Eat At Your Own Risk

Anyone traveling to China would be wise to pack enough food to sustain themselves for the entire trip. It's a matter of life and death.

Not too long ago, it was discovered that heparin made from Chinese ingredients was tainted with a deadly substance that killed a few patients in the U.S. The factory in China that produced the key ingredient from pig intestines wanted their product to appear more potent, so they dumped in a toxin that gave a false positive for heparin content. By diluting the heparin with something cheaper, they could stretch the goods and make more money. So people died, who cares? Life is cheap in China.

At the Olympics, Yili dairy products were everywhere. Did you drop a little powdered milk in your tea while you were enjoying the Games? Sample a scoop of Chinese ice cream? You'd want to have your physician check your kidneys, in that case.

Eight of Yili's thirty products are contaminated with melamine. Four Chinese babies are now dead after drinking formula made by the company. 6,244 children are sick. 158 kids are suffering from acute kidney failure.

Yili is not the only one to add melamine to milk products to make it look like their items have more protein. Twenty-two Chinese dairy producers have used melamine as well, to create an image of a better product. Sort of like the Olympics, isn't it? Substitute a cute little girl and have her lip-synch because the girl with the beautiful voice doesn't have a face to match. As long as things look good on the outside, what's the problem?

No one would have known if New Zealand's Fonterra dairy products firm hadn't blown the whistle. They own 43% of China's Sanlu Group, which has been putting melamine in its milk since 2005.

Made in China is becoming less of a label of origin and more of a death threat. Caveat emptor, when the only thing that matters is making lots and lots of money.