CHINA-FREE PRODUCTS: Aug 30, 2007

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.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Toy Story

Cookie Monster is quarantined. Elmo doesn't play well with others. Explorers Dora and Diego are grounded. The popular characters are among the 83 types of plastic preschool Chinese-made toys Fisher-Price recalled this month because they may contain lead paint. When ingested, lead can cause learning disabilities and behavioral problems. The recall involves 967,000 toys sold in the United States between May and August under the Fisher-Price line of Mattel. Learning that Big Bird could be toxic is like finding out your longtime baby sitter had a one-on-one confrontation with Chris Hansen on "Catch a Predator." You thought you were a cautious parent.
( read more at http://savannahnow.com/node/341373 )