Profile: Americans consume growing number of food products from China, about which there are new safety concerns

27 April 2007
CBS News: Morning News
English
(c) Copyright 2007, CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved.

SUSAN McGINNIS, anchor:

In the wake of the pet food recall, China has banned the use of the chemical melamine in food products. In fact, a growing number of food products that Americans consume are made in China and there are new concerns about safety. Nancy Cordes reports.

NANCY CORDES reporting:

More than half the apple juice Americans drink comes from China. China's also our largest supplier of spices. In fact, China shipped more agricultural products to the US last year than all but five other nations, $2.3 billion worth, double what it did just four years earlier.

Mr. CARL NIELSEN (Former FDA Director of Import Operations): It's a very significant amount and certainly has potential for great harm.

CORDES: Why? Because China is second only to India when it comes to products turned away at US borders. Last month alone, the FDA refused 215 Chinese shipments. "Filthy" was the verdict on dates, dried mushrooms, frozen shrimp and dozens of other food.

Mr. MICHAEL DOYLE (Center for Food Safety, University of Georgia): A lot of fertilizer, antimicrobials, as well as pesticides, are used in food production.

CORDES: Just yesterday, the state of Alabama banned the sale of Chinese catfish after samples tested positive for a forbidden antibiotic.

The Food and Drug Administration only has the resources to inspect about 1 percent of all food imports, so it has to perform a kind of triage, checking only the products that have the worst history of contamination. Many obscure products, like wheat gluten until recently, are never inspected; instead, the FDA relies on the vigilance of importers like Virginia Teng, who could be held liable if a customer gets sick.

Ms. VIRGINIA TENG (Sun Hing Foods, Incorporated): We do the inspection ourself and we ask many question.

CORDES: She says she's never had any problems and she wants to keep it that way. Nancy Cordes, CBS News, New York.