If it says 'Made in China'....

Angelinity

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070720...products_21;_ylt=AiVuQEB9A2TgkrydnVPkt_X9xg8F


This article is a small measure of vindication for me, as i've been up against Chinese products in my mundane life -- Chinese products have encroached just about every market, including my own.

In their hunger to penetrate global markets, the majority of Chinese entrpreneurs boldly copy every carefully designed and manufactured product out there, then set up makeshift production facilities, hire unqualified labour and proceed to stamp out substandard 'clones'. This angers me as much as plagiarism in the writing world.

They peddle their wears at cut-throat prices, essentially ruining the market by encouraging buyers to drastically reduce budgets. Let's face it, it doesn't take much persuasion to woo a buyer into paying a quarter of the price!

These trends have been active now for many years, reaching global levels, and have resulted in a great number of bonafide manufacturers who refused to compromise on quality to go out of business.

The end loser is the consumer -- giant distributors, in an effort to save expenditures and raise profits, prefer to buy Chinese clones and pass them to their retailers, and finally the consumer, under the guise of equivalency in quality, potency and safety...

The real truth is that overall, products Made in China are manufactured, tested and approved without the benefit of strict and verifyable standards. To top this off, widespread corruption in China nearly guarantees non-compliance with safe manufacturing regulations.

What makes this problem even more alarming, is that many leading international brands have shifted their manufacturing facilities to China. The label doesn't always read 'Made in China', because products are then shipped to the US or Europe for packing and distribution... thus we as the consumer have no way of telling whether it's genuinely safe or not...

The least we can do, when making a buying decision, is ask the question: where was this made? By doing this, you have a greater chance to protect yourself, your family and pets, but also ensure that 'quality' does not become a standard of days gone by...
 

aadams73

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Thanks!

I check labels on food and other products very careful, and I try never to buy anything Made In China. I've been doing this for years.
 

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070720...products_21;_ylt=AiVuQEB9A2TgkrydnVPkt_X9xg8F



The real truth is that overall, products Made in China are manufactured, tested and approved without the benefit of strict and verifiable standards. To top this off, widespread corruption in China nearly guarantees non-compliance with safe manufacturing regulations.

What makes this problem even more alarming, is that many leading international brands have shifted their manufacturing facilities to China. The label doesn't always read 'Made in China', because products are then shipped to the US or Europe for packing and distribution... thus we as the consumer have no way of telling whether it's genuinely safe or not...

About that farm raised in China fish I bought the other day....

WTF? The US doesn't have any freakin' fish any more?

Yeah. And I have a bridge ....
 

benbradley

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070720...products_21;_ylt=AiVuQEB9A2TgkrydnVPkt_X9xg8F


This article is a small measure of vindication for me, as i've been up against Chinese products in my mundane life -- Chinese products have encroached just about every market, including my own.
...
The least we can do, when making a buying decision, is ask the question: where was this made? By doing this, you have a greater chance to protect yourself, your family and pets, but also ensure that 'quality' does not become a standard of days gone by...
Here's another story along similar lines you may find interesting, yet another set of reasons not to buy Chinese:
"Air Pollution Grows in Tandem with China's Economy" http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10221268
Pertinent quote:
More cars will emit more pollutants. And as the average standard of living rises, China's thirst for energy grows. So it's opening a new coal-fired power plant a week, leading again to more polluting emissions.
About that farm raised in China fish I bought the other day....

WTF? The US doesn't have any freakin' fish any more?
Not that can be profitably sold in Wal-Mart.
 

Sheryl Nantus

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actually, I'm not really surprised - when you're trying to clothe, feed and maintain a population of BILLIONS, you're going to have this sort of problem happen just because of the nature of the beast.

corruption happens everywhere, to be fair - in the US, overseas and most certainly in China - but in this case I suspect a lot of it has to do with the shift towards more capitalism and profit-making, despite their claims to communism, and the fact that in order to KEEP billions of people alive you end up cutting corners.

heck, if the US really tried to track and test all the products coming in *just* from China, there'd be a breakdown. People want their food on the shelves quickly and cheaply - and raising taxes to put more food inspectors on the docks isn't going to be popular.

inevitable, but hopefully curable.
 

Julie Worth

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The problem is not with China, it's with the US government. The federals have lowered tariffs to near zero with the idea that the more cheap products we buy, the richer we'll become. This is exactly the thinking of anyone who lives high on borrowed money. One day, it will all come crashing down. Already the dollar is being devalued, and one day soon all those dollars we spent on worthless plastic toys will come flooding back and buy up America. All the land, all the factories. Not buying "made in China" won't be an option then.
 

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Have you read this book yet?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0470116137/?tag=absolutewritedm-20

It's on my to-read list. The concept of avoiding anything made in China sounds great in theory, but I don't know if I could do it as a practical matter.

I do buy most of my food locally, though. Food's one area that I have no desire to mess around with.
 

Angelinity

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Actually, they did a news article on this last night. In Canada, the national news station took 35 or 40 children's toys that were imported from China to be tested independently for lead content, etc. The results were astounding because they did not comply at all with Canadian Safety Standards -- they weren't even in the same ballpark. When the reporter took the test results to the Canadian Gov't, they said that they would take no action on it because they could not trust the test results. The tests had been done in one of our best labs and done exactly to government standards. The govt' rep then said that she would maybe suggest that they may do their own testing at some point, but her tone of voice was clearly "as soon as you're out of my office with that camera, I will throw this stack of papers in the garbage."

It's hard to believe they would ignore the results, and even harder to believe just how arrogant the govt' rep was. They at least should agree to immediate testing, not that our powers-that-be would do anything about it when they got the same results.
 

Angelinity

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Actually, they did a news article on this last night. In Canada, the national news station took 35 or 40 children's toys that were imported from China to be tested independently for lead content, etc. The results were astounding because they did not comply at all with Canadian Safety Standards -- they weren't even in the same ballpark. When the reporter took the test results to the Canadian Gov't, they said that they would take no action on it because they could not trust the test results. The tests had been done in one of our best labs and done exactly to government standards. The govt' rep then said that she would maybe suggest that they may do their own testing at some point, but her tone of voice was clearly "as soon as you're out of my office with that camera, I will throw this stack of papers in the garbage."

It's hard to believe they would ignore the results, and even harder to believe just how arrogant the govt' rep was. They at least should agree to immediate testing, not that our powers-that-be would do anything about it when they got the same results.

...'tis f----n' politics, the more i try to run away from it, the faster is catches up with me... bleh!!!

the bottom line is, we as consumers are not and should not 'feign' being blind to this. 'money' / 'savings' / 'low rates' ... these are the tools used to blind us...

there is real power to our buying decision. the temptation to save big is great. but we must remember the real cost.
 

JoeEkaitis

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Add "CorningWare" stoneware (not the original American-made Pyroceram cookware) to the suspect list. It's all made in China or Indonesia these days, except for the Pyrex glass lids. Stoneware is not freezer-to-oven-to-tableware. By its very nature, it has a built-in self-destruct mechanism which will expose you to the lead in the clay if the glazing suffers the most minute scratch or crack.
 

maestrowork

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this sort of things have happened for decades. the fake gucci bags, polo shirts, rolexes. only know do they become more global, more ruthless and more blatant. faking a gucci bag and selling it as such is one thing. faking baby formulas and causing death is another. i am very cautious now about food from china, and it's tough since i like to cook chinese once in a while. and god knows what else (cat food? cereal?)
 

Sheryl Nantus

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Add "CorningWare" stoneware (not the original American-made Pyroceram cookware) to the suspect list. It's all made in China or Indonesia these days, except for the Pyrex glass lids. Stoneware is not freezer-to-oven-to-tableware. By its very nature, it has a built-in self-destruct mechanism which will expose you to the lead in the clay if the glazing suffers the most minute scratch or crack.

uh... maybe there are knockoffs, but the World Kitchen plant near me in Charleroi, PA is the production facility for CorningWare.

And it's still in business 'cause my husband went there for an interview. Saw them rolling off the lines and everything.
 

JoeEkaitis

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uh... maybe there are knockoffs, but the World Kitchen plant near me in Charleroi, PA is the production facility for CorningWare.

And it's still in business 'cause my husband went there for an interview. Saw them rolling off the lines and everything.
All I know is what I read on the boxes and on the CorningWare website.

Was it white Pyroceram cookware or clear Pyrex glassware? Pyrex is still made in the USA, including the glass lids on "CorningWare" stoneware.
 
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Sheryl Nantus

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All I know is what I read on the boxes and on the CorningWare website.

Was it white Pyroceram cookware or clear Pyrex glassware? Pyrex is still made in the USA, including the glass lids on "CorningWare" stoneware.

where are you seeing on the CorningWare site that it's all made overseas?

I see on the WorldKitchen's site:

"World Kitchen, LLC and its affiliates manufacture and market bakeware, dinnerware, kitchen and household tools, rangetop cookware and cutlery products sold under well-known and trusted brands including CorningWare®, Pyrex®, Corelle®, Revere®, Ekco®, Baker’s Secret®, Magnalite®, Chicago Cutlery®, and Olfa®.

World Kitchen employs approximately 2,900 people, and has major manufacturing and distribution operations in the United States, Canada, and Asia-Pacific regions. We sell products through multiple channels, including mass merchants, department stores, specialty retailers, retail food stores, and catalog showrooms. An additional channel is our own CorningWare/Corelle/Revere Factory Stores located in outlet centers across North America and internationally."

and all their job openings are in the US or Canada...

???

the Pyrex plant is the one I'm thinking of, but WorldKitchens also makes Corningware, so...
 

JoeEkaitis

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The CorningWare boxes at Macy's and Target both state "Stoneware baking dishes made in China. Pyrex and plastic lids made in USA." Corning Ware white Pyroceram cookware was discontinued and replaced with stoneware.

2008 would have been the 50th anniversary of Pyroceram cookware, but I don't know if World Kitchen has any plans to manufacture an anniversary edition.

It would be nice to be able to buy brand new Corning Ware Pyroceram again.
 

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It's not China I have a problem with. It's our suck *** government. Slashing budgets for inspectors, etc. etc.

About two months ago I read an article where American chickens are being sent to China to be processed and come back in a can. A man from the poultry association was like: 'Huh. We didn't ask for that'. The man didn't have a clue. So... how did it happen?

Whut? We forgot how to make cans, too? I doubt that.
 

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When I heard about the Thomas the Tank Engine brand name toys being recalled due to lead in the paint, I was angered to no end. I will NEVER by anything made in China again when I have the option. The toys are anything but cheap and have ZERO excuses for cutting corners. Exposing children to lead in their toys simply because they thought it was cheaper? That was the last straw in my book. It's been knowwn for decades that lead is dangerous, there is no excuse for using it in paint except for pure greed. Don't even get me started on Melamine...
 

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scary

So far 99% of you have beed talking about products. And I agree, that's bad. However, want something scary? I was on the loading docks the other day, unloading some cherries. The truck next to me was unloading spinach. Boxed, loose leaf spinach. Importeted from China. Now, let's break this down a little bit.
Day 1. Field workers spend all day filling their baskets full of fresh spinach. End of the day it goes to cleaning and processing.
Day 2. After being dumped onto a conveyor belt, the product is washed. Workers then seperate the weeds, rocks, and other debris, leaving a final product. Down the line it goes to be packed into boxes. Boxes are sealed and put into cold storage.
Day 3. A truck shows up at the processing plant to load and deliver the product to the shipping docks. This could take anywhere from 1 to 5 days. We'll just call it one day for now.
Day 4. The spinach is stacked on pallets, sitting in the sun, waiting to be loaded into containers for shipment to the US. 1 to 2 days.
Day 5. Finally starting to load the container ship. three days to a week.
Day 6. Ship leaves port for the US. Seven days travel time.
Day 7. Port of Los Angeles. Unload ship. Seperate containers for diferent destinations. 3 to 5 days.
Day 8. A long haul trucker (me) picks up the load for delivery to a distribution center. Think Wal-Mart. 1 to 5 days.
Day 9. Spinach is delivered to your favorite store. 1 day
Day 10. You get to buy fresh spinach for dinner that night, that's only about a month old.

Check you labels if you can. This is happening with spinach, garlic, mushrooms, carrots, and most any other produce you can think of. Believe me, I've seen it!
 

Angelinity

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...sheesh! i always thought 'fresh' food as such was flown in...

so much for 'have your spinach, it's good for you!'....
 

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So far 99% of you have beed talking about products. And I agree, that's bad. However, want something scary? I was on the loading docks the other day, unloading some cherries. The truck next to me was unloading spinach. Boxed, loose leaf spinach. Importeted from China. Now, let's break this down a little bit.
Day 1. Field workers spend all day filling their baskets full of fresh spinach. End of the day it goes to cleaning and processing.
Day 2. After being dumped onto a conveyor belt, the product is washed. Workers then seperate the weeds, rocks, and other debris, leaving a final product. Down the line it goes to be packed into boxes. Boxes are sealed and put into cold storage.
Day 3. A truck shows up at the processing plant to load and deliver the product to the shipping docks. This could take anywhere from 1 to 5 days. We'll just call it one day for now.
Day 4. The spinach is stacked on pallets, sitting in the sun, waiting to be loaded into containers for shipment to the US. 1 to 2 days.
Day 5. Finally starting to load the container ship. three days to a week.
Day 6. Ship leaves port for the US. Seven days travel time.
Day 7. Port of Los Angeles. Unload ship. Seperate containers for diferent destinations. 3 to 5 days.
Day 8. A long haul trucker (me) picks up the load for delivery to a distribution center. Think Wal-Mart. 1 to 5 days.
Day 9. Spinach is delivered to your favorite store. 1 day
Day 10. You get to buy fresh spinach for dinner that night, that's only about a month old.

Check you labels if you can. This is happening with spinach, garlic, mushrooms, carrots, and most any other produce you can think of. Believe me, I've seen it!

I do believe you. What I don't believe is that the US can't feed itself.

We used to feed ourselves and half the world. WTF happened? THAT's What I want to KNOW.