The Sick and Twisted ...

"Lost Your Job Yet ? ... Keep Buying Foreign !", is a popular bumper sticker which laments the loss of American jobs to outsourcing overseas. Based though upon recent revelations of product contamination this and last year, by those who deliberately choose to injure helpless and vulnerable children - well, it seems then it could be argued that the phrase ought to read "Lost your Health yet?...Keep buying Chinese!."

The International Herald Tribune reports the Chinese government is warning that the number of deaths and kidney ailments in infants due to complications from toxic melamine contaminated baby formula will rise as it continues to probe the industry. 2 infant deaths have so far been attributed to the poison and 1253 others are reported ill with 53 of that number considered especially critical.

Other reports indicate that the contaminate has also been found in Chinese yogurt products, and that at least 20 % of the Chinese dairy industry is guilty of adding melamine to fake the protein content of the raw milk.

Melamine was the culprit in an earlier scandal in 2007 involving adulterated pet foods exported from China.

This is the second time Chinese baby formula was responsible for infant deaths - in 2004 phony formula, lacking any nutrients, sickened 200 children and left 12 dead.

And it calls into question once again just how meaningful China's standards are for consumer safety practises especially with regard to food handling and processing, and how seriously China's government and regulators treat those standards when they fail repeatedly to both report and act upon deficiencies in a timely manner. The Tribune notes, "Shoddy and fake goods are common in China, and infants, hospital patients and others have been killed or injured by tainted or fake milk, medicines, liquor and other products.".

One company to be found producing the tainted baby formula product is Sanlu Group, a Chinese firm that is the country's largest producer of baby care and baby related products with 43% of its ownership controlled by Fonterra, a company based in New Zealand - it was Fonterra that notified the New Zealand government which in turn notified the Chinese government of the problem. The Chinese company, Sanlu, however was aware of the problem as early as March and in August had actually confirmed the presence of the melamine, which they said was added by the dairy producers and brokers, from whom they purchase the raw milk, to circumvent quality tests. As much as 3 tons per day of the contaminated raw milk was sold.

Sanlu, said that it was "sad" it had caused "severe harm to the many sickened babies and their families."

It is claimed that none of the milk powder was exported to either the US or Europe, although the US Food and Drug Administration has issued a warning that some of the Chinese product may in fact be on the shelves of ethnic grocery stores throughout the US.

Last year adulterants were added to Chinese produced Heparin, a drug used to thin blood, and which was imported into the US and responsible for several deaths before the US government forced a shutdown of the Chinese factories and imposed a ban on the importation of any more of the product.

The FDA recently announced that it will step up its monitoring of Chinese imported products and that it will open 3 offices in China to assist in the effort.

The deaths and injuries to defenseless infants dependent upon a product for their sustenance and very survival by callous "entrepeneurs" is both obscene and tragic.

It's bad enough that US jobs and incomes have been compromised and lost by expanding the industrial capability of China, but it is further insult and injury for Americans to have to use their tax dollars to pay to protect themselves from those very same products now made by the Chinese.

As of today 8.17.08 - 3 dead more than 6000 sickened. 21 more Chinese companies implicated.
As of today 8.22.08 - more than 56,000 infants ill, more yet to be tested.