Post by Mitra on Dec 3, 2008 11:27:28 GMT -5
To quote my Mom's e-mail when she sent me this article, " EEEUUUUWWW! Chickens bred & killed in Mexico, shipped to China & returned to U.S. for sale..." Yikes! Every day I am reminded to be thankful for the food we raise and eat.
Sunday, November 30, 2008 (SF Chronicle)
Cheap food may bring next health crisis
Aleda Roth
The past decade witnessed the massive offshoring of jobs to low-cost
countries, decimating the U.S. manufacturing base. Today, Americans are
being challenged by the financial crisis, which has left much of the
service economy in shambles. Yet another avalanche may be on the horizon:
the lure, and potential liability, of cheap food.
Almost a quarter of the average American's food is imported. But
increasingly, imports are from developing countries that do not meet U.S.
standards regarding sanitation, worker safety, environmental practices,
quality of ingredients and treatment of animals. China is not only
providing a larger share of seafood, fruits, vegetables and ingredients
for processed foods, it also has a virtual monopoly as a supplier of
vitamins, food supplements and many ingredients in pharmaceuticals.
Ordinary Americans learned of the consequences of the gaping loopholes in
the financial sector regulations. Yet few know that the government is also
ill-equipped to manage the complex web of global food supply chains. This
lack of transparency, coupled with a highly fragmented U.S. food safety
infrastructure, enables unscrupulous suppliers.
There are 12 federal agencies administering 35 different food safety laws.
The Food and Drug Administration inspected only 52 Chinese plants from
1998 to 2005. At U.S. ports, only 1 percent of imported food is tested for
biological contaminants. Once found, contaminated food is returned to the
source, but the odds are high that the tainted food will be returned to
America and evade testing.
To make matters worse, the FDA does not check for nonorganic contaminants,
such as heavy metal, that may be present in produce, fish and dietary
supplements. Moreover, savvy suppliers sometimes reroute products,
especially seafood, to an inland port such as Las Vegas - which has no FDA
inspectors.
The United States allows the importation of processed chickens from China
- chickens bred and killed in Mexico, and shipped to China frozen and
returned for sale in the United States. Wal-Mart sells presumably
U.S.-caught shrimp that was processed in China. The bottom line: A
significant amount of food can cross the ocean several times before
entering the United States - without ever being inspected.
The debacle of the 2007 pet food recalls shows that even the most
reputable brands can be contaminated by minuscule ingredients - in this
case, melamine-tainted wheat and rice gluten. Months passed before the FDA
determined the root cause. The list of recalls grew day by day, creating a
huge supply disruption as retailers' shelves remained empty.
Most consumers are unaware that melamine has been found in the urine of
U.S. livestock from melamine-imported feed. And more than 2,500 metric
tons of imported Chinese dairy ingredients and products entered the U.S.
food system in 2007.
Although the FDA contends there is "no risk" to humans, there is little
research on its cumulative effects, and kidney ailments were found in
thousands of Chinese babies drinking melamine-laced milk.
A 2008 federal study reports that the prevalence of chronic kidney disease
in the United States has increased from 20 percent to 25 percent in the
past decade - and for older Americans, it is significantly higher. Is it a
coincidence that these trends parallel the imports from China?
The problem is that we just don't know.
Traditionally, food was more regional, grown and processed closer to the
point of consumption. Western food today has been transformed by
consolidation and commoditization, where large conglomerates buy and sell
a wide range of ingredients globally. These days, "low price is king."
In China, rules are often broken - and quietly cutting corners is viewed
as a survival strategy. Only recently have U.S. authorities implemented
regulations regarding country-of-origin labeling for fresh meat, fish,
fruits and vegetables. However, such labeling is not required with even
the slightest processing, such as cut-up fresh fruits and stuffed fish at
the grocers or imported processed chicken.
Few consumers would know that globally sourced food ingredients are in
everyday items with familiar brand names like Nutri-Grain bars and Sara
Lee bread. "Ingredient sourcing" is veiled in much secrecy - distributors
don't want you to know where they get your food. Marketing hype and
well-crafted packaging of branded processed foods - even many of those
labeled "organic" - often lead us to believe that their ingredients are
from U.S. farms. But organic doesn't always mean domestic.
One thing is clear: The current solutions to food quality are not
sustainable. Quality risk in global food supply chains cannot be
eliminated by fiats, inspections, auditing and testing.
For their part, consumers must take deliberate actions and vote with their
pocketbooks. They can seek out information on ingredients traced back to
the country of origin, and press for shorter supply chains by requesting
more local sourcing at retail establishments.
Companies can make available, when asked, ingredient sourcing information.
Food companies should look beyond costs to ensuring quality and consistent
enforcement of U.S. standards in the supply chain, from the farm to the
fork.
The government needs to play a more interventionist role. U.S. policy can
move domestic farming toward more sustainable practices and maintaining a
more diverse crop mix needed for food ingredients - and future leverage.
Finally, because the safety of food ingredients sourced from developing
countries cannot be inspected or regulated, setting up facilities in host
countries - like the FDA in China - provides an opportunity to better
understand the root causes of food problems and hasten those nations' path
to global standards. The Obama administration should also consider a
Cabinet-level agency with authority over all food safety, enforcement and
research.
Our health may depend on it. The food-security checklist
In this global environment, food produced close to home is no longer the
norm. The United States' problems with global food sources include:
-- Only 1 percent of imported food is tested at U.S. ports.
-- The FDA does not test for nonorganic contaminants such as heavy metals.
-- Food can cross an ocean several times before entering U.S. ports.
-- Country-of-origin labels don't apply if the food is processed.
-- Organic does not mean domestic.
Aleda Roth, Burlington Industries distinguished professor in supply chain
management at Clemson University, is an internationally recognized scholar
in global strategic sourcing and operational risk. She is a member of the
Supply Chain Thought Leaders Roundtable. ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2008 SF Chronicle
Sunday, November 30, 2008 (SF Chronicle)
Cheap food may bring next health crisis
Aleda Roth
The past decade witnessed the massive offshoring of jobs to low-cost
countries, decimating the U.S. manufacturing base. Today, Americans are
being challenged by the financial crisis, which has left much of the
service economy in shambles. Yet another avalanche may be on the horizon:
the lure, and potential liability, of cheap food.
Almost a quarter of the average American's food is imported. But
increasingly, imports are from developing countries that do not meet U.S.
standards regarding sanitation, worker safety, environmental practices,
quality of ingredients and treatment of animals. China is not only
providing a larger share of seafood, fruits, vegetables and ingredients
for processed foods, it also has a virtual monopoly as a supplier of
vitamins, food supplements and many ingredients in pharmaceuticals.
Ordinary Americans learned of the consequences of the gaping loopholes in
the financial sector regulations. Yet few know that the government is also
ill-equipped to manage the complex web of global food supply chains. This
lack of transparency, coupled with a highly fragmented U.S. food safety
infrastructure, enables unscrupulous suppliers.
There are 12 federal agencies administering 35 different food safety laws.
The Food and Drug Administration inspected only 52 Chinese plants from
1998 to 2005. At U.S. ports, only 1 percent of imported food is tested for
biological contaminants. Once found, contaminated food is returned to the
source, but the odds are high that the tainted food will be returned to
America and evade testing.
To make matters worse, the FDA does not check for nonorganic contaminants,
such as heavy metal, that may be present in produce, fish and dietary
supplements. Moreover, savvy suppliers sometimes reroute products,
especially seafood, to an inland port such as Las Vegas - which has no FDA
inspectors.
The United States allows the importation of processed chickens from China
- chickens bred and killed in Mexico, and shipped to China frozen and
returned for sale in the United States. Wal-Mart sells presumably
U.S.-caught shrimp that was processed in China. The bottom line: A
significant amount of food can cross the ocean several times before
entering the United States - without ever being inspected.
The debacle of the 2007 pet food recalls shows that even the most
reputable brands can be contaminated by minuscule ingredients - in this
case, melamine-tainted wheat and rice gluten. Months passed before the FDA
determined the root cause. The list of recalls grew day by day, creating a
huge supply disruption as retailers' shelves remained empty.
Most consumers are unaware that melamine has been found in the urine of
U.S. livestock from melamine-imported feed. And more than 2,500 metric
tons of imported Chinese dairy ingredients and products entered the U.S.
food system in 2007.
Although the FDA contends there is "no risk" to humans, there is little
research on its cumulative effects, and kidney ailments were found in
thousands of Chinese babies drinking melamine-laced milk.
A 2008 federal study reports that the prevalence of chronic kidney disease
in the United States has increased from 20 percent to 25 percent in the
past decade - and for older Americans, it is significantly higher. Is it a
coincidence that these trends parallel the imports from China?
The problem is that we just don't know.
Traditionally, food was more regional, grown and processed closer to the
point of consumption. Western food today has been transformed by
consolidation and commoditization, where large conglomerates buy and sell
a wide range of ingredients globally. These days, "low price is king."
In China, rules are often broken - and quietly cutting corners is viewed
as a survival strategy. Only recently have U.S. authorities implemented
regulations regarding country-of-origin labeling for fresh meat, fish,
fruits and vegetables. However, such labeling is not required with even
the slightest processing, such as cut-up fresh fruits and stuffed fish at
the grocers or imported processed chicken.
Few consumers would know that globally sourced food ingredients are in
everyday items with familiar brand names like Nutri-Grain bars and Sara
Lee bread. "Ingredient sourcing" is veiled in much secrecy - distributors
don't want you to know where they get your food. Marketing hype and
well-crafted packaging of branded processed foods - even many of those
labeled "organic" - often lead us to believe that their ingredients are
from U.S. farms. But organic doesn't always mean domestic.
One thing is clear: The current solutions to food quality are not
sustainable. Quality risk in global food supply chains cannot be
eliminated by fiats, inspections, auditing and testing.
For their part, consumers must take deliberate actions and vote with their
pocketbooks. They can seek out information on ingredients traced back to
the country of origin, and press for shorter supply chains by requesting
more local sourcing at retail establishments.
Companies can make available, when asked, ingredient sourcing information.
Food companies should look beyond costs to ensuring quality and consistent
enforcement of U.S. standards in the supply chain, from the farm to the
fork.
The government needs to play a more interventionist role. U.S. policy can
move domestic farming toward more sustainable practices and maintaining a
more diverse crop mix needed for food ingredients - and future leverage.
Finally, because the safety of food ingredients sourced from developing
countries cannot be inspected or regulated, setting up facilities in host
countries - like the FDA in China - provides an opportunity to better
understand the root causes of food problems and hasten those nations' path
to global standards. The Obama administration should also consider a
Cabinet-level agency with authority over all food safety, enforcement and
research.
Our health may depend on it. The food-security checklist
In this global environment, food produced close to home is no longer the
norm. The United States' problems with global food sources include:
-- Only 1 percent of imported food is tested at U.S. ports.
-- The FDA does not test for nonorganic contaminants such as heavy metals.
-- Food can cross an ocean several times before entering U.S. ports.
-- Country-of-origin labels don't apply if the food is processed.
-- Organic does not mean domestic.
Aleda Roth, Burlington Industries distinguished professor in supply chain
management at Clemson University, is an internationally recognized scholar
in global strategic sourcing and operational risk. She is a member of the
Supply Chain Thought Leaders Roundtable. ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2008 SF Chronicle