"Made in China" no more!!

A watchful pair of eyes in Panama had unearthed the dangerous diethylene glycol listed in the ingredients of a toothpaste tube in a local store in Panama city. This discovery led to further investigations across the world and spurred "Made in China" toothpaste recalls on a large scale. Chinese manufacturers churned out toothpastes in huge quantities paying no heed to the quality standards of the Western markets. The corollary was unnerving as markets in the U.S as well as neighboring Canada and The Carribean were flooded with potentially lethal products. Meanwhile, federal investigators ran short of resources and intelligence to handle the menace and hectic parleying were on between the U.S. and the autocratic Chinese government. Several months hence, still the issue has not been resolved.

Is it the growing consumerism, the spirit of which ignores health hazards, or is it the ubiquity of "Made in China" label and consequent over-dependence of Americans on outsourced products? Consumers are the best judge and they must exercise caution while buying overseas manufactured products that come with the "low-cost" tag.