U.S. checking all toothpaste imports from China

[homesick_american 1]

How much longer are we going to let the Chinese poison Americans and their pets before we threaten to knock them off the teat they're suckling and do business with a country that follows even rudimentary safety standards, not to mention HUMAN RIGHTS?

Also...if they can't tell me what brands of toothpaste are made in China, how can I exercise my rights as a consumer and refuse to buy any product...ANY product...manufactured in China?

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/05/23/china...reut/index.html

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S. health officials are beginning to check all shipments of toothpaste coming from China, following reports of tainted products in other countries, a government spokesman said Wednesday.

The Food and Drug Administration has no evidence that contaminated toothpaste has made its way into the United States but is taking the step as a precaution, agency spokesman Doug Arbesfeld said.

China is the second-largest exporter of toothpaste to the United States behind Canada, according to the FDA.

The FDA's action comes after the lethal chemical diethylene glycol was found in toothpaste sold in the Dominican Republic and Panama.

It follows a wave of concern over pet food from China containing another toxic chemical, melamine, thought to have sickened thousands of U.S. cats and dogs and made its way into livestock feed.

"We are going to be sampling and testing all shipments of toothpaste that come from China," Arbesfeld said. "We're doing this as a precautionary measure. We have no evidence that toothpaste containing diethylene glycol has entered the country."

Tests on product pulled from shelves in Panama showed they contained high levels of diethylene glycol, used in engine coolants. Investigators in that country said two toothpaste brands were imported illegally from China through a free-trade zone.

Tainted toothpaste has also been reported in Australia, Arbesfeld said.

It was not immediately clear which brands of toothpaste sold in the Unites States are made in China.

A representative of Johnson & Johnson's McNeil-PPC Inc., which makes Rembrandt toothpaste, could not be immediately reached.

A spokeswoman for Colgate-Palmolive, maker of Colgate toothpaste, said the company did not import toothpaste into the United States from China.

A Procter & Gamble spokeswoman said Crest brand toothpaste was American-made. A spokeswoman for GlaxoSmithKline Plc's consumer unit, which makes Aquafresh, had no immediate comment.

Chinese officials have said they plan to strengthen domestic food safety even as worries grow about its manufacturers' use of toxins and fake ingredients.

Earlier Wednesday, China called for an investigative team to probe the toothpaste incidents.

FDA's Arbesfeld said the U.S. agency is beginning its work immediately and will continue for 90 days, although that could be extended.

Arbesfeld added that the agency has been in contact with health officials in the other affected countries as well as China.

[Ban Hammer 14,456]

don't buy chinese toothpaste

[homesick_american 1]

don't buy chinese toothpaste

That's just the thing, Charles; how do you KNOW where it was made? They don't tell you.

Also, even if something was 'made' in the USA, how do you know it doesn't contain a processed ingredient that came from China, like that pet food did?

I think maybe we'll be cutting ALL processed foods out of our diets unless I can be assured that none of the ingredients were sourced from China.

[Ban Hammer 14,456]

don't buy chinese toothpaste

That's just the thing, Charles; how do you KNOW where it was made? They don't tell you.

Also, even if something was 'made' in the USA, how do you know it doesn't contain a processed ingredient that came from China, like that pet food did?

I think maybe we'll be cutting ALL processed foods out of our diets unless I can be assured that none of the ingredients were sourced from China.

i use german toothpaste

did i ever tell you the story about german toothpaste and nessa when i first went to brazil?

[PaulineA 1]

It would be a shorter list to say what's not made in China these days.

[homesick_american 1]

i use german toothpaste

did i ever tell you the story about german toothpaste and nessa when i first went to brazil?

Do I want to hear this?

It would be a shorter list to say what's not made in China these days.

No joke. It's getting harder and harder to avoid Chinese-made goods. I'm willing to pay extra for goods not made in China, but I'm not given the choice.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

That’s pretty disturbing – makes you wonder how any of this stuff gets imported without at least some sort of additional safety testing – rather than relying on foreign inspectors.

Not that this is likely – but surely if someone really put their mind to it, they could find a way to poison people on a mass scale through imported products. I mean… does anyone analyse this stuff before it goes on our shelves?

Reminded me a little of that 50's conspiracy theory about LSD in the drinking water.

[homesick_american 1]

That’s pretty disturbing – makes you wonder how any of this stuff gets imported without at least some sort of additional safety testing – rather than relying on foreign inspectors.

Not that this is likely – but surely if someone really put their mind to it, they could find a way to poison people on a mass scale through imported products. I mean… does anyone analyse this stuff before it goes on our shelves?

Reminded me a little of that 50's conspiracy theory about LSD in the drinking water.

I just saw a story the other day about how not secure the US food supply is.

Makes you sorta want to plant a vegetable garden and get to know your local butcher VERY well, eh?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

That and the Port security issue - present a lot of opportunities for someone intent on "malicious mischief"