China may have exported tainted toothpaste to the US

[arcas]

What's frightening is US customs can only afford to inspect around 3% of the goods that come into our ports. If this isn't a matter of national security, I don't know what is.

 

[mrrman]

China is everyones doom...they are crooks

 

[maddogchen]

even if you ban all chinese food imports, they ship it other countries, relabel them as coming from that country, and then ship it over. Thats what they did for years to bypass WTO quotas on clothing before they dropped the quotas 2-3 years ago.

solution might be just to buy organic foods, and make sure that its from the US? As for things like toothpaste I don't know...

 

[imported_Imp]

Times like this I thank god that I'm so lazy I barely brush my teeth if I don't have an entire day free. Think my dentist is lying when they tell me it's ok...

 

[maddogchen]

Originally posted by: Imp
Times like this I thank god that I'm so lazy I barely brush my teeth if I don't have an entire day free. Think my dentist is lying when they tell me it's ok...

must make you a hit with the ladies

 

[torpid]

Originally posted by: maddogchen
even if you ban all chinese food imports, they ship it other countries, relabel them as coming from that country, and then ship it over. Thats what they did for years to bypass WTO quotas on clothing before they dropped the quotas 2-3 years ago.

solution might be just to buy organic foods, and make sure that its from the US? As for things like toothpaste I don't know...

There are "natural" toothpastes like tom's of maine. I have no idea where they get their ingredients or if the toothpaste is any good, but they do exist.

 

[0roo0roo]

heh and thats only what they do to other people. they screw their own people over plenty too, and there isn't the lawsuit culture over there to protect them at all.

if they know whats good for them they'll crack down hard. but i doubt that with all the corruption. they are gaining reputation for having no scrupples

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: Clocker
Dog food now toothpaste?



Toothpaste Article


Any thoughts

It was not immediately clear which brands of toothpaste sold in the Unites States are made in China.

A representative of Johnson & Johnson's McNeil-PPC Inc., which makes Rembrandt toothpaste, could not be immediately reached.

:shocked:

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: torpid
I believe the suspected chemical was used as a cheap alternative to glycerine even though glycerine is the listed ingredient. Glycerine is in many soap products as well.

Tests on product pulled from shelves in Panama showed they contained high levels of diethylene glycol, used in engine coolants

Glycerin is safe and is used as a thickener or a pharmaceutical suspension. The ingredient in question (diethylene glycol) is the same stuff you find in your antifreeze and is what kills dogs and cats.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: EKKC
i, for one, welcome our new chinese overlords.

oh wait. i am chinese! bow before me now!!!

:thumbsdown: :disgust:

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: torpid

Originally posted by: maddogchen
even if you ban all chinese food imports, they ship it other countries, relabel them as coming from that country, and then ship it over. Thats what they did for years to bypass WTO quotas on clothing before they dropped the quotas 2-3 years ago.

solution might be just to buy organic foods, and make sure that its from the US? As for things like toothpaste I don't know...

There are "natural" toothpastes like tom's of maine. I have no idea where they get their ingredients or if the toothpaste is any good, but they do exist.

yea you just have to make sure they don't outsource their production. business week had an article on artemis pet food this week because of the recent pet food scare. they don't outsource their food and mostly use only american and some canadian/new zealand ingrediants. some other smaller pet food makers still got screwed by the melanine thing becaues they outsourced. unless you are there watching all the time you don't know whats going on or gets slipped by. just being a smaller company with speciality product doesn't garrantee much these days

 

[Sc4freak]

Originally posted by: Flyback
Is this really any surprise? People want everything cheap. They (Chinese) fulfill that want using subpar quality (they aren't a first world nation, you know). You get and deserve what you pay for.

First world refers to an advanced country with a democratic system of government, IIRC. Since China is still communist, they're technically classified as "Second World".

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: Sc4freak

Originally posted by: Flyback
Is this really any surprise? People want everything cheap. They (Chinese) fulfill that want using subpar quality (they aren't a first world nation, you know). You get and deserve what you pay for.

First world refers to an advanced country with a democratic system of government, IIRC. Since China is still communist, they're technically classified as "Second World".

thats not fulfilling anything anyways, thats simply cheating. just because something is cheap it shouldn't mean it should be substandard. substandard shouldn't be sold.

 

[0roo0roo]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/features...ry?coll=orl-shoppinghg-headlinesinthek
WASHINGTON -- As federal regulators scrambled last month to contain a pet-food-contamination outbreak, officials in some Southern states had a different concern: Noticing that catfish imports from China had skyrocketed, they began testing the fish.

What they found surprised them: two banned antibiotics.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-05-21-china-food-rejection_N.htmFilth, residue are top reasons for rejection
The reasons some foods from China are refused entry into the USA are enough to scare anyone.
In March and April, the Food and Drug Administration rejected such things as frozen shrimp that may have contained nitrofuran, an anti-bacterial that can leave a carcinogenic residue; fish suspected of containing salmonella; and bean curd deemed filthy.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co...cle/2007/05/19/AR2007051901273_pf.html
Dried apples preserved with a cancer-causing chemical.

Frozen catfish laden with banned antibiotics.

Scallops and sardines coated with putrefying bacteria.

Mushrooms laced with illegal pesticides.

These were among the 107 food imports from China that the Food and Drug Administration detained at U.S. ports just last month, agency documents reveal, along with more than 1,000 shipments of tainted Chinese dietary supplements, toxic Chinese cosmetics and counterfeit Chinese medicines.

For years, U.S. inspection records show, China has flooded the United States with foods unfit for human consumption. And for years, FDA inspectors have simply returned to Chinese importers the small portion of those products they caught -- many of which turned up at U.S. borders again, making a second or third attempt at entry.

 

[Kaieye]

But it is okay to export Beef to Asia from America that might be contaminated with Mad Cow disease...

 

[0roo0roo]

? japans been totally anal with our beef. unreasonable one could say.

 

[OverVolt]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
? japans been totally anal with our beef. unreasonable one could say.

I don't eat beef, don't trust it :X.

 

[Shortcut]

the consumerist started cataloging stories of the growing chinese poison train

Edit This link pulls up more horror stories of our food supply

 

[NoShangriLa]

Originally posted by: Googer

Originally posted by: torpid
I believe the suspected chemical was used as a cheap alternative to glycerine even though glycerine is the listed ingredient. Glycerine is in many soap products as well.

Tests on product pulled from shelves in Panama showed they contained high levels of diethylene glycol, used in engine coolants

Glycerin is safe and is used as a thickener or a pharmaceutical suspension. The ingredient in question is the same stuff you find in your antifreeze and is what kills dogs and cats.

Glycerin (glycerol) is use in food, pharmaceuticals & cosmetics.

Diethylene glycol (synthetic glycol) is a form of Ethylene glycol that use as an antifreeze/coolant/heat transfer, natural gas dehydrate agent, lubricate, textile finisher, dyes solvent (and can't be use as a refrigeration agent due to high level of toxicity if leak into the environment).

GLYCEROLS AND GLYCOLS

<-- use propylene glycol for water source heat pumps (geothermal).

 

[chowderhead]

Originally posted by: Googer

Originally posted by: torpid
I believe the suspected chemical was used as a cheap alternative to glycerine even though glycerine is the listed ingredient. Glycerine is in many soap products as well.

Tests on product pulled from shelves in Panama showed they contained high levels of diethylene glycol, used in engine coolants

Glycerin is safe and is used as a thickener or a pharmaceutical suspension. The ingredient in question is the same stuff you find in your antifreeze and is what kills dogs and cats.

and people
DEG was blamed for the deaths of at least 51 people in Panama last year after it was mixed into cough syrup, another case with possible ties to China.

it's pretty frightning what can get into this country from counties like China which have low standards on health and consumer protections and food and drug safety. That list of refused items is disgusting. I don't even want to guess what does get through.

 

[OverVolt]

Local produce ftw?

 

[Fenixgoon]

OMG WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!!!!

christ i'm tired of the paranoia building news stories :|

 

[Mermaidman]

Holy monkfish! First petfood, then toothpaste, now monkfish!

China exported poisonous puffer fish into USA, labelled as monkfish! I've ordered monkfish a few times at restaurants . . . :Q

 

[ColdFusion718]

"YOU ARE GOING TO USE YOUR POISON TOOTHPASTE AND YOU WILL LIKE IT!" I read that comment on some article about poison-tainted products coming from China.

 

[BoomerD]

Sadly, most of the things listed as ingredients (as compared to actual foods) are rarely inspected, even though most of them are imported, PLUS, there's no law currently in the US to require manufacturers to list the country of origin of their ingredients. There have been numerous scares about the melamine getting into the human food chain because food tainted with it was fed to food animals, (chickens and pigs) but so far testing (or cover-ups) have shown that there has been no contamination of food. (Yes, I DO believe the FDA can be bought off, and/or ordered to hide things that might affect our confidence in our food supply)

Remember, just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean the bastards aren't out to get you!