Made (Poorly) in China

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May 2008
- Wal-Mart Tightens Toy Safety Standards
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | May 14, 08 1:49 PM CDT
  
  Wal-Mart is adopting stricter toy safety standards, going above and beyond existing government requirements, the Wall Street Journal reports. The standards set hard lead limits, and encourage “traceability information,” to show where toys are from. Complying could boost toymakers’ costs by 5%-7%, but since Wal-Mart is the world’s top toy seller, expect companies to fall in line. More »
April 2008
- Heparin Victims Testify on Hill
  
  newser | Reuters | Apr 29, 08 4:30 PM CDT
  
  Relatives of some of the 81 Americans whose deaths have been linked to tainted heparin told a Congressional subcommittee about their experiences today, Reuters reports. An Ohio man wept as he told lawmakers his wife and son, who had a genetic kidney disease, died within a month after being given heparin while undergoing dialysis. "I want to know if my daughter and the millions of others who continue to receive dialysis are safe," said Leroy Hubley. More »
- Deadly Heparin Found in 11 Nations
  
  newser | New York Times | Apr 22, 08 7:17 AM CDT
  
  The FDA has traced a contaminated blood thinner from a Chinese factory to 11 countries, the New York Times reports. Severe reactions to the contaminated heparin have been linked to the deaths of 81 Americans, but it wasn't immediately clear if the drug may have triggered fatalities in other countries. Chinese officials have denied that the contamination caused any deaths and have demanded to be allowed to inspect the US plant where the heparin was packaged. More »
- Europeans Cite China as Top Stability Threat
  
  newser | Financial Times (UK) | Apr 15, 08 1:00 PM CDT
  
  Europeans see China as the biggest threat to world stability, a new poll says. In the wake of the Tibet crackdown, 35% of Europeans labeled China a bigger threat than any other state, reports the Financial Times . “The story of the last five years has been about economic opportunities," said one expert. "The story of the last six months has been about China as a threat in Darfur and in Tibet." More »
- NRC Warns of Shoddy Nuke Parts
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Apr 11, 08 3:11 AM CDT
  
  An influx of shoddy and counterfeit parts from China and elsewhere could pose safety hazards in US nuclear power plants, warn officials of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. A dramatic decline in the number of domestic suppliers is making reliable nuclear parts harder to find, reports the Wall Street Journal. The warning comes as nuclear power is making a comeback in the US, with 15 new plants on the drawing board. More »
March 2008
- 'Regulation' No Longer a Dirty Word in DC
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Mar 24, 08 11:38 AM CDT
  
  "Regulation" is becoming less of a dirty word in Washington in the wake of the mortgage meltdown, woes on Wall Street, and scares over tainted food and toys. Many Democrats and even some Republicans want a shift from voluntary industry standards in vogue since the Reagan administration. "We're in for a potentially significant regulatory response," one economist tells the Wall Street Journal . More »
- Feds ID Extra Drug in Baxter's Recalled Heparin
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Mar 19, 08 1:44 PM CDT
  
  The Food and Drug Administration has identified the extra ingredient found in samples of Baxter’s blood-thinning drug heparin, the Wall Street Journal reports today. Some batches of the drug—recalled in January after reports of allergic reactions—contained over-sulfated chondroitin sulfate, but it is not certain that was the cause of the hundreds of reactions or 19 deaths linked to Baxter’s product. More »
- FDA Finds Contaminant in Blood Thinner
  
  newser | New York Times | Mar 5, 08 9:49 PM CST
  
  The FDA has found a contaminant in samples of heparin, a blood thinner produced mainly in China linked to 19 deaths and nearly 800 allergic reactions in the US, the New York Times reports. The contaminant may be a counterfeit form of heparin added to reduce its manufacturing cost. The FDA is fine-tuning tests to better detect it. More »
February 2008
- Possible Heparin Deaths Increase; Recall Expands
  
  newser | New York Times | Feb 29, 08 8:07 AM CST
  
  Baxter International has expanded its recall of heparin products as the FDA said the number of deaths possibly linked to the blood thinner rose from 4 to 21, the New York Times reports. The agency said it found "deficiencies" at a Chinese plant that supplied the active ingredient. Baxter, which produces about half of the nation's supply, has now recalled virtually all of its heparin products. More »
- Heparin Supply Chain Shaky in China
  
  newser | New York Times | Feb 28, 08 2:07 PM CST
  
  With at least four US patients dead and hundreds suffering complications from the blood-thinning drug heparin, the New York Times follows the supply chain back to Chinese slaughterhouses that deal with the pig intestines that provide raw material for the drug. Though companies say the chain is secure, the Times finds it vulnerable to contamination and lack of oversight. More »
- FDA Approved Wrong China Firm
  
  newser | Washington Post | Feb 19, 08 6:26 AM CST
  
  The Chinese facility that supplied the active ingredient of the blood-thinner heparin, linked to hundreds of adverse reactions and four US deaths, was never inspected by the FDA because the agency confused it with another plant of the same name, the Washington Post reports. The company was given approval based on an earlier FDA inspection of the other factory. "The wrong firm was put into the database," said the FDA's deputy director. More »
- Chinese Factory Linked to Deadly US Drug
  
  newser | Wall Street Journal | Feb 14, 08 4:46 AM CST
  
  The active ingredient in a drug linked to four deaths and hundreds of adverse reactions in the US has been traced to a Chinese factory which has never been inspected by the FDA, reports the Wall Street Journal . The drug is a blood-thinner made by Baxter International, a version of the generic drug heparin, which is used in heart surgery and dialysis to prevent blood from clotting. Baxter has halted production of the drug. More »
- US, Chinese Firms Charged in Pet Food Scandal
  
  newser | Associated Press | Feb 6, 08 6:16 PM CST
  
  US authorities today charged an American company and two Chinese businesses with manufacturing and importing tainted ingredients in pet food that killed thousands of cats and dogs last year, the AP reports. Las Vegas-based ChemNutra and its owners face a felony conspiracy charge and 26 misdemeanor counts for selling adulterated and misbranded food. The Chinese businesses face 26 counts each. More »
- FDA Plans to Open Outpost in China
  
  newser | Reuters | Feb 6, 08 6:00 AM CST
  
  America's food imports from China are rising and the Food and Drug Administration is planning to start exporting American inspectors to protect the US food supply, Reuters reports. FDA officials hope to open a China office to help them raise food safety standards and to make it easier to act quickly when problems arise. Such an operation would allow a "boots on the ground" response, explained the agency's commissioner. More »
January 2008
- Abortion Pill Maker in Tainted Drug Scandal
  
  newser | New York Times | Jan 31, 08 5:00 AM CST
  
  A Chinese pharmaceutical giant which exports the abortion pill RU-486 to the US is accused of producing tainted cancer medication and of attempting a cover-up. Shanghai Hualian's tainted drugs left 200 Chinese leukemia patients hospitalized, some paralyzed, reports the New York Times . There's no indication US shipments of RU-486 are also tainted. The company is the sole supplier of RU-486 to the US. More »
December 2007
- China OKs US Health Inspections
  
  newser | Washington Post | Dec 11, 07 10:08 AM CST
  
  China will allow US health inspectors to monitor the country’s food and drug exports, the Washington Post reports, a big concession in heated high-level trade talks. China accuses the US media of tarnishing its reputation by overblowing safety concerns, and has in turn questioned US exports. China is the first of many countries the US hopes to station inspectors in. More »
- New Tests: 35% of Toys Contain Some Lead
  
  newser | Associated Press | Dec 5, 07 2:00 PM CST
  
  Toy shelves are still lined with lead, according to test results released today from environmental health groups in nine states. Checking 1,268 toys, the groups found lead in 35%, with levels often surpassing federal recall standards. Only 23 of those toys have been recalled. “This is not about alarming parents,” one official said. “We’re just trying to give people information.” More »
November 2007
- Hasbro Talks Tough on Safety
  
  newser | Associated Press | Nov 30, 07 7:00 PM CST
  
  Hasbro is talking up its safety record by reminding parents it had nothing to do with recent safety recalls: A newspaper ad set to run next week will say consumers should feel good about buying Hasbro products, the AP reports. Experts say it could help the entire industry but warn it probably won’t affect Christmas gift choices and could even be tempting fate. More »
- Lead Toys Get Charities Grinchy
  
  newser | MSNBC | Nov 21, 07 2:04 PM CST
  
  Rampant toy recalls are putting a real cramp in the holiday spirit at many charities, MSNBC reports. Toy drives must devote so much manpower to checking donations against lists of lead-contaminated recalls that many have stopped the Santa act entirely. “You don’t know what you’re getting, you really don’t,” said one Salvation Army manager. “So we just throw them all away.” More »
- US Stores Riddled With Unsafe Toys
  
  newser | McClatchy Newspapers | Nov 21, 07 3:22 AM CST
  
  Despite massive recalls, hazardous toys still crowd US shelves, warn consumer watchdog organizations. Dozens of toys pose choking hazards, contain toxic chemicals, or use dangerously strong magnets, according to an annual toy survey by the US Public Interest Research Group released yesterday. Nine of 100 toys tested by the Center for Environmental Health had unsafe levels of lead. All were made in China. More »