Chinese Deja Vu

   Does the fact that we now see over 12,000 Chinese children hospitalized as a result of consuming milk made from milk powder found to contain the banned chemical melamine sound familiar? It should!   It was only last year that pet foods imported from China into both North and South America sickened and killed thousands of pets.  The guilty ingredient in that pet food........ melamine!.  So much for the Chinese government and food industry assurances they were taking strong measures to prevent just this kind of repeat performance. Fortunately,so far it appears  the products involved have only been distributed in China. Despite assurances that none of the product has made it out of China, such locales as Japan, Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia have announced bans on Chinese milk products. What is really scary is that this involves not just one Chinese company, but a total of 22 manufacturers all found to have melamine in their products.

   Trade with China and access to the  immense Chinese market is extremely important, but we shouldn't turn a blind eye toward the recurring incidents of food adulteration.

   The lesson to be learned here is that we must be ever vigilant on the products we import from overseas, especially China, until they demonstrate they are applying the same standards we impose on our own food industry.  After all, it isn't just a case of food safety, but has wider implications in the area of  potential food terrorism.

POST SCRIPT....  a final note on last weeks' discussion of Jessie Oloroso's  Black Dog Gelato. We were successful in obtaining a pint of her Balsamic Gelato, and we weren't disappointed. Interestingly, it was a very understated taste which worked better on the palate than if it was a stronger and more potent flavor profile. It reminded both my wife, Barbara and I of the taste of the very old and very expensive balsamic vinegar we sampled at an olive oil and vinegar tasting we participated in several years ago presented by Barilla America Inc. Congratulations to Jessie. Now that we know where your product is distributed, we will be regular customers.