Walmart Pulls Contaminated Frozen Catfish From China

Source: CBS4

A catfish scare in Alabama has prompted Walmart stores to voluntarily pull some of its frozen catfish products.

The move comes after recent findings in Alabama that some Chinese Catfish contained an FDA banned antibiotic called fluoroquinolones.

In addition to Walmart stores, the State of Alabama has also ordered frozen catfish products off the market.

In Florida, state food safety officials are closely monitoring Alabama's' investigation, and are trying to learn from the FDA how many of the tainted catfish products were currently available statewide.

Fluoroquinolone was reportedly banned by the FDA in 1997, but Florida food safety experts officials told CBS-4's Al Sunshine that it is not an imminent threat to public health and it's more of an issue of keeping unneeded antibiotics out of the human food supply.

Wal-Mart officials say they that while working closely with their suppliers and the FDA, they became aware earlier in the week of a potential issue with a one of their 4 oz. frozen catfish filets.

The store immediately sent out word to all of their locations nationwide to remove the product from stores.

Read more: http://consumerist.com/consumer/food-supply/walmart-pulls-contaminated-frozen-catfish-from-china-256123.php

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so much nasty crap being shipped over here.

careful what you ingest folks! and where you shop...

we have plenty of it already don't we?

shoals

What the hell? Is our trade imbalance not big enough? Why are we allowing imported catfish? This is just stupid.

produce etc., because that where they make the most money

that Chinese catfish is cheaper than American catfish. He uses only American farm-raised catfish in his restaurant but was worried about its long-term availability.

in the US, mostly down south I believe. :shrug:

within 2 or 3 hours.

That's how Walmart undercuts everyone else with their "rollback" pricing.

That's about it.

It had warnings in small print about the lead on it's tag that said it was in China for walmart. Like anyone sane wants to water their veggies with a lead tap or even handle it!

I didn't see the warning until I got it home. It said "this product contains lead and substances known to cause cancer and damage to reproductive health. Wash hands after handling." Needless to say, I'm taking it back for a refund.

This one sure fire way to keep the masses too weak to fight back - lower their iqs:


How Gov't Decided Lunch Box Lead Levels
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/18/AR2007021800528.html

I knew I'd heard something about how China got different standards for production of goods than American (or most other) manufacturers get. Not only is it unsafe, how on earth can US companies compete when they have to follow a different standard?

See my post below about Melissa and Doug. I do EVERYTHING I can to avoid buying Chinese made crap.

environmental standards, human rights standards - any one of these reasons is enough for me to avoid their stuff as much as possible. I try not to enrich people who profit from the pain and suffering of others even if it is only a few cents on the dollar.

Free-marketeers claim that American jobs are going overseas because they can't compete. Well, yeah-- it's not a fair competition! The overseas suppliers have few or no regulations that ensure they put out a good, safe product while paying adequate wages. This is a totally artificial situation, not a natural outcome of competition.

restrict our carbon emissions when China and India wouldn't agree to the treaty because we would LOSE OUR MANUFACTURING!!

Well, we got the worst of both worlds (but there is really only one earth). I'm breathing the pollution that flows over from Chinese coal plants right now, in addition to the auto pollution all around me.

Countries that don't require a living wage, allow workers to be exposed to toxic chemicals with little to no protection, use child labor, don't have pollution standards so they disposed of toxic pollutants properly, and so on. That is a lot of money saved on each of those. A unionized workforce can't compete with a sweatshop.

bowls, etc., made in China that had tags attached that said that the glaze and designs on the dishes contained lead. I would point it out to every one that brought the tableware up to be rung. Apparently people don't read the tags on the items because they were all surprised to see what it said. None of them bought the items. How is it possible to sell them here? Lead is a dangerous poison, especially to children. I never got an answer to that.

give 'em the lead lunch box to take to school and feed 'em off the lead plates at home then send them to play with the lead water sprinkler.

This globalist administration could care less if the products aren't safe. They want the profits and heck with the "relatively few" who may die.

is getting old! Outsourcing is good for America my ass!

:puke:

to avoid buying anything chinese as well as try and convince others that buying their crap is a bad idea.

I just purchases a cool new product designed by some engineering students form Oregon State. Every indication was that this little deal (called a wavy wand) was locally produced at this little start up company.

Wrong. While it works even better than advertised, there's a bloody made in China sticker on it.

Yet another thing we can thank the far right and their enablers in the Democratic party for....

I do look for things made in the USA but it is hard, very hard to find

:hi:

I always make the attempt though. American products are typically higher quality and are generally worth the premium IMO.
Nice username BTW speaking of quality American manufacturing.

...suppliers from China, but in reality it is the specifications which Wal-Mart and others demanded from these supplier companies to meet production quotas that are the real source of the problem. Wal-Mart knew such FDA banned antibiotics like fluoroquinolones were banned here in the U.S. but allowed them to be used by looking the other way, then importing the product and selling them to U.S. consumers based on caveat emptor<1>.

<1> Caveat emptor: A Latin term meaning "let the buyer beware."

Unfreakingbeliveable

How about all this shit we're importing from China? First, we're killing our pets, now it's ourselves! This must stop!

unfuckingbelieveable

on edit:Mississippi ranks first in total U.S. catfish production contributing more than 75% of all catfish consumed in the nation.

http://www.alabamacatfishproducers.org

This is just crazy.

LOTS of catfish farms in AL.

for starters.

on your grocery shelves. Think about it. :think:

Boycott China. Oh, wait.

Every screw, nut, bolt, electronics, bicycle parts...just about everything.

It makes us dependent. How stupid is that.

It is nice to see someone else who really sees it.

They would rather waste the energy to import catfish for God's sake half way around the world to save a few pennies rather than support local industry.

The irony is that the energy crunch will in the end get them because it will be too expensive to import long distances and companies like Trader Joe's who buy locally for most of their stuff will be the winners.

What do they care?

than I am of terrorist attack.

CFIA on border lookout for plastics chemical that could enter food chain
Last Updated: Friday, April 27, 2007 | 11:28 PM ET
CBC News

Canada's food inspectors have issued border lookouts for vegetable proteins coming from China to prevent melamine — a chemical used to make plastics — from contaminating the human food chain, CBC News has learned.

Inspectors will seize wheat gluten, soy proteins, corn glutens and rice proteins from China — ingredients already found to contain melamine and other contaminants in hundreds of pet-food products. The proteins are destined for human food.

It says that last July, the same Chinese company that supplied melamine-contaminated wheat gluten for pet food also shipped wheat gluten to a British Columbia feed mill, which turned it into food for fish farms that has since been consumed by people.

But the CFIA said it believes the risk to people is low, even if the fish had been contaminated.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/04/27/melamine-cfia.html

What the article fails to mention is that the additive was classified as fit for human consumption, or some similar terminology.

I believe that the FDA is now taking similar steps.

I just posted on Chinese food a few days ago. 15% of the food at the Seattle port was rejected. Shrimp is what I noted that we buy, and decided to stop buying it. I can't friggin' believe this. They really do not care whether people die.

Also, write your representative and ask for labeling that reveals country of origin (something that we can't know now). As for pet food, ask that the actual contents be given. Pet food that is heavily advertised might contain rendered euthanized pets from "shelters," road kill, sick cattle, and worse than Chinese-contaminated wheat gluten.

mainly producing feed for fish for human consumption such as catfish...

SA imported the contaminated ingredients from China...

I'm saying we need a global consumer advocacy group.

Because the other day I made a remark, "He's so dumb he'd eat catfish imported from China."

And now this!!

At our house, my husband, who works extensively with imported food (from Italy and France), won't even allow catfish from the U.S. to be served. He said it's because catfish is a bottom-feeder.

I know we often typify freepers as bottom feeders but the fact is, there are real bottom feeders and catfish are among them.



Cher

Some of the few brands of pet foods that has not seen much recalls haves Alpo and Purina. Purina bought Alpo a number of years ago. However, now several Alpo brands have been recalled.

I think the Dems really need to take leadership on the food inspection issue. It will be politically popular, esp. considering such a large percentage of the US population has dogs and cats.

sucking and filtering whatever muck is trapped in the mud.

I can't immagine China having a problem with water quality....... being a developing country and all.

Catfish from China? I can't drive 10 miles without passing a catfish restaurant out where I live, where the serve LOCALLY farm raised fish.

http://www.keepantibioticsworking.org/new/indepth_fluoro.cfm

Sorry for the hijack, but I'm not sure anything from China has to follow federal standards that US manufacturers have to follow:

I was concerned about 2 years ago hearing that China does not have to follow the same product safety requirements we do thanks to loopholes in our laws (partially from pressure from Wal-Mart).

My sister wanted wooden toys for her daughter for Xmas. I noted that all Melissa and Doug toys are made in China. So called them to ask. They kept repeating the mantra, "we meet all US regulations". When I stated the regulations were different for things imported into this country from China, I got the same response. I finally asked point blank if they use lead paint, PVC, or urethanes on their toys. I continued to get the same response about meeting US federal standards, but she would not answer my question.

I will not buy Melissa and Doug products after this phone call.

I really should take one of those lead stick testers to something of theirs and see what the results are.

comes from China, unless it's completely unavoidable.

from.
There is wheat gluten in all major brands of store-bought bread.
No way to know where your meat comes from, and most produce is not labeled.

ingredients list. I often grind my own wheat into whole wheat flour. Organic grains are available. There are online sources for organic hard red and soft white wheat grown in the US, typically MT (maybe on that Senator's farm, lol?).

I eat little meat. In the future that's all coming from Whole Foods, so I know the source. There are online sources for grass-fed beef and lamb and bison. There is an egg and chicken guy at my farmer's market.

Everybody else can eat the grocery store processed crap. Not me.

since it seems so hard to avoid wheat gluten in the store-bought crap.

but electric breadmakers do a pretty good job. Between homeschooling two teenagers, driving them to all their activities, volunteering for the library, softball tournaments and/or swim meets most weekends, time is at a premium around here. Plus I'm not a very efficient person, and like to spend a little free time hanging around DU. I feel like a squirrel on a treadmill most of the time - ACK!

Hmmm - maybe I could get one of my daughters hooked on the joys of making bread...

And I need to get my garden going - so at least SOME of the produce we eat around here will be safe.

i guess when you buy the cheapest, from a country that does NOT have our health/food standards... you get what you pay for.

what is the difference between a catfish and Gonzalas?
one is a filthy crap eating bottom feeder... and the other is a fish.

i NEVER shop at walmart... it is NOT that difficult to do... if you wait a week, everyone has close to the same prices... and you will be able to buy the better brands when your children GET REAL JOBS THAT DON'T INVOLVE THAT STORE

Love that joke!

Welcome to DU!:hippie:

yes they are "bottom feeders" which isn't intrinsically a bad thing. We catch catfish from the lake we live on and it's fine. The bottom isn't necessarily any dirtier than any other place and we don't eat the parts the mud passes through.
We don't refuse to eat a hamburger because the cow has an intestine full of shit, after all. ;-)

As to Walmart...not everyone has a financially rational choice - the WM "supercenter" is the only grocery store in the county where I live. I could drive 40 miles to shop at a different store but that would be kinda dumb.

?????????????

That's about it.

due to the weak envioronmental protection policies in China, one of the key selling points for people who move their businesses over there.

eat any seafood product from there...

unfortunately, 25 percent of the smog over L.A. is imported from China according to the E.P.A.

Chinese farmers are being forced off land that is being paved with factories. The country can't even feed itself anymore and has to import soy from the Brazilian rain forest.

Do yourself and the world's environment a favor. Buy only what you need, and buy items made as close to home as possible.

Does China make airplane parts?

wouldn't feed the filthy stuff by my DOG. albertson's has really
gone downhill, too. pretty soon florida consumers will only have one
supermarket -- publix. what a disaster!

In a frozen bag.....I don't even want to see where it's from.

When people don't care to know or worse, even FEAR to know where their food comes from, their food choice decisions are made on the basis of price or maybe quality (though many aspects of quality, like presence of adulterants, can't be ascertained by the average consumer), and we end up with massive importation from largely unregulated food producers.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=16287644&dopt=Abstract

Tilapia purchased from the markets (with fish supplied from the mainland) showed higher concentrations of DDTs and PAHs than those collected from Hong Kong fishponds, confirmed that the fishponds in the mainland are more polluted due to the rapid socioeconomic growth in the region during the past 20 years. The tilapia were heavily polluted by Pb, with the highest level (3519 ng g-1 wet wt.) exceeded the EUROPA guideline (400 ng g-1 wet wt.) 8 times, and Cr with 36% of the samples exceeded the China guideline of 500 ng g-1 wet wt. for human consumption

A few weeks ago they had some humungous scallops from Russia and everyone was laughing about "Chernobyl" scallops. This is not funny at all. Emailing the main office.

you want to feel good about what you're eating. Duh. It's so basic.

It looks like that's not possible now. Food becomes just another worry in a sea of worries.

SO WHY DO WE NOW HAVE TO RESEARCH EVERY SINGLE &*@#%@#&*!F/ing $^&^%$# THING WE PUT IN OUR MOUTHS!!!!????

:nuke: :nuke: :nuke:

(excuse me I'm not usually so worked up but on top of everything else, this realization is a real cause for deep resentment)

Consumers--we pigs at the end of the trough--we have to speak against this outrageous profiteering with our wallets while there are still some better choices and adjustments we can make. These people controlling the American food supply need to get a real strong message!

Only buy local produce and only produce in season. Organically raised live stock, chicken, eggs, milk etc. and fish caught within the US. Even then who knows!