Made in China?

What do you make of the recent scandal that is making the headlines every day?

It is kinda scary to know that at one time or another, we have consumed them.

The current list is this - (It's what I got from the newspapers today)

Banned :
1. Dutch Lady pasteurized strawberry flavoured milk
2. White Rabbit milk candy
3. Yili yoghurt ice bar

On the list of things that are being recalled are M&Ms, Snickers peanut bars, Dove chocolate bars, Oreo wafer sticks, Magnum mini classics ice-cream, Monmilk milk, Walls Mini Poppers ice-cream, Mentos yoghurt bottle, Wall's all-natural mango, Moo sandwich ice-cream, mini Cornetto & Youcan ice-cream. These have not been proven to contain melamine, but are recalled for pre-cautionary measures.

When the first problems with China products came to light, was it last year, starting with White Rabbit candy, I was on the alert. It hit so close to home - these are the things we grew up eating. It's really scary to think when did all this begin. I have been avoiding MIC foodstuff, all kinds, since last year, including fresh fruits, frozen seafood, etc. I make sure always to check the labels. I guess it's only right to be super kiasu and wary of the stuff we put into our mouths. I loved the Moo sandwich ice-creams and thought it was a good ice-cream for kids, till I found out on the back that it is MIC, and that's when I stopped purchasing them. With fruits etc, I mean, how do you know what they add to the soil etc? It's scary to think. I miss my favourite haw flakes, which my little girl also loves, but I guess it's just a little sacrifice that we have to make.

There was also a problem with toys, and imagine a brand name such as Fisher Price being affected, how do we know if the cheap toys that we find being sold everywhere, are safe? I got an email about used condoms being recycled to make cute little hair ties for our girls??? It's gross!

I quote this from the email I received :-

BEIJING (AFP) - Used condoms are being recycled into hair bands in southern China threatening to spread sexually-transmittable diseases they were originally meant to prevent, state media reported Tuesday In the latest example of potentially harmful Chinese-made products, rubber hair bands have been found in local markets and beauty salons in Dongguan and Guangzhou cities in southern Guangdong province, China Daily newspaper said.. 'These cheap and colorful rubber bands and hair ties sell well ...... threatening the health of local people,' it said. Despite being recycled, the hair bands could still contain bacteria and viruses, it said. 'People could be infected with AIDS, (genital) warts or other diseases if they hold the rubber bands or strings in their mouths while waving their hair into plaits or buns,' the paper quoted a local dermatologist who gave only his surname, Dong, as saying. A bag of ten of the recycled bands sells for j ust 25 s en (three cents), much cheaper than others on the market, accounting for their popularity, the paper said. A government official was quoted as saying recycling condoms was illegal. China 's manufacturing industry has been repeatedly tarnished this year by a string of scandals involving shoddy or dangerous goods made for both domestic and foreign markets. In response, it launched a public relations blitz this summer aimed at playing up efforts to strengthen monitoring systems. Check your kids hair bands and make sure they do not put them in their mouth while trying to plait or tie their hair.