Made in China? Danger Throw it away

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Concerns over products made in China have intensified, particularly regarding safety and quality. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has advised consumers to avoid Chinese-made toothpaste due to contamination risks. The discussion highlights a broader issue of the lax safety regulations in China, where manufacturers prioritize quantity over quality, leading to hazardous products, including tainted food and unsafe toys. Reports of industrial chemicals in food items and lead in children's toys have raised alarms, prompting recalls from major companies. Many consumers express frustration over the prevalence of Chinese goods in U.S. stores, noting that even essential household items like electrical components and tools are often sourced from China. This situation raises questions about the effectiveness of U.S. import regulations and the potential long-term consequences of relying heavily on Chinese manufacturing. The dialogue also touches on the ethical implications of supporting a system with questionable labor practices and safety standards, urging a reconsideration of purchasing habits for the sake of consumer safety.
  • #91
Moonbear said:
Perhaps they need to start outsourcing their testing to the U.S. :biggrin: Let's see how competitive they really are when they aren't allowed to cheat and cut corners on safety. I agree that just like U.S. companies, they should have to bear the burden of cost of product QC testing and documentation, and be subject to inspection.
The President of the toy company commited suicide the other day. It turns out the paint in question was supplied by a company owned by his best friend.
 
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  • #92
Schrodinger's Dog said:
Evo linked how the Chinese govt were introducing new safety laws. At least people have stopped with the China bashing, to be frank it sounded like a load of women running around panicking, least that's the impression I got: no offence :-p:biggrin:.

Expecting a developing nation to have the same standards as a Western one, in what for it is new markets is entirely naive, give it time.

Oh and you can rebuke China for their output but they're just larger than yours were when you were developing because they have a higher population, no one told you to stop polluting in the industrial revolution of the 19th century did they? I think that's Kyoto mentality, it would be hypocritical to expect developing nations to leap frog the evolution towards development and be clean from the get go.In fact to expect a country to suddenly develop cleanly and safely over night is totally unrealistic. You might want to take a look at your own governmental policies on the environment over the last six years before you start throwing stones around as well.

I totally agree! But then again, in America ignorance is bliss.

Also, be aware that some products from the US get recalled too. China just turned down lots of vegetables because it had excessive Selenium in it.

Obviously everyone hates China because they're taking away there hard earned jobs when we "deserve" everything.

As far as I see it, I see nothing that is stopping China from becoming the next economic super power.
 
  • #93
Evo said:
The President of the toy company commited suicide the other day. It turns out the paint in question was supplied by a company owned by his best friend.

See corrupted things happen like that here too. But the difference is that you can't get away with it in China, which is why he shot himself.

The US has a corrupted government that's been getting away with it for years!
 
  • #94
PS. My Chinese information comes from ACTUAL Chinese friends of which some are in China right now! Beware of what the media shows!
 
  • #95
Moonbear said:
Perhaps they need to start outsourcing their testing to the U.S. :biggrin: Let's see how competitive they really are when they aren't allowed to cheat and cut corners on safety. I agree that just like U.S. companies, they should have to bear the burden of cost of product QC testing and documentation, and be subject to inspection.
I thought that this was probably the most reasonable and fair approach, but judging from the silence from DC, apparently our elected representatives are willing to put up with the status quo (US taxpayers pay inspectors to try to screen and interdict poison/unsafe products from cheaters).

When my cousin and his family moved to Australia years ago, they had to check their two golden retrievers into a quarantine facility and pay for months of boarding, testing and observation before the dogs were allowed into the country. He and his wife and daughter had to be separated from those sweet dogs for months and they bore the cost of the quarantine to keep Australia safe from disease. The Chinese exporters should be held to that standard - the products should be quarantined in China until they are properly safety-tested and certified safe by US standards, and the Chinese companies should pay the cost of the storage, testing and certification.

Like you, I wonder just how competitive the Chinese would be if they were forced to adhere to the same quality/safety standards as US manufacturers. I have a feeling that a lot of their advantage would disappear, and boil down to differences in labor costs, employee benefits (ha!), taxes, and shipping.
 
  • #96
JasonRox said:
As far as I see it, I see nothing that is stopping China from becoming the next economic super power.

They are becoming the next economic superpower, but they will have to learn about things like quality control, emissions standards, effluent clean-up, employee rights, and all of those nasty little laws that make it more difficult to manufacture in the U.S. And in fact China is afraid because this problem truly threatens their climb to power. That is why people are committing suicide and being executed. But, one must ask, why hasn't the Chinese government [excuse me, a Chinese company] EVER issued a voluntary recall throughout all of this; starting with the poison pet food? Why do we have to inspect each product in order to find any problem? The fact is that they have never had to play by any rules so they have a lot to learn. Not to mention that they are stealing more US technology and copyright protected material than we can even track. This too must stop. China has to learn how to stand on its own without constantly cheating.

If it wasn't for our own government selling us out for the sake of big business, China would have been in trouble long ago.

As Alvin Toffler pointed out, the first rule of predicting trends is that no trend remains a constant. China has been skyrocketing to success, so that is bound to change as they begin to pay the price for success.

Did you see that the Olympic committee is worried about holding events in Beijing? The pollution is so bad that it may make the extended competitions difficult and dangerous. This, as compared to the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 [I was there], where the skies were crystal clear and blue. Although this was unusually good for LA, even the worst day in LA is better than the best day in Beijing.

Oh yes, and the long time favorite of government subsidized dumping designed to destroy the US competition has to stop as well. Again, given a level playing field, China will find the world very different from the one it knows.
 
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  • #97
Hers is a link to Mattel corporate video, and their promise to do better by doing the inspections themselves. Uhh actually they will probably hire some Chinese guy.

http://www.mattel.com/safety/us/
 
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  • #98
edward said:
Hers is a link to Mattel corporate video, and their promise to do better by doing the inspections themselves. Uhh actually they will probably hire some Chinese guy.

http://www.mattel.com/safety/us/
Watch for the price of toys to skyrocket.

With all of the added expense, will it still be cheaper to continue manufacturing in China? Is manufacturing in the US so outrageously overpriced?

Sadly, what it all boils down to is what has been driven into every American over the last 40 years, insist on lower prices. Business has responded to Americans buying cheaper products made abroad even if it means poorer quality. Maybe it's time to re-educate ourselves on why paying more for quality and safety makes sense.
 
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  • #99
Ivan Seeking said:
They are becoming the next economic superpower, but they will have to learn about things like quality control, emissions standards, effluent clean-up, employee rights, and all of those nasty little laws that make it more difficult to manufacture in the U.S. And in fact China is afraid because this problem truly threatens their climb to power. That is why people are committing suicide and being executed. But, one must ask, why hasn't the Chinese government [excuse me, a Chinese company] EVER issued a voluntary recall throughout all of this; starting with the poison pet food? Why do we have to inspect each product in order to find any problem? The fact is that they have never had to play by any rules so they have a lot to learn. Not to mention that they are stealing more US technology and copyright protected material than we can even track. This too must stop. China has to learn how to stand on its own without constantly cheating.

If it wasn't for our own government selling us out for the sake of big business, China would have been in trouble long ago.

As Alvin Toffler pointed out, the first rule of predicting trends is that no trend remains a constant. China has been skyrocketing to success, so that is bound to change as they begin to pay the price for success.

Did you see that the Olympic committee is worried about holding events in Beijing? The pollution is so bad that it may make the extended competitions difficult and dangerous. This, as compared to the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 [I was there], where the skies were crystal clear and blue. Although this was unusually good for LA, even the worst day in LA is better than the best day in Beijing.

Oh yes, and the long time favorite of government subsidized dumping designed to destroy the US competition has to stop as well. Again, given a level playing field, China will find the world very different from the one it knows.

The US sold out on Britain, so I don't know what you're talking about. Countries do this all the time.
 
  • #100
NEWARK, New Jersey (AP) -- Toys "R" Us Inc. on Friday said it was removing all vinyl baby bibs from its Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us stores as a precaution after two bibs made in China for one supplier showed lead levels that exceeded Toys "R" Us standards[continued]
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/17/tainted.bibs.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
 
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  • #101
I am awaiting the arrival of a lead-test kit. $35 including shipping for 24 tests. We have decorative containers and dishes bought over the years that may in fact be unsafe to use for food, and we want to know for sure.
 
  • #102
I was thinking that it might be interesting to start randomly checking Chinese made products for lead.

I saw a report the other night that claims that 80% of Chinese citizens don't trust the safety of food in China.

Tsu works with a guy who has lived in Taiwan for years and is soon returning. He just discovered that he has lead poisoning.
 
  • #103
Wal-Mart: Melamine Found in Dog Treats

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Tests of two Chinese brands of dog treats sold at Wal-Mart stores found traces of melamine, a chemical agent that led to another massive pet food recall in March, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. [continued]
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/08/21/ap4042092.html

HONG KONG, China (Reuters) -- A U.S.-based workers' rights group said it found "brutal conditions" and labor violations at eight Chinese plants that make toys for big multinationals, and called on the companies to take steps for better standards.

China Labor Watch said in a report issued on Tuesday after several months of investigation that the manufacturers -- which served a handful of global players, including Walt Disney, Bandai and Hasbro -- paid "little heed to the most basic standards of the country."

"Wages are low, benefits are nonexistent, work environments are dangerous and living conditions are humiliating," it said.[continued]
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/08/21/china.toys.reut/index.html?eref=rss_topstories
 
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  • #104
China Blue

This originally aired on PBS in May.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7722357401716915348
 
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  • #105
More batches of Chinese-made toys are being recalled because of excessive lead content.

The recalled items include SpongeBob SquarePants journals and address books as well as Thomas and Friends and Curious George spinning tops and toy pails.[continued]
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/08/toy_recalls.html


BEIJING (Reuters) - A Beijing factory sold up to 100,000 pairs of disposable chopsticks a day without any form of disinfection, a newspaper said on Wednesday, the latest in a string of food and product safety scares.[continued]
http://www.reuters.com/article/topN...c=082207_1024_DOUBLEFEATURE_dean_targets_gulf
 
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  • #107
It is inconceivable that outrgovernment expects the US taxpayers to pay for inspection, interdiction and testing of products that show up in our ports. The exporters in foreign countries should have to pay for storage, testing, and certification of their products to gain access to our markets. This crap is gutting US industries and impoverishing our workforce. It wouldn't be so bad if we had a social net that allowed US workers to live on a few dollars a day, but we don't.
 
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  • #108
edward said:
Why do the Chinese use lead based paint? It is cheaper.

http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2007/August/21080701.asp
Lead is very cheap, compared to titanium dioxide. Titanium dioxide provides brilliance and opacity in paints and paper-coatings, but it is costly. It is very stable and is safe for human consumption, but the Chinese can make fortunes (with their volumes) substituting lead compounds for titanium dioxide in coatings and paints. The heads of these companies want to cash in as quickly as possible - what do they care if your kid ends up with developmental problems or retardation?
 
  • #109
Many cosmetics and sunscreens contain TiO2. Lead is cheaper than titanium dioxide. Many products and/or ingredients come from countries not known for quality control. Some manufactures don't appear to test their end product for various contaminants.

The market for mineral makeup alone is huge.

Maybe we should be testing more than paint?
 
  • #110
My lead test-kit came in the mail today. This weekend, my with and I will take time to screen a bunch of ceramic, porcelain, etc products to make sure that it is safe to use with food. If they're not, we'll smash them and throw them in the trash. No sense in letting someone else find a "usable" serving platter, and poison themselves or their family members and friends. We have some very colorful decorative serving platters/trays that my wife bought years ago, and the recent problems with Chinese products have made us suspicious of other cost-cutting adulterations from back then, too.
 
  • #111
Far Star said:
Many cosmetics and sunscreens contain TiO2. Lead is cheaper than titanium dioxide. Many products and/or ingredients come from countries not known for quality control. Some manufactures don't appear to test their end product for various contaminants.

The market for mineral makeup alone is huge.

Maybe we should be testing more than paint?

A lot of Colgate's products come from China including all of their toothpaste. gees will it ever end.

Aqua Star brand fish and seafood products are advertised as being healthy ect. They are now in most major grocery chains. Yet their products are processed in China and god only knows what that fish has been exposed to because no one is looking.

Their website makes them look like the golden boys of good nutrition.

http://www.aquastar.com/consumer/fish_buyers_gd.htm
 
  • #112
And just think if the lead does make our children retarded, then they will grow up and buy even more stuff from China.

Smart, ain't they.

Jim
 
  • #113
Speaking of seafood- if you're looking for canned tuna in water be sure to check the ingredients. Some brands contain vegetable protein in addition to water and salt. Maybe not a big deal to most people but it's annoying enough to wonder what's in the fish.
 
  • #114
Far Star said:
Speaking of seafood- if you're looking for canned tuna in water be sure to check the ingredients. Some brands contain vegetable protein in addition to water and salt. Maybe not a big deal to most people but it's annoying enough to wonder what's in the fish.
That vegetable protein is processed to produce glutamates, which can help mask the taste of spoilage and the metallic tasted that can result from packing salted foods in metal cans. US regulations do not require that glutamates be identified unless the additive stream is at least 97% glutamate. If your food contains "natural flavors", "autolized yeast", "modified food starch" or any of over 50 other euphemistic names for this crap, you are eating MSG. It is difficult to find ANY processed food that has not been adulterated with this stuff. Here's a partial list.

http://www.msgmyth.com/hidename.htm
 
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  • #115
Turbo-1, thanks for the link. Helpful to know what to look for.

It will be interesting to know how your lead tests turn out.
 
  • #116
Aqua Star is a frozen fish and seafood wholesaler. They have been coming on strong in the frozen fish and seafood market. They now rank third largest in the USA.

I looked at several of their products at a major grocery chain store the other day. Both had a small label on the back of the packages that stated.......A Product of the republic of China.

http://www.aquastar.com/retail/food_retailers.htm

The water in the fish farms in China is not exactly what one would call healthy.

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56004

Mattel just announced another toy recall

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070904/NEWS07/70904081/-1
/BUSINESS08

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/LATU17804092007-1.htm


Now for the good news, I saved money by switching my insurance to Geico...not
 
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  • #117
all this talk about thing is like whao! well i want to say that the best thing to do is buy from your own country! haha
(visit my blog!)
 
  • #118
kaisxuans said:
all this talk about thing is like whao! well i want to say that the best thing to do is buy from your own country! haha
(visit my blog!)

It is far too easy for corporations to move to other countries where there are little to no labor or environmental laws, and then import inferior products into the US. As a result, our jobs, our safety, and our choices are disappearing.

Today's dangerous Chinese product in the news:
Importer to recall Chinese-made car fuses
Auto parts company alerted regulators to fuses that don't blow when they should and could cause fires. [continued]
http://money.cnn.com/2007/09/05/autos/fuse_recall/?postversion=2007090516
 
  • #119
This just reminded me that many aftermarket automotive parts are also made in China, although I still think that Mexico is in the lead here. Most non original equipment appliance parts are also made in Mexico, but China will probably soon dominate this market as they have with plumbing parts.
 
  • #120
WASHINGTON - The government announced an 11th-hour recall Wednesday to warn consumers that fake Halloween teeth sold by the tens of thousands since last year contain excessive amounts of lead.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071031/ap_on_re_us/halloween_recall

I'm getting the impression that China is a heavy country. Maybe they're just trying to lighten their load.
 
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