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"The last U.S. plant making vitamin C closed a year ago."

I doubt that no company is making any vitamin C inside America. I'd like to see some evidence supporting this statement. It could be that no major corporations are making vitamin C now, but small health food companies are probably still making their own "organic" vitamin C. I'm naturally suspicious of sweeping statements like this one from the MSM.

Nonetheless this is a startling article, and I think I'll cut back on eating those energy bars with added vitamins out on the golf course. Now I think I'll just eat the "organic" snack bars with no added vitamins. The hygiene standards in China don't strike me as the big problem. It's their contaminated water supplies that bother me, although I'm sure at the western-owned companies they highly purify all the water used in making vitamins just as they do here when making health care products. But at the Chinese-owned companies, who knows kind of water they use. Trial lawyers are eventually going to have a field day with this issue, and before long "100% American-made" will become a marketing strategy for food companies.

It's their contaminated water supplies that bother me, although I'm sure at the western-owned companies they highly purify all the water used in making vitamins just as they do here when making health care products. But at the Chinese-owned companies, who knows kind of water they use.

What percentage of companies in China do you think are owned by Chinese? I think it's very few. Either the Chinese govt. own them or a U.S. company owns them and pays rent.

I doubt that no company is making any vitamin C inside America.

I love oranges! And they're still 'Made In America'!

I doubt that no company is making any vitamin C inside America. I'd like to see some evidence supporting this statement. It could be that no major corporations are making vitamin C now, but small health food companies are probably still making their own "organic" vitamin C. I'm naturally suspicious of sweeping statements like this one from the MSM.

I don't doubt it. The author, Peter Kovacs, is not a reporter, and rather than a news item, this is an opinion piece. Since Kovacs "was president of NutraSweet Kelco Co. from 1994 to 1997," I'd say he's more than qualified to give his opinion, since ascorbic acid production is also a sugar fermentation process.

From Wikipedia: "China is slowly becoming the major world supplier as its prices undercut those of the US and European manufacturers."

From the article linked to that statement by Wikipedia: "DSM makes last stand against Chinese vitamin C,":

"20/10/2005 - China's dominance of the vitamin C market was confirmed last week as DSM halted all production of the bulk vitamin in the US, making its Dalry plant in Scotland the only remaining major plant outside of Asia."
Four Chinese producers now supply the majority of the global demand for this vitamin, selling at prices well below the numbers that are feasible for and the other remaining European vitamin maker, BASF.