**Click on “Read more” for info on the ban of toothpaste and catfish from China, as well as deadly puffer fish being imported as regular “monkfish.”**
Sure, there’s absolutely no reason whatsoever why a newspaper dedicated to business interests would make a statement completely unsupported by any facts, but would help American companies who profit from doing business with China. No reason whatsoever.
Toxic pet food dogs US-China relations
Memo to Chinese food exporters: don’t mess with America’s pets.
It was, after all, the apparent accidental poisoning of thousands of cats and dogs that first drew widespread US media attention to the failings of Chinese food safety controls last month.
Fuelled by revelations of other Chinese food problems and reports of exports of toxic toothpaste to Central America, the resultant furore is now threatening China’s fast-growing agricultural export sector…[good].
Washington has already demanded tighter regulation of Chinese exporters. Democratic senator Dick Durbin has declared that “Made in China†has become a “warning label†for food sold in the US. And, US news agency Dow Jones last week ran a story considering the practicality of calls for a ban on Chinese food imports.
Such a heated reaction has taken Chinese observers aback. Food safety has long been an issue of consumer concern in China’s richer cities, but few expected the death of a reported 16 US pets to escalate [And why shouldn’t they be surprised? China is a country that murders its own human citizens on a daily basis. Concern over animals must really perplex them] into the newest source of friction in ever-prickly Sino-US ties.
Beijing now appears keen to ease US and local concerns with vows of tougher food safety enforcement.
Oh good, thanks FT. We can all relax now and forget about all this nonsense about poisoned food. The Chinese promise to make it better. Whew.
For up-to-the-minute news about the ongoing pet food recalls and other pet related news that isn’t spun by China, American business interests, or business media, visit Pet Connection.
Here’s the latest news of poisoned Chinese products:
FDA halts imports of Chinese toothpaste
The Food and Drug Administration yesterday announced that it is stopping all imports of toothpaste from China to test it for a deadly chemical found in Chinese toothpaste sold in other countries.
FDA spokesman Douglas Arbesfeld cited recent reports that toothpaste containing diethylene glycol — a poison used in antifreeze and brake fluid — had been exported from China to the Dominican Republic, Panama and Australia.
The U.S. imported about $3.3 million worth of toothpaste from China last year, [for crying out loud, why?!] and while authorities have no evidence [translation: they haven’t tested anything so they have no idea] that tainted toothpaste has made its way into the United States, Mr. Arbesfeld said the testing is a “precautionary measure.”
Also revealed in this article:
Hong Chang Corp. of Santa Fe Springs, Calif., said Wednesday it was recalling monkfish from China that may actually be puffer fish containing the toxin tetrodotoxin. Consumption of foods containing tetrodotoxin can cause serious illness or death, and it cannot be destroyed by cooking or freezing, the company said.
And…
China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine yesterday sought to explain to U.S. regulators its policy on antibiotics in catfish. Alabama and Mississippi have banned imports of the fish, citing high levels of fluoroquinolones.
What does China think we should do in light of these serious, and sometimes deadly, health risks posed by their poisoned food? We should buck up, take it like men, and accept thattrade is more important than health.
“The U.S. side should abide by the WTO principle of minimizing the impact of health issues on trade ... and not take restrictive measures against all imported products of this kind,” the Chinese agency said.
An awful lot of ‘accidents’ out of China lately, huh FT?
