Posted on 07/12/2007 8:06:18 PM PDT by JACKRUSSELL
(Cape Town) - Jobs on pineapple farms and at two canning factories in the Eastern Cape are at risk after a consignment of 100 tons of canned pineapples was discovered to contain the heavy metal cadmium, found in a fertiliser from China.
Allen Duncan, the chairman of the Pineapple Association in East London, which represents 40 farmers, said cadmium was not dangerous to humans in small quantities, but was toxic in larger doses. The cadmium levels found in the exported canned pineapples exceeded the maximum of 0.05 part per million (ppm) deemed permissible by the EU. The US, Australia and Japan allow 0.1 ppm.
Duncan said pineapple producers were instituting legal action against Omnia Chemicals, the largest chemical producer in the country, and its subsidiary, Protea Chemicals. They had sent out a letter of demand. He cited the prejudice rule, which barred him from comment, but said the damages claim would be "substantial".
"They have been totally reckless … They knew about this [contamination] as early as January 2005, when they were sued by Rainbow Chicken for supplying contaminated chicken feed."
Duncan said the fertiliser, zinc sulphate, was the same product that saw Rainbow Chicken institute a damages action of R120 million in the Durban high court.
The industry produced 140 000 tons of pineapples a year, of which 100 000 were canned, with between 70 percent and 80 percent exported. As a result of the contaminated fertiliser, the two factories, Summerpride Foods and Collondale Cannery, could can only 40 000 tons this year, he said.
While the cadmium level in the exported pineapples exceeded the European and Swiss limits, it was still within levels accepted elsewhere in the world and producers would now look for other markets. The pineapples were safe for human consumption, with cadmium levels lower than those of bread (0.2 ppm), cereals (0.1 ppm) and lettuce (0.2 ppm).
Duncan said the department of agriculture should not escape blame because it depended on the Feeds and Fertiliser Act of 1947, which did not lay down any maximum levels for heavy metals. Omnia was "hiding behind this act … There is a lot more they could have done, including removing the fertiliser from the shelves or sending it back to China where it came from."
He was unable to can his pineapples and had 500 factory workers who were not working. While there has not been any retrenchments, a worst-case scenario was that pineapple producers could go out of business and place the jobs of 2 500 people in the rural areas at risk.
Edu Cloete, a joint managing director of Protea Chemicals, said Protea was involved in litigation with Rainbow and therefore could not comment.
You're absolutely right about that one! EVERYBODY be writing letters to your congressman/woman and make a MAJOR FUSS about this!!
Duncan Hunter has long sounded the "China is cheating" alarm, maybe he can call for such a boycott at the next Presidential debate.
ChiComm? what do you mean by this ? I googled and Dogpiled but came up with nothing ... do you mean Chinese commerce?
Yes! I would like a list of companies that trade with Chinese goods so I can NOT buy the crap!!
Chinese communists. The “Party” has not changed since the days of Mao, even though their approach to business has. It’s still a totalitarian state, the most evil one of size on the planet.
I'm beginning to respect the EU. Never thought I'd say that.
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