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Thread: More groceries made in China
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Mon, Aug 15th, 2016, 11:13 AM #1
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Our local paper published a story about Kellogg's. On the box it says imported and most people think from the USA....wrong. Kellogg's confirmed to me by email that most of their products are now made in China....yikes!
I also noticed canned fruit made in China and surrounding areas, garlic, cookies, etc.
Very sad sad to see food manufacturing done overseas now and that it is very important to read labels and contact companies to express concern.
I wrote to Kelloggs expressing my concern about food safety overseas and got a generic answer about how safe all of their products are, that they do regular inspections, blah, blah....I don't believe it. If China poisons its own citizens (ex tainted baby milk) for profit how do we know our food is safe?This thread is currently associated with: Kellogg'sLast edited by barbis9; Mon, Aug 15th, 2016 at 11:15 AM.
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Mon, Aug 15th, 2016, 01:27 PM #2
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I don't think we can be sure our food is safe regardless of where it's from. Canada, the EU, and the US are not immune to the draws of profit and competition. As an employee of one of the largest manufacturing companies in Canada in our field, if I don't get a call asking to bend the rules and issue a statement towards a company that I didn't agree with weekly or monthly, I'd think something was odd. I work for a purely Canadian company, and am constantly told by our sales people that I wouldn't believe the things that our competitors were doing, to get products out the door and in-store in Canadian grocery stores, among other places.
Health Canada has some good practices for evaluating food and food surfaces, but anything that is not meant to be internally ingested is left up to the manufacturers to decide to use. Some of the chemicals that are used in packaging are not meant to be used or stored the way they sometimes are in people's homes. However, it's not really up to the manufacturers to dream up what people do with their products or what products people decide to give their children if they were not obviously meant to be used for that purpose.
Some Canadian brands I try to stay away from because our formulators have stated that they would not use what they made in the lab in their homes. Perhaps it's not detrimentally harmful, but you can't say that it would be good for you either. I remember my former chiropractor telling me that he would not immunize his child because of his concern over heavy metals, but the large tattoo on his arm tells me he's likely had more exposure to heavy metals than a lifetime of immunizations. Producers of ink don't restrict who they sell to, but I'd be surprised if Health Canada has approved any inks for tattoo use.
In Europe, Nestle had a large scandal over BPA and baby formula as well. I don't think the problems are only in China. All people are subject to human nature, wherever you go.
This is from an article that raised concerns about feminine products in the US and with the FDA:
"Yet the FDA says it does not assess or preapprove products before they are marketed.
“Companies and individuals who manufacture or market cosmetics have a legal responsibility to ensure the safety of their products. Neither the law nor FDA regulations require specific tests to demonstrate the safety of individual products or ingredients. The law also does not require cosmetic companies to share their safety information with FDA.”
The FDA admits it also has no power to recall products."
Original article: https://www.rt.com/usa/feminine-prod...chemicals-345/
Just recently, I called a Canadian manufacturer (food, healthcare, etc.) about a change in packaging in baby products. The lady accidentally told me that they were eliminating certain chemicals. However, if you read the outside labels of the packages, there's no mention of these chemicals because it's not a food product. It's very likely that these chemicals are absorbed into the skin. I only called to ask about the clearance pricing of the products since they were marked at 50% off so they could clear off the shelves quickly. Now if there is a recall issued, the products might be already used by Canadian babies with the Canadian company only losing half the profit.
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Mon, Aug 15th, 2016, 02:28 PM #3
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I think we have to try and be careful as much as we can. Question things that seem strange, and eat a balanced diet, making natural foods and produce a priority. We can't shop thinking that entire countries are bad, or that all companies with questionable ethics originate from one part of the globe.
Thinking of Kelloggs, one of their major products is Rice Krispies. Logically, it would make sense that the rice comes from a region that produces a lot of rice.
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Mon, Aug 15th, 2016, 06:53 PM #4
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all good points, long story short, i wanted to pick up organic baby mum mums (cookies like made from grains), ingredients on box were good enough i.e. all organic no additives etc. but was made in china so i did not buy it. As a consumer I have a choice and i made it by not purchasing the baby mum mums.
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Mon, Aug 15th, 2016, 08:00 PM #5
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What worries me is when a product states "imported by" with the company name and nothing else. I would like to know where my food is coming from.
I also would like to know whether or not it contains GMO ingredients.
Why are companies fighting to withhold this information?Last edited by barbis9; Mon, Aug 15th, 2016 at 08:02 PM.
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Tue, Aug 16th, 2016, 08:15 AM #6
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There's a lot of questions that any number of people could have on one product. If companies printed all of it on the outside of their boxes, it would probably look like a box wrapped in a page of an old phone book. For instance, if I wanted to know what additives they were hiding in "all-encompassing terms" like "spices" or "colour", I'd probably get a much longer list. Everyone has different questions and concerns. For instance, I'm much more concerned about what is in the product than where it's from.
It's not that companies are trying to withhold information most of the time. Many products are sold in Canada, the US, EU, etc., and we all have different labeling requirements, different standards, and different ways of disclosure.
Sometimes, it all depends on who you ask. For instance, whether or not something has GMO modified ingredients may have several different answers depending on the country where you ask. Some may only look at top level ingredients, some may look at first and second level, some might go all the way back to the source. The ones that would go all the way back would take much longer to get their products to market (in general) and lose their competitive edge.
Just yesterday, I was asked a common question on our products that I know our US division would give you a different answer on, and our European division would give another answer on. There aren't even hard and fast rules as to whether or not I should say one or the other. It's a European rule, so logically, I could side with Europe. But, the US disagrees because it's their formulation and they know how it's made. So, I have to make up the Canadian answer. But, that all changes if we all retire and the next generation of managers make up new rules (if governments have not changed the current regulations). After a certain point, it's all splitting hairs because it depends how closely you're looking at the product, and how good your instrumentation is in detecting what is present and what is not. OR in the case of whether or not something is GMO or organic, it depends on whatever country's definition of GMO or organic is, and that might be different from your definition.
I suppose the easiest answer is, sure, companies are trying to hide something. The involved answer is that "it's complicated". And maybe the true answer is something like they could tell you, but unless your definition matches their definition, you can spin it a lot of ways to make anything sound like anything else. Like in the example above, if I go with Europe's answer to a European regulation, it's not wrong. If I go with the US manufacturer's answer to a European regulation, it's not wrong. I have justification on both sides, and I can sleep at night no matter which one I choose because both sides have an equally valid opinion.
And then the most common answer of all the long winded answers.... "Ain't nobody got time for that."
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Tue, Aug 16th, 2016, 01:41 PM #7
Thanks, wasn't aware of Kelloggs cereal being imported from overseas. I find the labelling can be intentionally very misleading. Sometimes the veggies will say graded Canada A, making you think it is from Canada and you have to hunt very carefully for product of "country name." A lot of apple juices now are mixed with foreign sourced apples specifically China.
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Tue, Aug 16th, 2016, 06:53 PM #8
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Wed, Aug 17th, 2016, 12:04 PM #9
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As consumers, we demand the lowest prices to fit our ever-squeezed budgets. In order to meet this demand, companies need to produce items with the lowest input costs (labour, raw materials, etc). It is a "natural" economic progression that most products sold in North America will be produced outside of North America.
This being said, since starting the couponing thing several years ago, I now have more money in my budget to allocate to fresh food and produce; but then again, these too are produced largely outside of Canada. There really is no way to avoid it.
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Wed, Aug 17th, 2016, 12:41 PM #10
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Wed, Aug 17th, 2016, 12:42 PM #11
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Wed, Aug 17th, 2016, 01:16 PM #12
I avoid garlic from China. China is putting local garlic out of business due to the price. Prefer the safety and taste of Canadian or California grown garlic. Chinese garlic is unusually white as it is bleached to stop sprouting and it is said to be sprayed with methyl bromide to get rid of pests. Methyl bromide is a pesticide that should be banned. It actually is banned in the U.S. and Canada, except for uses that qualify for "pre-shipment" purposes. So it is a loophole to allow products sprayed with it to enter Canada from other countries.
Last edited by seylz_gurl; Wed, Aug 17th, 2016 at 01:24 PM.
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Wed, Aug 17th, 2016, 02:34 PM #13
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I used to buy that jarred garlic, the price is right. But I didn't find it had the potency that fresh garlic has. Now I buy a few bulbs, peel them and then mince them in my food processor. Spread the minced garlic out in a dish to freeze, then break it up and put it in a jar in the freezer. Anytime I need a clove of garlic in what I'm cooking, I just grab a couple chunks and toss them in.
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Wed, Aug 17th, 2016, 05:03 PM #14
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I heard that honey made in China doesn't contain real honey.....just sugar.
Here is an interesting article about USA honey:
http://www.foodrenegade.com/your-honey-isnt-honey/
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Thu, Aug 18th, 2016, 07:27 PM #15
McCormick Canada - Natural Honey Farms is a BLEND of Canadian AND Chinese Honey. WTF a Blend .....? but the Front of the container says Canada #1 pasteurized liquid. DECEITFUL. Probably 1% Canadian honey blended with 99% FAKE China honey. Story this week about Alberta Honey producers - cut their prices in Half & may lay off employees, because people are buying this Cheap honey from China. This is just not worth the $1.00 you save buying the cheap crap from China. i just assumed because of the Front of the label says " canada #1" that it was Canadian. Again I have learned the importance of reading labels. Never again will I buy this McCormick honey. As consumers we still have some choices what we buy and what we do not.
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