Tainted Imports from China: Why the Surprise?

Trouble Brewing in China
China's Tainted Food Imports Point to Decades of Flawed Policy

By Michael Whitcraft
The recent discovery of the toxic chemical melamine in pet food imported from China is the tip of an iceberg of tainted products. All manner of toxins, bacteria, illegal pesticides, outlawed antibiotics and carcinogens are commonly found in Chinese food imports.

This should hardly be surprising. China’s practices of forced labor and mandatory abortion sufficiently illustrate its disregard for human rights and dignity. The real question is why the United States grants such a nation most favored trade status, while fully conscious that China’s growth is harmful to American domestic and international interests.

Sickening Food Standards
The FDA’s 2007 Import Refusal Reports show China as the number one regulation violator in three of the first four months of this year.1 The report gives a description of each item that was rejected and a tag name designating why. Browsing the document, descriptive tag names such as “Salmonella”, “unsafe col” and “filthy” recur time and again.

This TFP Commentary can be read here.