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Bogus Ingredients Harmful, Hard to Spot (China)
Casper Star Tribune ^ | June 14, 2007 | By Justin Pritchard

Posted on 06/14/2007 7:43:57 PM PDT by JACKRUSSELL

LOS ANGELES - American consumers are being ripped off and their health possibly put at risk because of bogus ingredients slipped into imports ranging from toothpaste to dietary supplements.

Suppliers who substitute cheaper ingredients for the real thing seldom get busted because the government and private labs review few of the products flooding in.

Recent bouts of bad ingredients in pet food and toothpaste showed how suppliers can fool the limited safety checks.

Fad-driven supplements are particularly vulnerable _ a rush of demand for a pill with an expensive key ingredient such as chondroitin can present a quick-buck opportunity. Much like anti-doping officials tasked with ensuring that athletes are clean, by the time scientists spot how their tests are being cheated, suppliers have a new trick.

"People want low prices and they want quick turnaround time," said Jana Hildreth of the Analytical Research Collective, a group of scientists advocating better dietary supplement testing. "And what's the one thing you cut? Well, quality control."

Ingredient substitution is not a priority of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, unless officials conclude consumers are being exposed to harm. As a result, regulators only take action after problems surface.

Such complications are underreported. Companies haven't had to relay incidents to federal regulators, though new tracking requirements begin in December.

Multiple private labs that test supply quality have in recent years found a hodgepodge of pills lacking advertised ingredients, including chondroitin, saw palmetto, bilberry and coenzyme Q-10. Each is relatively expensive and many are supplied by China, a country with a long tradition of herbal remedies and a history of poor food safety.

The products are supposed to help with joint pain, prostate health, vision and the heart, though federal law prohibits most claims that supplements treat or cure illness.

That has hardly hampered the industry. Last year, Americans bought an estimated $1.4 billion worth of those four supplements alone, an increase of 28 percent over four years, according to Nutrition Business Journal.

An example of how unscrupulous suppliers can swoop in to exploit a situation came after hurricanes thrashed Florida in 2005, derailing saw palmetto production.

To fill the void, Asian suppliers began hawking "Chinese saw palmetto" for $60 per pound. It was an obvious scam: The saw palmetto plant grows in the Southeast. The extract being peddled was based on palm oil, which is worth less than $1 per pound and which no one claims has medicinal properties.

Despite the rip off, suppliers were not held accountable.

James Neal-Kababick, director of Oregon-based Flora Research Laboratories, said his firm routinely finds supplements with problems. One issue, he said, is anticipating what hot product will be doctored next.

"At some point, there's going to be a shortage, and that's when you're going to see the adulteration," Neal-Kababick said. "It can be dangerous or it can just be a rip off."

The dietary supplement industry's main trade groups said ingredient substitution is overhyped as a problem. They cite powerful business incentives to ensure products work as advertised and don't harm anyone.

"Responsible companies understand that they have a relationship of trust with their consumers," said Steve Mister, president and CEO of the Council for Responsible Nutrition.

Like Mister, other industry officials allowed that some unscrupulous firms make bad products but said those are the rare exception among the hundreds of U.S. supplement makers.

Firms with a reputation for quality say they invest in finding reliable sources and even then test all the supplies because some batches will inevitably be bad.

"We do this to prevent injury to our customers or surprises," said Lon Heiner, who oversees quality control at Utah-based Nature's Way Products, Inc. "When companies don't do that, sooner or later they're going to have problems. And the consequences of that have a tremendous cost."

Doctoring products is not new. During the Great Depression, merchants bulked up flour with talc. For centuries, sawdust was added to bread. What's different now is the global economy has expanded the realm of potentially bad products.

The latest examples involve toothpaste which contained a chemical cheaper than the standard sweetener _ and used in antifreeze. The first brands were from China _ this week, the FDA warned about product from South Africa. Though no serious illnesses have been reported, the FDA is stopping imports of suspect Chinese toothpaste and has urged Americans to throw away any tubes they have.

Before that was pet food spiked with a low-cost industrial chemical from China that appeared to boost its protein content and has been blamed for sickening hundreds of cats and dogs.

Because the FDA inspects only 1 percent of overall imports, it falls to manufacturers to conduct quality control tests.

The system is imperfect. Pressure not to interrupt the manufacturing process can make for a shallow analysis. The right battery of tests, for example, can decipher whether a substance actually is chondroitin _ but it's cheaper to run a basic test that's tricked simply by using a cheap filler with molecules roughly the same size as costly chondroitin.

Federal regulators are close to producing "good manufacturing practice" guidelines specific to supplement makers that could solve some of the root problems. The move to write new rules dates to the 1990s, when at least two people required emergency treatment for an irregular heartbeat after taking a "body cleansing" supplement containing the toxic substance digitalis rather than the listed herb plantain.

Absent those specific guidelines, the private sector has created a patchwork of voluntary quality certifications that can include overseas inspections of raw material suppliers, many in China and India.

Federal regulators find fake ingredients in domestic products as well. The FDA has levied big fines and even won jail terms for makers of "pure" juices that were actually water, food coloring and flavoring, as well as cheap soybean oil masquerading as olive oil.

Neither of those posed a health threat. In other cases, connecting substituted ingredients with illnesses can be hard. An unlisted ingredient could trigger an allergy or become harmful when combined with a pharmaceutical someone is taking _ but doctors might not realize the chain because the patient didn't knowingly ingest the ingredient.

Former agency scientist William Obermeyer said FDA officials estimated that only 1 percent of sicknesses caused by supplements are reported. He left to help found ConsumerLab.com, which arranges supplement testing and frequently reports that products fail.

Based on fallout from the pet food case, the FDA is assessing how it can outthink suppliers who try to substitute in harmful ingredients.

"Are there other incentives of an economic nature that could ultimately pose a safety hazard?" said David Elder, director of enforcement in FDA's regulatory affairs office. "That's clearly some thinking and some work that we have before us." It's a huge task: There are thousands of ingredients that could be altered in untold ways.

China also is promising action.

Beijing recently announced steps to repair the battered image of its food and ingredient exports. Assurances include the nation's first recall system, better inspections and criminal punishments for those who ignore safety rules.

The central government's administration supervising product quality ignored repeated requests for comment on ingredient substitution, including what mechanisms may already be in to prevent it.

Meanwhile, China has started rejecting U.S. shipments as substandard, an apparent retaliation for criticism of its own exports. The products: pistachios, raisins _ and health supplements.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: china; cina; foodsafety; madeinchina; nutritional; supplements; toxicchina; vitamins
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1 posted on 06/14/2007 7:43:58 PM PDT by JACKRUSSELL
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To: JACKRUSSELL
For centuries, sawdust was added to bread.

More fiber! :-D

2 posted on 06/14/2007 7:52:28 PM PDT by Marie (Unintended consequences.)
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To: JACKRUSSELL

china is promising action - sure, like the islomofachists are going to see the light and quit terrorism


3 posted on 06/14/2007 7:58:46 PM PDT by alfie (peace through superior firepower)
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To: JACKRUSSELL
Sue the piss out of the pet food manufacturers and the toothpaste distributors. Maybe they will realize they are not getting such a good deal from the chicoms. Maybe their insurers will realize they shouldn’t be dealing with the chicoms.
4 posted on 06/14/2007 8:01:16 PM PDT by Born to Conserve
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To: JACKRUSSELL

http://en.ce.cn/Industries/Consumen-Industries/200702/07/t20070207_10346152.shtml

Toxic dye found in lipsticks in S. China city

Last Updated(Beijing Time):2007-02-07 10:33

Sudan Red, a carcinogenic industrial dyestuff, was detected in six types of lipstick products during a random survey of the Chinese rouge market, the State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine announced on Tuesday.

It was the first time that the toxic dye was found in rouge products in China.

The survey was conducted on 102 types of lipsticks from 54 enterprises in major production areas, including Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces and Shanghai. It found that 94 percent of the products investigated were of reliable quality.

The six types of rouge in which Sudan Red I, II and IV were detected were made by two enterprises in Shantou, a city in south China’s Guangdong Province.

The State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine and the Guangdong provincial administration of quality supervision, inspection and quarantine have launched an emergency plan. The two enterprises were ordered to suspend production immediately, recall the suspect products and destroy them under the supervision of local quality inspection authorities.

When used as a coloring agent in rouge, Sudan Red can enter the human body with saliva and food.

Sudan Red I is a red, industrial, oil-soluble dye, which can be legally used to color non-food products such as shoes and floor polish, oil, wax and solvents. It has been shown to cause cancer in rats and consequently its use in food product is strictly forbidden.

Despite being banned, the dye has repeatedly found its way into food products such as chilli powder—a commodity to which it apparently adds a particular attractive colour. Consequently, traces of the dye are then found in other products in which chilli is an ingredient such as spice blends, sauces, spicy foods and prepared meals, etc. Related dyes, similarly misused, are Sudan II, III and IV.

China detected Sudan Red in Kentucky Fried Chicken products and in red-yolk eggs, which created a food security scare across the country.


5 posted on 06/15/2007 12:44:05 AM PDT by CarrotAndStick (The articles posted by me needn't necessarily reflect my opinion.)
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To: Arizona Carolyn; mom4kittys; blam; Salamander; Red Badger; WakeUpAndVote; dirtboy; Overtaxed; ...

6 posted on 06/15/2007 4:27:58 AM PDT by mom4kittys (If velvet could sing, it would sound like Josh Groban)
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To: little jeremiah

ping


7 posted on 06/15/2007 5:15:20 AM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: LucyT; mom4kittys

Peiping.
thnx mom


8 posted on 06/15/2007 6:03:09 AM PDT by sweetiepiezer
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To: JACKRUSSELL
China also is promising action.

Oh good.

I'll sleep better knowing that...

9 posted on 06/15/2007 7:02:52 AM PDT by null and void (Wherever liberty has sprouted around the world, we find its seeds were watered with American blood)
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To: JACKRUSSELL
Federal regulators are close to producing "good manufacturing practice" guidelines specific to supplement makers that could solve some of the root problems. The move to write new rules dates to the 1990s, when at least two people required emergency treatment for an irregular heartbeat after taking a "body cleansing" supplement containing the toxic substance digitalis rather than the listed herb plantain.

Ah, your government at work for you!

Don't worry, they're close,really close -- after, what, 8 to 17 years? -- to issuing "guidelines" -- not regs, not mandatory ingredient testing/certification requirements -- just some friendly "guidelines," that maybe the supplement makers can follow, pretty please?

10 posted on 06/15/2007 7:46:37 AM PDT by browardchad
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To: mom4kittys

I took some frozen salmon out of the freezer last night, and noticed it says “product of China” on the package! I emailed the company, Orca Bay, last night, and this morning I got this reply:

“The salmon is caught in Alaska frozen and sent to China where it is filleted. Orca Bay buys the fillets and cuts them into portions at our Seattle plant. There are no chemicals in wild caught salmon. Thanks very [much] for buying our seafood.”

Should I eat the salmon, or throw it out?


11 posted on 06/15/2007 8:50:39 AM PDT by Abigail Adams
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To: mom4kittys

Ingredient substitution is not a priority of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, unless officials conclude consumers are being exposed to harm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“AFTER” How Many DIE ??


12 posted on 06/15/2007 11:09:37 AM PDT by 1COUNTER-MORTER-68 (THROWING ANOTHER BULLET-RIDDLED TV IN THE PILE OUT BACK~~~~~)
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To: JACKRUSSELL
the FDA is stopping imports of suspect Chinese toothpaste and has urged Americans to throw away any tubes they have.

NO!

Why should the innocent consumer bear the cost of tossing & replacing it?

Force the importer...and he can sue [Bwaaaahahahaha!] his foreign supplier...to buy it back at double or triple cost, for a lesson learned.

Oh, and stand over said importer, as he is forced to destroy both the buy-backs, and any remaing stocks.

13 posted on 06/15/2007 1:29:08 PM PDT by ApplegateRanch (Islam: a Satanically Transmitted Disease, spread by unprotected intimate contact with the Koranus.)
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To: Born to Conserve

Probably the only way to get their attention is some large tobacco-like lawsuits.... for certain the government doesn’t appear interested in doing anything substantial.


14 posted on 06/16/2007 11:17:46 AM PDT by Arizona Carolyn ( If you want on or off the pet and human food and drug ping list let me know)
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To: Abigail Adams
Should I eat the salmon, or throw it out?

You should send it to me for visual and culinary inspection. ;-) (I'm probably a little late, but what the heck). Seriously - how do they do it? It costs 20 cents a pound to send a refrigerated container round trip. It costs about 10 cents a pound to get this stuff filleted (by hand) in China, as opposed to about 60 cents a pound stateside (using a bunch of equipment). A 30 cents a pound differential is huge for something that wholesales for about $2 to $3.

15 posted on 12/14/2007 10:26:48 AM PST by Zhang Fei
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To: Zhang Fei

Yes, a little late, LOL! That’s very interesting. What I did was I emailed my grocery store and they now stock frozen wild salmon that is totally processed in the U.S.


16 posted on 12/14/2007 12:06:36 PM PST by Abigail Adams
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To: Abigail Adams

I’ve noticed that Sams Club is selling a lot more “made in China” food, including your salmon, mushrooms, shrimp, apple cider, and so on. I absolutely will not buy that stuff.

At the first sign of tainted food, Orca Bay must be sued out of business. These companies need to learn that it’d be better to have a smaller profit margin than to harm people and then go out of business.

I’d take the salmon back to where you purchased it, and complain about its taste, texture, or something else. Just get your money back.


17 posted on 12/14/2007 12:33:53 PM PST by Theo (Global warming "scientists." Pro-evolution "scientists." They're both wrong.)
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To: Abigail Adams
Should I eat the salmon, or throw it out?

cook it and feed it to your mother in law...

18 posted on 12/14/2007 12:40:45 PM PST by chilepepper (The map is not the territory -- Alfred Korzybski)
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To: JACKRUSSELL

Thanks very much for posting. Health/life BUMP!


19 posted on 12/14/2007 12:42:26 PM PST by PGalt
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To: chilepepper; Theo

I ate it 6 months ago, and I’m still alive, LOL!


20 posted on 12/14/2007 12:48:35 PM PST by Abigail Adams
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