America: China's Playground

Okay, so we've all heard about the imports from China. We're all aware that Chinese imports has risen 20% this past year alone, and we're all aware of the "defects" that are popping up in our chinese imports. It seems as if the government has lost total control. Meaning? We scorn China for exporting tainted Chinese goods, but we heavily rely on them for the majority of our so-called "American Made" products. What's even more disturbing is that the FDA normally inspects about 1 percent of all food and food ingredients at U.S. borders which means that it does tests on about half of 1 percent on all imported foods. And official vigilance has been going down — for two reasons.

First, food imports have increased dramatically, from $45 billion in 2003 to $64 billion three years later. Second, the "food" part of the FDA has been getting smaller.¹

For instance, let's talk toothpaste. FDA tests found antifreeze chemicals in Chinese imported toothpaste which inturn left the agency unsure if the items were "counterfeit." Is there any question? *ROLLS EYES* Okay, here's the proof. Five-ounce tubes of toothpaste labeled Colgate and sold in discount stores in four states are being recalled because they may contain a poisonous chemical, according to the importer (aka "CHINA").

A Food and Drug Administration official, Doug Arbesfeld, confirmed that testing had found the chemical in a product with the Colgate label. But he said the agency is unsure if it is really Colgate or a counterfeit. ² Like I said previously... Is there really any doubt?

In a statement released by the above FDA official, “We are aware that toothpaste is something that’s been counterfeited in the past... We don’t want to alarm people unnecessarily.” Alarm us unnecessarily?! What is this? "What the American citizens don't know, won't hurt them?" Come on! Get real, for crying outloud!

According to a news article from MSNBC at least 51 people died in Panama since October after taking medicine contaminated with diethylene glycol. The substance was found in cough syrup and other medications made in a Panama government laboratory from a falsely labeled shipment that workers thought was glycerin. The chemical was traced to a Chinese company. ² (Hello... I think that statement included the word "CHINA.") Diethylene glycol, or DEG, is a thickening agent used as a low-cost — but frequently deadly — substitute for glycerin, a sweetener commonly used in drugs. ² (And apparently toothpaste!) But it didn't say toothpaste... Read on, my skeptical viewer.

Nicaraguan police seized 6,000 tubes of a Chinese-made toothpaste suspected of containing a chemical that killed at least 51 people in nearby Panama last year, the health minister said Sunday. All U.S. imports of Chinese toothpaste were halted last week to test for diethylene glycol — a chemical commonly used in antifreeze and brake fluid.

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What more does the American government need??? They obviously know that Chinese imports are often times "infected" or "tainted," so why do we keep allowing Chinese imports to control our daily lives? Answer: HA! Just ask your government. I don't have the answer... your government does. And if that isn't convincing enough.... China now supplies 80 percent of the world's ascorbic acid — vitamin C. It's used as a preservative and nutritional enriching agent in thousands of foods. One-third of the world's vitamin A now comes from China, along with much of the supply of vitamin B-12 and many health-food supplements, such as the amino acid lysine. ¹ And that wonderful "Chinese Tea" that you've been consuming right and left? Here's another scary thought to think on:

When William Hubbard (ex-employee for the FDA) was at the FDA, he heard all kinds of stories about foreign food processors, like the one a staffer told him after visiting a Chinese factory that makes herbal tea.
"To speed up the drying process, they would lay the tea leaves out on a huge warehouse floor and drive trucks over them so that the exhaust would more rapidly dry the leaves out," Hubbard says. "And the problem there is that the Chinese use leaded gasoline, so they were essentially spewing the lead over all these leaves."
That lead-contaminated herbal tea would only be caught by FDA inspectors at the border if they knew to look for it, Hubbard says. ¹

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