FDA has a history of concern about exports of food from China.
Although we have witnessed some improvement in product quality,
some Chinese companies continue to export substandard food products to the United States.
~~~ David Acheson, M.D., F.R.C.P., Asst. Commission for Food Protection, FDA
before the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
Administration, and Related Agencies
(FDA - Sept. 2007)

• Baby cribs - September 21, 2007 - About 1 million Simplicity and Graco cribs are being recalled after Little Liam and two other children became entrapped in their cribs and died of suffocation, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Friday. Simplicity Inc., of Reading, Pa., is listed as manufacturer of all the cribs, which were made in China. The recalled cribs were sold nationwide, under the Simplicity or Graco brands, from January 1998 through May 2007. The recall involves multiple models and model numbers. It's the largest crib recall in CPSC history. (Source)

• Baby teethers - January 2008 - A line of baby teethers manufactured in China has been recalled because they pose a choking hazard, Health Canada announced Thursday.  Source

• Boy Scout Badges - October 2007 - A high level of lead paint was found on plastic badges worn by some of the youngest Scouts in America (Source - New York Times) 
  ~~> Follow-up: December 22, 2007 - None were ever returned after the recall (Source)

• Candy - June, 2007 - On July 24, 2007, the local distributor of White Rabbit bowed to a BFAD recall order from the Philippine market. The Philippine food and drugs claimed that the candies contain formalin (an embalming agent). BFAD met Tuesday with representatives of Cheng Ban Yek and Co. Inc. to discuss the firm's pull out strategy. BFAD officials gave Cheng Ban Yek 15 days to implement the recall, and to submit progress reports every three days, but the latter asked for more time because of the number of places where the products can be bought.  The manufacturer of the White Rabbit, Guan Sheng Yuan, cited an independent report by the Shanghai branch of SGS-CSTC, a joint-venture under the Swiss-based SGS Group, the world's largest inspection and testing company, as saying that samples of the White Rabbit ready to be exported overseas and tested on Wednesday contained no toxic substances, but has agreed to the recall. Today, White Rabbit candies has become China's top brand of candies. In 1972, Premier Zhou Enlai even used White Rabbit candies as a gift to American president Richard Nixon when the latter visited China. (Source: Wikipedia)

• Cars - December 2004 - German car maker BMW will start recalling 1,685 cars made in China because of problems at seat heating mats. The cars to be withdrawn are BMW 520i and 525i series produced between May 15 to Dec. 17, 2004 in China.  (Source: China Daily)

• Cigarette lighters - In November 2001, the Lighter Association, Inc. petitioned the CPSC to adopt the voluntary "Standard Consumer Safety Specifications for Lighters" (ASTM F-400) as a mandatory standard under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA). The requirements of ASTM F-400 address the risk of fire, death, and injury associated with the mechanical malfunction of lighters. The petitioner stated that a mandatory rule was necessary in its view, to address an unreasonable risk of injury created by the widespread nonconformance of imported lighters to the voluntary standard. The available market data suggest that imported and domestic lighter production totals approximately 1 billion units annually (75% are imported or 750,000,000 - of these, China is the largest lighter-producing country with 58% of the market - or 435,000,000 usually at a price of $.30 or less per unit).  Imported lighters had a conformance rate at or below 40% (and among the importing countries, China had the lowest conformance rate at 30%).  Lighters from Lighter Association members had a conformance rate of 79%. It took 3 years until the CPSC moved forward on this petition, issuing an extension of time needed was needed and advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) was published in the Federal Register on April 11, 2005.  (source)  On January 23, 2006 the Federal Register issued the Final Rule and after quite a bit of discussion regarding the definition of a lighter and how to transport them, offered this bit of 'comforting insurance' to the consumer: "(D) Manufacturer of the lighter. For a foreign manufacturer, the U.S. agent or importer must be identified". See further discussion on this issue and recalls ~~> What's wrong with the system?
  .

• Confetti Bursts - November 29, 2007 - About 60,000 DesignWare Confetti Bursts made in China have been recalled because they have lead paint on the bags of confetti, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced today. Distributed by American Greetings Corp., of Cleveland, Ohio, the product contains confetti in plastic bags. When the bags are inflated, consumers squeeze the bag and confetti bursts out. Each package contains six confetti bursts. The confetti bursts were sold at discount, toy, drug, grocery, party, and specialty/gift stores nationwide from December 2003 through September 2007 for about $3. Source

• Diet pills - August 13, 2002 - FDA alerted the public about Chinese weight-loss products, Chaso (Jianfei) Diet Capsules and Chaso Genpi, because they pose a potential public health risk.   The agency is alerting the public to this health risk because several people in Japan have become ill, and some have died, after consuming these diet products. (source - FDA)

• Diseases - Quite simply put, many authorities around the world are waiting for a pandemic to break out - many believe it will come from China.  Avian flu (read below) has no vaccine and because most of us have not been exposed to this, it can be deadly... look at the countries we trade with that have 'reported' cases to the WHO (bear in mind, it's a known fact Chinese officials govern what news does and doesn't go out of their country to the world) HERE.  China is the second largest importer of measles to the United States and has had numerous outbreaks of rotavirus diarrhea (with thousands of their citizens affected) throughout the years - source).  In April of 2006, China was approved to export processed chicken products to the United States.  As there are no current COOL regulations in place, as American consumers we don't know where meats, meat products or anything else like this is coming from!

• Extension Cords, Portable Lights, and Fluorescent Work Lights - June 2003 - Homier Distributing Co. Inc., of Huntington, Ind., manufacture red in China - 150,000, 180,000, and 54,000 units respectively; sold at traveling sales shows nationwide, the company's two retail stores (in Huntington and Lafeyette, Ind.) and online at www.homier.com from January 2000 through May 2003 for between $3 and $7; injuries include shocks and burns.  Source

• Jewelry - August 2007 - Despite a two-year effort to eliminate the threat of poisonous lead in inexpensive children’s jewelry, hundreds of thousands of tainted items are still being sold across the United States, the federal government has found. (Source - New York Times). 
  ~~> Lead is TOXIC: Lead is well-established as a potent neurotoxin and a particular threat to the developing brain of the young child, with documented negative effects on behavior and permanent loss of IQ points.  No threshold for the toxic effects of lead has been identified. When lead accumulates in the body, it is tightly bound to bone and then released slowly over years or decades.  Other toxic effects of lead have been found. Investigators have identified associations between acquisition of lead and weaknesses in attention, vigilance, aggression, somatic complaints, and antisocial or delinquent behaviors. Since July 2006 alone, the CPSC has issued at least 9 recalls affecting more than 6.7 million units of children's toy jewelry due to excessive lead content. One of the CPSC's 2006 jewelry recalls came in response to the death of a 4-year-old child from Minnesota who swallowed a piece of a Reebok charm bracelet. Upon investigation, the item was found to be composed almost entirely (99.1 %) of lead."' Clearly, that product was ingested by a child and did indeed cause a substantial injury-in that case, a tragic, unnecessary and entirely preventable death due to acute lead poisoning. Since 1998, CPSC has issued 29 recalls involving 157,962,000 pieces of toy jewelry due to high lead levels. These numbers make abundantly clear the utter failure of CPSCYs voluntary standard. (source - American Academy of Pediatrics)
  ~~> Comment from this same report: "I was shocked to learn that the Consumer Product Safety Commission not only allows companies to produce and market children's jewelry containing lead, but that the Commission is considering allowing the very companies who stand to profit from marketing these toys to decide whether or not to warn parents of the danger."
  ~~> The Chinese response (China WTOITBT National Notification & Enquiry Center)?  "We suggest USA make a sufficient risk evaluation on all kinds of preconditions, to avoid the unnecessary obstacles to trade.  Otherwise, we suggest USA cancel the provision. (source) ~~ considering children can never be expected to NOT put things in their mouths (even things not designed or destined for this), how can any 'risk evaluation' be done on any preconditions?
  ~~> Follow-up: December 22, 2007 - Recalled jewelry actually returned can be legally shipped to other countries (Source)
  ~~> See further information below regarding CPSC's position in 1998

• Infant formula - July 2004 -  The Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to feed their infants infant formula from China because the safety and nutritional adequacy of infant formula from China is unknown. (source - FDA)

• Honey - August 2002 - The U.S. Customs Service (Customs) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced that they have discovered bulk imports of Chinese honey that were contaminated with low levels of chloramphenicol (CAP), a potentially harmful antibiotic and unapproved food additive. The contaminated honey was detected during an investigation into a widespread scheme to evade payment of U.S. anti-dumping duties on bulk imports of Chinese honey. To date, the investigation has resulted in the detention of more than 50 containers of bulk Chinese honey at U.S. ports. In an effort to evade U.S. anti-dumping duties, this honey had allegedly been illegally transshipped through third-party countries on its way from China to America. (source - U.S. Customs Service) - Special Note: in 2000, several honey manufactures in the US filed complaints about 'dumping' by China of honey onto the U.S. marketplace; a year later the U.S. Commerce issued levies increasing the duty from 34 to 184% to prevent this practice; honey was shipped to the U.S. via Thailand to avoid this increased duty!  Customs agents found that U.S.-bound Chinese bulk honey was allegedly being transshipped through Australia, Mexico, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and other nations to evade U.S. anti-dumping duties.

• Pet food recall.... just contaminated products from two Chinese companies led to the recall of over of 200 brands and millions of products...

• Pharmaceuticals - FDA warning letter issued October 31, 2007 to Northeast General Pharmacy Factory citing various instances and conditions going back as far as 2002 - to quote their online bio "Northeast General Pharmaceutical Factory (NEGPF), the core of Northeast Pharmaceutical Group Corporation (NEPG), was established in 1946. It is the cradle of our national pharmaceutical industry and is a major production and export base of pharmaceutical materials in our country." (source), counterfeit drugs being sold online here in the U.S. but coming in from China 2005 to 2006 (source); On September 12, 2005, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas announced the indictment and arrest of an individual from the state of Washington for his alleged involvement in the importation from China and subsequent distribution of counterfeit drugs, including Viagra and Cialis. As a result of this collaborative effort, Chinese authorities arrested 11 individuals who will be prosecuted by the Chinese government for their involvement in manufacturing and distributing counterfeit Viagra, Cialis, and Lipitor. In addition to the arrests, Chinese officials recovered 600,000 counterfeit Viagra labels and packaging, 440,000 counterfeit Viagra and Cialis tablets, and 260 kilograms of raw materials used to manufacture counterfeit drugs. (source - FDA)
   

• Starbucks Coffee Mugs - December 2007 - Starbucks Corp on Thursday recalled about 167,000 Chinese-made Fusion Coffee Mugs because the plastic handle can detach from the body of the mug when filled with hot liquids, posing a minor burn hazard. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Starbucks has received 23 reports of the handles detaching, including nine that resulted in minor burns. (Source: Reuters)
   
• Seafood - time from November 2001 to June 2007 of FDA actions taken against seafood imported from China (source)
   
• Tires - June 2006 - The government has ordered a small New Jersey tire importer to recall 450,000 Chinese-made light-truck tires because they might come apart and cause fatal crashes, even though the importer says the costs of a recall would bankrupt it.  The tires, in sizes typically used by full-size vans, SUVs and pickups, are blamed in a fatal accident outside Philadelphia that's generated a lawsuit against Foreign Tire Sales of Union, N.J. FTS has in turn sued Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber, one of China's biggest tiremakers, which sold it the potentially faulty tires. (Source: USA Today)
  ~~> MORE: Ms. Hopkins said the agency’s top officials (National Highway Safety Administration) were “outraged” that Foreign Tire Sales’ executives waited more than two years to pass on their suspicions about problems with the tires. The company first suspected problems in October 2005. Almost a year later, in September 2006, the Chinese manufacturer, Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber, a former state-owned company based in eastern China, acknowledged that a gum strip that prevents the tread from separating was left out of the manufacturing process. (Source: New York Times)
  ~~> MORE: Hangzhou Zhongce admitted to Foreign Tire Sales that it had stopped making tires with gum strips but said it resumed use of the strips in January 2006, the importer said in a statement. The removal of the gum strip saved 30 to 40 cents a tire, Lavigne said. (Source: Washington Post)
  ~~> MORE: In Foreign Tire Sales’ case, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the company is legally responsible for the recall and threatened penalties of up to $6,000 per violation, with a maximum of nearly $16.4 million. The company claimed it could only afford about 10 percent of the recall costs. (Source: AfterMarket News)
   

• Toothpaste - June 8, 2007 -- Pitusa, National Lumber, Everything To Weight, Supermarkets and Supermarkets Pitusa of Carolina, Puerto Rico, is asking for return to our stores of all dental toothpaste of origin “Made in China” in the following sizes: large 6.4 oz with dental brush, 1.76 ounces with brush and 50 grams for children with dental brush, that has been acquired in anyone of our stores in all Puerto Rico since this dental toothpaste has the possibility of being contaminated with poisonous chemical agents like diethylene glycol (DEG) also known like diglycol or “diglycol stearate”.  Source - FDA's list of toothpaste brands involved in the recall HERE

• Toys - August 2007 - Mattel announced recalls Tuesday for 9 million more Chinese-made toys, including popular Barbie, Polly Pocket and “Cars” movie items, and warned that more could be ordered off store shelves because of lead paint and tiny magnets that could be swallowed. The recalls came nearly two weeks after Mattel Inc., the nation’s largest toy-maker, recalled 1.5 million Fisher-Price infant toys worldwide, which were also made in China, because of possible lead-paint hazards for children. Source
  ~~> Follow-up: December 22, 2007 - Mattel has received notice toys could be sent to regular landfills or recycled.  It plans to recycle some into park benches.  (Source)
  ~~> Follow-up: There is no federal law or regulation against reselling recalled toys - a loophole that some legislators are trying to close.  (Source)
  ~~> Follow-up: After Mattel recalled toys this fall, retailers shipped all of the affected lines back to the toy maker, Mattel said. Then, Mattel determined which toys were manufactured during the dates covered in the recall and isolated them. Mattel put stickers with new bar codes and product numbers on the other toys and sent them back to stores.  Shoppers today can buy Mattel products and peel stickers off them to see the product codes of recalled toys. Mattel says the toys with the stickers are safe. (Source)
  ~~> See further information below regarding CPSC's position in 1998

• Toys - November 2007 - Millions of Chinese-made toys have been recalled in the United States, South Africa and Australia after they were found to contain a substance linked to the date-rape drug GHB. A number of children have been taken to hospital after swallowing tiny beads known as Bindeez in Australia and Aqua Dots in the United States. The popular toy has been withdrawn from shops because of fears it may contain a potentially lethal hallucinogenic drug. Source

• Unsafe children's toys - June 29, 2001 - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced today that a lawsuit has been filed against Ameri-China International Inc., of Los Angeles, Calif., and the company's president, Austin Wu. The lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, alleges that Ameri-China imported more than 755,000 illegal children's toys between 1997 and 2000. Source
  ~~> See further information below regarding CPSC's position in 1998

"Some countries we almost never have problems with," says Cook. "But others,
such as India, Thailand, China, Korea, and many countries in Africa, require
constant vigilance."  (source - FDA)

"It is not unusual for processed food products--such as, say,
taco shells from Mexico or imitation crab legs from China--
to arrive contaminated with insect, rodent or bird filth."  (source - FDA)

A recent Time Magazine article it stated that
the Food and Drug Administration has 1,317 field investigators
and inspects just 0.7% of all imports under it jurisdiction.
CPSC has perhaps a total of 15 people to visit those same ports of entry
out of a total field investigative staff of less than 90.
I think that says everything Congress needs to know about
why products under our jurisdiction that violate mandatory safety standards
find their way into the marketplace.
~~~ Commissioner Thomas H. Moore, July 2007 (source)

In regards to lead in jewelry and toys, please note the position CPSC took in 1998 in their newsletter!

• CPSC works to ensure that products used by children are as safe as possible. These include toys, nursery furniture, children’s clothing, playground equipment, sports gear, and poison prevention packaging.
• CPSC has long been involved in protecting children from exposure to lead. In January 1998, CPSC issued guidance to manufacturers, importers, distributors, and retailers regarding lead in consumer products.
• CPSC requested manufacturers to eliminate lead that may be accessible to children from products used in or around households, schools, or in recreation.
• In addition, CPSC recommended that before importers, distributors, and retailers purchase products for resale, they obtain assurances from manufacturers that those products do not contain lead that may be accessible to children.
• Lead poisoning in young children may result in neurological damage, delayed mental and physical growth, and cause behavior and learning problems.
• In 1978, CPSC banned the sale of paint, intended for consumer use, that contained more than 0.06% lead CPSC enforces the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA). Under the FHSA, toys or other articles that expose children to hazardous amounts of lead under reasonable foreseeable conditions of use are banned hazardous substances.
• A household product not intended for children, but which poses a lead poisoning risk, requires precautionary labeling.
• Young children are most commonly exposed to lead in consumer products from direct mouthing of
  objects or handling the objects and then putting their hands in their mouth.
• If children are likely to handle a product, staff wipes accessible surfaces with moist filter papers,
  which are then analyzed for lead. If children are likely to put a product in their mouth, saline extraction tests are used as a surrogate for this mouthing behavior.
• Recent CPSC action resulted in stopping the production of children’s jewelry containing lead.

Despite what CPSC stated in their newsletter in 1998, they STILL have not stopped the production of children's jewelry containing lead ten years later!

"The same concern over multiple sources of exposure to lead requires
consideration of a broader approach to regulating lead in articles
with which young children are likely to come into contact.

To limit lead in toy jewelry
but not in any of the myriad of other children's products on the market
is to condemn children to the role of canaries in many mines,
where recalls may occur after a particular item is found to have poisoned children
and regulation is considered only as a last resort."
~~ State of Vermont, Office of the District Attorney
to CPSC in regards to recalling ONLY jewelry with lead (source)
~~> See further information regarding CPSC's position in 1998

The Recalls' Aftershocks - read the article by the New York Times HERE

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