The United States and China are learning to trade food–in a pig’s ear!
Dan Brawner
July 17, 2007
There’s an old saying that “One man’s meat is another man’s poison.” Following the recent charges of food import contamination from China, you might say that one person’s toothpaste is another person’s antifreeze.
In April, pet owners were horrified to discover that some dog and cat food imported from China was tainted with melamine, a toxic chemical used in making some plastics. In addition, it was revealed that toy trains from China were painted with lead-based paint, a poison that causes learning disabilities. And then there was the “farmed” fish and shrimp that contained salmonella and industrial chemicals. Chinese toothpaste, sweetened with diethylene glycol, a chemical commonly found in antifreeze ended up in Dollar Plus stores as well as in hospitals and prisons in Georgia and Florida.
Okay, maybe sweetening toothpaste with sugar would be bad for your teeth and the antifreeze might keep you warm in the winter. But still, it is, you know, poisonous. And Chinese cough syrup laced with the same chemical reportedly killed 51 people in Panama.
Chinese regulators insist they are cleaning up their act and have closed 180 food factories this year that had been producing candy, pickles, crackers, etc. using illegal dyes, formaldehyde and industrial wax.
The purity of America’s food supply has long been the envy of the world. But increasing imports have put a strain on the inspection process. According to the Commerce Department, last year, the US imported $1.86 trillion in goods, a 63 percent increase from 2001. Of that amount, $288 billion came from China. The Food and Drug Administration now inspects less than 1 percent of all imported food.
The FDA had been developing an initiative called the “Import Strategic Plan” to address the problem. But they canned the program in 2003 because a lack of funding and it’s been molding on the shelf ever since.
With all the bad press about their toxic products, the Chinese have decided to hit back at the US, placing bans on American exports of selected items such as pig ears and chicken feet. Chinese inspectors claim these products are substandard and not fit to eat.
Well, duh...! Who knew they were going to actually eat them? E-e-ew! You don’t have to be a farmer to know where chicken feet have been. And as for pig ears, that’s something American dogs use for chew toys.
It turns out that stewed chicken feet and pig ears are regular dishes in China. The Chinese probably figure some things Americans eat are gross, too. I wonder what they think of okra. And maybe the Chinese are baffled that we’ve been eating the sweet-smelling car wax they sent us as if it were candy!
In April, pet owners were horrified to discover that some dog and cat food imported from China was tainted with melamine, a toxic chemical used in making some plastics. In addition, it was revealed that toy trains from China were painted with lead-based paint, a poison that causes learning disabilities. And then there was the “farmed” fish and shrimp that contained salmonella and industrial chemicals. Chinese toothpaste, sweetened with diethylene glycol, a chemical commonly found in antifreeze ended up in Dollar Plus stores as well as in hospitals and prisons in Georgia and Florida.
Okay, maybe sweetening toothpaste with sugar would be bad for your teeth and the antifreeze might keep you warm in the winter. But still, it is, you know, poisonous. And Chinese cough syrup laced with the same chemical reportedly killed 51 people in Panama.
Chinese regulators insist they are cleaning up their act and have closed 180 food factories this year that had been producing candy, pickles, crackers, etc. using illegal dyes, formaldehyde and industrial wax.
The purity of America’s food supply has long been the envy of the world. But increasing imports have put a strain on the inspection process. According to the Commerce Department, last year, the US imported $1.86 trillion in goods, a 63 percent increase from 2001. Of that amount, $288 billion came from China. The Food and Drug Administration now inspects less than 1 percent of all imported food.
The FDA had been developing an initiative called the “Import Strategic Plan” to address the problem. But they canned the program in 2003 because a lack of funding and it’s been molding on the shelf ever since.
With all the bad press about their toxic products, the Chinese have decided to hit back at the US, placing bans on American exports of selected items such as pig ears and chicken feet. Chinese inspectors claim these products are substandard and not fit to eat.
Well, duh...! Who knew they were going to actually eat them? E-e-ew! You don’t have to be a farmer to know where chicken feet have been. And as for pig ears, that’s something American dogs use for chew toys.
It turns out that stewed chicken feet and pig ears are regular dishes in China. The Chinese probably figure some things Americans eat are gross, too. I wonder what they think of okra. And maybe the Chinese are baffled that we’ve been eating the sweet-smelling car wax they sent us as if it were candy!
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