The Institute for Vibrant Living - You're source for a vibrant life

Safety Issues Plague Ancient Healer

 Loading ...

• Share/Save

For centuries, people from all over the world have looked to traditional Chinese medicine for health and healing. It is very unsettling to hear that the country we have looked to for natural healing may be exporting products that are unsafe for human consumption.

As the horror stories about Chinese imports get scarier and scarier, many American political leaders are stepping up to the plate to help ensure the safety of the food and other products that are ingested by people in this country. Security watchdog Sen. Charles Schumer believes American consumers are in greater danger than initially realized from food and other products from China. He contends that “an import czar” is needed to make sure that hazardous shipments don’t slip through a maze of agencies and inadequate safety checks.

“There is no question that too many Chinese manufacturers and food producers put the bottom line ahead of safety,” said Schumer. “Agencies regulating the safety of imported goods need to do more to address this worsening crisis. The fact that every week we have to frantically pull Chinese goods off store shelves shows that our safeguards are failing.”

The recent discovery of the toxic chemical melamine in pet food imported from China appears to be the tip of an iceberg of tainted products. The FDA’s 2007 Import Refusal Reports show China as the number one regulation violator in three of the first four months of this year. The report gives a description of each item that was rejected and a tag name designating why. Browsing the document, descriptive tag names such as “salmonella,” unsafe coli”, and “filthy” recur time and again. In the past year, the FDA rejected more than twice as many food shipments from China as from all other countries combined.

Many of the world’s vitamins are now manufactured in China. In less than a decade, China has captured 90 percent of the US market for vitamin C, driving almost everyone else out of business. Chinese pharmaceutical companies have also taken over much of the world market in the production of antibiotics, analgesics, enzymes, and primary amino acids. According to one industry group, China makes 70 percent of the world’s penicillin, 50 percent of its aspirin and 35 percent of its acetaminophen, as well as the bulk of Vitamins A, B-12 and E.

U.S. officials are asking the Chinese to do more to safeguard the food and drugs they export to America. Secretary of Health and Human Services Mike Leavitt warned that any nation that loses U.S. trust in its exports will suffer economically. “Assuring the safety of food in large nations is a demanding proposition, whether it’s China or the United States,” said Leavitt. “And neither of our countries has perfected this process.” Just this week the president appointed a high-level government panel to recommend steps that will guarantee the safety of food and other products shipped to the U.S. from other countries.

Many experts say the problems are a consequence of globalization, and especially on America’s growing dependence on China for food ingredients. Chinese leaders are understandably concerned about this export image crisis. They have stated time and again that their products are as safe as those from any other country. China has tried to rein in substandard food and drug makers and last month a government agency said it shut down 152,000 food processing plants in 2006 alone.

The problem is of sufficient concern that some companies who sell or manufacture nutritional supplements for people and pets are emphasizing the fact their ingredients do not come from China. Plans call for a “China-free” sticker on products for some health food companies. Others will also use the term “China free” in advertisements and promotions.

At Institute for Vibrant Living we are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of our products. Our manufacturers are required by the FDA to have all raw materials tested. The manufacturers also test each final product to make sure it meets label claims prior to distribution. In addition, IVL has procedures in place for independent labs to randomly test our products and manufacturers throughout the year. We feel that this three-fold approach should reassure our customers that no matter where our ingredients come from, we are doing our best to keep our products pure and safe.