Hu reassures US on Chinese products

NF Reporter · 09-06-2007, 10:17 AM

AP - Chinese President Hu Jintao, on the defensive over recalls of tainted toothpaste, pet food and toys, told President Bush on Thursday that Beijing was stepping up product safety inspections.

Full Story...

waltky · 03-11-2008, 07:54 PM

Agency shake-up in China...

China restructures ministry for better food, drug safety
March 11,`08 - As part of its efforts to ensure better monitoring of food and drug safety, China's health ministry has been restructured to coordinate food safety management, organize investigations into serious food safety accidents and decide on penal action.

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Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) will be put under the Ministry of Health (MOH) as part of the cabinet restructuring reform to better monitor the country's food and drug safety, State Councillor Hua Jianmin Tuesday told the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature.

He said the MOH would also be responsible for the constitution of the national food safety standards, the pharmaceutical code and a basic state pharmaceutical system.

The SFDA is responsible for food sanitation permits and monitoring of food and eatery businesses. The administration shall also monitor drug safety, including the process of research, production, circulation and use, Hua said.

China restructures ministry for better food, drug safety

sunken · 03-11-2008, 09:25 PM

After so many Chinese products were found to be tainted with various problems, they kind of have to do something. I think most Americans would like to see products made in the US, so the distrust will certainly not help their situation. The question is can trust be restored?

waltky · 03-20-2008, 12:46 AM

Now they tryin' to poison the heparin...

Heparin Discovery May Point to Chinese Counterfeiting
March 20, 2008 - Federal drug regulators, in announcing Wednesday that the mystery contaminant in heparin was an inexpensive, unapproved ingredient altered to mimic the real thing, moved closer to concluding that Americans might be the latest victims of lethal Chinese drug counterfeiting.

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The finding by the Food and Drug Administration culminated a worldwide race to identify the substance discovered early this month in certain batches of heparin, the blood-thinning drug that had been linked to 19 deaths in the United States and hundreds of allergic reactions. The contaminant, the regulators said, is a chemically altered form of chondroitin sulfate, a dietary supplement made from animal cartilage that is widely used to treat joint pain. The agency’s announcement followed a report Wednesday in The New York Times that was the first publicly to identify the modified substance as the likely contaminant. That report was based on nearly two dozen interviews with researchers and scientists in China, the United States and Canada.

Federal officials stopped short of saying that the contaminant — constituting as much as 50 percent of the active ingredient in heparin — was counterfeit. “At the moment we don’t know definitely whether the contaminant was introduced intentionally or by accident,” said Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s center for drug evaluation and research. Even so, the authorities left little doubt that they believed that the contaminant was not an unintended byproduct of some manufacturing process.

In its natural state, chondroitin sulfate does not have anticlotting properties. But it mimics heparin when altered to form what is called oversulfated chondroitin sulfate. That is what made it difficult for Baxter International, the manufacturer of the heparin associated with the allergic reactions, to detect the impurity. “This compound to our knowledge is not naturally occurring,” Dr. Woodcock said. “It should not be in heparin. And it obviously should not be in the form it is in.”

More http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/20/he...tml?ref=health

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Blood thinner bound for US contaminated
March 20, 2008 - CHINA has identified a contaminant in batches of blood-thinner heparin supplied by a US-owned plant in China for export to the United States that has been linked to serious reactions and deaths.

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It is the latest in health scares involving Chinese exports in recent months which have ranged from food and drugs to toothpaste and petfood. China's State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) said that the contaminant was "basically the same" as that found by US health regulators in batches of Baxter International Inc's blood-thinner heparin.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday said it had identified "over-sulfated chondroitin sulfate" in Baxter's drug, and was investigating whether the chemical was purposely or inadvertently added during manufacturing in China. Last month Baxter recalled most if its US supplies of heparin, used in kidney dialysis as well as heart and other surgeries to prevent blood clots.

Chondroitin sulfate is widely sold as a dietary supplement to treat joint pain. The over-sulfated version is not know to occur naturally and therefore likely was chemically modified, an FDA official said yesterday. The FDA is probing whether the contaminant is the cause of up to 19 deaths and hundreds of serious breathing problems and other reactions reported in the United States.

More Blood thinner bound for US contaminated | NEWS.com.au

waltky · 04-24-2008, 10:12 AM

Heparin contaminant identified...

US researchers confirm heparin contaminant
Wed Apr 23, 2008 WASHINGTON - Researchers said they had identified a chemical contaminating the blood-thinner heparin from China and also shown how it could cause a sometimes fatal allergic reaction in people.

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The contaminant is oversulfated chondroitin sulfate, the researchers said, confirming earlier U.S. Food and Drug Administration findings. It appears to activate two inflammatory pathways, causing severe allergic reactions and low blood pressure, Ram Sasisekharan of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and colleagues reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.

"These results provide a potential link between the presence of chemical contaminant in heparin and the clinical symptoms observed in affected patients," Sasisekharan said in a statement. Sasisekharan and another team also used a standard analytical method to find the contamination, which had been difficult to pinpoint before, and said it might be used to screen other batches.

The tainted heparin had been used by at least 81 U.S. patients who died soon afterwards. They had classic allergic reactions, with plummeting blood pressure, swelling of the larynx and other severe symptoms. Their cases forced manufacturer Baxter International to recall the commonly used blood-thinner and caused a diplomatic squabble between U.S. and Chinese officials. The chondroitin contaminant, derived from animal cartilage, has a structure very similar to that of heparin, taken from pig intestines. It thus cannot be identified with the tests normally used to inspect batches of heparin.

NEW SCREENING METHODS

waltky · 09-28-2008, 01:28 AM

Granny says, "Dey's a buncha dummies - ya ain't s'posed to milk the cow after ya scratches yer butt...

China's Milk System "Out Of Control"
Sept. 23, 2008 - Poor Oversight Allowed Manufacturers To Poison Thousands Of Children For Profit, Agriculture Minister Says

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China's agriculture minister acknowledged Tuesday that the country's milk-gathering system was "out of control" and led to abuses that put contaminated dairy products in stores across Asia, sickening some 54,000 babies and killing four. At least six Asian countries banned or curbed imports of Chinese dairy products, and the World Health Organization warned of possible smuggling of melamine-tainted infant formula across borders. The European Union told customs authorities to keep a closer eye on food imports from China. Melamine, used to make plastics and fertilizer, has been found in infant formula and other milk products from 22 Chinese dairy companies. Suppliers trying to cut costs are believed to have added it to watered-down milk because its high nitrogen content masks the resulting protein deficiency.

Since the discovery of tainted milk was made public, China's government has scrambled to respond. Recent days have seen a number of arrests and forced resignations of officials as reports of sickened children spread outside the Chinese mainland to Hong Kong and Macau. Chinese state television reported that the company at the center of the scandal, Sanlu Group Co., received complaints about tainted formula beginning last December and waited eight months to tell the local government, which then waited another month before informing higher authorities.

Agriculture Minister Sun Zhengcai told a meeting with the health and public security ministries that the industrial chemical melamine was likely added at stations that collect milk from small individual dairy farmers. "Since milk stations began only in recent years, the country now has no specific method of supervising them, or clear-cut supervision department. The purchasing process of raw milk is basically out of control," Sun said, according to a summary of his comments posted Tuesday on his ministry's Web site. "We must crack down on them with the greatest determination and the toughest measures," Sun said in the meeting held late Monday.

A group of 316 Chinese milk producers and retailers issued a joint statement promising to keep the dairy industry clean, state broadcaster China Central Television reported late Tuesday. Among other things, producers promised to reject sub-standard raw materials, strictly inspect production, and take responsibility for product quality. Retailers also promised closer inspections. Sanlu had no comment Tuesday about the allegations on state television.

More China's Milk System "Out Of Control", Poor Oversight Allowed Manufacturers To Poison Thousands Of Children For Profit, Agriculture Minister Says - CBS News

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Ignorance, Delays Worsened Chinese Milk Crisis
Friday, September 26, 2008 - In Hong Kong, tests on White Rabbit candies showed they contained an "unsatisfactory" level of melamine. Chinese officials pulled the popular candies store shelves Thursday, because they probably contain tainted milk.

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China’s deepening tainted dairy scandal took another turn Friday as a leading candy maker announced it was stopping sales inside the country, following reports that the product had tested positive for melamine in other countries. Amid growing suspicions of a high level cover-up, the World Health Organization said the incident had been aggravated by delays in reporting the problem, the result of “probably a combination of ignorance and deliberate failure to report.”

“If information had been reported as soon it was learned, we would not have seen an incident of this scale,” WHO China representative Hans Troedsson told reporters in Beijing. Four babies have died and more than 50,000 fallen ill as a result of infant milk formula contamination with melamine. Traces of the chemical, which is used to make plastic and fertilizer and can cause kidney problems, have been found in liquid milk, frozen yogurt desserts. China Daily said Friday White Rabbit confectionery products, which contain powdered milk and are exported to more than 50 countries and regions, were the latest to come under scrutiny.

The Shanghai-based makers of the popular candy earlier recalled exports after authorities in Singapore reported melamine contamination, and on Friday said domestic sales were being suspended. The Xinhua news agency quoted company’s vice-manager, Ge Junjie, as saying that tests being carried out had yet to produce results, but that all sales had been stopped. Dozens of countries around the world have ordered checks, recalls or bans on various Chinese products as a result of the scandal.

More CNSNews.com - Ignorance, Delays Worsened Chinese Milk Crisis

waltky · 10-01-2008, 02:48 AM

China crackin' down in toxic milk scandal...

China cracks whip, 27 held for toxic milk
1 Oct 2008, Police in northern China have arrested 27 people in their probe into tainted milk that has sickened 53,000 children and soiled China’s reputation abroad, state media reported on Tuesday.

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The 27 are among 36 detained since authorities in Hebei province began investigating Sanlu Group, the company at the centre of the scandal, earlier this month. The investigation followed the discovery that the industrial chemical melamine, which is normally used to make plastics, had been added to Sanlu powdered milk.

The Xinhua news agency had reported 22 detentions by Monday, and said those arrested were involved in a network that made and sold melamine and added it to milk. Four children so far have died after drinking milk tainted with melamine, which can make watered-down milk appear richer in protein.

According to police investigations in Hebei, where Sanlu is headquartered, melamine was produced at underground plants and sold to breeding farms and milk purchasing stations. The report said Chinese officials, learning that the purchasing stations were among the key links in how the contaminated milk spread, have begun a national campaign to overhaul the system.

A total of 31 provinces have set up special task forces to supervise the purchasing centres and implement more standardised practices. Milk purchasing centres only began operating in recent years, and the government has not yet set up a department to supervise them, it said.

Source

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China milk banned in Asia, Africa, European Union
30 Sep 2008, Four infants have died in China after being fed milk powder contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine which causes kidney stones and other complications when ingested.

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Here is a list of countries that have banned or recalled China-made milk products.

IMPORT BANS:

* BANGLADESH: -- Three Chinese powdered milk brands, Sanlu, Suncare and Yashili, banned. Melamine tests to be introduced on all milk powder imports at Bangladeshi seaports.

* BENIN: -- Banned powered milk products from China.

* BHUTAN: -- Banned Chinese milk imports, including chocolates, sweets, cakes and milk tablets.

* BRUNEI: -- All Chinese milk products banned by Health Ministry, even though Brunei does not directly import dairy products from China.

* BURUNDI: -- Banned import, sale of Chinese milk products.

* COLOMBIA: -- Banned import of China-made powdered milk.

* CAMEROON: -- Suspended import and sale of fresh and powdered milk from China.

* EUROPEAN UNION: -- The 27-nation bloc banned baby food containing Chinese milk.

* FRANCE: -- Banned all food items containing Chinese milk. * GABON: -- Introduced ban at same time as Burundi.

MORE

waltky · 10-10-2008, 10:38 PM

That's a lot of melamine, now they can find out who he was supplying it to...

Bust reveals 600 tonnes of toxic powder
October 10, 2008 - CHINESE authorities have arrested a man who made 600 tonnes of melamine-laced powder that was destined for the nation's milk supply, in the biggest bust of its kind, state media has reported.

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Melamine has been at the centre of an enormous health scandal in China over the past month after it emerged the industrial chemical had been illegally put into watered-down milk to give dairy products the illusion of high protein levels. Four babies have died of kidney failure and more than 53,000 others have been made ill after drinking tainted milk formulas, while contaminated Chinese dairy products have been discovered around the world.

Amid a huge reported crackdown by Chinese authorities, the official Xinhua news agency announced today a dairy farmer had been found with the "biggest ever" amount of a protein powder laced with melamine. The farmer, Zhang Yujun, had produced the 600 tonnes of protein powder in eastern China's Shandong province between September last year and August, Xinhua reported.

Although he made the melamine powder in Shandong, Zhang's farm was in Hebei province, one of China's main dairy regions, which has been at the centre of the scandal. Aside from arresting Zhang, police also caught eight people who bought the powder, Xinhua said. Xinhua said police had arrested 36 people in total in Hebei for their involvement in making, selling or adding melamine to fresh milk.

Bust reveals 600 tonnes of toxic powder | NEWS.com.au

waltky · 11-01-2008, 01:45 AM

Maggots inna Chinese oranges cover-up...

Maggot outbreak in oranges hushed up
October 31, 2008 - AUTHORITIES in southwestern China failed for more than a month to raise an alarm over an epidemic of maggots in mandarin oranges, state media reported today.

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The problem came to national attention in recent days via text messages warning of the affected fruits, but authorities in Sichuan province knew as early as September 23, the Beijing News said. The report said authorities in the city of Guangyuan were told of the problem two days after it was first discovered in tens of thousands of trees in the area.

However, it was not publicly announced until last week, it added. "Word of the problem affected sales of mandarin oranges nationwide, but Sichuan's provincial agriculture authorities did not hold a news conference on the subject for a full month afterward,'' it said.

The report said local Sichuan authorities took some measures to control the problem, but numerous Chinese media reports have said the affected fruits continued to be sold across the country for weeks afterward. State-run CCTV led off its midday news program today with a brief item pronouncing the mandarin oranges sold in some other provinces were safe to eat, but did not mention those in Sichuan.

The alleged cover-up follows reports that the large-scale contamination of milk with an industrial chemical was concealed for months even as reports of children falling ill mounted. At least four babies died of kidney failure and 53,000 children fell sick after drinking contaminated milk products, according to official statistics.

Maggot outbreak in oranges hushed up | World Breaking News | News.com.au

waltky · 11-15-2008, 12:44 AM

Geesh, what a bunch of incompetants...

Chinese needle snaps in baby's vein
November 15, 2008 - CHINA has recalled a batch of disposable medical needles after one snapped when inserted into an infant's vein, the latest in a string of food and product safety problems.

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Health organisations were ordered to stop using the needles, made by a Shanghai-based firm, after tests on another six from the same batch showed they all broke easily, a health ministry statement on the central government website said (www.gov.cn).

The faulty needles follow the recall earlier this week of a haemorrhoid medicine over fears the capsules were to blame for liver problems, and in October of herbal injections after three people who used them died.

China is also still struggling to recover from the widespread addition of an industrial chemical to milk, which killed four children and sickened thousands more, denting the "made in China" brand and alarming consumers at home and abroad.

The incident with the needle was reported by a maternity centre in southeastern Guangdong province in mid-October, the official Xinhua agency said, without explaining why nearly a month had elapsed before the problem was made public. There were no further details on the health of the infant.

Chinese needle snaps in baby's vein | World Breaking News | News.com.au