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.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Suspected poisoned vinegar kills 11 in China, reports
FoodProductionDaily.com
Associated Press said revenge attacks using rat poison or other chemicals are also common in China, where access to firearms and other deadly weapons are ...

Villar seeks Senate probe on hazardous toys
GMANews.TV
He said that many of the toys were made in China while the others were made in ... contact because the poison can mix with particles in the air," he said. ...

Op-Ed: Pollution- Why environmental epidemiology is such a very ...
DigitalJournal.com
The pollution included masses of particulate matter, heavy metals, oxides, and practically every known poison in forms of fumes from various products. ...

UK leads clampdown on rhino horn trade
The Guardian
The trade could stimulate the market for products from the endangered animal, ... Go after the TCM practitioners and the Chinese consumer, make it a dud. ...


The Guardian

Tobacco shop owner charged with selling synthetic marijuana
Shakopee Valley News
The products are manufactured in China by an unknown manufacture and ... In September 2010 the National Poison Control Center received over 1500 calls ...

Minnesota law takes on synthetic drugs - and their look-alikes
Pioneer Press
Company officials could not be found to comment on the product. Tryptamines aren't a popular synthetic ... Many are in China, India and elsewhere overseas. ...

 

Monday, August 15, 2011

 

Chinese people power forces closure of chemical factory
Telegraph.co.uk
The protests, which were organised on China's burgeoning social network and ... saying "I love Dalian and reject poison", "return me my home and garden, ...

China unrest over toxic chemical plant in Dalian
BBC News
PX is used to make plastics, polyester and cleaning products, ... Weibo, China's version of Twitter, was being censored by the authorities to block searches ...


BBC News

New Research Aims To Identify Nanosilver's Toxic Trigger
eNews Park Forest
However, a new method developed by researchers in China aims to use an older ... used as an antibacterial agent in many products, is much more toxic than ...

Protest shuts down plant in China
Windsor Star
Tens of thousands of Chinese protesters have forced authorities in the port ... others carrying banners declaring Reject Poison and Give Me Back My Home. ...

Over 10000 Rally To Close Petrochemical Plant in China (video)
Care2.com
The plant manufactures paraxylene (PX), which can be highly toxic; ... cleaning products and polyester clothing and, after long-term exposure, ...

 

Monday, August 8, 2011

Build-A-Bear recalls pins
Bizjournals.com
The company, along with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, announced the voluntary recall Thursday. The 1.5 inch lapel pin, manufactured in China, features graphics of a heart, bear head, and peace sign all positioned in front ...
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China Plans to Launch Escalator Recall System
CRIENGLISH.com
4 in Beijing, China on Tuesday morning, July 5, 2011. [File Photo: Jing You/CFP] China's top quality watchdog has said it will write a system of product recall for problematic escalators into law, following a spate of escalator accidents last month, ...
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CRIENGLISH.com

NexTorch Recalls Flashlight Batteries
Consumer Affairs
The recalled product is a NexTorch NT123A flashlight battery, bearing the trademark ™ superscript, rather than registered trademark ® superscript. Its body is silver metallic-colored and has the NexTorch logo and the voltage (3 V) on it. ...
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Consumer Affairs

Software glitch forces Honda to recall 2 million cars
The Tech Herald
The company has issued a product recall in order to update the software, which is connected to the transmission control module of the following vehicles in the United States: Honda Accord 4-cylinder (2005-2010), Honda CR-V (2007-2010) and Honda Element ...
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The Tech Herald

NexTorch recalls 16000 batteries
UPI.com
... the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said. The batteries involved in the recall are the NexTorch NT123A 3Vflashlight battery. They were imported from China and sold nationwide from February 2009 through June 2011 for about $20. ...
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US official: Quality of Chinese products greatly improved
Xinhua
One of the purposes of O'Brien's China visit is to learn the latest trend of Chinese product safety and extend cooperation with China's main product safety body, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ). ...
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Over 1M toy keys with remotes recalled
UPI.com
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission said the toys were imported from China and sold nationwide from January 2006 through May 2011 for about $9. An additional 3600 of the toys were sold in Canada. The commission said they plastic keys or key rings ...
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Collapsing step stools sold at Target recalled
Denver Post
By Howard Pankratz The US Consumer Product Safety Commission in cooperation with Target Corp. has ordered the recall of wooden step stools that have repeatedly collapsed. The federal agency said that the wooden step stools can break apart or collapse ...
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Monday, August 1, 2011

Product recall: bathtub non-slip pads, safety latches and outlet covers
Washington Post
The bathtub non-slip pads were manufactured in China. WHY: Some pads do not stick to the bathtub surface, posing a fall hazard to consumers. INCIDENTS: Prime-Line has received one report of the pad failure. No injuries reported. ...
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Recall news
Wall Street Journal
The product includes a red wagon with a yellow handle, multi-colored plastic blocks and a dog figure. The toys were manufactured in Mexico. WHY: The wagon's plastic handle poses a laceration hazard if a child falls on it. INCIDENTS: Seven reports of ...
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Some used goods aren't a bargain
Omaha World-Herald
No matter what type of product you are considering, always check to see if the model has undergone a recall. In the past few weeks thousands of power garden trimmers have been recalled because of blade detachments or because fuel leaks out of the ...
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Product Recall: Pogo sticks
Washington Post
The toys were manufactured in China. WHY: The bottom rubber tip attached to the stick's frame can wear out prematurely and potentially cause the user to fall. In addition, the caps on the handlebars come off and expose sharp edges, ...
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CPSC Product Recall: Kohler Co. Recalls Glass Shower Doors for ...
Price of Float Glass on July 29, 2011 from China Glass Network[2011-07-29] ... The product recall was announced by the CPSC on July 27, 2011. ...
www.glassinchina.com/news/newsDisplay_12971.html

 

Feds test for arsenic at Wayne County Mott's plant
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
... sources for several other products in reaction to public concern about food-safety standards in China. In very high doses, arsenic is an acute poison. ...

Melamine Tainted Milk Resurfaces in Chinese Pig Farms
NTDTV
This latest report shows that the Chinese authorities have yet to prevent the use of poison in food. Many mainlanders are no longer taking chances with ...

Group bares toxic substance in whitening products
Philippine Star
These skin whitening products are mostly made in China. ... Joe DiGangi who tested the skin whitening products said mecrcury is a poison and should not be ...

Meth Inc.: Industrial-scale Mexican labs now pushing top-grade ...
Arizona Daily Star
... the knowledge to craft a superior product and the distribution networks to .... prevent drug gangs from importing pseudoephedrine from India and China. ...

Studies Find Arsenic in Apple Juice
Care2.com
by Jaelithe J. Recent independent product safety tests commissioned by the ... and vegetables is a particular problem in China, where many toxic pesticides ...

Step cautiously with uranium
The Desert Sun
Congress also should know better than to take action that could poison the ... The cost of uranium has been soaring and China controls 97 percent of the ...

Review: 'Death by China-Confronting the Dragon'
Big Government
With a little bit more awareness and the ability to choose to afford the more expensive US made products, we have the power to put Chinese made products out ...

Toxic toys find way into Davao malls, stalls
Inquirer.net
Many of the toys were made in China while the others were made in Korea, ... to create a task force to closely monitor consumer products for safety. ...

What's really in the food? The A to Z of the food industry's most ...
IBTimes Canada
Sodium nitrite is a complete poison used to make meats look fresh. ... It's made from genetically modified soybeans (often grown in China) and then ...

Editorial: Dangerous 'salts'
Gainesville Sun
Depending on the form of the product and on the user, the bath salts are ... has helped manufacturers — believed to be based in China and India — and ...