by Deb Cupples | In July 2007, the Chinese government executed a 62-year-old regulator who allegedly had taken bribes to approve untested medicine that turned out to be unsafe for human consumption. That's one way to show the world that China takes safety regulations seriously.
Yesterday, China seemed to have another embarrassing issue relating to product safety and regulation -- this one involving baby food. The International Herald Tribune reports:
"China's Ministry of Health announced on Monday that a second baby had died in recent months and that 1,253 others had been sickened by contaminated milk powder in a widening food safety scandal that has exposed persistent weaknesses in the country's regulatory system.
"More than 340 infants remain hospitalized, including 53 in serious condition. Inspection teams are visiting dairy farms and processing centers in the country's four main milk-producing provinces to ensure that producers are not violating safety standards.
"The Chinese authorities have confirmed that the tainted baby formula was laced with melamine, a chemical additive sometimes used to make plastics and fertilizer. Last year, after thousands of pets became ill in the United States, the same chemical was found in pet food and traced to a Chinese ingredient.
The tainted milk powder has been traced to the Sanlu Group, one of China's biggest dairy producers, which operates as a joint venture with a New Zealand-based dairy conglomerate, Fonterra. China does not export milk powder to the United States. (IHT)
Yep. China certainly does seem to be suffering from lax regulatory efforts. But then, that tends to go hand in hand as nation's industrialize and try to keep costs low, so they can cheaply export masses of goods to other nations.
Following regulations costs money, which is why so many corporations tend to cut corners whenever they think they can get away with it.
In the U.S., corporate interests pour money into the campaign coffers of politicians (e.g., George Bush), who are hell bent on either reducing regulations or promoting lax enforcement of regulations.
If China is interested in solving its safety and regulatory issues, it should look at our nation (over the last seven years) as an example of what not to do. The Chinese government might also consider refraining from sending mixed signals regarding the tension between raw corporate greed and product safety.
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Very well said.
Not only China but all of the nations around the world should have learned from this mistake.
Posted by: hair clips | September 16, 2009 at 04:06 AM
That post-marketing regulation of food largely through surveillance of pest-resistant cotton varieties in China has reduced pesticide
Posted by: Term Papers | January 29, 2010 at 01:30 AM
It is the right of all babies to be fed quality and nutritious food as they are our future leaders in the world.
Posted by: glass baby bottles | September 14, 2010 at 11:51 PM