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US inspection records are showing that imports from China are unfit for human consumption.The US Food and Drug Administration has detained more than one thousand shipments at ports containing tainted Chinese dietary supplements, toxic cosmetics and counterfeit medicines. Consumer activists and politicians, upset about contaminated food products, are demanding action. With the numerous pet deaths and tainted food, they would like to slow food imports from China, but such a move would be next to impossible. Because of its low costs and wages, China has become virtually the only source for certain food products, including wheat gluten and ascorbic acid, reports this article in “The Washington Post.” Politicians are in no hurry to enact regulations to keep food costs low. Many US firms have factories in China and actively pursue that market, and thus do not want any disruptions in the growing flow of trade. Likewise, China wants to gain a foothold in the US meat market, so US regulations are slowly easing. For now, the US prohibits meat products from China, but some meat products, labeled as vegetables, slip by the inspectors. Also, in 2006, the US hurriedly changed rules, before a visit by the Chinese president, allowing firms to send chickens raised in the US on a round trip to China for processing, then returned for sale in US markets. Increasingly aware about their food, consumers ultimately control the market, and with every purchase can make a choice on saving money or demanding safety. – YaleGlobal
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