CHINA-FREE

DEFINITION chi-na-free adj. A term proposed for use on food labels to show that products are not made in China.

CONTEXT In light of recent health and safety scares regarding Chinese-made food and products, a U.S.-based company called Food for Health International has announced plans to put "China-free" stickers on its goods. The subtext: These products won't make you sick or have harmful contaminants like melamine.

USAGE Given recent recalls of items from toys to toothpaste, China-free labeling could catch on, though consumers would do well to remember that not all products from China are tainted and not all tainted products are from China.

Friday, September 28, 2007

U.S. Recalls of China Goods Almost Triple Since June

Recalls of Chinese goods by U.S. companies almost tripled in the past three months, threatening to cut overseas revenue for the world's biggest consumer- products exporter.

Mattel Inc., the world's largest toymaker, withdrew more lead-tainted products from China last week, bringing the value of recalled toxic and dangerous Chinese goods to $430 million since June 6, from $152 million a year earlier, according to figures compiled from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission data. The value of goods withdrawn from American shelves this year totals $1.08 billion.

Retail products are fueling China's expansion, with the fastest-growing major economy exporting $344 billion of consumer goods last year. Safety scares including poisonous toothpaste, defective tires and harmful toys have hurt sales at companies from Mattel to Menu Foods Income Fund, the owner of a Canadian pet-food maker.

``Right now `Made in China' might be making consumers pause a little longer than they might have,'' said Sean McGowan, a Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst in New York.

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