China's Melamine Woes Likely to Get Worse

Charlie Vanture

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As if we did not have enough problems it appears that the melamine issues in China are only getting worse. I just read this article about the ongoing problem in China and how slow the government has been to respond.

In discussing the current situation the article states:

It is the spotty nature of the enforcement mechanism that is causing the biggest headaches. The discovery last year of melamine in Chinese-made wheat gluten that was used in pet food was a signal that it had permeated other links of the food chain, says Marion Nestle, a public health professor at New York University and author of the recent book "Pet Food Politics: The Chihuahua in the Coal Mine." Once melamine showed up in pet food supplies, Nestle says, it was likely that it would appear in animal feed and eventually human food. "You can't separate the food supplies of animals, pets and people," she says. "That's an enormous warning sign that if something wasn't done immediately to clean up the food safety problem, this would leak into the human food supply."

So why is this a big deal for us over here in the US. Well, history has shown that these products have a way of working themselves into our markets. History also shows that the Chinese have been lax at best and down right negligent in controling the flow of tainted products out of their country. It almost seems as if they don't care.

That may be the case but I can tell you that American companies need to care. Everybody now has plenty of notice that products coming out of China, be they milk, pet food, toys, etc., seem to have very little quality and health control. If people here are harmed by these products an American company is going to have a difficult time arguing that they didn't know because the problem occurred in China. They are on notice my friend and the public needs to insist that these companies are held responsible for using tainted products and putting them on the market here. Companies are going to think twice about using Chinese goods if they run a liability risk for using them.

If you have been harmed by a tainted product contact a lawyer. Better yet contact my law office because we do this kind of work at Smith & Vanture.

Another solution; try and avoid chinese products for a while and see if we can get China's attention about their responsibility to the rest of the world. Whatever the solution it is time for China to stand up and be a responsible member of the global economy. WE should expect nothing less.