Oh great, so every meal I eat out has been with contaminated garlic and/or ginger (seemingly a staple of my diet). Where's the FDA been anyway? Wouldn't you like to read a headline about how the FDA protected consumers before an event, not after? In fact, the FDA isn't even mentioned in this story. What agency is taking the lead in protecting American food from poison?
China Curbs Garlic, Ginger Exports to U.S. - WSJ.com:
China in recent weeks has sharply restricted the exportation of garlic and ginger to the U.S., a huge importer of the crops, amid continuing concerns about the safety of Chinese exports.
The Chinese government has ordered numerous facilities in Shandong province, a hub for the nation's agricultural exports, to stop shipping the foods until they can abide by tougher safety standards, according to several U.S. companies that import the products from China. The move has curtailed the supply of garlic and ginger in the U.S., resulting in higher prices as buyers shift to alternative sources.
China's action follows a host of import-safety incidents in the U.S., including a July recall of fresh ginger, tainted with an illegal insecticide, that was imported from China by a California company and sold in at least two dozen supermarkets.
China is a major supplier of garlic and ginger to the U.S., which is finicky about the Chinese-grown produce it allows into its borders. China accounts for more than 80% of garlic imported into the U.S., according to the U.S. government. Hawaii is the only source of ginger farmed in the U.S., so the country depends heavily on exports from China. In the wake of China's action, California garlic growers are enjoying increased demand, as are Brazilian ginger growers, according to U.S. buyers.
