China Made may be Cheap but could be a Danger to Health

China has now become the world’s workshop, turning raw materials into an avalanche of consumer goods. Numbers of new factories open daily across China. However, a large number of the Chinese-made products prove to be a serious threat to health.

Contaminated pet food, dangerous toys, poisoned baby milk, bad toothpaste, unsafe seafood – are but a few of the list of problematic Chinese imports that continues to grow. The price for Chinese products are low and the production cycles short. Chinese factories make products that match the buyer’s specifications in the beginning, but innovation inside the factory turns to cutting costs, in ways that range from unsavoury, to outright dangerous.

As spokesperson for the U.S. Consumer Product and Safety Commission, Scott Wolfson said "Chinese-made products account for more than 60% of recalls this year, with a return of 338 products".

Many producers state that their products are completely safe, adamantly denying any responsibility. The Chinese government has published a black list. A few of the offenders get caught but the cleverer ones manage to race ahead, by using products which have not yet been published on the prohibited list.

Many modern, large factories outsource work to smaller, grimier factories, even though this means forgoing the production benefits created by economies of scale. The smaller facilities are more able to get around environmental controls and safety standards, both for the end product and the laborers.

As a consultant for the growing number of Western companies in China, Mr Midler said, "Many production problems are well-known within local manufacturing circles. However, collusion is rampant and there are no rewards in China for whistle-blowing".

Seizing tons of candy, pickles, crackers and seafood tainted with formaldehyde, illegal dyes and industrial wax, China’s food and drug safety inspectors claim they closed 180 food factories in the first half of 2008.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has put a ban on five different types of Chinese farmed fish and seafood, which contained traces of antifungal and antibiotic drugs which are potentially harmful to human beings.

When Chinese-made toothpaste was tested it was found to have an ingredient used in antifreeze in the product, in it. A chemical which has been used as a low-cost, though occasionally fatal substitute for glycerin – a sweetener which is readily used in drugs. The same chemical found in the toothpaste was blamed for the deaths of 51 people in Panama, after they drank tainted cough medicine.

A ban was placed, by Beijing officials, on the use of 10 types of drugs as a result of their makers' exaggerated and false claims that could not be supported in clinical testing.