How Safe IS Your Food, Your Kids Toys, Your Medications and???

You've all heard the multitude of recalls of items that contain things that are bad for you, your children and your pets. From pet food made with a poison contaminated wheat gluten, to lead in decorations on your childrens toys and garments, to tainted batched of medications that are injected in humans, to toothpaste containing the same ingredient as your car and truck anti-freeze! Where is all this crap coming from????

CHINA! That's where. And nobody is stopping it from crossing over the borders!

Your government agencies that are pledged to control the import of harmful substances and to keep you, your family and pets healthy are failing miserably. Bad enough they don't do the job at home, they fail even worse at keeping foreign goods safe to come into the country.

Think the FDA does a good job on controlling the safety of medications you take? Think again, my friends. Do a bit of research and see how many of the same FDA officials end up as lobbyists for the same companies they regulated, following the end of their tenure with the government. It's apparently not prohibited nor regulated so why not? But is it ethical. He**, no! But they do it anyway. More pork barrel politics with the pig hiring the butcher after the auction is over.

Labeling of medications is inconsistent among different countries, and if you question why an Australian package insert clearly warns of serious potential for breathing problems with a drug, but the US insert does not, the answer you might get from the FDA is that there "was more concern over sexual side effects than respiratory effects" on that drug, so we required the manufacturer put that on the label. WTF? More concern that you might not be able to have sex than you couldn't breathe??? No, more concern that if the FDA told the truth about the drug and made the manufacturer state the facts, the medication wouldn't sell as much, or be approved as quickly, and someone might not get a cushy job in the future perhaps?

At one time, Lyrica, a medication made by Pfizer, had a four page package insert for the Australian version, and only a two page US insert. Seems the Aussies were more on top of side effects than the US was and were concerned about the breathing problem, while the US insert made no mention. Following numerous complaints and God knows what other issues, now Pfizer mentions the breathing issue in their television ads. Wonder how many people suffered adverse issues before someone got on the ball? I do know the response from the FDA on this issue was so wishy-washy it could make you vomit, if you weren't already sick from the medication!

Once again, you need to take the responsibility for your own good health and fight for what's right. Try as best you can to avoid the products from China and buy American when you can. I know that's hard, but do the best you can. We need to send a signal that we won't put up with this any longer. Stop buying brands that import this crap and if enough people stop, even the giants like Mattel will come to their knees, because without our money, they can't survive. Too late to wish you stood firm when your child has lead poisoning, and friend, the effects won't go away when it takes hold on a developing mind! Same with pet food. How will you handle the loss of that beloved cat or dog because of some plastic used as an extender in your beloved animal's chow? Tell your doctor and pharmacist you won't accept any medications from China or overseas. I won't, because my health is too important to take a chance on some idiot trying to make a few more bucks, and slipping some anti-freeze in to fill out a critical med shipment. We don't have a billion people to waste here, not even one on their criminality!

Finally what would you tell your family and children if they were harmed as a result of how these things? That it's okay because the bad Chinese company didn't mean to do it? That you thought the government would protect us? Wrong on both counts. The Chinese companies meant to rip off the consumer and didn't care who they hurt in doing so. and the government can't and doesn't protect us adequately against these type incursions into our food chain or clothing or toys. Time to stand tall and cover your own butts, people or you'll find nobody there to do it for you.