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June 28, 2007
China Food Crackdown Shuts 180 Factories
Chinese media are reporting that authorities have shut down 180 food factories and revoked 37 processing licenses of food makers after inspectors found industrial chemicals in products.
Acknowledging systematic problems in its food supply, the Chinese government said it closed 180 food manufacturers and revoked 37 processing licenses of food makers found to have used industrial chemicals and additives in food products.
The dangerous chemicals were used during the six months from December 2006 to May 2007.
The acknowledgment, published yesterday in a state-run newspaper, is the government's boldest admission of the widespread nature of food safety problems in China since a string of tainted products made there during the six months between December and May has focused international attention and concern over the safety of Chinese exports.
The Wall Street Journal summarizes:
In a nationwide sweep for safety problems, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, which is in charge of ensuring that the country's food supply meets safety standards, said it had found 23,000 cases of infractions between December and May. They involved products totaling 200 million yuan ($26 million), according to a statement posted yesterday on the administration's Web site.
The watchdog said the 23,000 cases of adulterated food found nationwide in the six months is equal to 128 a day. Products included flour, candy, pickles, biscuits, bean curd and seafood. Eleven cases have been handed over to courts.
According to China Daily:
The illegal ingredients used include mineral oils derived from the processing of petroleum, paraffin, formaldehyde and the carcinogenic malachite green, a synthetic dye used to color fabrics.
"These are not isolated cases," Han Yi, director of the administration's quality-control and inspection department, reportedly said at a news conference in Beijing.
In the past, China has claimed that cases of food contamination were isolated, but faced with rising numbers of disturbing reports at home and abroad, it has been forced to assuage fears by publicly tackling the problem.
It was unclear whether any of the cases involved food made for export.
Inspections focusing on wine, meat, milk, beverages, soy sauce and cooking oil are still being carried out in rural and suburban areas across the country.
In March, Menu Foods, Inc., the largest maker of wet cat and dog food in North America, recalled more than 60 million cans and pouches of pet food made in U.S. facilities — an incident labeled one of the largest consumer-product recalls in North American history. Chinese wheat gluten tainted with the chemical melamine was found in the pet food, killing a number of dogs and cats and sickening thousands of others.
Meanwhile, Chinese-made toothpaste containing the antifreeze ingredient diethylene glycol has turned up in the Americas and Asia.
Most of the manufacturers that had been shut down over the past six months were small, unlicensed food plants with fewer than 10 employees, according to Yi.
Administration figures show that about 75 percent of the 1 million food-processing plants in the country are small and privately owned.
Both the Food Hygiene Law and the Criminal Law ban the use of chemical ingredients or harmful substance in food production. Violators who cause serious poisoning or death face sentences of at least 10 years in jail or even death.
Despite that, Chinese authorities said yesterday they had logged 68,000 cases of adulterated food in 2006 and withdrew 15,500 tons of substandard food from the market.
The fact that such small businesses — which often have poor management and sanitary conditions — are scattered across the country makes supervision difficult.
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12 CommentsAnd, we continue to import food products from China??? I would rather pay more and know that it is coming from a safer source.
June 28, 2007 12:57 PMActually I am surprised that the U.S. imports much of any food. We have fed the world for many years, so why now are we importing?
The FDA has their hands full with monitoring foods and associated items that are manufactured in the U.S., but to expect them to inspect imported foods from a country known to be exporting unsafe foods and supplies for human consumption? Boy, we are just asking for it.
June 28, 2007 1:20 PMPersonally, I can't believe we are so stupid!
I remember many a time after buying electronic devices that were made in China (as I found AFTER the fact...) that there is always a warning to wash hands after handling the power cord, or such! Why? LEAD contamination!!
And now the Melamine and other food poisons...why are we still poisoning the American people?? Obviously, the almighty Big Buck rules over everything this country stands for at the
people's expense...and her future generations.
This country has gone to hell in a handbasket and looks like it's never coming back!
June 28, 2007 2:50 PMSituation is not so bad as you saw from the report.
People in China are liking to buy food from normal, big supermarket, such like wal-mart, carrefour metro and some local markets.
The cases of contaminated food almost happened in some rural place. Any how, in China the national supervision and inspection on food safty is very strict and will not let the contaminated food export to overseas.
Antifreeze ingredient diethylene glycol in two Chinese toothpaste, there is no scientific evidence that it will be harmful to human body.
It's time for AMERICA to wake up. The chinese are going to use up the worlds natural resources before they even begin to use their own. When this happens we will be at their mercy and become a third world country. They don't care about human rights or the environment and they are stealing all the intellectual property that they can get their hands on. They are also supplying weapons to our enemys in the middle east.
The other issue is the currency, China's currency is so under valued it's impossible to compete for business there everything is slanted in their favor. What happened to fair business practices ?
July 3, 2007 1:05 PMI hope this is a wake-up call to our manufacturing companies and our government, that we need to look at being self supporting. Think about how our food is controlled in this country, and the distribution of just one product in 24 hours. That is very disturbing to think about the effect.
July 3, 2007 1:29 PMJay Vada said, "Antifreeze ingredient diethylene glycol in two Chinese toothpaste, there is no scientific evidence that it will be harmful to human body."
Are you crazy? It is toxic, and it is responsible for many mass poisonings. Conduct some basic research before you attempt to discuss issues.
"China the national supervision and inspection on food safety is very strict and will not let the contaminated food export to overseas"
Just because China says or does something does not make it right. I tend to forget that the American public loves their cheap Chinese imports, and are willing to overlook China killing off a few million of their own people early due to poisoning. This alleviates all of my fears.
I cannot believe that China is better at making food safe than we are. If anything they are better at quieting the dissenters. Remember Tiananmen Square the next time you buy that $29.99 DVD player, solar calculator, or Dell Computer. Nothing has changed since then.
Chinese government officials only care about the power they have over the citizens of China, and increasing the power they have over the world's economic systems.
In a world of supply and demand if you control the supply you can demand what you want.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diethylene_glycol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_protests_of_1989
yes , this country is going to hell in a hand basket... that was MADE IN CHINA.
July 3, 2007 2:30 PMIt's time for President Bush to give back the Land that the Clinton's stole from the American Farmers and Gave it to the Germans, Italian-Mafia, Japanese and the Chinese (they were our enemies-remember?) Then give it back to Our Farmers and give them Tax incentives when they produce the best Quality of Mechanical, Civil, Electrical,and Solar High Tech energy efficient products, and top USDA, grade"A" Food products, like we did in the '50's and the 60's, when AMERICA produced the "BEST" products in the WORLD !!
Come on AMERICA,...WE DID IT THEN,....WE CAN DO IT AGAIN !
It's NOT Howdy Doody Time!,...It's
"AMERICA BLESS GOD TIME,..Let's go to work!
A Christian American, Ex-Soldier and Patriot
N.B. Nicks
Pensacola, FL.
Lets not start some trade war again, over foods just like we had over Asian cars.
if the chines are good in electronic gadgets and cars,why shouldn't they be good on foods pls lets scrutnize this issue before labeling the chines with false allegation simply because they are creating waves and making things easier, cheaper and affordable
However if all our basic necessities of life in terms luxuries and comfortablities are coming from the Asians we should not jepordise their efforts in alleviating drudgrey to mankind.
computers, chips, cars, and house hold equipment were well taking care of in Asian country, next its coming to be food technology and drugs so pls dont give it an alibi so as not to make it thrive, we are aware of the world politics that influence the dollars and affect the yean naira and the yuan
July 4, 2007 8:58 AMAny food tainted with poisonous chemicals is bad for everyone. Does not matter if it is from Asia or the Americas or anywhere in the world.
Which country is killing its' population the most with tainted food but in the USA? They just have better ways to cover it up and pass on the buck. I think the USA-produced foods are actually the most scary!
USA foods are killing the population slowly while pumping the produce with addictive ingredients. i.e. Coca extracts perhaps? Ask coca cola and Pepsi may be they can answer more accurately. How about Trans Fats. What is it anyway?
Before anyone points fingers, just remember USA has the most cases of Heart disease, stress, Diabetes, high blood pressure/ low blood pressure, and a host of other diseases and ailments. Has anyone ever asked why this so? Or are we too busy reading what Uncle Sam wants us to know?
Please wake up and see all the bio genetics and food modifications and preservatives that have become acceptable to the USA due to the FDA and their approvals. How many times have the FDA have things pulled from the shelves after they allowed it to be sold to millions of people for months?
The mighty dollar i guess will instruct a man to willfully allow his factory to produce products known to kill his fellow man. He would not do it if he did not have the desire to trade the product.
Which currency is the most traded worldwide and why? Answer these questions and one can draw own conclusions that mankind are ones to blame.
Which country is trying to prevent HIV/Aids anti viral drugs not to be copied in developing countries? And why would they want to prevent this breakthrough from being copied? The MIGHTY US dollar.
I think the US Dollar should read instead " In God We Trust" should read "GOD do you Trust US-A?"
May God help us all....
Agent 47. (neutral)
Is this the new world order or arrangement?
July 24, 2007 4:31 PM
