This is an update of sorts on my diary yesterday, where I suggested that the US needs to block all food components and drugs from China until its regulatory agency gets control over the situation of counterfeit food and drugs. This was in response to the NYT article that ran on Sunday that covered how diethylene glycol was sold as glcerin and killed children in Panama and a few other countries. The counterfeit glycerin had been used in cough syrup. Diethylene Glycol is the chemical in antifreeze that is very toxic, causing renal failure.
While many agreed that after these and a number of contamination and counterfeit product issues that have come out of China...where the Chinese have done little to nothing to the offending parties.....that the US needs to just block these items until the Chinese can give better assurances of their authenticity. Others felt we could have no such policy as it would cause a trade war.
Fine then....I suggest.....
that all US companies selling food and drugs in the US to protect themselves by purchasing their components (food or drug) from domestic sources whenever possible and from sources other than China, since the Chinese government has not taken its regulatory role seriously. I would hope US companies would find it cheaper in the long run to pay a little more upfront for the raw materials, then to chance expensive lawsuits for wrongful death or for causing illness in children and adults.
I do resent that a couple DKos users have yelled and screamed that this is a nativist mentality being employed by myself and others who have written about these incidences that have come out of China. No one has said China is the sole culprit. What has been said is that China has had so many strikes against them that their own people don't trust the food and drugs that are available to them. I say with certainty that many of us here believe in the availability of safe food and drugs to not only the people of the US, but also of China and other countries, and the assurance that all necessary precautions are being taken to ensure such safety.
While it is a difficult position to go up against a country that owns so much of our debt...on the flip side, they cannot sink us with it otherwise they will go down, too. What I have advocated is playing hardball with them a bit in terms of insisting that they improve this situation quickly, otherwise the US and other countries in the world will look elsewhere for food and drug components. They have taken one positive step thus far, banning the use of melamine in food components. However, the material used in Menu Foods products was shipped out of China as non-food and thus still would have slipped through even with the new laws.
That does not preclude the FDA from raising the bar as well, with Congress' and Bush's help. In order to provide an adequate safety net, more testing labs and personnel are needed to not only test raw components and finished product, but to also audit manufacturers and distributors to see that they are providing the appropriate documentation and oversight for their products. Much of the blame does lie with the Bush Administration for cutting the budgets of a number of government regulatory agencies and placing foxes in the hen house in positions of authority -- political appointees that do not have the appropriate expertise that their positions require.
But even our castrated FDA gave more oversight to food and drugs available in this country, then did China's own regulatory agency for its own people. Just a few years ago China was rocked by a baby formula scandal whereby the counterfeit formula provided babies no nutrition and caused them to have elongated skulls. They have had other food poisonings that have lead to illness and death. And on top of that, China has one of the most widespread water pollution problems known. Their lack of appropriate oversight for the safety of their people is becoming all too well-known. Hopefully this latest incidence will give the Chinese people an opportunity to demand more of their government as we should be demanding more of ours.
And another news story detailing a catfish recall (illegal antibiotics in the fish’s flesh) had this to say of China's track record (along with India's):
In the past six months, inspectors turned back Chinese apple chips with an unsafe color additive, fresh ginger with pesticide and dried mushrooms that were listed as filthy. From India, inspectors found spinach with pesticide, salmonella in aground spice, and crushed chilies with pesticides among hundreds of items refused entry.
Keep in mind, these are instances that were caught here by the FDA. How many more are not being detected? We simply have no idea. We in the US have not encountered such a grossly neglectful incident like that in recent history....yet. But the pet food scandal has certainly illuminated that it could happen.
How many instances does it require for companies to make the decision not to do business with China? How many lies does it take to ruin a reputation for years to come?
While we have the Bush Administration dragging down the American reputation, China has its poor track record on food and drug safety marring its reputation in the world market. Are US manufacturers taking notice? Who will be the first company to vow not to use components from China (or any other country with lax food and drug safety regulations) until they get a better handle on food and drug component safety?