Posted on 06/11/2007 6:35:59 AM PDT by Dysart
BEIJING (Reuters) - Eighteen big hospitals in northeastern China have been using fake human albumin, or plasma protein, to treat patients, state television reported in the latest food and medicine scandal to hit the country.
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In regular checks made by the food and drug administration in Jilin province, seven of 36 batches of the albumin, fed into the bloodstream by drip, contained zero protein.
"There was no protein component," Xu Fei, deputy chief of Jilin food and drug inspection department, told China Central Television. "It will not have the benefit it should have. We can say it is an out-and-out fake product."
Experts said that use of the fake drip could put lives at risk for those already seriously ill.
Eighteen hospitals and 39 drug trading companies were found to be using the fake human albumin, which led to huge profits because of its low production cost.
Some of the hospitals called by Reuters were not immediately available for comment.
Billions of dollars worth of counterfeit and substandard goods, from fake liquor and medicines to luxury handbags, are produced every year in China.
In the most recent scandal, U.S. consumers were alarmed by a spate of pet deaths blamed on tainted wheat gluten and rice protein exported from China, as well as reports of toxins and disease in other Chinese exports.
A Chinese-made medicine ingredient also killed at least 100 people in Panama, according to a report in the New York Times.
In one of the most highly publicized scandals, China revealed in 2004 that at least 13 babies had died from malnutrition in the eastern province of Anhui after being fed fake baby formula.
Nearly 200,000 people die each year in China from improper use of legitimate drugs, according to Jin Shiming, a committee member of the Guangdong Provincial Science and Technological Association.
Before too long Jim’s gonna have to add “Fake Chinese Products” to the “Browse By Forum” column on the right side of the main news page.
Every product produced in China, including food products and products containing Chinese ingredients, should be clearly labeled. Then the consumer can make an informed decision about whether or not to buy them.
If they are so good at “faking” medical products, perhaps they can whip up some fake organs so they don’t have to harvest real ones from political prisoners.
I hear they are actually using watered down duck sauce from the cafeteria.
But these people LIE on the labels. How do you beat that? Inspection? After they pass that, then they lie on the ingredients again. They are just trying to make as many bucks as fast as they can and they don't have any morals about how they do it.
You know you’re in trouble when your I.V. comes with a pair of chopsticks.
1. The value of an individual human life in China ain't what it is here
2. Don't depend on Chinese products to save your life until they radically improve their reputation for quality control and reliability.
(and this comes from an avid Sinophile)
We’ve all seen the substandard quality of cheap plastic and cast metal products from China all these years. Why would their food and medicine be any better?
Buy a Johnson&Johnson First Aid kit, like we just did, and note the countries of origin of the components.
At some point, an American Manager makes the decision to Buy Cheap.
Name brand pharmaceutical manufacturers decide to get their Vitamin C and Niacin, etc. from China, then make vitamin pills in the "US".
As was mentioned earlier here, there ought to be full disclosure on any product originating from China. Personally I wouldn't willingly consume any Chinese product. Problem is, they have their little hands in so many ingredients and processes that it’s virtually impossible to avoid it.
Polluting factories, counterfeit drug makers, illegal or unsanitary food handlers, etc. All these people used to be able to solve their problems over a cup a tea with the inspector and an envelope with an appropriate amount of cash.
The rules are changing fast. You can expect a whole lot of families to be getting “one-yuan invoices” from the government.
Going to be interesting to watch, anyhow.
I hope your sources are accurate on this. I do think they CAN rectify this IF there is there is a will to do so.
I’ll never depend on them for pet food ingredients. They are too cruel to animals to even talk about....they hardly have any respect for humans much less a dog/cat.
There is an article in the paper today breathlessly reporting that China, getting ready for the Olympics, is utilizing slave and child labor at below minimum wage rates!!!!!!!
Gasp!!!!!!
Whoda thunk????
It’s not just the Republic that’s dying, the whole world is going to hell in a handbasket. We have the wrong people (1) running the show, (2) reporting on the show, and (3) indoctrinating our young ‘uns on just what he show is.
We’re all gonna die from this s*** if we don’t start doing something about this reeeaaaalllll soon.
And I’m not kidding you!
CA....
The Chinese are beginning to act how we thought aliens from other planets would a la old sci-fi movies, especially the taking the organs from live humans and forcing abortions. Tell me again why we are having the Olympics in that horrible place.
IOW, an hour after receiving this Chinese drip, your body's hungry again...
It is a lot easier to inspect for a label than to inspect for content.
We will never be able to inspect each item for content, so the only recourse is labeling, so people can make their own informed decision.
The problem now is that people are consuming these products without knowing where they are from, so the Chinese manufacturers are not paying a price for their bad behavior. But if people knew where the products were coming from, the well-deserved reputation for adulterated and dangerous products would hurt their sales, and they would have an incentive to reform.
The free-market system only works if the consumer has information. Denying consumers that information can only be an intentional policy of thwarting the markets.
Because the International Olympic Committee is a bunch of whores. Duh!
Now, tell me why you care where the Olympics are held!
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