| IVL Products Health Watch - Safety Issues Plague Ancient Healer |
| The Official IVL Products Health Blog |
Dear Reader,
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.
Yours in good health,
Sheila McCormick
Editor, IVL Health Watch
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Visit our Health Forum and ask a question of one of the
country's leading experts in nutritional medicine. |
Dr. Mikles is a Board Certified Internist,
and is the Medical Director of Choices Integrative
Healthcare Clinic in Sedona, Arizona. For more than 30
years, Dr. Mikles has been engaged in the study and practice
of the therapeutic effects of diet and nutrition, making him
one of the country's leading experts.
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