I recently bought some "Sleep Aid," Member's Mark Brand 50 mg diphenhydramine gel caps. Diphenhydramine is the same as Benadryl. It's widely available as a generic.
NOWHERE on the label did it say where it was made. There was, however, a toll-free number in microscopic type (I had to use a magnifying glass to read it) for questions. So I called.
Two operators later I was talking to the Quality Control agent in charge of this product. They buy the caplets from a manufacturing plant in Canada. They have to sign off on the ingredients, and they require NO ingredients be from ANY Asian country and especially not from China.
They then package them up for sale in both Costco and Sam's Clubs.
He
was VERY sure that the two products he was responsible for had NO
Chinese or other Asian ingredients, including the gel and colorings,
etc. The other product they make is a stool softener. I told him, "Oh,
that's not an issue, I don't need to worry about that one!"
It's nice to have a good experience while trying to track these things down! Mostly you get stonewalled when you ask if something is made in or contains ingredients from China.
I just got off the phone with the Safeway corporate office, and was told that there was no Chinese ingredients in my Safeway Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal, and that if there were, it would be on the box, no ifs, ands, or buts. He said it was FDA rules and that they absolutely adhered to them because the repercussions would be very bad if they didn't. He said that they did sell Chinese apple juice from concentrate and that it is clearly marked on the bottle, and would be so on the oatmeal too, if that were the case.
He was very nice, and when I apologized for bothering him, he said, "You have every right to be concerned, we get hundreds of phone calls like this every day."
Everyone: CALL CALL CALL and LET THEM KNOW, AS I DID, THAT YOU WILL NOT BUY CHINESE CONSUMABLES! Let Safeway, Costco, Sam's Club, Fred Meyer, every place you shop, CALL them and let them know you won't buy toys or food or pet food from China! Don't be mean, be nice, but firm. Get to their corporate office, their Quality Control people, ask questions and let it be known that you will pay a little more so that you can be safe and add to our economy, not China's.
If anyone knows of a website tracking all the dangerous Chinese products, please post it!