Second Nature Care Blog

Nuggets of Processed Truth - Eating Food from China

[fa icon="calendar'] Mar 22, 2020 11:20:00 AM / by Isadora Guggenheim

close up of poultry processing in food industry

I wrote this blog post in 2014, but I see no reason to edit the details.

Are we playing chicken with our food supply?  Many would say yes after the USDA helped China to get into the U.S. chicken market by certifying Chinese processing plants in 2006. Let me get this straight.  We kill chickens here and then send them to be processed in China where their food safety record is poor.  China is where they found insecticide-soaked hams (Smithfield Hams was sold to a Chinese company in 2013), soy sauce was made from human hair, melamine in babies milk powder caused six deaths and thousands to be hospitalized and adulterated mutton was sold that was really rat meat.  

This gift of approval to China took place during then president George W. Bush's time in office.  

"After the ruling, USDA inspectors went to China and determined that Chinese poultry plants were eligible to process U.S. chickens. But food problems persisted in the country. Before the year was out, people in China were sickened by fish tainted with illegal antibiotics, vegetables covered in pesticides, snails infected with meningitis and poultry carrying the avian flu virus. Congress voted to completely defund the USDA’s poultry inspections of Chinese imports."  (Newsweek The Curious Case of the Chinese Chicken Import-Export Business, Joe Kloc/September 28, 2014 10:12 AM EDT)
"China then appealed to the World Trade Organization, funding was resumed and the approval process was started again.  USDA audits found China unfit to process US chickens.  In 2013, China was granted certification for four Chinese plants."  

Why are we processing chicken in China?  Rice from China contained high lead and arsenic, mushrooms were found to be soaked in bleach, bean sprouts contained antibiotics and samonella and many dogs have died after they ate pet food that contained "poultry from China".

Processing chicken in China does not make sense economically even to the industry experts.  

Who were the players who got USDA approval for processing their chicken in China? Who will benefit financially?  And who will this hurt?

  • Tyson
  • Pilgrim's Pride
  • Sanderson Farms
  • Perdue Farms

Topics: Allergies

Isadora Guggenheim

Written by Isadora Guggenheim

Isadora Guggenheim, ND, FNP, RN, MS, CNS, LMT, owner of Second Nature Naturopathic Care, LLC
For all appointments: Tel: 845 358-8385 Fax: 845 358-2963 drguggenheim@msn.com