From Drywall to Dry Foods - The Ominous Threat Posed By China
Helping a friend remodel his home this weekend, we pondered briefly (during a short break for dinner) whether the food we were eating was made in the U.S. or China. Although China was a possibility, I didn’t have the heart to tell my close friend that, even if the food didn’t kill us, his new drywall might. Health officials from numerous states are now looking into claims that Chinese-made drywall poses health risks to consumers. It has been alleged that the drywall has been emitting sulfur-based gases, which corrode electrical wiring (ruining common household appliances) and may even make people sick. Following numerous complaints, limited laboratory testing of Chinese-made drywall found that it contained higher levels of sulfuric and organic compounds (some of which could cause severe illness) than American-made samples. Additional testing, however, is needed to determine the extent to which the Chinese-made products may be responsible for the growing number of complaints. For more information, please visit the Florida Department of Health Drywall Website, which is devoted specifically to this developing issue.
These disturbing reports, of course, come only months after 2008 Chinese milk scandal. As you may recall, Chinese-manufactured milk, infant formula, and other food products were found to be tainted by melamine – an inexpensive but harmful substance that can cause severe health problems. Following reports of numerous illnesses, it was discovered that Chinese companies were adding the industrial chemical to their food products because it can artificially make poor quality or inferior foods appear to have higher protein content. In turn, when consumed in large quantities, melamine can lead to the formation of dangerous crystals in the kidneys, and can result in organ failure. When the Chinese melamine outbreak was finally contained, China reluctantly reported that 300,000 people were affected, 860 babies were hospitalized, and at least 6 people died. Although these are large numbers, I personally doubt they are accurate. China has no real food-borne illness reporting or surveillance system like in the U.S., and the total people affected by the scandal (and other unreported food-related illnesses and outbreaks in China) is likely staggering.
Although China is continuing its “investigations” into the melamine scandal, and recently “fired” a number of high-level industry regulators, this is likely little more than political gamesmanship. China has done little to impress when it come to food safety. If the Chinese leadership really wanted to make a difference, it would be well-advised to look beyond a few, select personnel changes, and promptly invest billions into new system of food safety regulation, enforcement and oversight. And, although China did recently enact various “new” food laws (which will go into effect in June), popular thinking suggests that, with still relatively few regulations, multiple agencies with competing responsibilities, uneven enforcement, rampant corruption and nearly 500,000 food companies to regulate, not much will change. Sounds to me like a missed opportunity. Although our own system is not perfect, we are at least well-suited to quickly identify, capture and solve problems when they do occur.
In any event, once China gets its act together and begins addressing seriously its growing and ominous food safety problems, perhaps it can come replace my friend's drywall.
