Further deaths from toxic fungicide in some Chinese-made furniture

Toxic leather armchair kills father, son and cat, family claims
article in the Telegraph

Extract:

"The settees and armchairs, made in China, are treated with a fungicide that can cause severe allergic reactions and eczema.

Thousands of complaints have been made about the furniture, made by south China factory LinkWise and previously sold by chains including Argos, Walmsley's and Land of Leather.

Earlier this year Elizabeth McLaughlin, 59, of Luton, Beds, died after sitting on a recliner and suffering swelling and shortness of breath.

The wife and mother of the latest victims, in Paris, said they used a LinkWise chair sold by French firm Conforama. She said: "They had burns on their backs and legs. When my husband was in hospital, our cat would not leave his master's chair. Two weeks later he was dead.""

Three of China's best-known brands of liquid milk were tainted with melamine, the chemical at the centre of an expanding health scare

China's milk scandal spreads to Olympic brand
Article on the Telegraph

Extract:

"The government released the findings as it tried to play down the scandal, which began with baby milk but is rapidly spreading to wider distrust inside the country of "made in China" products.

Singapore on Friday suspended the import and sale of all milk and milk products from China after local tests found samples containing the potentially deadly industrial chemical melamine.

Some online commentators are expressing disgust that milk from one of the brands, an Olympic sponsor, was produced separately, tested and cleared for use in Olympic venues.

"Melamine for us, safety for our guests," said one wry comment.

The latest tests were carried out on supermarket milk from more than 400 suppliers, including foreign firms such as Nestle. The government said 24 batches of milk from 295 samples taken from three brands - Mengniu, Yili, and Guangming - were found to be tainted with melamine.

By Friday night, 300 of Starbucks’ 330 outlets in China were only serving soy milk in their coffees.

The chemical is alleged to have been added to watered down raw milk supplies by farmers and middlemen to boost its protein readings. It can cause kidney stones, and has been blamed for the deaths of four babies who drank milk made from formula from China's largest low-cost producer, Sanlu.

According to the latest figures, 6,244 babies have fallen sick and 158 are suffering acute kidney failure.

Mengniu, whose successful television sponsorships and reputation for quality have made it a darling of investors, is listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange and is involved in joint ventures with European partners.

Yili was the sponsor, and milk supplier, for the Beijing Olympics, but a senior health official said that special measures had been taken.

"We applied special scanning management procedures for all Olympic products," the official, Li Changjiang, said. "All stages of food product supplies, including milk products, were strictly monitored step-by-step by us, with no loopholes in the process."

Mengniu and Yili are China's biggest dairy companies. Mengniu was sole supplier for Starbucks in China, until its involvement in the scandal was confirmed."

1,000 people are planning to sue High Street stores over toxic sofas which have been blamed for provoking dramatic allergic reactions and skin burns.

Argos to be sued after toxic sofas blamed for causing skin burns and allergies

Extracts from the Telegraph:

"The problem with the sofas, which were mainly sold by Argos and Land of Leather, is believed to have been caused by a potent fungicide Di-methyl Fumarate (DMF).

DMF is stored in sachets inside the sofas to stop them going mouldy but has been blamed for a series of violent reactions in babies, adults and even household pets.

The sofas, made by Chinese firm Linkwise, were withdrawn when problems were first identified last year, but many people who bought them are still suffering.

For China, the sofa problems marks the latest in a long line of high-profile scandals surrounding the safety of its exports, including pet food, toothpaste and toys.

Law firm Russell Jones and Walker is representing injury claims for more than 500 people who say they were affected by the sofas and, together with other law firms, is planning a group action in the High Court on behalf of 1,000 people.

RJandW solicitor Christian Shotton believes the case will see sofa retailers forced to pay out up to £4 million in compensation, replacement furniture and legal fees.

"This is the biggest customer liability claim group action in the UK," he said. "Some people were left looking like they'd had scalding water poured over their back or really bad sunburn, some people have been left with permanent scars and some suffered depression from not knowing what was wrong with them for so long.""

"A spokesman for Argos said it had consulted a dermatologist, who confirmed the most likely cause of the skin irritation was the DMF.

The company stressed that DMF's potency deteriorates over time, so people who own Linkswise sofas and have not been affected are unlikely to experience problems now."

Chinese food alert over poisoned dumplings

Chinese food alert after poisonings

Extract from the Telegraph:

"Japanese supermarkets, restaurants and schools cleared Chinese food products from their shelves and kitchens yesterday in a spiralling nationwide health scare over poisoned dumplings.

The reputation of Chinese firms hit a new low in Japan after more than 800 people were reported to have fallen ill after eating "gyoza" that contained high-levels of pesticide. Tests on dumplings eaten by a sickened family found concentrations of the insecticide methamidophos at 400 times the legal limit."

Chinese toy factory boss has killed himself over lead paint scandal

Chinese toy factory boss commits suicide over lead paint scandal - Guardian

Extract:

"The Chinese toy factory owner at the centre of the storm over lead-tainted Sesame Street figures has committed suicide, the state-run media reported today.

Zhang Shuhong, the boss of a major supplier to Mattel, hung himself at the weekend after his export licence was suspended and 1.5m products withdrawn because of safety fears about toys sold in the US, Britain and other parts of Europe.

He is the second high-profile fatality of a growing "Made in China" consumer safety scandal, following the execution last month of the former head of the food and drug watchdog."

"The finger of blame has also been pointed at Mattel for apparently failing to enforce safety standards in its supply chain, at Chinese regulatory authorities for lax oversight and at overseas product safety inspection systems for not identifying the problem more quickly.

More than 70% of the world's toys are made in China, most of them in Guangdong province. This is not the first scandal to hit the industry. In June, 1.5m Thomas the Tank Engine products were recalled in the US because of lead fears. The tainted products were manufactured by the Hansheng Woodware company.

In recent months, overseas commerce representatives, health officials and politicians have raised concerns about Made in China products. Alarms over poisoned pet food and dangerous toothpaste come amid growing trade friction over Beijing's huge trade surplus."

Safeguard your children's nutritional health by feeding them meals low in salt. - See http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/children.html


Lose weight by eating less salt! Go on! - Try it! - You will feel so much better!
How to Lose weight!

See my website http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/.html
(The site does not sell anything and has no banners or sponsors or adverts - just helpful information.)

Read my Mensa article on Obesity and the Salt Connection

See Sodium in foods and

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/story.html - my 'political' page

http://www.wildeaboutsteroids.co.uk/socio.html - social and economic considerations

I can be contacted via my website if you need my further help. My help is free.