Hi there! You are currently browsing as a guest. Why not create an account? Then you get less ads, can thank creators, post feedback, keep a list of your favourites, and more!
Forum Resident
Original Poster
#1 Old 11th Jul 2007 at 9:49 AM
Default Are You Afraid of China Made Goods/Products/Food?
(I don't know if someone has brought it up before or not)

At the BBC News, there is a list of known Chinese product that have caused problems and, the worst, deaths:

Chinese Product Scares:
Pet food - tainted with chemical melamine
Toothpaste - tainted with chemical diethylene glycol and bacteria
Farmed fish - traces of banned drugs and pesticides found
Tyres - fault may cause blow-outs
Toys - contain lead or pose choking hazard
Children's jewellery - contains lead
Ceramic heaters - pose fire safety risk
Source: BBC News

I am just wondering with all these warnings.
Do people get scared of Chinese products and see "Made in China" as a new warning label? Or, People simply don't care.

(Sorry, cannot create a poll here in the general discussion.)

Live for today, learn from yesterday, and dream of tomorrow.
.
A being under construction -- Even so, come.
Advertisement
#2 Old 11th Jul 2007 at 10:43 AM
I wish China would stop making themselves look bad. And start thinking that safer, genuine, cleaner products will make more money then unsafe, fake and dirty products.

We have same problem with Made in China Canned Food here as well. but theres not been any suspicious one lately, i think they send it to US instead. hahaha (bleh, can't help it) maybe, who knows.

The things is, in my opinion, China has not been the cleanest country and I guess its people is not "up to standard" with the current world market because they have been "lock behind communism" without outside exposure for so long that now the world needs to tell them how to blend in.

If they continue to not upgrade their product standard, Made in China just might become a warning sign, which I think won't happen, because Chinese are businessman, and businessman don't let their business sink, they will think of ways to corrects the current situation.
#3 Old 11th Jul 2007 at 11:16 AM
Well about 5/10 years ago it seemed that everything was made by China, so I really don't see the problem as it is serveral companies out of thousands - some bad mistakes are bound to happen.
Forum Resident
Original Poster
#4 Old 11th Jul 2007 at 11:27 AM
Quote: Originally posted by SwiftSign
Well about 5/10 years ago it seemed that everything was made by China, so I really don't see the problem as it is serveral companies out of thousands - some bad mistakes are bound to happen.


Actually according Chinese newpapers, now Chinese government admits that 1 in 5 Chinese products don't meet the regulatory standard.

Live for today, learn from yesterday, and dream of tomorrow.
.
A being under construction -- Even so, come.
#5 Old 11th Jul 2007 at 12:05 PM
A friend of mine works and owns a chinese restaurant, They buy 20kg bags of mono sodium glutenate (MSG) to add to the customers food, (its a flavour enhancer for those who don't know). They don't however add it to their own food because the Chinese government banned it for being dangerous. So its not good enough for their diets but fine to chuck in ours??
Theorist
#6 Old 11th Jul 2007 at 12:42 PM
In some things, yes. A lot of cheap toys/items from the Dollar/Discount stores are made in China and they use lead in their paints. I am very careful of what I let my son buy or if he does buy toys I tell him to wash up very well before eating.

I don't use any edible stuff from 'non-western' countries. My toothpaste is USA made. I am wary of items from certain countries (not just China) because I don't think their food and drug laws are very strict.

"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." Will Rogers
Field Researcher
#7 Old 11th Jul 2007 at 12:42 PM
There isn't a single part of the world where this a good image of Chinese products. At least where I live, when some product sucks, there are two main reasons for the normal person: Or it is Chinese manufactured, or it's Moroccan manufactured. (And sometimes Spanish products have a bad fame - But that's mostly in the cars)

But looking in the past: Japan was a country exactly like China long time ago. The cheap workers and the richness of the country in raw-materials made the country one of the most advanced of the world, and maybe the most advanced of the world nowadays (It depends of the perspective). Japanese product had also a bad fame, but when the Japanese get enough money to invest in they own products, and stop making cheap-copies of American things, they gain the status of the country that produces the best things (Principally in the Mechanical and automobile industry).

China has also enough money to do what Japan did. But they don't do that...

EDIT: By the way, the only countries where those false "Colgate" toothbrushes were arrested were: Spain, Portugal and USA. ASAE (Food control Police) arrested lots of those toothbrushes in Discount Shops and "Chinese Shops". (Like Chinatown there)
Field Researcher
#8 Old 12th Jul 2007 at 9:09 PM
I kind of agree with SwiftSign--so many products are made in China, yet the focus is on these few. The rotten apples that spoil the entire bushel, I guess I can say. I can say that probably 75-80% of the stuff in my room was made in China, but they work perfectly fine...in the case of some products, following the usage instructions is important, but in the case of the Thomas the Tank Engine toy that's not 100% applicable as it's not always easy to keep young kids from putting toys in their mouths.

I am Chinese, have most of my family in China, and I'm disappointed as well as ashamed at the inadequate regulation of product quality made in Chinese factories. The fact that China has 1.3 billion people, the factory owners (all blue-collar people, actually) have huge clout in society, and corruption is not uncommon in gov't. officials, though, makes enforcing strict quality standards difficult. As much as I'd like to see China's reputation for making questionable products disappear and China's factory/mill workers' quality of live improve, I just don't really see that happening soon.

"Make believe in magic, make believe in dreams
Make believe impossible, nothing as it seems
See, touch, taste, smell, hear, but never know if it's real"
--The Cure, "More Than This"
#9 Old 12th Jul 2007 at 9:24 PM
OoOoOoOohhh! Choking Hazard, sounds dangerous. Chinese products don't scare me in the slightest. As for the fish, what animal doesn't have traces of pesticides in them?
#10 Old 12th Jul 2007 at 9:51 PM
wow i didn't know that but i will be alert now thanks for the link
#11 Old 13th Jul 2007 at 2:43 AM
My family is certainly trying to keep all the rest of us away from China-made products and food.
We were talking about fish at a supermarket and my grandma asked "They weren't caught in China were they?"
Lab Assistant
#12 Old 13th Jul 2007 at 2:28 PM
Right after reading this thread I came across this story about a restaurant in China that got caught using cardboard in their food: Chinese food 'made from cardboard' - CNN.com Cardboard! Ugh! :yech:

Now, to be fair, this was actually in China though, not a Chinese restaurant in another country, and they weren't making baozi filled with cardboard and exporting them; they were serving them to their oblivious customers.
Test Subject
#13 Old 13th Jul 2007 at 3:59 PM
I refuse to purchase anything made in China, not only because of the dangers but because of their system of "justice."

http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_6345250
Forum Resident
#14 Old 13th Jul 2007 at 6:31 PM
Recently several dogs have died in South Africa - a direct result of pet food ingredients sourced from China. I personally would not eat food from outside my country - I simply feel that local food has less chances of contamination.
On the other hand - about 50% of South Africans are poor, live in shacks, have no running water or electricity. Imported Chinese products are very cheaply available - using these imported products (however defective they may be) give these poor people a better quality of life. China can keep their food products, but I think poor African countries would welcome cheap Chinese goods like furniture, clothes etc.

I've never been married, but I tell people I'm divorced so they won't think something is wrong with me.
- Anonymous


Sideways Garage Tutorial
Test Subject
#15 Old 14th Jul 2007 at 7:20 PM
Quote: Originally posted by eedgan
Recently several dogs have died in South Africa - a direct result of pet food ingredients sourced from China. I personally would not eat food from outside my country - I simply feel that local food has less chances of contamination.
On the other hand - about 50% of South Africans are poor, live in shacks, have no running water or electricity. Imported Chinese products are very cheaply available - using these imported products (however defective they may be) give these poor people a better quality of life. China can keep their food products, but I think poor African countries would welcome cheap Chinese goods like furniture, clothes etc.


Well, I think poor nations in general would welcome products that are cheap enough for them to live on (regardless of who gains from it or who supplies it). Its sad that they have to settle for poorly made products, whether these are poor people or not no one should be at risk of suffering from defective products (that includes the U.S).

There are some U.S made products that I wouldn't buy like cars (and countries like China and Japan won't buy American made cars because of the horrible mileage and pollution as well as safety issues).

That cardboard bit is nasty, nasty, NASTY and I'm not surprised (restaurants in general can be scary). And MSG is now in many foods like Campbell soups, snack foods and what not (its no longer associated only with Chinese food).

People do need to watch what they buy but they need to check the products that are made in the U.S as well because its not always a guarantee that it's safe.
#16 Old 14th Jul 2007 at 8:10 PM
Quote: Originally posted by dawnadoggies
Right after reading this thread I came across this story about a restaurant in China that got caught using cardboard in their food: Chinese food 'made from cardboard' - CNN.com Cardboard! Ugh! :yech:

Now, to be fair, this was actually in China though, not a Chinese restaurant in another country, and they weren't making baozi filled with cardboard and exporting them; they were serving them to their oblivious customers.


rofl cardboard, this reminds me of an incident where a "hawkers" was found mixing toilet paper in the soup to make it thick and looks like fish flakes here where i am.

And I also forgot, I am not afraid of Made in China Food because I don't eat them. hahahaha ....
Lab Assistant
#17 Old 16th Jul 2007 at 3:26 PM
I think there should a differentiation between "Made in China" for a foreign label and a "Made in China" for a Chinese label. I would think Chinese made products for a foreign label would be safe where as those for internal market would not be.

Many companies are exploiting China for their cheap labor and manufacturing cost. They are going through the same process all industrial nation have gone through. In the 1950 Japan's products were not highly regarded but are now known for their quality. South Korea went through the same process when they started selling cars and electronics goods.

At present, China's main edge is cost. They will switch to quality over quantity. They have too if they are to keep their manufacturing base.
Test Subject
#18 Old 2nd Aug 2007 at 12:55 AM
Don't Forget tainted crops
Field Researcher
#19 Old 2nd Aug 2007 at 1:29 AM
Quote: Originally posted by nixie
rofl cardboard, this reminds me of an incident where a "hawkers" was found mixing toilet paper in the soup to make it thick and looks like fish flakes here where i am.
Actually, I read a news report (probably on CNN) which said that the reporter for the Chinese news agency who went to visit these baozi vendors for the story actually provided the cardboard to put into the ingredients. That reporter was punished, either by being fired or suspended, for fabricating the story.

"Make believe in magic, make believe in dreams
Make believe impossible, nothing as it seems
See, touch, taste, smell, hear, but never know if it's real"
--The Cure, "More Than This"
Field Researcher
#20 Old 2nd Aug 2007 at 4:18 PM
Another recall has been issued:

http://www.rte.ie/business/2007/0802/fisherprice.html


http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/...edproducts.html

I want to get a vending machine, with fun sized candy bars, and the glass in front is a magnifying glass. You'll be mad, but it will be too late.- Mitch Hedberg
Back to top