1873095/posts When Mark Lanier, a liability lawyer in Houston, took the case of a 6-year-old girl who choked to death on a toy, he tried suing everybody in the supply chain: the fast-food restaurant that sold the toy in a children's meal, the American importer and the toy's Chinese manufacturer. The restaurant chain, Whataburger, and the importer settled for an undisclosed amount, but Lanier said he could not even find the proper entity in China to serve with a lawsuit. With Chinese imports triggering a flurry of product-safety violations in recent months, American consumers have grown increasingly anxious about how and... The Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1873095/posts#comment Sun, 29 Jul 2007 00:14:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1870799/posts If you are upset with the USA trade balance, as I am, then you may wish to check out some of the merchants on the Source URL. Made IN USA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1870799/posts#comment Tue, 24 Jul 2007 15:40:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1869838/posts The Western media have a habit of going on feeding frenzies. Ironically, when it comes to China, the latest frenzy concerns food itself. The execution this week of the former head of China's State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), Zhen Xiaoyu, who accepted almost $1 million in bribes, shows that the frenzy has now seeped into China as well. First came a spate of stories about pet food laced with melamine (a coal derivative), cough medicine and toothpaste adulterated with diethylene glycol (a sweet-tasting industrial chemical used in anti-freeze and brake fluid), toy trains decorated with lead-based paints, bacteria-infected antibiotics,... The Korea Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1869838/posts#comment Sun, 22 Jul 2007 13:31:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1868684/posts WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China warned the United States on Thursday against "groundless smear attacks" against Chinese products and said it was working responsibly to address concerns over a spate of recent food safety scares. Yahoo News & Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1868684/posts#comment Fri, 20 Jul 2007 00:23:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1866600/posts ...Nevertheless, China has been portrayed as a nation blind to hygiene and blissfully unconcerned about recent reports of food contamination. That's troubling, because it reinforces the notion that befouled food is the consequence of a foul culture. Chef and gustatory adventurer Anthony Bourdain may have said it best in a 2006 Salon interview in which he noted that there's "something kind of racist" about culinary xenophobia: "Fear of dirt is often indistinguishable from the fear of unnamed dirty people." And this, in turn, spells danger. What one might call "food libel" has long been an aspect of a larger fear... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1866600/posts#comment Mon, 16 Jul 2007 13:50:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1866122/posts CBNNews.com - Concern about food made in China has the government there scrambling -- and many shoppers here in the U.S. confused. With billions of food dollars at stake, serious damage control efforts are underway, both here and overseas. Trusting his gut, Frank Davis of Utah added a label to the vitamins he makes, 100 percent China-free. "I don't want to offend China," Davis said. "I'm just concerned about what's going into products, where it's coming from." A new poll confirms his instinct, finding that 74 percent of grocery shoppers in the U.S. are concerned about food from China. And... CBN News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1866122/posts#comment Sun, 15 Jul 2007 03:12:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1865693/posts At its freshest and best, garlic not only is a zestful seasoning but it's a healthy food, as well. It's our biggest vegetable import from China. At the White Dog Cafe in Philadelphia, chef Andrew Brown is using tender young garlic scapes from Green Meadow Farm in Gap while anticipating the July harvest of regular, red and elephant bulbs from Overbrook Herb Farm in Lansdale. The garlic used by chef Frank Maragos at Foti's, in Culpeper, Va., comes from nearby Campi di Sogni Farm, where owner Juliana De Santis grows about 30 kinds. But most of us buy garlic at... Philly.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1865693/posts#comment Sat, 14 Jul 2007 00:15:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1863934/posts Poisons routinely used in mainland, reveals report on safety concerns WASHINGTON – With hundreds now dead in Panama as a result of poisons in Chinese-made toothpaste, the translation of a shocking Chinese report on food safety on the mainland is not likely to ease growing consumer concerns in the U.S. and Europe over imports from the Communist country. The report, authored by Zhou Qing and titled "What Kind of God: A Survey of the Current Safety of China's Food," a finalist for the 2006 international Ulysses Award, reveals widespread use of toxic chemicals in the preparation of food meant even... World Net Daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1863934/posts#comment Wed, 11 Jul 2007 01:39:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1860089/posts BEIJING (AP) -- Chinese inspectors found dozens of children's snacks that failed food standards and seized hundreds of bottles of fake human blood protein from hospitals, officials said Tuesday. China's dismal health and safety record -- both within and outside its borders -- has increasingly come under the spotlight as its goods make their way to global markets. Major buyers like the United States, Japan, and the European Union have pushed Beijing to improve inspections. ap http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1860089/posts#comment Tue, 3 Jul 2007 10:45:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1858615/posts SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- Poisoned pet food. Seafood laced with potentially dangerous antibiotics. Toothpaste tainted with an ingredient in antifreeze. Tires missing a key safety component. U.S. shoppers may be forgiven if they are becoming leery of Chinese-made goods and are trying to fill their shopping carts with products free of ingredients from that country. The trouble is, that may be almost impossibl ap http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1858615/posts#comment Sat, 30 Jun 2007 01:17:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1855449/posts Increasing food imports from China could pose a risk to public health in Sweden, according to the food products governing body. During the first five months of the year, Sweden's National Food Administration (Livsmedelsverket) was made aware of 138 cases within the EU of food imported from China that was not fit for consumption. By the same time last year the figure had reached 88. Examples included food containing banned colouring, antibiotics, preservatives or pesticides. There were also cases of illegally imported, unclean or foul-smelling food, as well as products with high levels of heavy metals, poisonous mould and dioxins,... The Local (Sweden's News in English) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1855449/posts#comment Sun, 24 Jun 2007 13:55:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1856148/posts First it was pet food, then toothpaste, then toy trains. Now it's tires. A lawsuit blames cheap Chinese tires for a fatal traffic accident in Pennsylvania. The suit says tread separation caused a cargo van carrying four passengers to crash, killing two passengers and injuring the other two. The light truck tires were sold under the names Westlake, Telluride, Compass and YKS... The case is reminiscent of the huge Firestone tire recall of 2000, when faulty tires were blamed for a series of accidents and rollovers, many involving the Ford Explorer. "This is a prime example of a private lawsuit... consumer affairs http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1856148/posts#comment Mon, 25 Jun 2007 22:50:23 GMT