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Shoppers Inspecting Labels For Country Of Origin

Some Concerns Being Raised In Light Of Recent Recalls

POSTED: 3:00 pm EDT May 7, 2009
UPDATED: 4:16 pm EDT May 9, 2009

Last year, the Food and Drug Administration learned certain pet foods were sickening and killing cats and dogs. The FDA discovered a portion of the tainted pet food was used to produce farm animal feed and fish feed. Then last fall, there was a major milk powder recall after the product caused illnesses and even death in infants.

In light of the recent recalls, some people said they are surprised by the number of products from China still on supermarket shelves. Martha Roberts cares a lot about where her food and her dog's food comes from ever since she learned about pet food contaminated with Chinese melamine.

Roberts said, "I'm very concerned about some of the scares we've had about China food products, the dog food and the baby formula." She's now a big proponent of eating American. "I like to buy USA products; plus it will help our economy," she said.

With new federal rules requiring country labels on produce, meat, and fish, you may find "product of China" on your family's favorite foods, including Dole and Del Monte mandarin oranges. "These are national brands, these companies have a large vested state in their brands. They have instituted their own safety controls in these countries," said Nutritionist Lauren Niemes.

Niemes said she trusts Dole and Del Monte. In a statement, Dole said its oranges are "absolutely safe" and its Chinese facilities "exceed U.S. standards." Del Monte also said it applies "strict U.S. quality standards." Niemes said she is more concerned about other Chinese imports, like farm-raised fish such as perch and flounder that you may find in the frozen food aisle. Other foods from China, according to the United States Dairy Association, include apple juice, dried fruit and berries, garlic, sausage casings and candy.

As a result of the melamine scare, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has toughened its regulations. But Niemes said it's hard to know exactly what was added to that Chinese fish or candy, which is why consumers like Roberts said they will be reading labels a lot more closely from now on.



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