Noon International: Food Trading Import Export » Food Safety http://www.noon-intl.com/blog Food Trading and Import and Export Company for Asia Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:48:42 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 Whole Foods – Organic Food From China http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2010/04/07/whole-foods-organic-food-from-china/ http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2010/04/07/whole-foods-organic-food-from-china/#comments Wed, 07 Apr 2010 20:53:32 +0000 Edward Noon http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/?p=696 Continue reading →]]> We have blogged on this in the past and now ABC News is catching wind of the fact that Whole Foods who promotes Organic and Local, is actually selling organic food under its own label from China. Organic food that is USDA certified by a third party that also outsources the certification!

Again it is buyer beware.

Watch the video.

]]> http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2010/04/07/whole-foods-organic-food-from-china/feed/ 0 FDA To Open 3 Offices In China http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/11/18/fda-to-open-3-offices-in-china/ http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/11/18/fda-to-open-3-offices-in-china/#comments Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:24:43 +0000 Edward Noon http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/11/18/fda-to-open-3-offices-in-china/ Continue reading →]]> Just received following information from Alan Davis of Strategic Solutions Partners, LLC
 
US to open China offices for product safety

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will open three offices in China this week to ensure the safety of exports headed to the US, AP reported. These will be the first FDA offices outside the US. The first will open in Beijing on Wednesday, followed by one in Guangzhou and another in Shanghai. Mike Leavitt, US health and human services secretary, said the FDA presence in China will enhance the speed and effectiveness of efforts to protect consumers in the US and China. Safety issues involving the blood thinner heparin, food and other products imported from China have put pressure on the FDA to establish an international presence. Last year, US-based Mattel recalled more than 21 million Chinese-made toys worldwide.

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]]> http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/11/18/fda-to-open-3-offices-in-china/feed/ 0 China Food Products On Automatic Detention http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/11/17/china-food-products-on-automatic-detention/ http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/11/17/china-food-products-on-automatic-detention/#comments Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:08:29 +0000 Edward Noon http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/11/17/china-food-products-on-automatic-detention/ Continue reading →]]> The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) took the unusual steps of detaining certain food products from China without physical examination. Taking action against a country is not the norm, generally it is confined to a specific factory or region. In this case, due to the ubiquitous use of melamine in milk they have elected to detain all food products from China containing milk.

In order to have the product come into the country, each shipment will have to be inspected by an outside lab (third party) to prove that it is free of melamine, or the melamine analog. This testing will be an added cost of up to $1000 per shipment.

The FDA has given the written criteria for other methods of clearance by individual factories as outlined in their Alert (click here for FDA Import Alert).

My question is how will China retaliate???

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-china14-2008nov14,0,1796913.story
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article5152668.ece

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]]> http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/11/17/china-food-products-on-automatic-detention/feed/ 0 Melamine An “Open Secret” http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/10/31/melamine-an-open-secret/ http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/10/31/melamine-an-open-secret/#comments Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:49:55 +0000 Edward Noon http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/10/31/melamine-an-open-secret/ Continue reading →]]> Pass the Melamine Please

China once again is brought to the forefront with a new melamine scare. Now the problem is eggs. Hong Kong authorities has detected melamine in 4 brands of eggs from China.

The melamine, which is high in nitrogen, is added to the food products to make them appear as having a higher protein content. Melamine is cheap, gives the false impression of higher protein so that food inspectors believe the food products are protein enriched and meeting their minimum protein standards.

The feed industry appears to be using the cheap additive, mixing it with food products of various types, to reduce production cost. It appears that this is a national phenomena and one that all have tacitly approved (including the government). It’s their little “open secret”.

China officials reportedly were aware of the situation and began investigating in early October eggs in Liaoning province, however, they put a ban on any media interviews.

After melamine what next?

Reference:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7701477.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7699100.stm
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27320256/

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]]> http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/10/31/melamine-an-open-secret/feed/ 0 China Green Beans Loaded With Pesticide http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/10/16/228/ http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/10/16/228/#comments Fri, 17 Oct 2008 03:57:32 +0000 Edward Noon http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/10/16/228/ Continue reading →]]> China has managed to do it again. This time it is pesticide contaminated frozen green beans exported to Japan. According to sources the pesticide dichlorvos was detected. Not only was it detected, it was 34,500 times more then the maximum allowed according to the Japanese positive list!!!

I don’t know which is worse the financial crisis or China food safety issues?

According to all the pundits a few months ago there was nothing wrong with the financial system. The same is true with China, saying they have food safety under control.

Then along comes Freddie Mac and Fannie Mac and AIG bailouts but everything is okay. In China it is the melamine tainted milk found but it has been brought under control.

Lehman goes bankrupt, Washington Mutual and Wachovia are headed that way as well (hopefully some white knight will come to the rescue.) More milk manufactures are producing milk with melamine, babies getting sick and some dying. And now we have candy, instant coffee and yoghurt with melamine.

Now the financial crisis has turned into a global route as banks collapse and others join the U.S. in bailouts, the result NO CONFIDENCE. China has now added the pesticide issue to a mounting of food safety issues. Pet food contaminated with melamine a year ago, Gyoza laced with pesticide exported to Japan, melamine contaminated milk found not only in the domestic market but exported to various countries throughout the world, and now the latest pesticide laced green beans.

According to the experts, the financial crisis is a little worse then expected but we are getting it under control, have faith. According to the Chinese authorities they didn’t detect any pesticides on the product and dichlorvos is not used in China, have faith.

CONFIDENCE??? Yes I do have confidence that we are not being told the truth.

Eat on!

Resources:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/5082035/more-fall-ill-to-chinese-beans-official/
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/10/15/japan.beans/index.html?section=cnn_latest
http://www.postchronicle.com/news/breakingnews/article_212179250.shtml

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]]> http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/10/16/228/feed/ 0 Australia Goes On Melamine China Vegetable Hunt http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/10/10/australia-goes-on-melamine-china-vegetable-hunt/ http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/10/10/australia-goes-on-melamine-china-vegetable-hunt/#comments Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:30:27 +0000 Edward Noon http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/10/10/australia-goes-on-melamine-china-vegetable-hunt/ Continue reading →]]> With all the scares and international attention China has been receiving because of its adulterated milk, which has spread to other products that use milk, such as candy, biscuits etc., Australia has taken the additional step to start testing for melamine in fruits and vegetables.

There are fears in Australia, (which last year imported more then $85 million of food items from China, which are mostly frozen and canned products) that the vegetables and fruits from China may be contaminated with melamine.

Australian authorities from Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) are looking into the allegations and setting up testing protocols to ensure the safety of the products.

At this stage, Lydia Buchtmann of FSANZ, says they are looking into the reports and conducting risk assessments, but as of today, no contamination has been uncovered.

In the meantime more testing both in China and in Australia.

More news:
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24465192-36398,00.html
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/newsroom/factsheets/factsheets2008/melamineinfoodsfromchina/riskassessmentandref4064.cfm
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/newsroom/factsheets/factsheets2008/melamineinfoodsfromchina/index.cfm
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,434364,00.html

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]]> http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/10/10/australia-goes-on-melamine-china-vegetable-hunt/feed/ 0 Is Your Baby Safe – China Melamine In Milk http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/09/20/is-your-baby-safe-china-melamine-in-milk/ http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/09/20/is-your-baby-safe-china-melamine-in-milk/#comments Sat, 20 Sep 2008 23:51:37 +0000 Edward Noon http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/09/20/is-your-baby-safe-china-melamine-in-milk/ Continue reading →]]> China Milk Is Major Problem

It doesn’t matter if it’s fresh milk or powdered milk there is a serious problem. According to James Rice in an article in Bloomberg “It’s not commonly known in China, but fresh milk is not fresh. It’s 50 percent fresh milk from cows and 50 percent reconstituted from powder.” Can any infants in China be safe from melamine?

The FDA has now taken action and inspecting at ports of entry to keep out the tainted milk products, the Associated Press reported. It will also be issuing alerts this weekend warning consumers of the potential hazards and to not consume or not buy any milk products from China over the internet, AP said, citing Judy Leon, a spokeswoman for the FDA.

Keep your babies healthy, no milk products from China.

Protect your baby, no milk from China.
Photo from iStockphoto.com

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]]> http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/09/20/is-your-baby-safe-china-melamine-in-milk/feed/ 1 Melamine, Milk, Recall Expands In China http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/09/16/melamine-milk-recall-expands-in-china/ http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/09/16/melamine-milk-recall-expands-in-china/#comments Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:22:15 +0000 Edward Noon http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/09/16/melamine-milk-recall-expands-in-china/ Continue reading →]]> And More Melamine Contaminated Milk

In another article from Bloomberg they now state that The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has order a recall of 69 infant-milk products made by 22 dairy companines after it was found that they contained melamine. The GAQSIQ has order immediate destruction of all the products.

The GAQSIQ stated that no product produced after September 14 is contaminated and that none of the dairy products supplied for the Olympics was tainted (not sure how they can make this statement with any certainty).

The quality-control agency said no contamination was found in milk products made after Sept. 14, and that the dairy supply for the Beijing Olympics was untainted by melamine.

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]]> http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/09/16/melamine-milk-recall-expands-in-china/feed/ 0 Melamine, Fake Milk, Hong Kong http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/09/16/melamine-fake-milk-hong-kong/ http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/09/16/melamine-fake-milk-hong-kong/#comments Tue, 16 Sep 2008 18:36:22 +0000 Edward Noon http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/09/16/melamine-fake-milk-hong-kong/ Continue reading →]]> The China fake milk (laced with melamine) problem continues to grow. Now it has been reported that another large producer YiLi has problems with their yogurt ice cream. In Hong Kong according to Bloomberg, Wellcome stores has pulled all of Yili’s Natural Choice Yogurt Ice-bar with Real Fruit after finding that the product was produced with melamine. All other products from Yili for the moment remain unaffected.

Why do they use the melamine? What is the attraction? They like to use it because the melamine mimics protein, and can have give it a boost, making it appear as the protein content is higher. Higher protein at the risk of our infants, a great trade off??

On another note Fonterra a 43% shareholder of Sanlu, the first to be discovered using the melamine in powdered milk, is apologizing to China consumers and promises to recall all milk product produced prior to August 6.

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]]> http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/09/16/melamine-fake-milk-hong-kong/feed/ 0 China Powdered Milk, Melamine, Cover Up? http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/09/15/china-powdered-milk-melamine-cover-up/ http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/09/15/china-powdered-milk-melamine-cover-up/#comments Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:11:43 +0000 Edward Noon http://www.noon-intl.com/blog/2008/09/15/china-powdered-milk-melamine-cover-up/ Continue reading →]]> The China powder milk saga (laced with melamine) continues. More that 1200 have been reported as showing symptoms of kidney failure. More than 400 are still hospitalized with more then 50 in critical condition and at least 2 deaths.

Sanglu the processor has been trying to cover up the contaminated milk even though they have been pressured by food giant New Zealand based Fonterra a 43% stakeholder in Sanlu Group.

According to Ms. Clark of Fonterra they have been pressuring Sanlu to recall the milk back in the early part of August. Perhaps they neglected the request because of the Olympics, or perhaps its just the standard protocol in China to cover it up. Regardless the local authorities would not recall the product. Ms. Clark stated “I think the first inclination was to try and put a towel over it and deal with it without an official recall.” Meanwhile Fonterra’s hands were tied and helpless to do anything (or were they?).

It appears that Sanlu had exported 25 metric tons in August to Taiwan which has now put a ban on all powdered milk from China. At present no reported problems have been announced in Taiwan. So far Taiwan is the only country to be know of importing the powdered milk.

Will the cover ups never end? Why so late to react? Did the China government know? Did the government discourage a recall during the Olympics? Who else is involved in the cover up?

Beware, beware, beware!!! Caveat Emptor (let the buyer beware).

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