COHEN MOVES TO PROTECT NJ CONSUMERS
FROM SHODDY 'MADE IN CHINA' PRODUCTS

(ROSELLE) - Assemblyman Neil M. Cohen today announced that he is drafting legislation and working with the state Division of Consumer Affairs to better protect New Jersey consumers from dangerous Chinese-manufactured products.

Cohen said a staggering number of recalls for products manufactured in China or made with Chinese components or ingredients is unnecessarily putting New Jersey consumers at risk and creating undue financial strains for merchants seeking to sell the shoddy goods.

"A virtual flood of defective or dangerous Chinese products is creating a public health and safety crisis with the potential to affect every man, woman, and child in New Jersey," said Cohen (D-Union).

Since the start of the year, a series of highly publicized recalls have raised alarm bells about Chinese-made products.   These include the widespread recall of multiple brands of pet food made with contaminated wheat gluten, several brands of toothpaste containing the poisonous chemical diethylene glycol, and certain car and truck tires for having either an insufficient or missing gum strip, which helps hold tires together.  Moreover, According the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's Web site, a full two thirds of products recalled this year have been of Chinese manufacture.

Cohen said the sorry state of Chinese business ethics was underscored by the recent execution of the former director of China's state food and drug administration for dereliction of duty and accepting bribes in exchange for green-lighting sales of dangerous medications and shows the need for increased protection and education of New Jersey consumers.

"While no one can dispute that manufacturing products in China can be done cheaply, it is becoming increasingly apparent that quality and safety are being compromised for the sake of profits," said Cohen.

To combat this, Cohen said he is drafting legislation that would better protect New Jersey consumers.  His measure would require all retailers in the state to remove recalled products from stores within 48 hours of receiving a recall notice from the state, the federal government, or the product manufacturer.  Retailers who do not comply would be subject to fines.

Cohen's measure would require merchants to flag the batches and serial numbers of recalled merchandise in their inventory and sales systems in such a way that if a recalled product makes it to a point of sale terminal, the terminal would alert the sales clerk, who would be able to notify the consumer of the recall and remove or swap the product.  It also would require prominent posting of all active voluntary and mandatory product recalls for the current month to be placed at store entrances and at sale terminals.

Finally, Cohen's legislation would attempt to make it easer for retailers to recoup the costs of implementing a recall from the product manufacturer.

"Variations in quality control and product safety are byproducts of our ever-increasing involvement in the global marketplace," said Cohen.  "The natural remedy for this growing problem is increased consumer protections."

In addition to drafting legislation, Cohen also has sent a letter to New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs Acting Director Stephen B. Nolan requesting the division take a more active role in educating and protecting consumers on the dangers posed by some Chinese-made products.

Specifically, Cohen is requesting the division:

• Include a prominent link on the division's Web site to a recall page that lists all recalled products with Chinese manufactured components or ingredients, so that consumers can easily separate dangerous "Made in China" labeled products from those that are safe;
• Create a public service announcement warning consumers about the potential dangers of certain Chinese-made products, to be broadcast on radio, television, and cable; and
• Institute a consumer awareness and education program on product recalls and contaminated products that includes information on:
  • What to do when products purchased are subject to a recall;
  • The dangers of lead contamination and choking hazards in products; and
  • The potential risks of purchasing China-specific products at discount and cut-rate retail outlets.

Cohen said in addition to working with the division, he would work with the New Jersey Retail Merchants Association and the New Jersey Food Council to ensure that New Jersey merchants have the most up-to-date information regarding product recalls.

"While the golden rule for consumers will continue to be caveat emptor - 'Let the buyer beware' - we have an obligation to help ensure New Jersey consumers are sufficiently educated to be wary about the products they are purchasing," said Cohen.

--A COPY OF COHEN'S LETTER IS ATTACHED--

July 12, 2007

Stephen B. Nolan
Acting Director
New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs
124 Halsey Street
Newark, New Jersey 07102

Dear Acting Director Nolan:

A flood of consumer products manufactured in China are posing a mounting safety and public-health threat to New Jersey consumers.

Since the start of the year, there has been a staggering number of product recalls for goods sold in the U.S. with parts, materials, or ingredients manufactured in China.  Products from pet food to children's toys to car tires have been recalled due to severe safety concerns.

On the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's Web site alone, over two-thirds of products recalled since the first of the year - 67.6 percent - were manufactured in China.  The majority of these recalls dealt with children's toys, jewelry, and apparel that either contained dangerous levels of toxic chemicals - most notably lead - or posed a severe choking hazard.

The problem goes beyond just clothing and toys, with other federal monitoring agencies having issued similarly alarming product recalls.  In March and April there was a widespread recall of multiple brands of pet food made with contaminated Chinese wheat gluten, which poisoned and killed dozens of cats and dogs across the country.  More recently, multiple brands of Chinese-manufactured toothpaste were recalled for containing the poisonous chemical diethylene glycol - an ingredient in anti-freeze that can be substituted as a cheap sweetener in products.  And only a few weeks ago, a line of car and truck tires made in China were recalled for having either an insufficient or missing gum strip - a lining of rubber that helps prevent steel belts inside the tire from separating and bursting the tire while driving.

The level and frequency of recalls of Chinese-manufactured goods are the result of an alarming lack of quality control standards, scant regulatory oversight and questionable business practices in that country.  The sorry state of Chinese business ethics recently was underscored by the government's execution of Zheng Xiaoyu - the former director of China's state food and drug administration analog - who was found guilty of corruption and accepting $850,000 in bribes from eight pharmaceutical companies in exchange for approving medicines - including six fake drugs - that should have been blocked or taken off the market.

The severe and unabated breaches of consumer safeguards in China's manufacturing sector show we can no longer rely on China's internal policing efforts to protect New Jersey consumers from the majority of profoundly dangerous Chinese-made products before they make it to market.

As the acting director of the state's Division of Consumer Affairs, you are in a position to ensure that New Jersey consumers remain informed and safe.

To that end, I respectfully request that you immediately direct the resources of your division to aid in further protecting and educating New Jersey consumers on the dangers posed by some of the products manufactured in China.  Please consider taking the following actions to protect New Jersey residents and their families:

• Include a separate and prominent link on the division's Web site to a recall page that lists all recalled products with Chinese manufactured components or ingredients, so that consumers can easily separate dangerous "Made in China" labeled products from those that are safe;
• Create a public service announcement warning consumers about the potential dangers of certain Chinese made products, to be broadcast on radio, television, and cable; and
• Institute a consumer awareness and education program on all product recalls and contaminated products that includes information on:
  • What to do when products purchased are subject to a recall;
  • The dangers of lead contamination and choking hazards in products; and
  • The potential risks of purchasing China-specific products at discount and cut-rate retail outlets.

I urge your agency to work closely with federal monitoring agencies, the New Jersey Retail Merchants Association, and the New Jersey Food Council to ensure that our state retailers have the most up-to-date information about all product recalls.

It is my intention to draft legislation that will aid future recall efforts in New Jersey and increase consumer protections at points of sale statewide.  I welcome any input and expertise you may have on the variety of challenges and problems posed by Chinese-manufactured products.  It is my hope that together we can put an end to a significant threat to New Jersey's public health and safety.

Sincerely,

Neil M. Cohen
New Jersey General Assemblyman
District 20