Here's the latest battle in the "U.S. said/China said" food wars.
China has impounded shipments of apricots and orange pulp because of "excessive bacteria and mold." According to this article, some believe that this is in retaliation for the various problems the U.S. says it has been having with food and other products imported from China in the past several months. China warns that rules and guidelines about food from the U.S. could be tightened.
It's not only food that the U.S. has complained about. It is also faulty tires, unsafe fake toothpaste, lead paint in toys, and that whole nasty business with pet food.










Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-28-2007 @ 8:52AM
bdw said...
The Chinese government is desperately trying to save "face," very important in that part of the world. They are huge exporters, and to have their products labeled at unsafe is not merely demeaning but would actively cost them money. But with the former head of their version of the FDA on death row for taking bribes to pass dangerous foodstuffs on to the public, they have a pretty hard row to hoe. The real problem is the corruption: it's almost impossible to make real money legitimately because graft has to be paid to government officials, so the businessmen might as well get their moneys worth by passing off adulterated goods. This process seriously tainted the reputation of Traditional Chinese Medicines about a decade ago when some patent formulae were found to contain heavy metals and other contaminants. This is really just the tip of the iceberg, the Chinese people themselves are the greatest victims, as we get all the best stuff and they get the leftovers that aren't good enough to export for hard currency.
The solution is to eradicate corruption, but as the government itself is founded on corruption, this seems to be an insurmountable problem. Anti-corruption programs started in the late 1950's and have never before been anything but window dressing. But the alternative is to lose gigabucks to other countries. What to do, what to do?
I'm always fascinated by what goes in in China. It's like a giant slow motion train wreck.
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6-29-2007 @ 8:25PM
Julius said...
What goes around comes around.
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7-17-2007 @ 4:15PM
Had enough of China said...
Chinese goods are like metastasis cancer. They are of bad quality and spreading everywhere. It is about time to tighten the rules and guidelines for anything coming from China or similar countries where corruption is a life style.
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8-25-2007 @ 2:14PM
jmannuzza said...
This is absurd.
They want to play that game then we should bring them to their knees and force an embargo on Chinese goods.
How lest and quickly they forget we raised them up, we should show them how quickly they can lose it.
I am tired of all this stuff, the US nees to start flexing it's muscles.
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