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Monday, April 23, 2007 

We're all just Guinea Pigs

to this Administration's FDA approach.
The same food safety net that couldn't catch poisoned pet food ingredients from China has a much bigger hole.

...When U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspectors at ports and border checkpoints look, they find shipments that are filthy or otherwise contaminated. they rarely bother, however, in part because ingredients aren't a priority.

Because these oils, spices, flours, gums and the like haven't been blamed for killing humans, safety checks before they reach the supermarket shelf are effectively the responsibility of U.S. buyers. As the pet deaths showed, however, that system is far from secure.

..But except in rare cases, companies don't have to prove that a shipment of ingredients is safe — no tests must show that it's pesticide-free, for example — and the FDA rarely checks whether overseas processing conditions are up to par. - AP

Time to wake up and smell the coffee.

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Time to wake up and smell the coffee? Honestly. Who's sleeping? Hate that stupid expression.

Is absolutely everything that happens in the world automatically connected to the evil George Bush?

We're all just Guinea pigs to this administration.

the net that couldn't catch...

FDA rarely checks overseas processing ...

Look, it's clear you have it out for this administration, the attitude seeps through your posts, but do you really expect it's possible for the government to guarantee for absolutely everything to be safe?

Let's see, we're Guinea pigs because the administration failed to detect corruption in the millions, or is it billions? of tons cargo that pass through our ports. You expect them to prove every single shipment and somehow be efficient about it. The administration's problem is to duke it out with China, not guarantee the safety of every single shipment, even if that were possible.

Dragging the rest of the world up to your 1st-world standards is going to take a little time. I don't want government crawling all over my stuff, poking their noses into everything. The so-called "system" of consumer policing worked rather well actually. It realized the problem, communicated it, discovered its source, demanded preventative action. That would have happened whether or not the FDA is operating under an administration you're deranged about.

Anecdotally, I resent government's interference in commerce. For years the US government prevented me from buying vanilla beans on eBay from Mexico. It's because of overheated safety concerns that American children are deprived of Kinder Surprises. You see, the toys inside are dangerous.

Sorry about the pets. Really I am. Pet owner myself here, but I sure don't want government, GOVERNMENT! to be the thing responsible for keeping my pets safe. We'll have to differ on this, but I see no reason to drag the administration into your resentment about this case. You error because your comments assume each administration gets their own FDA.

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