Swine 'Flu: U.S. Industrial Farm Connection?

by Janet Ritz

Sources are pointing to U.S. factory hog farming in Mexico (a subsidary of Smithfield Foods was mentioned as having a possible connection), with their huge open ponds of waste that allow birds to mingled swine and bird 'flu, which then brings biting insects who pick up the mixture and infect to people carrying the human 'flu -- a perfect storm of disease if it turns out to be the cause:

Officials from the CDC and USDA will likely arrive in Mexico soon to help investigate the deadly new influenza virus that managed to jump from pigs to people in a previously unseen mutated form that can readily spread among humans.

One of the first things they will want to look at are the hundreds of industrial-scale hog facilities that have sprung up around Mexico in recent years, and the thousands of people employed inside the crowded, pathogen-filled confinement buildings and processing plants.

Continued...

[1] [2] read more...

Do We Need Another Jungle?

by Janet Ritz

Cross-posted at The Huffington Post

One year after Albert Einstein's publication of E=MC2, an unknown writer named Upton Sinclair published an exposé of the deplorable conditions within the Chicago meat packing industry.

The book, entitled "The Jungle," became a best seller that has stayed in print since its 1906 publication. It is not Sinclair’s impact on literature, however, that has led us to ask the question: Do we need another Jungle? It’s the recent influx of tainted goods from overseas that parallels the public outcry following the publication of "The Jungle," which resulted in the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. It was that legislation which helped to establish the Food and Drug Administration.

The same FDA that now inspects less than one percent of incoming goods ^[1], that gives bonuses budgeted to retain scientists to their administrators ^[2], that is faced with the recall of millions of U.S. toys manufactured in China, a majority of all fish imported from China lacking in inspection, the melamine in gluten that killed so many of our beloved pets that did not get inspected...[more]

subscribe - link - read more

Do We Need Another Jungle?

by Janet Ritz

Cross-posted at The Huffington Post

One year after Albert Einstein's publication of E=MC2, an unknown writer named Upton Sinclair published an exposé of the deplorable conditions within the Chicago meat packing industry.

The book, entitled "The Jungle," became a best seller that has stayed in print since its 1906 publication. It is not Sinclair’s impact on literature, however, that has led us to ask the question: Do we need another Jungle? It’s the recent influx of tainted goods from overseas that parallels the public outcry following the publication of "The Jungle," which resulted in the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. It was that legislation which helped to establish the Food and Drug Administration.

The same FDA that now inspects less than one percent of incoming goods ^[1], that gives bonuses budgeted to retain scientists to their administrators ^[2], that is faced with the recall of millions of U.S. toys manufactured in China, a majority of all fish imported from China lacking in inspection, the melamine in gluten that killed so many of our beloved pets that did not get inspected...

And it's not only China ^[3]. The FDA is faced with growing imports from many countries, far more than they could ever inspect, had they the resources to do so.

The question then becomes: Do we need another exposé that will lead to a radical change in policy, a la Sinclair's "The Jungle?" This is an important consideration since these problems seem to be arising through lack of oversight. With the increasing amount of products manufactured offshore, we're at the mercy of the quality, or lack thereof, adhered to by our trading partners.

Since we do not have the inspection regimen to stop all of the dangerous products at our border, nor do we provide the incentives for our global trading partners to improve the conditions for their own workforce, and/or to regulate their diverse supply chain, we are relying on the "good faith" of foreign nations over which we have no ability to regulate. And, if we did, it might not solve the problem, as they may not be able to inspect their own supply chains of smaller manufacturers, many of which were responsible for the tainted products that then were sent on to increasingly larger companies outside our borders. -- layers within layers of inspection needed in a proactive, rather than a reactive program, as has been the case since the growing scandal of tainted products came to light.

An author, Ted Fishman (China, Inc.) made the point recently that only China can change China. Considering its size and the size of our debt to China, that seems a logical conclusion. But who then is responsible for the protection of our citizens if neither China nor our government can do so? Does it fall on the individual states to enhance their own consumer departments? Is it the impact on the marketplace that will lead corporations to both be more careful and to pressure their foreign suppliers to clean up their own supply chains?

Or is it the consumers who will apply the pressure as more problems come to light?

It was the public outcry after the revelations of the "The Jungle" that led to the change in policy in 1906. But it was a simpler society. Imported goods are now so pervasive, it may be impossible to avoid their use.

Where did the ascorbic acid in your Vitamin C come from?

Strong possibility it was imported from China.

How about that gluten in your bread (and in your pet food)? The shrimp you ate last night at that restaurant? And, here's a surprising fact: Garlic. Doesn't Gilroy, CA, [claim to be the] garlic capital of the world?

Most garlic is imported from China. ^[4]

If someone ever got inside the Chinese factories, a la Sinclair, and through their supply chain, and wrote about what really happens there, it begs the question: would it make for interesting story about a foreign land or will it be seen in the context of our need for cheap goods? On the impact on quality of life for those who make those goods? Of the quality of those goods we are now required to consume?

And, of course, the jobs lost here because manufacture has moved offshore?

Sadly, even with a major overhaul and a significant budget increase, it's unlikely the FDA will be able to monitor everything coming in to the United States. The money. ^[5] The cheap labor, the competition (they're doing it, so we have to...). And that startling amount of our debt the current administration has entrusted to China. It seems that might make our bargaining position a bit weakened when they're holding our notes, especially when it took
the FDA ten years to track down the toxic Chinese compound used recently in toothpaste.

It is our view that this should be a condemnation of the overworked FDA inspectors. In the case of the tainted glycerin it was a European importer that had stored the compound in their supply warehouses without the necessary paperwork from China.

Does the answer then rest with the consumer? If we can't rely on the FDA to inspect more the one percent of our imported goods. If we can't be assured that the corporations importing those goods will uncover their problems in a timely manner (many do, but not all). If we don't even know where the ingredients of a product we are about to consume comes from, how can we be certain what we're consuming is safe?

Carl R. Nielsen, former FDA Director of the Division of Import Operations and Policy: "The reality is, this is not a single-country issue at all, What we are experiencing is massive globalization. ^[6]

This problem is further exacerbated by the financial squeeze on the American consumer, as revealed by Walmart's recently declining quarterly profits. When the middle class can no longer afford cheap Chinese goods that line Walmart's shelves, what incentive will there be for anyone to buy more expensive products?

A solution -- only a partial solution, at best -- is to buy local wherever you can and reduce the amount of your consumption, where possible, to make up for the increase in cost. That means farmer's markets (list below) and goods that are made by local suppliers. This has the added benefit of fresher goods, supporting local business and reducing the carbon footprint required to come to market. For imported goods, we look to Fair Trade (list below), especially when it comes to products that could be used for conflicts, as has been reported recently with chocolate (yes, chocolate).

Beyond that, we're in the same predicament as everyone else: Crossing our fingers when we eat at a restaurant or take a vitamin or buy anything where a major corporate supplier does not reveal a point of origin on their goods. Which is why there should be no wondering as to why we're wondering if there's another Upton Sinclair who will save us from ourselves.

Here are useful links:

• CPSC – Consumer Product Safety Commission (for recalled goods).
• FDA – Food and Drug Administration (for recalled goods).

Farmer's Markets:

• Farmer's Markets by U.S. State
• Farmer's Markets in Canada
• Farmer's Markets in Great Britain
• Farmer's Markets in Australia

Fair Trade:

• Fair Trade Labeling Organization International
• Fair Trade Certified USA
• Fair Trade Federation
• Fair Trade Coffee (Global Exchange)
• Fair Trade Chocolate (Global Exchange) ^[7]
• Fair Trade Resource Network
• Fair Trade Foundation, London
• Fair Trade International Members

Chocolate products that are not produced by child slave labor ^[7]

chocolate, diamonds, coltan...

The website from the Mandela Project about conflict products (highly recommended):

The Inventory of Conflict & Environment (ICE)

Apologies to any links we missed and empathy for the 1,321,851,888 ^[8] Chinese at risk of their own tainted supply chain -- of which we have seen just the terrifying tip of the iceberg.

Fair trade

China's Recalled Toy Company Boss Commits Suicide

by Janet Ritz

The Chinese government has announced that the head of the Guangdong province toy company, identified as the source of nearly a million recalled toys, has committed suicide:

Zhang Shuhong, who ran the Lee Der Industrial Co. Ltd, killed himself at a warehouse over the weekend, days after China said it had temporarily banned exports by the company, the Southern Metropolis Daily said.

Lee Der made 967,000 toys recalled earlier this month by Mattel Inc. because they were made with paint found to have excessive amounts of lead. The plastic preschool toys, sold under the Fisher-Price brand in the U.S., included the popular Big Bird, Elmo, Dora and Diego characters

(snip)

The suicide comes less than a week after Mattel's announcement identifying Lee Der Industrial, in Guangdong province, as the manufacturer of the toys, which were sold under the Fisher-Price brand in the United States between May and August. Link.

As reported in these earlier posts, this is the latest episode in the ongoing Chinese export/consequences of globalization scandal:

• China's Toxic Food Scandal
• FDA Tracked Tainted Chinese Drugs
• Pet Food Recall - The FDA lists

One interesting difference in this story from the pet food recall debacle where Menu Foods waited until many more pets had died before they reported their suspicions: It seems that Mattel reported the lead paint in the imported toys more quickely and issued an apology to their customers. That's the good news. The bad? With less than a one percent inspection U.S. government inspection rate of imported goods, it begs the question what else may be getting through that has not been reported by companies as forthcoming as Mattel?

Here's the link to the CBS/AP story.

Recalled: 255,000 Chinese tires

by Martin Muse

China has done it again. Here's a link to a CNN story which has the brand and numbers of over a quarter million Chinese tires that have been recalled:

The recall applies to Westlake, Compass and YKS brand tires in these sizes and models:

• Size LT235/75R-15, models CR861 and CR857, with a DOT number beginning 7DT5FTS.
• Size LT235/85R-16, models CR860, CR861 and CR857, with a DOT number beginning 7DT2FTS.
• Size LT245/75R-16, models CR860, CR861 and CR857, with a DOT number beginning 7DT3FTS.
• Size LT265/75R-16, models CR860, CR861 and CR857, with a DOT number beginning 7DT4FTS.
• Size LT31X10.5 R-15, models CR857 and CR861, with a DOT number beginning 7DT6FTS.

With 287 Billion (with a B) dollars of Chinese imports and a less than 1 percent inspection rate, is it any surprise that I'm surprised that these quarter-million defective tires have been found?

Pet food, toys, fish, tires, toothpaste...



Here's the link to the CNN story.

China Not the Only Source of Tainted Food

by Janet Ritz

The New York Times has published an analysis today of foods and goods uncovered and/or rejected by the FDA (that 'we inspect less than one percent' agency...) by country.

The winners?

India and Mexico:

At a time when Chinese imports are under fire for being contaminated or defective, federal records suggest that China is not the only country that has problems with its exports.

In fact, federal inspectors have stopped more food shipments from India and Mexico in the last year than they have from China, an analysis of data maintained by the Food and Drug Administration shows.

So, what is going on here?

According to a graph put together by the NYT, based on FDA data, here are some stats:

Country	Shipments Turned Away	Most Frequent Violation
India	1763	Salmonella
Mexico	1480	Filth
China	1368	Filth
Dominican Republic	828	Pesticides
Denmark	543	Mislabeled candy
Vietnam	533	Salmonella
Japan	508	Missing documentation
Italy	482	Missing documentation
Indonesia	460	Filth

Carl R. Nielsen, former FDA Director of the Division of Import Operations and Policy: "The reality is, this is not a single-country issue at all, What we are experiencing is massive globalization."

What we are experiencing is massive globalization.

The F.D.A. database does not necessarily capture a full and accurate picture of product quality from other countries. For one thing, only one year of data is available on the agency’s Web site, and F.D.A. officials declined to provide more data without a formal Freedom of Information request, a process that can take months, if not years.

In addition, the F.D.A. inspects only about 1 percent of the imports that fall under its jurisdiction. So the agency may miss many of the products that are contaminated or defective.

[snip]

An F.D.A. plan to revamp the way it inspects imports, called the Import Strategic Plan, was completed in 2003, but shelved because of budgetary constraints, several former F.D.A. officials said.

http://www.nytimes.com/...

What to do? Aside from contacting your Congressperson to ask questions about the FDA's budget and WHY the Import Strategic Plan was SHELVED (and when it will be UNSHELVED???).

Buy local wherever you can:

here's a link to Farmer's Markets by U.S. State.
here's a link to Farmer's Markets in Canada.
here's a link to Farmer's Markets in Great Britain.
here's a link to Farmer's Markets in Australia

Buy proven foodstuffs where you can't buy local and buy FAIR TRADE everywhere you can:

• Fair Trade Labeling Organization International
• Fair Trade Certified USA
• Fair Trade Federation
• Fair Trade Coffee (Global Exchange)
• Fair Trade Chocolate (Global Exchange) ^[1]
• Fair Trade Resource Network
• Fair Trade Foundation, London
• Fair Trade International Members

Speaking of chocolate (a subject dear to my heart), here's a table of chocolate products that are not produced by child slave labor ^[1]

chocolate, diamonds, coltan...

Here's a website from the Mandela Project about conflict products:

The Inventory of Conflict & Environment (ICE)

And here's the link to the NYT story from today.

China's Deadly Response to Toxic Food Scandal

by Janet Ritz

CNN is reporting that China just executed the former head of their food and drug safety administration for taking bribes. That's right. They executed him.

BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- China's former drug and food safety watchdog chief was executed on Tuesday after being found guilty of corruption and dereliction of duty amid a series of food and drug safety scandals, Xinhua news agency said.

The Supreme People's Court approved the death sentence against Zheng Xiaoyu, 62, who was convicted of taking bribes worth some 6.5 million yuan ($850,000) from eight companies.

http://www.cnn.com/...

That's not to say the safety problem with China's products has been solved.

In fact, according to this well researched Newsweek article, it's worse than we thought.

(Confirmed by the BBC's story on the Chinese Official/Tainted Product Crisis).

China's litany of problem products, the likely tip of the iceberg, bears repeating:

• Medicine contaminated with diethylene glycol (antifreeze) passed off as glycerin.
• Gluten spiked with Melamine which poisoned so many of our dogs and cats :o[
• Toxic fish contaminated with banned antibiotics and chemicals
• Toy trains for toddlers (who like to taste things) with lead paint
• Juice with unsafe color additives
• Tainted seasoning on snacks.
• A Sudan dye used to color egg yolks red
• Pork tainted with clenbuterol, a banned feed additive.
• Tires missing a safety component (okay, you don't eat those, but, if you're driving around on them, you may not be eating much afterward).

And it's not only their exports:

Last week, the China's food-safety watchdog said almost 20 percent of products made for domestic consumption were found to be substandard in the first half of 2007. Canned and preserved fruit and dried fish were the most problematic, primarily because of excessive bacteria and additives, the agency said.

http://www.cnn.com/...

and

China today resembles nothing so much as the United States a century ago, when robber barons, gangsterism and raw capitalism held sway. Now as then, powerful vested interests are profiting from murky regulations, shoddy enforcement, rampant corruption and a lack of consumer awareness. In the United States during the early 20th century, public outrage over bogus drugs and contaminated foodstuffs, fueled by graphic accounts such as Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle," finally prompted passage of the landmark Pure Food and Drug Act. China needs a similar revolution today if it is to protect its competitiveness and its consumers.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...

However, as CNN reports:

Avoiding 'Made In China' labels are not an easy task

The 2002 Farm Bill passed by Congress mandated country-of-origin labeling for seafood, beef, lamb, pork, fish, fruits, vegetables and peanuts, but the Bush administration has delayed its implementation for everything except seafood until October 2008.

Some fruits and vegetables sported voluntary stickers, but shoppers always should consider the calendar when shopping for produce, as stores get a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables from Central and South America during winter months.

None of the sweets in the candy aisle said "Made in China," but most are likely made with at least one ingredient that originated there, said William Hubbard, a former U.S. Food and Drug Administration official.

http://www.cnn.com/...

Only China's problem?

The 2002 Farm Bill passed by Congress mandated country-of-origin labeling for seafood, beef, lamb, pork, fish, fruits, vegetables and peanuts, but the Bush administration has delayed its implementation for everything except seafood until October 2008.

And then there's this:

FDA Tracked Tainted Chinese Drugs 10 Years Ago

China's solution? Kill the guy who may be able to tell just which companies are behind all of this (maybe not the reason, but...)...

Another Chinese man (this one a hero - one of many) who may be at risk?

Wang Hai's mobile phone keeps buzzing with calls from clients. He's China's most famous crusader against fraudulent, shoddy and dangerous goods. The business consultant targets counterfeiters, helps duped consumers and protects whistle-blowers, many of whom face harassment or worse. "A good system for guaranteeing quality control simply doesn't exist in China," says Wang, who's been on the consumer-rights warpath for more than a decade. "Even confidential informants who report to authorities about someone selling fraudulent goods can wind up dead, under suspicious circumstances."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...

My suggestion?

Buy local wherever you can:

here's a link to Farmer's Markets by U.S. State.
here's a link to Farmer's Markets in Canada.
here's a link to Farmer's Markets in Great Britain.
here's a link to Farmer's Markets in Australia

Buy proven foodstuffs where you can't buy local and buy FAIR TRADE everywhere you can:

• Fair Trade Labeling Organization International
• Fair Trade Certified USA
• Fair Trade Federation
• Fair Trade Coffee (Global Exchange)
• Fair Trade Chocolate (Global Exchange) ^[1]
• Fair Trade Resource Network
• Fair Trade Foundation, London
• Fair Trade International Members

Speaking of chocolate (a subject dear to my heart), here's a table of chocolate products that are not produced by child slave labor ^[1]

chocolate, diamonds, coltan...

::sigh::

Here's a website from the Mandela Project about conflict products:

The Inventory of Conflict & Environment (ICE)

And perhaps we could reserve some empathy for the 1,321,851,888 ^[2] Chinese people who live with the risk of their own tainted food supply -- of which we have seen just the terrifying tip of the iceberg.

Fairtrade

FDA Tracked Tainted Chinese Drugs 10 Years Ago

by Janet Ritz

The NY Times is reporting today that the FDA has been trying to track tainted drugs from China for over a decade. Let me say that again -- for over a decade:

After a drug ingredient from China killed dozens of Haitian children a decade ago, a senior American health official sent a cable to her investigators: find out who made the poisonous ingredient and why a state-owned company in China exported it as safe, pharmaceutical-grade glycerin.

In a case echoed by recent poisonings, at least 88 Haitian children were killed in 1996 by medicine made with a toxic syrup sent from China.

http://tinyurl.com/...

"In a case echoed by recent poisonings"... That's right, the same story as the toothpaste/anti-freeze warning that came out on June 1st.

A decade...

The NY Times report goes on to say that China either stonewalled or destroyed records on the glycerin poisonings ten years ago.

By the time an F.D.A. agent visited the suspected manufacturer, the plant was shut down and Chinese companies said they bore no responsibility for the mass poisoning.

Ten years later it happened again, this time in Panama. Chinese-made diethylene glycol, masquerading as its more expensive chemical cousin glycerin, was mixed into medicine, killing at least 100 people there last year. And recently, Chinese toothpaste containing diethylene glycol was found in the United States and seven other countries, prompting tens of thousands of tubes to be recalled.

From the FDA:

FDA Advises Consumers to Avoid Toothpaste From China Containing Harmful Chemical

FDA Detains One Contaminated Shipment, Issues Import Alert

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today warned consumers to avoid using tubes of toothpaste labeled as made in China, and issued an import alert to prevent toothpaste containing the poisonous chemical diethylene glycol (DEG) from entering the United States.

DEG is used in antifreeze and as a solvent.

Consumers should examine toothpaste products for labeling that says the product is made in China. Out of an abundance of caution, FDA suggests that consumers throw away toothpaste with that labeling. FDA is concerned that these products may contain "diethylene glycol," also known as "diglycol."

http://www.fda.gov/...

In both cases (a decade apart), Chinese companies, not certified to produce pharmaceuticals, shipped the diglycol -- oh, heck, let's just call it anti-freeze -- to European manufacturers that did not check back to see where it had come from or test to see if it contained glycerin.

In the case of the 1997 Haiti poisonings, the NYT says that "Virtually every young poisoning victim who showed up at the main hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, died."

The route the anti-freeze took in Europe? German broker, Chemical Trading and Consulting, who could not "trace glycerine lots to their manufacturer." From there, 72 barrels were sold by a Dutch company, Vos B.V. to Haiti. When the FDA inspected Vos B.V., they found 66 more barrels of diglycol labeled as glycerin.

So, this has been going on for years. There are Chinese companies that are selling poison as medicine (or Melamine as Gluten...) in order to raise their profits, since glycerin will get you more bang for the buck than anti-freeze any day of the week. And, according to the NYT article, the Chinese government then obstructs the investigation into same said companies...

If there's anyone left who doesn't think our food and medicine supply is not at risk, I just don't know what to say to you anymore.

For everyone else: Buy locally, walking distance, if you can find it.

Here's a link to the NYT article.

Here's the FDA Press Release.

And here's link to Farmer's Markets by U.S. State.

Courtesy of DrWolfy: Farmer's Markets in Canada.

And here's a link to Farmer's Markets in Great Britain.