Free Republic

Some staffers of Vice President Kamala Harris can’t stomach their job duties. And it’s not just the veep’s leadership style. It’s the food aboard Air Force Two — the vice president’s official aircraft. Harris staffers are calling the meals — served by military personnel — “horrible slop,” according to a Politico report Friday. “It’s a little more Southwest Airlines than Four Seasons,” one former staffer said. Harris staff and alumni have received soggy sandwiches, cold pasta salads, and unappetizing spinach breakfast burritos, Politico reported. Politico did not report what food is served to Harris herself, or whether it’s different from...

Brazil bans Chinese food products 10/08/2008 | 02:56 AM BRASILIA, Brazil - Brazil says it is indefinitely banning all Chinese food imports due to safety concerns. Brazil's food safety officials say Tuesday they are acting in light of the four Chinese children killed and 54,000 sickened by contaminated milk products. The milk crisis is China has led nations around the globe to ban or recall Chinese products. The ban will have little effect on the food supply in Brazil, which imported just US$120 million in food products from China last year.

Adding to China’s recent problems of food safety is now seafood contamination. As the world’s largest producer and exporter of fish and fish products, China may need to more closely monitor shellfish contaminant levels, because contaminants are finding their way into seafood. A new study found samples from markets that contained concentrations of contaminants high enough to pose threats to human health. The study is published in the latest issue of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. Organochlorine pesticides such as DDT can accumulate in top predators, including humans. Though these pesticides were officially banned in 1983, China had been using them...

Two Ulaanbaatar students have died after eating Chinese-made instant noodles. The noodles, which come in a red packet and cost Tg 150 or US$0.10, are widely sold in shops here. The Mongolian news website www.oops.mn reported the deaths last week. The noodles are thought to have contained toxic waste water which went undetected during the production process in China.“There is a real risk from these contaminated products and we will not sell these noodles again until we are completely sure they are safe,” said Chris Essier, marketing manager at Everyday supermarket in the students’ quarter, a major stockist of the...

China may continue to be the ultimate source for household goods and appliances, but when it comes to food, consumers are becoming increasingly wary. Concern about fresh produce grown in China is particularly increasing in Asia. Earlier this week, the Chinese government acknowledged that cough syrup made in the country and then exported to Panama was manufactured by a company that was not licensed to sell pharmaceuticals. About 100 Panamanians are believed to have died by consuming a chemical similar to antifreeze, which was bottled by the Taixing Glycerine factory. China`s Foreign Ministry admitted that the company was licensed only...