Fake it

The Food and Drug Administration of the Philippines is looking into reports that some of the 2 million fake, unsafe condoms from China were shipped to the country.

The condoms are said to have been manufactured by condom factory in Hunan province in China that was shut down by authorities for producing crudely packaged condoms that did not undergo proper sterilization.

The 2.16 million unsafe condoms were believed to have been sold throughout China under known brands such as Jissbon and Durex.

INQ

Fake Call Centers from China

Chinese gangs are setting up fake call centers and are posing as debt collectors and fleece their unwitting victims in Taiwan, Korea, China, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.

Gangs recruit accomplices, which are paid around $500 a month and 10% of the swindled amount - who then scam people.

more

Tourists warned over fake goods

France and Italy warns tourists not to buy fake designer goods, which mostly came from China.

Authorities are stepping up its drive against fake goods. In 2008 178 million fake items were seized. People who bought them may be fined a maximum of 300,00 euros in France.



more

FDA Detains Chinese-made Food

Burden of proof now with Chinese manufacturers

The US FDA issued an order which allows districts to detain all foodstuff containing milk and milk products imported from China:

• All milk products
• All milk derived ingredients
• Finished food products containing milk

Importers much prove then that the detained products do not contain melamine before they can be released, shifting the burden of proof to the manufacturer.



FDA Order

Counterfeit Cigarettes

Philippine Customs seized 10 million pesos worth of Marlboro-branded counterfeit cigarettes from China. 

IHT

Wandashan Pharmaceutical Closed

Wandashan Pharmaceutical, which sold tainted herbal injections that killed three people, was closed by Chinese authorities.

Reuters

Contaminated Heparin Seized in Cincy

Federal agents seized more contaminated heparin in Cincinatti. The 11 lots of heparin-contaminated with over-sulfated chondroitin sulfate (OSCS) - was imported from China by Celsus Laboratories Inc.

CNN

Feed Contamination Serious in China

It seems many Chinese feed manufacturers are adding melamine to their products deliberately. China only banned melamine as an animal feed additive in May 2007.  According to some officials, melamine is commonly added as feed additive even before the scandal involving Sanlu and milk. 

Also,

• China closed 238 feed companies for melamine-related violations in the last 2 months
  
• 3,682 tons of substandard feed destroyed by Chinese government during the same period
  
• more than 500 feed manufacturers and animal breeding farms found to have done illegal and questionable practices

UPI.com

AP

IHT

Oz Withdraws Melamine-Tainted Body Paint

The Australian importer of chocolate and strawberry-flavored Boxer Lovers Body Pen Set will withdraw the said China-made products after testing positive for melamine.

Australian importers previously recalled products including White Rabbit Creamy Candy, Kirin Milk Tea, Orion Tiramisu Italian cake, Dali Yuan brand first milk and Lotte Koala biscuits.

Bloomberg

Melamine Eggs

Hong Kong found another batch of melamine-tainted eggs from China. The eggs came from the Jingshan Agriproducts Company in Hubei Province.  

Melamine-fortified eggs also turned up in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province. The eggs - branded "Ciyunxiang," was produced by Green Living Beings Development Center based in China's northern Shanxi province. They contained 3.5 mg melamine per kg.

NYT
Reuters

Kyrgyzstan Finds Melamine in Flour

Kyrgyzstan found melamine in flour imported from China.

more

Singapore Finds 3 More

Singapore found three more China-made products fortified with industrial chemical melamine: Lotte Koala's March Cocoa Chocolate Biscuit, Hello Kitty Strawberry Cream Filled Biscuit, and an unbranded industrial pack of non-dairy creamer.

ChannelNewsAsia

Melamine in Eggs

Hong Kong found excessive levels of melamine - 4.7 parts per million -  in eggs imported from China. The eggs were produced by Dalian Hanwei Enterprise Group. 

The chickens were probably fed with melamine-fortified feeds.

Hong Kong previously banned eggs from China after a cancer-causing industrial dye, Sudan Red G, was used to color the egg yolks.

Two More

Two more brands of biscuits in the the Philippines tested from melamine: Lotte B+W Koala Biscuit and Lotte Chocolate Snack Koala Biscuit, according to the BFAD.

INQ

Wal-Mart Tightens Rules

Wal-Mart will require its China suppliers to adhere to a strict environmental and ethical standards - including specific social and environmental criteria and outside audits.

The company will, among others, track the origins of the products and ban forced and child labor used for manufacturing them. 

NYT

Delta Cribs Recall

1.6 Million Units

Delta Company of New York will recall 1.6 million cribs that were imported from China (and Taiwan & Indonesia as well).  Two babies already died from the faulty drop side function of the cribs.

The cribs were made between 1995 and 2007 and use a trigger lock design.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued the following safety tips for all parents who use cribs:

• Parents should not use any crib with missing, broken or loose parts.
• Hardware should be inspected from time to time and tightened to keep the crib sturdy.
• When using a drop side crib parents should check to make sure the drop side or any other moving part operates smoothly on its track.
• Always check all sides and corners of the crib for disengagement. Any disengagement can create a gap and entrap a child.
• Do not try to repair any side of the crib without manufacturer approved hardware or with tape, wire or rope.
• Putting a broken side up against the wall does not solve the problem and can often make it worse.

source