Canada To Protect Consumers From Import Dangers

Finally, someone is waking up to the danger of imported goods. Reacting to a recent series of import recalls, the Canadian government announced the creation of the Food and Consumer Safety Action Plan to legislate tougher regulation of food, health and consumer products.

Here’s how it breaks down:

1. The new law will be introduced after the holidays.
2. It will require mandatory recalls when companies fail to act on legitimate safety concerns.
3. Make importers responsible for the goods they bring into Canada.
4. Increase maximum fines to as much as C$1 million from the current C$5,000 under the Food and Drug Act.
5. Provide mandatory product recalls when companies fail to act on safety concerns
6. It will provide better safety information to consumers
7. Provide guidelines for industry

Source: Globe and Mail, December 17, 2007

Prime Minister Harper said, “We’ve all seen the stories in the news — lead-tainted children’s jewelry, tainted toothpaste, toxic toys — and even worse are some incidents involving food and drugs.” He stated that the new law will improve our safety and health, reward responsible industry players, and enhance Canada’s reputation abroad as a county with good product safety standards. (CTV.ca, December 17, 2007)

Although this new legislation is a step in the right direction, I have my doubts it will make a big difference. Even though it allows for broader tracking systems of food products along with improved partnership of foreign authorities, it is near impossible to trace the routes of some goods in the global marketplace. Unless we beef up the number of people doing the inspecting, unscrupulous companies and importers will just gamble that they won’t get caught.

In June, Health Canada warned consumers against using certain brands of toothpaste imported from China that were found to contain diethylene glycol, a chemical used in antifreeze.

In August, Fisher-Price announced it was recalling nearly one million Chinese-made toys, including those sold in Canada, over concerns about lead-based paint.

And in early November, store shelves in North America were cleared of Aqua Dots, also sold as Bindeez in Australia, after an investigation found beads in the art kits were coated with the chemical 1,4-butanediol, which metabolizes into the date rape drug gamma hydroxy butyrate when consumed. At least nine children in the U.S. and four in Australia became ill after swallowing the beads. (CBC News, December 17, 2007)

The proposed legislation will give the federal health minister to power to invoke a  mandatory product recall. That’s nice, but product recalls only happen after the fact. And so increasing fines, though helpful, is only a reactionary measure. If the Canadian government really wants proactive legislation with teeth, it should place heavier responsibility on importers to ensure the goods they are bringing into the country are of better quality. Fine them if need be, but also force them to build safety checks into their supply chains.

This year, there have been multiple product recalls, with only a tiny amount of imported goods actually flagged for inspection. The Fisher Price recall was only detected by an internal company probe and reported to the product safety commission. That shows there is a shocking lack of resources policing the 1.8 billion toy industry.

A November 29, 2007 Financial Post article stated, “Toy sales in Canada are largely dependent on goods made cheaply in Chinese factories. The only line of defence between children and potentially dangerous toys is about 40 product safety inspectors across Canada who lack the resources and the authority to deal with problems before goods are put on sale. In Canada, toy companies have no obligation to inform the government if their products are unsafe and Health Canada has no power to remove hazardous toys from store shelves.”

As such, the Canadian government needs to conduct more testing of products before they ever get to market. We also need more on-site inspections of manufacturers wishing to sell in our country.  There are just too many fly-by-night operators out to make a quick buck. Why are we allowing competition with legitimate Canadian manufacturers by companies or governments that do not follow the SAME safety standards as we do here?

The press release stated further, “The Government will begin engaging consumer and industry stakeholders on how best to proceed” What, more consultation? I can just see this ploddin along while the usual suspects bicker away at how best to proceed. All this as we endure months of delays.

Some action plan! Seems somewhat risky to even call it that, if it dies on the order paper should the opposition gets frisky about calling an election in the spring.

Health Alert: Asbestos Found In Toys

Well, we’ve hit rock bottom in toy health safety. It’s been a year of repeated shocks about toxins in goods and foods, but the latest report on asbestos in toys, including one of this season’s biggest sellers, was particularly shocking.

It took independent testing financed by a non-profit group, the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization, to discover the presence of asbestos in various products. The CSI Fingerprint Examination Kit, two brands of children’s play clay, powdered cleanser, roof sealers, duct tapes, window glazing, spackling paste and small appliances were among the products in which asbestos was found by at least two of three labs.

The kit had been tested and met all safety standards requirements as set by toy safety agencies and legislation, including the Consumer Product Safety Commission. However, the CPSC doesn’t test for asbestos, so it’s anyone’s guess how long this stuff has been hiding in toys. (consumerist.com)

Asbestos, largely used in the construction industry, can cause scarring of the lungs known as asbestosis when inhaled in large amounts, according to Health Canada. Inhalation of the mineral has also been linked to mesothelioma and lung cancer.

Some of the products tested for the organization contained less than 1 percent asbestos, which would not be prohibited under the partial asbestos ban just passed by the Senate. But the toy CSI Fingerprint Examination Kit – made again where else but in China – includes an extensive array of plastic tools, inks and three types of very fine powders — white, black and glow-in-the-dark, which contained five per cent tremolite asbestos, a particularly virulent form of the mineral. Physicians are especially concerned because of the significant likelihood of children breathing in asbestos fibers as they hunt for fingerprints and use a soft-bristled brush to move the powder around.

One of the highest levels of asbestos — 30 percent — was found in a roof sealer. Health experts insist that asbestos at any level must be considered potentially hazardous, because even 1 percent can represent millions of fibers.

“So we need a complete ban of all asbestos, at any level,” said Dr. Arthur Frank, co-chairman of the organization’s science advisory board and chairman of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at the Drexel University School of Public Health in Philadelphia.” (seattlepi.com)

The group behind the tests was formed in 2004 largely by victims of asbestos-caused diseases and their families; they spent over $165,000 to fund the testing of hundreds of products over the last 18 months, partly in response to the lack of action on the government’s part.

Not to be outdone, some Canadian companies also look to be culpable. The laboratories reported asbestos in Scotch High Performance Duct Tape and its All Weather Duct Tape, both of which are manufactured in Canada, according to 3M, which denies using asbestos.

I guess in a perfect world, toy manufacturers would ensure that their products are toxin-, carcinogen-and asbestos-free. In the real world, commercial gains sometimes trump safety concerns and one of the cardinal responsibilities of government – to protect the people - is just not happening

Big Guns Take Over Organic Food Market

Well its official – Wal-mart has taken over the organic market. In a new report by Scarborough Research, it was found that the nation’s largest retailer is also the nation’s largest organic retailer, outselling the competition in organic foods.

According to their report, 29 percent of organic consumers (mostly younger, with higher income) visited Wal-Mart in the last week. These consumers spend an average of 15 percent more on their grocery bills than regular consumers.

Personally, I can’t see anything good coming from this as their entry into the organic food market could devastate your small, local organic farmers. They are China’s eighth-largest trading partner – a country where organic enforcement standards are close to non-existent. Just how fresh and organic do you think foods from China are? And can you really trust Wal-Mart, which has time and time again, shown that they do not have your best interest at heart? They have continually spearheaded campaigns against stricter food regulations, port inspections, and country-of-origin labeling.

This retail chain is doing nothing short of contributing to the degradation of the organic food standards. There are well-founded allegations of selling mislabelled foods produced at factory farms, including Silk Soy Milk, Florida Crystals Natural Sugar, and various produce items. So much of what they sell as organic is junk food, not health food. The label does not transform it into a higher standard.

Yes, they’ve responded to pressure for healthier fares, but the bottom line is still their bottom line. Because of unhealthy tactics — falling for the cheap promises of Wal-mart will demand a high cost for their low price.

Sources:

• New York Press October 10, 2007
• Scarborough Research (Press Release)

How To Know If Your Children Have Lead Poisoning

There has been a lot of media coverage of late about numerous lead tainted toys and other products, including cosmetics and even water. Lead is a dangerous substance which may cause irreversible neurological damage as well as renal disease, cardiovascular effects, and reproductive toxicity. Although lead levels have dropped since 1978 — when the substance was banned for use in house paint, on children’s products, and in dishes and cookware — children still risk exposure through paint chips in older homes, drinking water from old plumbing that has been soldered with lead, or from imported toys (especially from China). As such, about 1 million children in the U.S are still thought to be affected.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lead may still be used in two aspects of toy manufacturing.

• Paint: imported toys may contain lead in paint, or it may be found on older toys made in the United States before the ban.
• Plastic: unfortunately the use of lead in plastics has not been banned.

It’s always a good idea to get better acquainted with common signs and symptoms to give yourself time to stop the damaging effects: These include:

• educed cognitive abilities
• nausea
• abdominal pain
• irritability
• insomnia
• metal taste in the mouth
• lethargy (and sometimes hyperactivity)
• headache
• bluish line along the gums (Burton’s line) – less common in children
• constipation
• poor appetite

Although many of these symptoms could be indicative of a number of health problems, it’s always a good idea to get them checked out.

Source: FitBuff.com October 15, 2007

Even low levels of lead are harmful, and are associated with:

• Decreased intelligence
• Impaired neurobehavioral development
• Decreased stature and growth
• Impaired hearing acuity

There is also evidence that lead may have some causal effect in relation to ADHD, with a study of the Pharmacol Biochem Behav 1998 Jun;60(2):545-52) stating:

Similar to the effects observed in children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), experimental animals exposed to lead (Pb) exhibit behaviors attributed to “impulsivity” and ‘inability to inhibit inappropriate responding.’”

When children’s hair samples were studies in another trial and compared to results compared to attention-deficit behaviors, it was said that there was a significant relationship relationship to negative teacher ratings, as well as physician-diagnosed attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders.

Apparantly there is no ’safe’ threshold for lead. Scalp hair should be considered a useful clinical and epidemiologic approach for the measurement of chronic low-level lead exposure in children. (Arch Environ Health 1996 May-Jun;51(3):214-20).

Ezra Susser and colleagues at Columbia University in New York followed 12,000 children born in Oakland, California, between 1959 and 1966, whose mothers had given samples of blood serum while they were pregnant, which were frozen and stored for later analysis. They found that children who had been exposed to high levels of lead in the womb were more than twice as likely to go on to develop schizophrenia. Their research was presented at the 2004 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Seattle, Washington.

So stay informed by reading this blog and other sources, and stay aware!