Made In China - Human Food & Pet Toys

[Geff]

I've recently become very conscious about trying to avoid anything consumable that says Made In China. I know there are some limits; if a product sources some ingredients from China that likely won't be stated & I love Chinese restaurants & who knows what countries their food is sourced from?

With that said, here's a couple things I've noticed:

1. I haven't found a cat toy in the last week that wasn't made in China. I haven't checked the boutiques, though

2. From reading labels, I'm finding that a high percentage of frozen seafood for humans is made in China (See my recent Trader Joe's post for 1 example) & so are a significant amount of frozen vegetables. Today I saw a package of frozen "Alaskan Salmon Fillets" there had a made in China sticker on them...

[karatemom2]

This whole thing has changed the way I look at food manufacturing and food production.  I used to love eating meat, and I don't anymore after seeing what goes into animal feed.     The closest I can get to eating meat now is from the organic store where the animal feed is more controlled.      That said, I used to love Chinese food, Thai food etc.  Needless to say, that's off my list.  Probably for good because I can't bring myself to trust any of the ingredients.    And that's a big disappointment for me because that was one of my few vices (I don't smoke or drink but I liked going to binge on a good chinese meal).  That's history now.

My fur kids are still eating homemade with canned and kibble supplements from Evangers.  They are doing great and loving mom's cooking. 

[Therese]

I'm with you two! I definitely am reading labels more, and trying my best to avoid things made in China. I was out the other day and the thought crossed my mind to stop for carry out at my favorite Chinese place. *sigh* The thought didn't last long though - it was replaced by a sick feeling of what might be in that food.

[Geff]

The really pathetic thing is that I've always considered most Asian food healthy because they tend to use a lot of vegtables.

However, I am not ready to give up my favorite Vietnamese restaurant. I don't drink, smoke, do drugs or eat sugar (well except for the occasional pizza) & have also been single for a LONG time, I have to have something left for fun besides watching old movies & petting the furrball! And even he's getting frustrated, while I'm doing much better & have all my strength back, he really misses our nightly before bed fights. They've been cancelled until I have 2 working eyes again, that's just self preservation, them claws are sharp!

I'm currently watching Michae Moore's Sicko. I'm about 1/2 way through, & the message I'm getting so far is that it doesn't have to be this way. Other countries (so far examples have been Canada, France & the UK) take care of people before corporations.

[Geff]

For those who haven't read the newspaper. Seafood is one of the items the Chinese government has admitted that dangerous ingredients were added to. Buyer be VERY careful......

[Sharon L.]

From the BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6540157.stm
> -- China hospital food sickens many
> The focus of the investigation is on rat poison.
> One person has died and more than 200 have
> fallen ill after eating porridge suspected of
> containing rat poison at a hospital in China, reports say.

I'm sure that this link has been posted before, but the NYTimes' David Barboza was held hostage in a Chinese factory while investigating the lead paint on exported toys and the local police could do nothing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/24/weekinreview/24barboza.html
> --My Time as a Hostage, and I’m a Business Reporter
> AS an American journalist based in China, I knew
> there was a good chance that at some point I’d be
> detained for pursuing a story. I just never thought
> I’d be held hostage by a toy factory.


Just from the little bit of information getting out, the Chinese economy appears to be run by small scale robber barrons determined to make buck at any cost. I am also paying *very* close attention to labels and country of origin.

Sharon

[Geff]

Does anyone know of any sites covering the Chinese Human food situation like this one & Itchmo have covered Pet Food? I strongly suspect just like with pet food, there are lots of cover ups going on & that what info we're getting in the mainstream media is weeks old. I'm really feeling the need for some good info.

So far, I haven't been able to establish a connection, but about a month before my eye problems started, I started eating a ton of Chinese frozen shrimp & scallops that Grocery Outlet had very cheap.

[JSG]

There's a popular line called Dogswell that's pet jerky and it all says Made In China.  China just doesn't have it together and can't be trusted for natural foods.  I would never buy it.  Also, about the shrimp, haven't you heard how in China, their chickens are in cages over ponds.  They raise farmed shrimp in the ponds.  The shrimp are raised on the chicken droppings.  This is well documented.  So ... don't eat stuff from China!  By the way, that Dogswell stuff is really popular.  Supermarkets, even WHole Foods stores!  Makes you wonder what we are eating from Whole Foods and think it's so healthy.  Probably not.

[Perseus]

I've read where about 70% of the fish consumed in the US is from China.  The FDA rejection list that's put out monthly shows a lot of fish from China being stopped from import because it's filthy; contains contaminants; pesticides; etc., yet only 1% or so of our imports are even checked.  But at least you can read the labels for the country of origin when buying fresh fish and I avoid all fish from China for these reasons.  It's really hard to find shrimp from anywhere except China and Vietnam where I am in California.

[Perseus]

I just saw a segment on CNN this morning about a major children's toy factory closing down in southern China due to the Americans not purchasing Chinese made toys as much any more.  This could be due to the economy sliding or due to the concerns about Chinese made products, or both.  In any event, I will continue to boycott and not purchase Chinese made foods and pet toys as well as other Chinese made products as much as possible.

[Perseus]

Pet Food Express, a small local chain of about 30 stores in Northern California, voluntarily tests all the pet toys they sell for lead contamination since most of the pet toys they sell are made in China.  Even though there is not a recall for any particular toy, they post the results on their website and will not sell them:

http://www.petfoodexpress.com/petfood/default.asp?pageid=103&Section=About

The current list they post for recalled foods and toys (toys they tested for lead that were positive, not tested or recalled by the manufacturer):

http://www.petfoodexpress.com/petfood/default.asp?pageid=99&Section=About

Their lead screening procedures:

http://www.petfoodexpress.com/petfood/default.asp?pageid=100&Section=About

[GreyGhost]

This store is very good about letting people know whats going on. I love this store.

Thanks for posting the links.

[Perseus]

Found a great article on the TruthaboutPetFood.com website by Susan Thixton, discussing how long melamine has been in the human food supply chain, citing data about a 30% increase in human chronic kidney disease as an indicator:

http://tinyurl.com/5uhebx