China products choke, burn, drown, drop, trap Americans
Washington's consumer safety recalls overwhelmingly hit imports from East

WASHINGTON - It's not just Chinese food and drug imports that can kill you.

Many of those bargain-priced products you pick up at Wal-Mart, Target or Sam's Club could do you in, too.

Imports from China were recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission twice as often as products made everywhere else in the world, including the U.S., a WND study of government 2007 reports shows.

Drug-Tainted Asian Fish Slip Into U.S., States Find

``I'm sure that FDA would probably wish we'd go away,'' says Ron Sparks, commissioner of Alabama's Department of Agriculture and Industries, which conducts the seafood testing, in an interview. ``My wish is that they'd come to the table and work with us.''

Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana also have found banned drugs in imported seafood, according to statements by regulators in those states. The tests, conducted after the products cleared U.S. ports and were sent on for sale in grocery stores or restaurants, show the FDA isn't adequately protecting consumers from tainted fish, food safety advocates said.

Mattel identifies vendor in toy recall

Tue Aug 7, 11:46 PM ET

LOS ANGELES - Mattel Inc. on Tuesday identified the Chinese vendor that made nearly 1 million Fisher-Price toys that were recalled last week because they may contain lead.
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Mattel said Lee Der Industrial Company Ltd., located in Guangdong province, made the 967,000 toys sold under the Fisher-Price brand in the United States between May and August.

Last week, El Segundo-based Mattel recalled the plastic preschool toys, including popular Big Bird, Elmo, Dora and Diego characters, because they were made with paint found to have excessive amounts of lead.

Mattel, the world's largest toy maker, apologized to customers for the recall and said the move would cut pretax operating income by $30 million.

Mattel spokeswoman Jules Andres said Tuesday that all the toys that were recalled were made by the one vendor and that the company has "ceased accepting shipments from the facility."

Mattel has shared the name of the vendor with competitors who may also be doing business with the Chinese company, Andres said.

She said she did not know what other toys might have been made at the facility for other companies, but that the company felt it was important for competitors to have the information.

"We do not consider safety to be a competitive advantage," she said.

The Chinese vendor could not immediately be reached for comment. A man at a Lee Der Industrial Company in Guangdong province said it made cardboard boxes, not toys, while a woman who answered the phone at another number listed under the name said that company had gone bankrupt several years ago.

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07257.html
CBS News story on Fisher-Price recall: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/01/national/main3124623_page2.shtml
Center for Disease Control web site about lead poisoning: http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/faq/about.htm
List of recalled children's products: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/category/child.html

Just the other day while on the phone with a manufacturer of water bottles I was asked how many families we on my email list. I realized that grassroots efforts do work. When we join our online voices companies take notice. If you join the email list you will receive a monthly email newsletter with important safety information for you and your family.

Marla Cone
Los Angeles Times
Aug. 3, 2007 12:00 AM
In an unusual effort targeting a single chemical, several dozen scientists on Thursday issued a strongly worded consensus statement warning that an estrogenlike compound in plastic is likely to be causing an array of serious reproductive disorders in people.

The compound, bisphenol A or BPA, is one of the highest-volume chemicals in the world and has found its way into the bodies of most human beings.

Used to make hard plastic, BPA can seep from beverage containers and other materials.

It is used in all polycarbonate plastic baby bottles, as well as other rigid plastic items, including large water cooler containers, sports bottles and microwave oven dishes, along with canned-food liners and some dental sealants for children.

The scientists, including four from federal health agencies, reviewed about 700 studies before concluding that people are exposed to levels of the chemical exceeding those that harm lab animals.

Infants and fetuses are most vulnerable, they said.

The statement, published online by the journal Reproductive Toxicology, was accompanied by a new study by researchers from the National Institutes of Health finding uterine damage in newborn animals exposed to BPA.

That damage is a possible predictor of reproductive diseases in women, including fibroids, endometriosis, cystic ovaries and cancers.

PARENTS MAY WANT TO REPLACE SOME BABY BOTTLES AND TEETHERS.

There is growing debate about the potential health implications of the chemicals that leach from some plastics, and especially their possible effects on babies. You may have seen headlines raising concerns about the soft vinyl teethers and toys that infants sometimes suck or chew. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has, as a precaution, recommended that parents dispose of any such items they own. Based on our own findings, we think the agency's advice is sound.

But soft vinyl isn't the only plastic used in baby products that may contain chemicals that have caused harm to lab animals. We also found that one such chemical leached into simulated infant formula when we heated it in one type of clear plastic baby bottle.

Parents whose infants use plastic bottles and teethers shouldn't panic. It isn't yet known what risk, if any, the chemicals that can leach from some of these items may represent to humans. However, until more is known about their effects, it makes sense to limit exposure to them. That's especially wise when it comes to infants, who could be at highest risk.

Here's a rundown of our findings, and advice on what they may mean for parents:

Teethers and soft toys

Mainly at issue here are items made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), commonly known as vinyl. PVC's soft texture is imparted by "plasticizing" chemicals. The plasticizer most widely used in teethers is DINP, a member of the phthalate family of chemicals. Administered to lab animals at high doses, DINP has caused cancer and damaged the liver, kidneys, and other organs.

PVC is used for a range of soft toys and other items for infants, but the greatest concern is with teethers, since those are specifically designed to be "mouthed"--and the chewing action can break down the plastic, accelerating the release of chemicals. (Pacifiers and feeding-bottle nipples are made of latex or silicone, and so are not of concern.)

Six of seven widely available teethers we bought and tested last December were made of PVC and contained DINP. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has assured parents that "few, if any, children are at risk" because the amount of DINP they may ingest from mouthing PVC toys is well below the level believed harmful. However, the commission also said more studies are needed to fully assess DINP's possible effects on infants.

The Vinyl Institute and the Toy Manufacturers of America, the respective industry

A New Jersey company traced the shipping of SpringFresh toothpaste, demonstrating how it followed an unchecked route from a Chinese factory to Painter's prison cell.

The manufacturer substituted toxic diethylene glycol, or DEG, for a more expensive sweetener. Experts say it's unlikely that anyone, even a child, could ingest enough tainted toothpaste to become seriously ill, but the disagreement about the use of this chemical reflects numerous issues in the U.S.-China import crisis.

Chinese goods account for 60 percent of all consumer-product recalls in the United States.

Safety scares have become all too common, said Donald Mays, a product-safety expert for Consumers Union.

U.S. scientists discovered the dangers in 1937, when 105 people died after taking a medicine made in Tennessee that contained DEG.

It periodically has resurfaced as a deadly additive, including last year in Panama, when cough syrup and other medicines triggered the deaths of at least 90 people.

In China, DEG is cheaper than glycerin, and the government does not prohibit its use.

It's not clear where Suzhou Qingxin Daily Chemical got DEG. Liu Changqing, the company's general manager, could not be reached for explanation.

FDA allows trace amounts of DEG in toothpaste, and Chinese officials maintain that toothpaste containing less than 15.6 percent DEG, by weight, is harmless.

Concerns expressed by customers worldwide gradually seem to be pushing Chinese officials to make changes, experts said.

On July 11, Beijing banned DEG from toothpaste. Meanwhile, large U.S. retailers have been placing inspectors in Chinese factories to watch for safety or quality problems.

The U.S. Department of Customs and Border Protection has inspectors at ports in 19 countries, but the agency has no one in China because officials do not have an agreement with that government. FDA is responsible for toothpaste and has no inspectors stationed in China.

FDA looked at SpringFresh in late June, checking samples from 12 tubes, including nine from American Amenities, a family-owned importing business based in Woodinville, Wash., and three from Georgia. One Georgia tube was 6 percent DEG, among the highest levels seen in the United States, FDA said.

Even at those levels, the chemical rarely would be deadly. According to an FDA calculation based on 6-ounce tubes of toothpaste that are 3 percent DEG, a 150-pound adult would have to eat the contents of 175 tubes to receive a fatal dose. A 22-pound child would

Owner of Chinese toy factory commits suicide

Audra Ang
Associated Press
Aug. 13, 2007 06:57 AM
BEIJING - The head of a Chinese toy manufacturing company at the center of a huge U.S. recall has committed suicide, a state-run newspaper said Monday.

Zhang Shuhong, who co-owned Lee Der Industrial Co. Ltd., killed himself at a warehouse over the weekend, days after China announced it had temporarily banned exports by the company, the Southern Metropolis Daily said.

Lee Der made 967,000 toys recalled earlier this month by Mattel Inc. because they were made with paint found to have excessive amounts of lead. The plastic preschool toys, sold under the Fisher-Price brand in the U.S., included the popular Big Bird, Elmo, Dora and Diego characters.

It was among the largest recalls in recent months involving Chinese products, which have come under fire for globally for containing potentially dangerous high levels of chemicals and toxins.

The Southern Metropolis Daily said that a supplier, Zhang's best friend, sold Lee Der fake paint which was used in the toys.

"The boss and the company were harmed by the paint supplier, the closest friend of our boss," a manager surnamed Liu was quoted as saying.

Liu said Zhang hung himself on Saturday, according to the report. It is common for disgraced officials to commit suicide in China.

"When I got there around 5 p.m., police had already sealed off the area," Liu said.

A company official who answered the telephone at the Lee Der factory in the southern city of Foshan on Monday said he had not heard of the news. A man at Lee Der's main office in Hong Kong said the company was not accepting interviews and hung up.

According to a search on a registry of Hong Kong companies, Zhang - whose name is spelled Cheung Shu-hung in official documents - is a co-owner of Lee Der. The other owner, Chiu Kwei-tsun, did not return telephone messages left for him.

The recall by El Segundo, California-based Mattel came just two months after RC2 Corp., a New York company, recalled 1.5 million Chinese-made wooden railroad toys and set parts from its Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway product line because of lead paint.

The maker, Hansheng Wood Products Factory, was also included in the export ban announced Thursday by the General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, one of China's quality watchdogs.

The administration also ordered both companies to evaluate and change their business practices.

Lead poisoning

INDIANAPOLIS - A leading supplier of toiletries for hotels and resorts said Monday it was recalling worldwide complimentary tubes of toothpaste made in China after tests showed some may contain a potentially toxic chemical.

It was the latest in a series of recalls of Chinese-made goods - toothpaste, children's toys, tires and pet food - because of shoddy and perhaps dangerous manufacturing methods.

Gilchrist & Soames is recalling its 18-milliliter or 0.65-ounce tubes with the name Gilchrist & Soames on it. The company said Monday that some samples showed the tubes contained diethylene glycol, a chemical found in antifreeze and can be toxic to the kidneys and liver.
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"They're just kind of the little complimentary size you get in the hotels, and it's branded Gilchrist & Soames," said Cindy Duran, a spokeswoman for the company, which is based in Indianapolis.

Gilchrist & Soames bills itself as "the only branded toiletries company dedicated to the luxury hotel market," according to its Web site. It serves The Greenbrier in West Virginia, The Properties at Pebble Beach in California and Plaza on the River in London, among other locations.

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The toothpaste was made China by Ming Fai Enterprises International Co. Ltd.

The Food and Drug Administration is not aware of any U.S. reports of poisonings from the toothpaste, according to a statement from the company.

The frozen shrimp, catfish and eel arrived at U.S. ports under an "import alert," which meant the FDA was supposed to hold every shipment until it had passed a laboratory test.

But that was not what happened, according to an AP check of shipments since last fall. One of every four shipments the AP reviewed got through without being stopped and tested. The seafood, valued at $2.5 million, was equal to the amount 66,000 Americans eat in a year.
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FDA officials stuck the pond-raised seafood on their watch list because of worries it contained suspected carcinogens or antibiotics not approved for seafood.

No illnesses have been reported, but the episode raises serious questions about the FDA's ability to police the safety of America's food imports.

Outdated system
"The system is outdated and it doesn't work well. They pretend it does, but it doesn't," said Carl R. Nielsen, who oversaw import inspections at the agency until he left in 2005 to start a consulting firm, FDAImports.com. "You can't make the assumption that these would be isolated instances."

If the system cannot stop known risks, Nielsen said, how can it protect against hidden dangers, such as the ingredients from China that made toothpaste potentially poisonous and killed dozens of pets earlier this year?

"The FDA itself admits that this seafood needs inspection, but then doesn't have the capability to inspect it," Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., a critic of the FDA's food safety record, said in reaction to the AP's findings. "This is an example of government failure at its worst."

China is America's biggest foreign source of seafood, the 1.06 billion pounds it supplied in 2006 accounting for 16 percent of all seafood Americans buy.

President Bush has asked a Cabinet-level panel to recommend better imported food safety safeguards. Chinese officials have promised to inspect fish farms closely for the use of drugs and chemicals, even as they called the FDA's testing mandate illegal under world trade rules.

FDA officials acknowledged that some shipments slip through import alerts, but said overall they work.

"Any time you introduce a human element into something, I don't think you can necessarily guarantee 100 percent," said Michael Chappell, the official responsible for field inspections and labs.

Normally, the FDA inspects just 1 percent of the cargo it oversees. When goods land under an import alert, however, they are considered guilty until proved innocen