PRINTER'S NO. 2138
No. 355 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY JOSEPHS, BEYER, BLACKWELL, CALTAGIRONE, CARROLL,
CASORIO, CLYMER, COHEN, CONKLIN, DALLY, DeLUCA, DiGIROLAMO,
FABRIZIO, FREEMAN, GALLOWAY, GOODMAN, GRUCELA, HANNA, HARHAI,
HARKINS, HERSHEY, JAMES, KESSLER, KIRKLAND, KORTZ, KULA,
LONGIETTI, MANN, MANTZ, MARSHALL, McGEEHAN, McILVAINE SMITH,
MENSCH, MURT, MYERS, NICKOL, PALLONE, PETRI, READSHAW,
ROEBUCK, SAINATO, SEIP, SIPTROTH, STABACK, SURRA, SWANGER,
THOMAS, WAGNER, WATERS AND YOUNGBLOOD, JUNE 28, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS,
JUNE 28, 2007
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
1 Urging review of import-export control systems for food and drug
2 products sourced from China.
3 WHEREAS, The events of September 11, 2001, have highlighted
4 the need to enhance the security of the United States, including
5 the food supply; and
6 WHEREAS, Intentional misconduct by Chinese business owners
7 and Chinese governmental officials, not terrorism, has caused
8 recent food safety concerns; and
9 WHEREAS, Thousands of dogs and cats became sick or died when
10 melamine, a banned substance, was found in wheat proteins
11 sourced from China which made their way into some pet foods; and
12 WHEREAS, The scare widened in the United States when melamine
13 was found to have entered the human food chain after tainted pet
14 food scrap was used as a feed supplement at a number of hog
1 farms and chicken farms; and
2 WHEREAS, The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
3 has banned shipments of toothpaste from China containing
4 dangerous levels of an industrial chemical known as diethylene
5 glycol (DEG), a poison used in antifreeze and as a solvent; and
6 WHEREAS, Chinese counterfeiters have profitably substituted
7 DEG for its more expensive chemical cousin, glycerin--a safe
8 additive commonly found in food, drugs and household products--
9 to thicken and sweeten toothpaste; and
10 WHEREAS, DEG was blamed for the deaths of at least 51 people
11 in Panama in 2006 after it was mixed into cough syrup, another
12 case involving China; and
13 WHEREAS, The FDA has advised consumers to discard all
14 toothpaste made in China and is urging retailers to pull
15 Chinese-made toothpaste from their shelves; and
16 WHEREAS, The United States is the seventh country to find
17 tainted Chinese toothpaste within its borders: Panama,
18 Australia, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Honduras and
19 Nicaragua have also found tainted toothpaste; and
20 WHEREAS, The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
21 has recently seized more than 1,000 shipments of tainted Chinese
22 dietary supplements, toxic cosmetics and counterfeit medicines;
23 and
24 WHEREAS, Imported fruits, bean curd, teas and candy have been
25 seized upon entry into the United States under heightened FDA
26 restrictions; and
27 WHEREAS, Chinese pharmaceutical companies make 70% of the
28 world's penicillin, 50% of the aspirin and 35% of the
29 acetominophen as well as the bulk of vitamins A, B12, C and E;
30 and
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1 WHEREAS, China dominates the world market in the production
2 of antibiotics, analgesics, enzymes and primary amino acids and
3 has captured 90% of the United States market for vitamin C; and
4 WHEREAS, Many United States food processors are continuing to
5 boycott Chinese exports over fears regarding product safety; and
6 WHEREAS, United States citizens and others attending the
7 Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008 may be exposed to dangerous or
8 even lethal levels of contaminants in food, body care products,
9 cosmetics, medications and other products; therefore be it
10 RESOLVED (the Senate concurring), That the General Assembly
11 of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania urge the USDA, FDA and other
12 oversight agencies to review safety protocols on food, medicines
13 and other potentially harmful products imported from China with
14 the goal of tightening regulations for entry into the United
15 States; and be it further
16 RESOLVED, That the General Assembly encourage consumers to
17 use extreme caution when consuming or ingesting food, medicines
18 and other products known to have originated in China; and be it
19 further
20 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
21 the President of the United States, to the USDA, to the FDA, to
22 the United States Department of Health and Human Services, to
23 the United States Department of Homeland Security and to each
24 member of Congress from Pennsylvania.
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