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Thousands of people who suffered severe allergic reactions after sitting on their sofas were victims of a toxic gas emitted by an anti-mould agent, a study has concluded. Hospitals across northern Europe have treated thousands of patients with symptoms which appeared to range from skin cancer and chemical burns to severe eczema. The British cases have been linked to an estimated 100,000 sofas sold by Argos, World of Leather and Walmsley Furnishing manufactured in China by a company called Linkwise. A study in Sweden has concluded that the skin conditions were a reaction to the gas created during the sublimation...

Last summer, it was Chinese-made toys, pet food and meat that caused concern. This July 4th holiday, there are new worries about the overly explosive nature of its fireworks. This week, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a report saying it found that nearly half of the shipments they inspected coming from China do not meet Federal safety guidelines. That's especially worrying since, according the American Pyrotechnic Association, 98 percent of fireworks used in backyards and front lawns across America are manufactured in China. NEWSWEEK's Caitlin McDevitt spoke with Scott Wolfson, a chief spokesman for the Commission about its...

Fear Factor Accompanies Generic Drugs Made In China By ROBERT COHENWASHINGTON — First, it was inexpensive toys, apparel, footwear and electronics that flooded the U.S. market from China. The next Chinese export to reach American consumers will be lower-cost generic versions of brand-name medicines. Although it will take at least several years before Chinese-made generics are available here in significant numbers, the prospect already is raising safety concerns, given China's history of substandard drugs at home, the recent scandal involving contaminated ingredients in the blood thinner heparin, and other safety problems, from tainted pet food to toothpaste. "We should be...

A new plant can turn out 12 million copies a year. Some are for export, but most are for domestic sale. The factory looks like it could be any plant in this export-driven nation. Hundreds of Chinese workers huddle over loud machines churning out large orders for customers at home and abroad. But what they're making might surprise you: Bibles. As Tibetan monks grab headlines protesting the lack of religious freedom under Chinese rule, a booming Bible industry is on its way to turning the world's biggest atheist nation into the world's largest producer of the Good Book. Chairman Mao...

The rising value of the Chinese yuan, higher pay for Chinese workers and $136-a-barrel oil may mean more factory jobs in North America, the Home Depot chief executive Frank Blake said. The world's largest home-improvement chain is looking for factories in the United States, Mexico and Canada to build some products that are getting too expensive to make in China, Blake said in an interview in New York. The Atlanta-based Home Depot imports about 13 percent of the goods it sells, and most of that is made in China, said a spokeswoman. A shift in production from China back to...

The Food and Drug Administration has finally acknowledged that it needs more resources to protect consumers from tainted food and drugs. Unfortunately, it took the deaths of 81 people, a browbeating by members of Congress and a report detailing the FDA's woeful inability to expand overseas inspections before top agency officials would ask for more money. It was a puzzling situation and one that has to make you wonder whether the Bush administration was putting the bottom line ahead of the health and safety of the American public. Last week, FDA Commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach finally wrote Congress to...

The FBI announced Friday that an investigation into counterfeit network components made in China and sold to the U.S. government has recovered about 3,500 fake devices with a value of $3.5 million. The criminal probe, code-named Operation Cisco Raider, was prompted by concerns that counterfeit network components could give hackers access to government databases. But one U.S. official told Reuters that the components discovered by the FBI are not believed to have made government computer systems more vulnerable. The existence of the probe came to light after an unclassified FBI PowerPoint presentation in January on the agency's efforts to counter...

China looks abroad to grow its own food By Richard Spencer Last Updated: 2:31AM BST 10/05/2008 Chinese farming companies may be backed by the government to buy and lease tracts of land in Africa and Latin America to grow crops to feed its 1.3 billion people. A proposal before the state council, or cabinet, proposes extending a business strategy known as the "go-out policy" to farmland. As food prices rise, the Chinese government is anxious about food security, though it may not be willing to risk the accusation of colonialism that such a move would attract. The country has long...

WASHINGTON—In March, inspectors checking Chinese seafood arriving at U.S. ports made some unsettling discoveries: fish infected with salmonella in Baltimore and Seattle, and shrimp with banned veterinary drugs in Florida. Meanwhile, a shipment intercepted in Los Angeles on March 19 and labeled "channel catfish" wasn't catfish at all, though records don't say what it was. "A lot of those products coming in from overseas, you have no clue as to what is in them," said Paul Hitchens, an aquaculture specialist in Southern Illinois, where cut-rate Chinese catfish are threatening the livelihood of fish farmers. China rapidly has become the leading...

Police in southern China have discovered a factory manufacturing Free Tibet flags, media reports say. The factory in Guangdong had been completing overseas orders for the flag of the Tibetan government-in-exile. Workers said they thought they were just making colourful flags and did not realise their meaning. But then some of them saw TV images of protesters holding the emblem and they alerted the authorities, according to Hong Kong's Ming Pao newspaper. Tibet independence The factory owner reportedly told police the emblems had been ordered from outside China, and he did not know that they stood for an independent Tibet....

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials warned Baxter International Inc's supplier of the blood thinner heparin for failing to ensure that its manufacturing process can remove impurities, according to a letter released on Monday.

Thousands of Chinese Americans protested outside CNN's offices in Hollywood this morning, calling for the dismissal of commentator Jack Cafferty, whose recent remarks about Chinese goods and the Beijing government inflamed a community already angry about international condemnations directed at the host country of the upcoming Olympics. The protesters lined Sunset Boulevard from Cahuenga Boulevard to Wilcox Avenue chanting "Cafferty, Fire," and singing patriotic Chinese songs. "We understand free speech," said Lake Wang, 39, of Thousand Oaks. "But what if Cafferty said this about other racial groups? I think he would be fired. I think he's jealous of China." The...

(WASHINGTON) -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Friday retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is voluntarily recalling charm key chains, saying the charms could contain high levels of lead. The commission said the product, called the "Hip Charm" Key Chain, was found at the home of a 9-month-old child who had high blood-levels of lead. The child was seen putting the key chain in its mouth...... The commission said the key chain was manufactured in China......

FUNTASTIC is recalling about 26,000 sets of "Hillbilly Teeth." The gray surface paint on the teeth contains excessive levels of lead, violating the federal lead paint standard. This recall involves a 2-pack fake Hillbilly Teeth with item # 2657. The item number is printed on the packaging. The gums are brown and the teeth are yellow. The false teeth were sold at grocery, drug, convenience, and mass retailers nationwide from March 2005 through March 2008 for about $2. They were made in China. Consumers should immediately take the recalled toy away from children and contact FUNTASTIC for information on receiving...

OLYMPIA -- Toy safety rules that started as a strong sprint, then nearly stumbled out of the race, finally wobbled across the finish line Tuesday when Gov. Chris Gregoire signed into law the toughest standards in the nation. After considering a veto of the Children's Safe Products Act because of worries that it would cause a broad ban on toys, Gregoire selectively nixed portions of the bill, keeping intact most of the restrictions on dangerous chemicals -- at least for now. The governor said she would convene an advisory group to review the proposed standards, timelines and testing requirements before...

House Speaker John Harris is threatening to hold hearings on whether owners of the shipping company that hauls North Slope crude oil for BP are skimping on tanker maintenance. Harris, R-Valdez, recently fired letters to top executives of three firms that jointly own Alaska Tanker Co., the operator of BP's troubled tanker fleet. Harris, said he wrote the letters after ATC's president, Anil Mathur, came to him and said he was having difficulties with the company owners. Harris wrote that he understood Mathur had been "warned and put on notice by you ... for poor behavior" after funding for tanker...

March 21, 2008 In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Hobby Lobby Stores Inc., of Oklahoma City, Okla., is voluntarily recalling about 13,000 Camouflage Eggs and Spinning Egg Top Toys. The paint on the toys contains excessive levels of lead, violating the federal lead paint standard. Also: March 20, 2008 Toy Puzzle Vehicle Sets Recalled Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard; Sold Exclusively by QVC March 18, 2008 Galison/Mudpuppy Recalls Wire Bound Journals and Calendars Due to Violation of Lead Paint Standard March 18, 2008 Reebok to Pay Record $1,000,000 Civil Penalty for Violation of Federal...

CHENGDU, China — China lashed out Sunday at critics of its crackdown on Tibetan protesters, describing U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as "habitually bad tempered" while claiming the Western media serve those who want to smear the communist country.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Dell Inc (NasdaqGS:DELL - News) plans to buy $23 billion of components from China this year and $29 billion in 2009, helping it reduce costs while the company's main market, the United States, is facing recession. The commoditization of computer hardware means competition is more a function of price and efficiency than quality and branding, making China a favorite place to source a broad range of goods, including electronic components.

HEBRON, West Bank - Yasser Herbawi once supplied much of the West Bank and Gaza with black-and-white checkered scarves, the proud emblem of Palestinian identity made famous by the late Yasser Arafat. But most of his looms now stand idle, his product edged out by cheap imports from the world's newest keffiyeh capital: China. After a decade of being flooded with Chinese goods, from scarves to toys and bags, the West Bank's largest city is struggling to compete — yet another obstacle to economic independence for Palestinians as they strive for a state of their own. Two-thirds of Hebron's textile...

(GOLETA, California) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc will meet with its thousands of Chinese suppliers this fall as part of a big push to reduce waste and emissions at factories that make its products, Chief Executive Lee Scott said on Thursday. "We started a very aggressive program in China that is not only going to deal with environmental sustainability, but is also going to deal more aggressively with the issues of sourcing in China," Scott said during an appearance at the Wall Street Journal ECO:nomics conference in Goleta, California. As the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart is considered one of the few...

UNDATED (AP) - It may not be organized sabotage, but many of the hottest electronic gadgets on the market are coming pre-loaded with viruses. Recent cases reviewed by The Associated Press include Apple iPods, digital picture frames sold by Target and Best Buy, and TomTom navigation gear. Some of the viruses steal passwords that can expose a computer to hackers and prompt them to spew spam. In most cases, the sources appear to be Chinese factories where many of the devices are being made. Security experts say the problem appears to be lax quality control. The malicious software is apparently...

(WASHINGTON) -- The future of American housing is rising in Beijing. As in China. The house is being built as part of the Future House demonstration project commissioned by China's Ministry of Construction to show off the world's most modern and environmentally sustainable construction practices and technologies. The United States is one of 10 countries participating in the project. But its house is the only one not sponsored by a government or corporate entity. The other participants are Sweden, Japan, South Korea, China, Spain, Germany, Great Britain, Canada and Norway. The 10 houses will be on display for six years,...

Survey: U.S. consumers favor Chinese products WASHINGTON, March 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. consumers believe Chinese products have the second best value in the world, only after the American goods, a recently released survey shows. The survey, conducted by New York-based GfK Roper, a market research firm serving consumer goods companies, found that 26 percent of U.S. consumers believe Chinese-made products have the best value, up from 9 percent in a comparable survey in 1996. Some 45 percent of consumers said they believe American products to be the best value, while Japan, Mexico, Germany ranked behind the U.S. and China on...

Soybeans are a top crop in Ohio, but good luck finding any locally grown legumes to eat. Soybeans -- usually marketed under their Japanese name, edamame -- are an increasingly popular health food, but nearly all those sold in local grocery stores are grown in China. Ohio farmers do grow some soybeans to be eaten instead of processed for other uses, but the majority are exported and used to make products such as tofu. The problem for local diners with a taste for the bean, experts say, is that soybean farmers are not equipped to grow and harvest edamame, which...

WASHINGTON – While China continues to promise to impose higher safety standards on exports, a WND study shows two of every three products recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission last year were Chinese imports – with an upward trend of defective, unsafe products found in every quarter of 2007. The CPSC recalled a total of 447 products for safety concerns last year. Of those, 298 were manufactured in China. Only 62 were made in the USA. The rest were made in other countries. In 2006, the CPSC recalled a total of 467 kinds of products – 221 of which...

BEIJING -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc., a major buyer of Chinese-made shoes, toys and other goods, expects procurement in China to hold steady this year at about $9 billion despite a rising exchange rate and product safety concerns, the retailing giant's vice chairman Michael Duke said Monday. "I wouldn't see any major variation" in procurement from the 2007 total of $9 billion, Duke told reporters. "China will continue to be a major production portion of direct purchases by Wal-Mart for a long time." Duke said relations with the communist government are good despite a high-profile campaign to form unions at Wal-Mart...

Food at Olympics is safe: Officials By Zhu Zhe (China Daily) Updated: 2008-02-22 06:51 Beijing Thursday reaffirmed the safety of food at the Olympic Games after media reports that the US contingent plans to prepare its own meals at the Games due to safety concerns. "We've made great efforts to ensure safe supplies for the Games and we hope athletes dine together," Kang Yi, chief of the food division of the Games services department, told a press conference. "If the US delegation is not at these gatherings, I would personally regret it," she said. Some foreign media including The New...

Last Updated: Thursday, 21 February 2008, 11:21 GMT US to take own food to Olympics By James Reynolds BBC News, Beijing China's Olympic food China has expressed regret that the US has decided not to trust its food during this summer's Olympic Games. The US delegation has said it is planning to bring its own food for American athletes. At a news conference in Beijing, a senior official, Kang Yi, said it was a pity that the US had apparently decided not to trust China's food. Ms Kang insisted that the food served to athletes at the Olympics would exceed...

The Chinese facility that supplies the active ingredient of the widely used blood thinner heparin was never inspected by the Food and Drug Administration because the agency confused its name with another just like it, agency officials said yesterday. The FDA said that a team of inspectors is headed now to China to inspect the plant as part of an effort to determine what may have caused a sudden spike in serious problems with the drug, which has been on the market since the 1930s. More than 350 adverse reactions to the drug have been reported to the FDA since...

At a time when Chinese products from toys to food face increased scrutiny over safety, a top U.S. regulatory official now says that the Chinese government does not inspect production plants that make drugs solely for export to the U.S. and other markets.

WASHINGTON - U.S. health officials evaluated the wrong factory when assessing the safety of a Chinese-made drug ingredient that may be a source of problems with a blood thinner, the Food and Drug Administration said Monday. ADVERTISEMENT Baxter International's heparin has been linked to four deaths and hundreds of reports of allergic reactions. An investigation will take FDA inspectors to China this week. The Chinese manufacturer was not inspected because it was confused with another company in the agency's database with a similar name, said Joseph Famulare, deputy director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research's compliance department. The...

Lollipops from China recalled Published: February 15, 2008 LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — The importer of a Valentine's Day lollipop said it was voluntarily recalling the treats after metal fragments were found in at least two lollipops sold at central Florida stores. Sherwood Brands of Maryland, which imports the candy from China, said it was recalling all of its Pokemon Valentine Cards and Pops, which have been pulled from the shelves of thousands of stores across the country. Roughly 20 lollipops were seized at Kathleen Elementary School in Lakeland. X-rays determined that only one piece definitely had metal — what appeared...

A Chinese facility that hasn't been inspected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration made the active ingredient in much of the widely used Baxter International Inc. blood-thinner that is under investigation after reports of hundreds of allergic reactions and four deaths among the drug's users, the agency said yesterday. The disclosure is likely to add to broad concerns about the safety and quality of products imported from China and elsewhere in the developing world. A tide of tainted goods ranging from pet food to children's toys has prompted recalls and increased scrutiny of Chinese-made wares around the world. Although...

The blood thinner drug Heparin has been put on hold by Baxter, as the multiple-dose vials were found to cause severe reactions in patients. Patients were seen having severe reactions to the drug Heparin which include vomiting, dropping blood pressure to the point where they can go into shock, and more. The FDA stated that they were going to review Heparin further. There have been four reported deaths from Heparin in the multi-dose vials thus far. The FDA stated that the only issues came with the high dose vials of Heparin. The lower dose Heparin patients did not see nearly...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US grocery chain Trader Joe's said Monday it would stop selling food imported from China due to customers' concerns about the products' safety. "Our customers have voiced concerns about products from this region and we have listened," Trader Joe's spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki said in a statement. "All single ingredient food items sourced from mainland China are scheduled to be out of our stores by April 1," she said. "We will continue to source products from other regions until our customers feel as confident as we do about the quality and safety of Chinese products."

When he introduced a bill in the Maryland General Assembly to prohibit the sale and manufacture of children's toys containing lead, Del. James W. Hubbard (D-Prince George's) said he could not have imagined it would set off a transcontinental diplomatic dispute. But that's what has unfolded. Last week, the legislature received a letter from officials of the People's Republic of China objecting to Hubbard's bill. The comments, faxed from Beijing and written in English and Chinese, challenged the authority of the state legislature to enact such laws and said they would create "unnecessary barriers to international trade." It's true that...

Last year, a German tourist traveling through China spotted a set of nested salt and pepper shakers: The slender cylinder of pepper rested perfectly in the center of the doughnut-shaped salt holder. It was a sleek design. It was also, he recognized, an almost exact copy of the successful Two-in-One salt-and-pepper set made by Geislingen (Germany)-based WMF, and he sent it to the company. As a result, the maker of the imitation—Shantou Lian Plastic Products of Guangdong, China—is one of 13 winners of the Plagiarius Award, a dubious honor bestowed on makers and distributors of the "best" (which is to...

The bright blue veil of the burqa is one of the most iconic and widely worn pieces of women’s clothing in Afghanistan. Since the fall of the Taliban, fewer women wear the burqa in Kabul, but elsewhere, in the provinces, the burqa is as ubiquitous as ever. The Zamarai family, shown in the video, have been tailors and burqa-makers for three generations. But recently there’s a new player in the Kabul burqa market: China, which mass-produces a style of burqa that many women here find more fashionable than the Zamarais’ traditional hand-assembled garments. The Chinese-made burqas’ tightly-crimped folds and machine-produced...

368 claim food poisoning / Victims of China-made gyoza reported in 30 prefectures The Yomiuri Shimbun Hebei Province government official answers questions from reporters in front of a factory of Hebei Foodstuffs Import and Export Group Tianyang Food Processing in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, on Thursday. The number of people who complained of sickness after eating frozen food products made in China has surged to 368 in 30 prefectures as of Thursday, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. It was revealed Wednesday that 10 people in three families in Chiba and Hyogo prefectures showed symptoms of food poisoning between Dec. 28 and...

Few American icons are as universally loved as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His struggle for civil rights remains fresh in the minds of many, and today of all days, we're reminded of his work to promote racial equality. In addition to having his own federal holiday, King will soon have his own monument in Washington, DC, joining the elite ranks of Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt, World War II Veterans, and other honored Americans. But King's monument won't be designed by an African American, or even an American sculptor, and it won't be carved from American granite. The new Martin Luther...

DETROIT -- BYD Auto Co., a Chinese upstart auto maker with only five years of experience in auto manufacturing, wants to start selling cars in the U.S. auto market in a couple of years, but it plans to do so not just with gasoline-powered vehicles but more environmentally friendly electric vehicles, a senior company manager told The Wall Street Journal here this week. Paul Lin, auto export manager of BYD Auto, admitted the company anticipates a rough time in making inroads into the U.S. market. While the company already sells cars in China and other developing countries, it recognizes meeting...

(WASHINGTON) - About 15,000 Chinese-made metal toy wagons sold at Tractor Supply Co stores are being recalled because the surface paint contains excessive levels of lead, the U.S. Consumer and Product Safety Commission said on Thursday. The wagons from Tricam Industries Inc of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, contain the model number MH1250 and were sold from September 2002 through November 2007 for about $30. No injuries have been reported from the recalled wagons, the CPSC said. The agency said consumers should contract Tricam at (800) 867-6763 for instructions on how to return the wagon and get a refund.

US auto giant General Motors' China joint venture has recalled 7,056 Buick cars sold in China due to problems with their front brakes, state media reported on Monday. Shanghai GM, a joint venture between GM and China's biggest carmaker Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp., will make repairs to the cars free of charge, Xinhua news agency said, quoting the nation's product quality watchdog. The affected vehicles are Buick

Beijingers were warned to stay indoors on Thursday as pollution levels across the capital hit the top of the scale, despite repeated assurances by the government that air quality was improving. "This is as bad as it can get," a spokeswoman for the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau told AFP. "Level five is the worst level of air pollution. This is as bad as it has been all year." According to the bureau's website, 15 out of the 16 pollution monitoring stations in urban Beijing registered a "five" for air quality rating. The main pollutant was suspended particulate matter, which is...

Ford Motor Company says it has delivered another record year in China, not only in terms of sales, but also with the ongoing introduction of a pioneering program that helps improve the standards and working conditions of companies in its supply network. "Our goal is to have all of our suppliers in China participate in this management program" said Mei-Wei Cheng, chairman and CEO of Ford China. "Ford sees it as our direct responsibility to ensure that each of our partners are providing their staff with a legal and decent work environment and working conditions. It's a part of doing...

WASHINGTON (AP) - Elizabeth Edwards says avoiding the "Made in China" label on toys is not exactly child's play. With millions of recalls rolling in this year because of lead in toys, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards vowed during a debate there would be no Chinese made gifts under his Christmas tree. But, the former North Carolina senator says he immediately had to check with his wife to make sure he was right. The Edwards campaign says the kids will be unwrapping U.S.-made toys, but wouldn't get into the specifics as not to spoil anyone's gifts.

After searching for over two hours in 3 different stores I have yet to find a toy not made in China for my 8 month old grandson. Is there such a thing?

WASHINGTON – As consumer safety recalls of Christmas products made in China continue at a torrid pace, a new report shows the average Chinese worker making toys is paid a meager 36 cents an hour – just 2.5 percent of what U.S. toy manufacturers pay domestically. Today, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the latest recall of a Christmas import – a holiday candle set that tips over and whose exterior coating is flammable. The snowman and Christmas tree candles were manufactured in China. The Consumer Product Safety Commission warned the candles should not be used because of the...

It is one of the most popular toys on children's wish lists this holiday season, but independent laboratory tests show the "CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationT Fingerprint Examination Kit" contains asbestos. The Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) and Public Justice, a Washington, D.C. public-interest law firm, are demanding that companies involved in the distribution of the toy protect children and other customers from exposure to the substance, which has been linked to fatal lung cancer and other serious diseases. The toy is made in China. In a letter to CBS, the toy's licensor; Planet Toys of New York City, the toy's...