11.10.07

What is happening here??

Working at a television news station can make a person very paranoid. "No news is good news" is alive and well. If all I saw of the world was on the news, I'd never leave my bedroom again. A shooting here, a fatal accident there (and they really are terrible and heart wrenching, I don't mean to sound cold). . . but the recalls can be the worst! Tainted meat, tainted fruits and vegetables, incorrect labels, salmonella, e coli, listeria. A kid could lose her appetite.

Usually, products for children are recalled due to a choking hazard of some sort. We get a little jaded about that after a while. But it got me thinking the other day. Choking hazards are relatively easy to spot. If someone was inspecting the prototypes for these toys for choking hazards they'd never even make it to production. The same thing goes with all of the toys made in China. No one is checking on these things; nobody cares enough about the quality of the products they're producing or the safety of those who buy them. I'd ask where the integrity has gone, but it bowed out to the overwhelming power of the almighty dollar.

Well, that was depressing enough, but now they've hit an all time low. Now they're recalling children's cold and fever medication because of the possible side effects of incorrect dosing. They're pulling kiddie meds off the shelves because of the bad things that can happen if people don't follow directions. Seriously. From one extreme to the other - from neglect to the attempt to prevent operator error.

I'm having trouble fathoming how this even makes sense.

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