August, 8, 2007
Following last night's Democratic forum in Chicago, where commerce in Asia was a subject of debate, presidential candidates might want to take a look at the results of a new Zogby survey on trade with China. Some key findings: 63 percent of Americans "would be likely to participate in a boycott of Chinese goods until the country implements stricter safety regulations"; 61 percent "would be more likely to purchase a product with a 'China Free' label." Finally: "The vast majority (89%) believes the U.S. government should put stronger pressure on China and other foreign countries to increase product quality and safety standards, while nearly as many (85%) would support the U.S. government imposing stronger criminal penalties and fines on U.S. importers who allow dangerous products to be imported from foreign countries."
These results are all the more striking because the survey was conducted July 17-19 -- "before the announcement of a massive recall of Chinese-made toys by Fisher-Price, but after a significant recall of Chinese-made railroad toys...[C]ompanies recalled the products because they contained excessive levels of lead on the toys and parts." With the Fisher-Price recall drawing further attention to product safety concerns, the proportion of Americans who distrust goods imported from China could grow even more.
If other polls confirm these results, it looks like 2008 could make international trade an important policy issue for Americans of all partisan stripes. With nearly nine in ten Americans worried about the quality of products coming into their country from overseas, proposals to get "tougher on China" (as Hillary Clinton put it last night) might be appealing to voters even outside traditionally China-wary labor audiences. Outsourcing has not proven to be an issue with universal appeal. But if the debate over China moves away from a discussion over whether free trade is good for the economy, and toward one about whether Chinese products are threatening Americans' safety, protectionist-leaning candidates would certainly benefit.
Candidates like Mitt Romney, who spoke about trade with Asia at the June 5 Republican debate in New Hampshire, might be positioned exactly backwards on the issue. "Asia has come out of poverty," Romney said. "They're consumers. We can sell products to them: medicines, technology, energy." Appealing as this proposition might sound, American voters may be less excited about selling products to Asia than they are uneasy about the products Asia's selling us.
-- Alexander Burns
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Fearing China
The China-Free label movement is growing in South Korea
By Jane Han Staff Reporter
Next to the calories and nutrition details on the side of a food package, you may soon be looking at the words ``China-Free,'' as the labeling movement that debuted in the U.S. is quietly trickling into the local food and beverage industries.
The move, which was first triggered in June by a Utah-based health food company for consumer awareness, has stirred controversy that it may promote racism. But a rising number of American businesses, consumers and interest groups are welcoming the labeling method as Chinese food and other imports have recently been headline news for their unacceptable health and safety standards.
An online poll by U.S. news channel MSBNC showed that 77 percent of 9,865 people said they were in favor of the ``China-Free'' labeling since an at-a-glance sticker tells shoppers what they need to know right away, while only 7.7 percent said they were against it.
And with many local food makers noticing a similar trend against China-derived ingredients, more are focusing on marketing and delivering ``China-Free'' products to consumers.
Haitai Beverage said its May-released black bean tea sold more than 9.5 million bottles over the past four months thanks to its premium quality homegrown beans.
``Top grade ingredients are what we value most because once you lose consumers' trust, it's hard to regain it,'' said Haitai spokesman Park Dong-soo, adding that at times, it means losing a big profit margin. ``Chinese beans are much cheaper, but we're still relying on 100 percent Korean because we know the public demands this.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Mattel Recalls 774,000 Barbie, Other Toys With Lead
"Mattel Inc., the world's largest toymaker, recalled almost 774,000 Chinese-made Barbie and Fisher-Price products whose paint may contain excessive levels of lead, its third recall in the past five weeks. The recall includes 675,000 Barbie kitchen, living room and other furniture items as well as 90,000 Fisher-Price Geo Trax Locomotive toys and 8,900 Bongo Band drums. No injuries have been reported, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said today in a statement. Mattel recalled more than 20 million Chinese-made products last month in two separate instances because the toys contained unsafe levels of lead paint or had magnets that children may be able to swallow. The toymaker, based in El Segundo, California, may have to find new sources of low-cost goods as China struggles to repair its reputation as an exporter. Mattel is pulling toys off shelves going into the holiday season, which accounted for 69 percent of 2006 sales. The world's most populous nation supplies 80 percent of the U.S. toy market. Shares of Mattel, which also makes Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars, rose 34 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $21.97 as of 4:25 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading before the recall announcement. (Details on the products being recall can be found at http://www.cpsc.gov
The New Chinese Take-Out
By Michael E. Telzrow
Lucia Cruz, a 74-year-old Panamanian grandmother, and at least 365 of her countrymen died last year from ingesting tainted medicine. Somehow a deadly chemical had found its way into cough syrup produced in a government laboratory. What Panamanians thought was a harmless over-the-counter drug turned out to be an elixir of death. Local doctors were mystified by Cruz's initial symptoms. Unable to explain the rapid onset of acute kidney failure, they directed her to a public hospital. More disturbing was the fact that Cruz was not alone.
Dozens of other Panamanians were exhibiting the same symptoms. Dr. Jorge Motta, director of the Gorgas Institute, a joint U.S.-Panamanian medical initiative conceived to combat avian flu, suspected an emerging infectious disease. "Was it West Nile or E. coli or some post-influenza disease? Could it run through the population?" thought Motta. Neither he nor others, like Dr. Cirilio Lawson, the general director of the Ministry of Health, knew what was sickening the population. They only knew that it was spreading quickly, and that it was deadly.
While Panamanian doctors and officials worked to discover the cause of the sudden syndrome, Cruz and dozens of others lay in agony as the supposed disease ravaged their internal organs. Wracked by nausea, vomiting, and high fever, Cruz watched as her limbs swelled to twice their normal size. Her painful journey came to an end just weeks after the onset of symptoms. Her doctors, fearful that she had succumbed to a deadly communicable disease, advised her family to cremate her body.
In the following months, government officials successfully identified the cause of the illness as diethylene glycol - a highly toxic organic solvent commonly found in anti-freeze and other industrial applications. Its source was contaminated cough medicine. By then over 300 Panamanians lay dead.....FULL STORY
Monday, September 3, 2007
On-line Form for Recall Announements
"This form allows you to subscribe or unsubscribe to CPSC's email subscription lists (we have prepared a detailed description of our list system to help you make the best subscription choice). Enter your email address, click the list of your choice, and then click 'Subscribe' or 'Unsubscribe'. You can also subscribe and unsubscribe by sending us an email message. If neither method works, please contact pmargolies@cpsc.gov for assistance"
ON-LINE Substription Form
Lead Hazard in Children's Toys
Lead Hazard in Children's Toys: "Arguments about 'safe' levels of lead in children's products are specious, based on an entirely outdated understanding of the biology, especially the neurobiology, of growing young children. I think that when they come from official sources, such as the CPSC, they are disingenuous and ultimately politically driven, with a view to protecting potentially affected economic interests. Lead accumulates in the body, both in nerve tissue and bone. It can replace Calcium in both tissues, thus compromising nerve conduction and adding to a 'savings bank' of accumulated lead in bone. The affinity of lead for nerve tissue is a significant problem for growing children; the younger they are, the more vulnerable. The consequences of lead in the nervous system may include behavioral problems and cognitive impairment."
Fisher-Price Toy Manufacturer Commits Suicide
"The AP is reporting that the manufacturer of the plant that produced the recalled fisher-price toys has committed suicide. Suicide response is commonplace in China. The pressures of producing at low cost teamed with the consequences of bringing embarrassment to the Chinese government, (a country with the highest capital punishment rates,) cause many to fear. Some commit suicide over intense guilt as some Doctors that have been required to harvest organs from living prisoners have done."
LINK TO ARTICLE
Beijing Olympics? So what.
Beijing Olympics? So what - International Herald Tribune: "Here's a contrarian question concerning the 2008 Beijing Olympics: Who cares? Sure, it's a big deal - the media are telling us so. One year out, we're being bombarded by countdown articles about how grand and historic the event will be: massive construction projects, an army of foreign journalists, Steven Spielberg-directed pageantry and, oh yeah, some sporting events. China sees the games as a coming-out party, a showcase for its rising stature as a world power. Critics see them as a perfect opportunity to push China for greater openness, more tolerance for dissent and better behavior as a global citizen."
Fear and Loathing of Chinese Food Imports
"'Quick-drying glue -- don't worry if you accidentally glue some things together, they are easily separated. Wooden chop sticks -- they shorten over time to let you know when to throw them away. Parts of them splinter off to be used as tooth-picks. Airtight containers -- if you store kimchi or sauces in them, they'll automatically breathe themselves. Sprays -- their nozzles will gradually widen until the products can be used as water guns. Thermometers -- they keep the room temperature at the same level year round. Shavers -- they are handy when you don't have a potato peeler. Pencils -- their leads fall out and can be replaced easily...' ▶These of course are jokes found online about the 'strong points' of Chinese products. They may be slight exaggerations, but.... " Digital Chosunilbo (English Edition) : Daily News in English About Korea:
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Toothpaste Products Made In China
Toothpaste Products Made In China Manufacturer: Goldcredit International Enterprises Products: (MainStar America, Selective Imports, Donnamax)
* Superdent Coolmint
* Cooldent Coolmint
* Cooldent Spearmint
* Cooldent Fluoride
* Everfresh Assortment
* BrightMax
* DentaPro
* Dentakleen
* Dentakleen Junior Brand - Strawberry
* Dentakleen Junior Brand - Blueberry
Manufacturer: Gold Credit International Trading Co Products:
* Bright Max Peppermint Flavor
* Clean Rite Toothpaste
* Clean Rite Toothpaste Kit
* Oralmax Extreme Action Kit
* Oral Bright Fresh Spearmint Flavor
* DentaKleen
* DentaKleen Junior
* DentaPro Manufacturer: Suzhou City Jinmao Daily Chemicals Co. Ltd. Product: (Gold City Enterprises/New Star, Miami, FL)
* ShiR Fresh Mint Fluoride Paste
* ShiRFresh Toothpaste
* ShiRFresh Mint
* ShiRFresh Ice Mint Manufacturer Shanghai Light Industrial Products: Freshh Spearmint (Following up with Mandalay International, Ogden, UT) MFR Unknown: Crescent Toothpaste (Dollar Ocean #4, Wheaton, MD and H&Y Trading Co, Capitol Heights, MD) Naturabella nino Dusanzo (Certejenas Inc.,>Cidra, PR)Manufacturer: Suzhou Qing Xin Daily Chemical Co., Ltd.
* Pacific Fluoride Toothpaste
* Pacific Fluoride Gel Toothpaste Manufacturer: Guangdong Wellknown Ceramics Co., Ltd.
* Tian Qi Toothpaste FDA has identified the following counterfeit product:
Manufacturer: Unknown
* counterfeit toothpaste falsely packaged as "Colgate," manufactured in
South Africa
* counterfeit tooth gel falsely packaged as "Colgate," manufactured in South Africa (may not contain DEG)
Saturday, September 1, 2007
China's exploding mobile phone batteries
Another consumer product disaster in China: exploding mobile phone batteries
By David Barboza
Published: July 6, 2007
SHANGHAI: After concerns over pet food, toothpaste, seafood and defective tires, China may now have to cope with another consumer product disaster: exploding mobile phone batteries.
Chinese regulators in the southern Guangdong Province, one of the world's biggest electronics manufacturing centers, said this week that they had found Motorola and Nokia mobile phone batteries that failed safety tests and were prone to explode under certain conditions.
The batteries were said to be manufactured by Motorola and the Sanyo operation in Beijing, and were being distributed by companies based in the Guangdong Province, near Hong Kong - one of China's biggest export centers.
It is unclear whether any of the substandard and hazardous batteries entered the export market. The announcement came just a day after China's state-controlled news media reported that in June a 22-year-old man in western China was killed after his Motorola cellphone exploded in his shirt pocket.
Chinese Food: What About The Children?
We flipped out when children might have seen Janet Jackson's nipple on tv, but yet again another product made in China has been contaminated, and the outcry isn't nearly as great.
A children's snack made in China has been recalled after 54 cases of salmonella. Parents of a toddler who had violent bloody diarrhea after eating this product have sued the company. Chinese products are continuing to be recalled, often after damage is done, but is this an effective strategy in dealing with the problem?
Dog and cat food, animal feed, apple juice concentrate, children's snacks, and baby bibs are being recalled as unsafe and we shake our heads and ignore the situation.
Some things like the engine coolant in the toothpaste were detected relatively quickly. The law of averages makes one safe in stating that there is some nasty things that we are putting in the mouths of our children, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems that don't belong there.
Write your member of congress. Demand that the FDA actually give a damn about our food. This is not about xenophobia. I trust products made in Japan. I trust products made in Australia. We are being inundated with crap from China though where regulations seem to be in an Ayn Rand fantasy land at the moment.
Is Janet Jackson's nipple really more offensive than that?
Posted by trifecta at 7:17 PM
Timeline of hazardous made-in-China products, 2007
Who-Sucks.com has compiled a master timeline of incidents involving dangerous (sometimes lethal) "made in China" products banned or recalled by the US Consumer Products Safety Commission in 2007. It's a big list. Well-known killers like Thomas the Tank Engine of Death and Antifreeze Toothpaste are in here, but so are less-known gems like "razor blades for kids," "lead bracelets," "toxic jackets," and "dangerously crappy hammocks."
READ THE FULL LIST OF OVER 30 PRODUCTS
Can China Tame The Chinese Poison Train?
The Washington Post and The New York Times have done a magnificent job examining the complex nature of the Chinese Poison Train, but the Times finally cut to the chase and asked the million-dollar question: can China tame the Chinese Poison Train? The solution requires China to reform an ailing regulatory regime. As many as 17 bureaucracies have overlapping responsibilities in just the food and drug sphere, and they jealously guard their power. The Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce, and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine have all vied for monitoring roles. The reason they wanted to collect license fees and fines to supplement their measly budgets. No less significantly, inspectors and their bosses could collect bribes in exchange for favors. "It came down to turf warfare between departments," said Roger Skinner, a retired British regulator who advised the Chinese government on improving food safety on behalf of the World Health Organization. "If they can't enforce, they will lose revenue." Realizing they had created a muddle of competing bureaucracies, top leaders in 2003 formed the State Food and Drug Administration, named after its American counterpart, that on paper had "super-ministerial authority" to coordinate all the others that monitored the politically sensitive food and drug sphere.
Read Full Article
A year without 'Made in China'
A year without 'Made in China' By Sara Bongiorni BATON ROUGE, LA. - Last year, two days after Christmas, we kicked China out of the house. Not the country obviously, but bits of plastic, metal, and wood stamped with the words "Made in China." We kept what we already had, but stopped bringing any more in. The banishment was no fault of China's. It had coated our lives with a cheerful veneer of toys, gadgets, and $10 children's shoes. Sometimes I worried about jobs sent overseas or nasty reports about human rights abuses, but price trumped virtue at our house. We couldn't resist what China was selling. But on that dark Monday last year, a creeping unease washed over me as I sat on the sofa and surveyed the gloomy wreckage of the holiday. It wasn't until then that I noticed an irrefutable fact: China was taking over the place. It stared back at me from the empty screen of the television. I spied it in the pile of tennis shoes by the door. It glowed in the lights on the Christmas tree and watched me in the eyes of a doll splayed on the floor. I slipped off the couch and did a quick inventory, sorting gifts into two stacks: China and non-China. The count came to China, 25, the world, 14. Christmas, I realized, had become a holiday made by the Chinese. Suddenly I' d had enough. I wanted China out.....
Read this great article about how globalization affects our lives.
Buying China-free products a hard task
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Whether U.S. shoppers are concerned about food and product safety, set on making a political statement against outsourcing or simply intent on showing a little patriotism, they are sure to have a tough time avoiding products made in China. Chinese exports have been in the spotlight since the deaths of dogs and cats in North America attributed to tainted Chinese wheat gluten, followed by this week's recall of Chinese-made radial tires and an alert Thursday by the Food and Drug Administration,
warning about contaminated Chinese seafood. My family hit some stores to see how hard it would it be for the average consumer to pull off a 'Made in China' boycott -- even for just a week....
Read full acoount
Is the C6 Corvette "China Free"?
OK, we have heard it all, from lead poisoning to defective products like tires and others. Made in China is almost synomous with a WARNING LABEL. I know Corvette is made in USA but is it truely a "China Free" product? Any parts made in China? Just curious....with nearly everything is manufactured
in China these days (Like that computer you are typing on, your phone, Ipod, Television, clothes, shoes, on and on...). Almost all electronic parts are manufactured in China. Some are from Korea, Malaysia, and even a select few from the US. That's right, many of those electronic parts in your car come from China. Reuters noted that GM now buys about 32% of its parts from low-cost countries such as China. Yes, you have Chinese parts in your vette, and every other car you own...and just about everything else you purchase. If it is not manufactured in China, then some of the parts likely are.
China-Free Christmas: A Resource List
A Resource List: "tt won't be easy - but we're going China-Free this Christmas. I've started to collect resources and I'm happy to share my finds - please let me know if you know of any other online shops or websites that have ideas on how to avoid China-made toys."
Go there..
Sign the petition telling Congress what to do
Moms Rising: "Sign the petition to tell Congress and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC): 'Testing children's products for toxic chemicals must be a priority. No more toxic toys and children's products!'"
China-Free Product from China?
This Chinese sounding clensing lotion proudly displays China-Free on its web site. How akward is that?
"Ginkgo Natural Cleansing Tissue Feature Simply cleans with a sheet of ginkgo-infused tissue. Perfect, alcohol-free cleansing action removes thick makeup and dirt while ginkgo naturally revitalizes your tired skin. * Contains 2,050 mg of Ginkgo extract "
Voice-Up: China-Free Non-Poisonous Goods
"In a recent Time magazine article,it was announced that a US-based group called 'Food for Health International' has plans to apply 'China-free' stickers on its goods.The subtext of these stickers will read ''These products won't make you sick or have harmful contaminants like melamine.' I personally think its a great idea and would welcome this little bit of help when I shop.Just recently I got to thinking about how in the world am I--or anyone else--going to tell the difference between poisoned and dangerous products and those that are not? Believe me,not all stores have plans to remove tainted products.Matter of fact,it's been reported that many grocers still carry the posioned China-made pet food that has been killing off our pets,just as there are plans by some stores to keep Mattel's toys on the shelves.Speaking of which......."
Friday, August 31, 2007
Menu Foods Looses Over China Made Ingredients
The fallout from a tainted pet food scandal hit Menu Foods Income Fund again on Tuesday, when its biggest customer said it would stop buying some of its products in the fourth quarter. The unnamed customer, whose total purchases made up nearly 10.8% of Menu Food's sales volume in 2006, said it would stop buying 'loaf' products from the company beginning Oct. 1, Menu Foods said in a statement. Earlier this year, the same customer said it would stop purchases of other Menu Foods products. "Menu Foods is disappointed in the reaction of this customer to the pet food recall. The intentional tainting of product inputs from a third party supplier in China was a fraudulent act that victimized many pet food manufacturers, customers and consumers," Paul Henderson, Menu's president and chief executive, said in the statement. Menu Foods was one of almost a dozen North American pet food manufacturers that had used vegetable proteins contaminated in China with melamine or related compounds. In March, the company recalled millions of cans of tainted pet food manufactured at two U.S. plants after reports of some animal deaths. Menu Foods' units were down 50, or 16%, at $2.50 on the Toronto Stock Exchange at 2:30 p.m. ET.
(c) Reuters 2007 Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Counterfeit drinking water found in Beijing
National Post
BEIJING -- Up to half of the water used in water coolers across China's capital could be "fake," or not as pure as its manufacturers claim, state media said on Tuesday of the latest in a series of health scares. The bogus water was either tap water or purified water of miscellaneous small brands poured into empty barrels sealed with quality standard marks, the China Daily said, quoting Liu Xiaoyun, the Beijing sales manager of a of a bottled water brand.
Full Story
http://www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=0c53aaf3-3686-4e4d-ae59-86fb52d6a05f&k=75728
Toys "R" Us recalls China-made wooden art sets
By Nicole Maestri
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Toys "R" Us Inc is recalling 27,000 wooden coloring cases that were made in China and sold under its Imaginarium brand because lead was found in the printed ink on the art set's outer packaging and in some watercolor paints. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which announced the recall on Thursday, said the 213-piece coloring set includes crayons, pastels, colored pencils and water colors that were packaged in a light tan wooden carrying case.
The printed ink on the outer packaging of the case contains lead, and some of the black watercolor paint contains excessive levels of lead, the agency said. The cases were sold at the toy retailer's stores and on its Web site from October 2006 through August 2007 for about $20. Of the 27,000 cases that were recalled, Toys "R" Us said 8,300 were sold to customers during the recall period.
Read full article
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSWNAS317620070830
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 )
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
How Not To Invest In CHINA
China's economy is expanding at the fastest pace in more than a decade. It seems at first like an opportunity not to be wasted, and anyone who has owned Chinese shares during the past two years has a lot to show for it. But one veteran manager of Asian portfolios warns that investors buying China today may be wasting money.
Investors in China are anticipating a lot, said Mark Headley, president of Matthews International Capital, a San Francisco firm specializing in Asia. What they hope for almost certainly is more than corporate China will be able to deliver.
"Shares are very expensive," he said. "There's wild, bullish sentiment practically everywhere in the Chinese realm. It's all going to end badly. It usually does."
Two developments may hasten the demise. One is ...
