China poisons a whole bunch more products (chocolate). When do we stop the madness?

[LiberalHeart]

I don't get it. Why are Chinese companies committing economical suicide by poisoning their customers? And why aren't we taking back the business we've sent to them? I had a job a while back that involved getting recall info to the public. It didn't take long to see that the majority of products with serious recalls came from China. Something's very wrong with a country (ours) when it keeps on relying another country for the bulk of its products when a) it's clear they're endangering the people who buy them, and b) US workers are looking for jobs.

I've gotten to the point where I now check the country of origin on whatever I buy. If it says China and I have other choices, I go to door #2. But it seems like I often have no choice, except not to buy. I was in a huge pet store recently and could find only ONE product made in the USA (I was shopping for cat toys).
***

HONG KONG (AP) -- British chocolate maker Cadbury said Monday that tests have ''cast doubt'' on the safety of its Chinese-made products and ordered a recall, the latest foreign company affected by China's tainted milk scandal.

Meanwhile, two U.S. food makers were investigating Indonesian claims that high traces of melamine were found in Chinese-made Oreos, M&Ms and Snickers.

Cadbury said in a statement it has recalled 11 chocolate products made at its factory in the Chinese capital Beijing, which are distributed in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-AS-Cadbury-Chocolate-Recall.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

[billyoc]

1. They poison their customers for short term profits, just like we showed 'em.

The same reason we destroy our credit markets with junk MBS's. Without regulation, Capital will always behave the same way, without exception.

[liberal N proud]

3. Bingo

[stillcool]

2. Industrial espionage?

[lib2DaBone]

4. Congress could stop this madness with the stroke of a pen....

Stop giving Tax breaks to companies to go to China. Reverse it.. give tax breaks for Companies to come home. 5 Million Jobs have been sent to China in the last 7 years

[tuckessee]

5. Consumers should never buy another product from these companies.

Distributing stuff poisoned by the Chinese should be the kiss of death for a company.

We should never buy another Cadbury product - ever. They'll go out business and it will be a lesson for others.

[LiberalHeart]

6. Check out these recalls in the US this month -- then check where they were made....

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08412.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08410.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08409.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08408.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08407.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08406.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08405.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08404.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08609.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08608.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08607.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08401.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08400.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08605.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08395.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08390.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08388.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08387.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08386.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08384.html

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08383.html


So do we just stop buying everything? It's really hard to find products that don't have a China connection.

[yardwork]

7. It's because companies want the cheapest possible production cost.

In this new "global economy," instead of producing materials here in the U.S. and paying employees decent salaries and benefits, companies shop around for the cheapest possible production cost. They hop from factory to factory, always seeking the cheapest cost. It's so competitive, bids are accepted on the basis of fractions of pennies' difference.

Melamine gives a false positive on tests for protein. Chinese manufacturers are replacing real food - milk, grain, etc. - with this chemical to lower their costs.

We need to rethink the entire approach to labor. What's wrong with paying people a decent, living wage and giving them life-sustaining benefits in return for loyalty and hard work? What's wrong with paying a reasonable price for essential products, and skipping the junk that nobody needs? Do we need 6,000 square foot houses filled with junk made in China? Does this bring happiness? Especially when it puts thousands of Americans out of work? What's wrong with everybody living in modest but liveable homes, and having a liveable salary and the kinds of benefits - health coverage, family leave, vacations, retirement - that make life worth living?

[raccoon]

8. Well said! nt

[LiberalHeart]

9. The companies that fit the scenario you describe are gone.

When I started out in the working world a lifetime ago, there were local companies that were cradle-to-grave type places where an employee found a secure spot for his/her working life. The companies were successful, too. There was employee loyalty and a pool of genuine talent within those companies. The companies were world leaders in their given categories. What the hell happened? All of a sudden it became smart business to improve the bottom line by eliminating workers. Never mind that quality also went in the toilet then. I'm sure there was waste with the old blueprint, but it worked anyway, at least on our local level. The companies were Fortune 500 operations. Now some are foreign owned and struggling; one is still US owned (as far as I know) but went into bankruptcy. It had been one of the 10 companies to work for in the US. Now, not so much.