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-WJLA SCRIPT-
ANCHOR:
TONIGHT, 7 ON YOUR SIDE INVESTIGATES SOMETHING WE'RE CALLING "FOREIGN FOOD FEARS." SAFETY CONCERNS OVER PRODUCTS FROM CHINA HAVE SPILLED OVER INTO GROCERY STORES BUT AS ROSS MCLAUGHLIN DISCOVERED, CONSUMERS ARE INCREASINGLY FRUSTRATED TRYING TO GET ANSWERS ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE BUYING.
ROSS MCLAUGHLIN:
IT'S LIKE A GAME OF HIDE AND SEEK. PICK UP A CAN OF EVAPORATED MILK, A JAR OF PEACHES OR EVEN A BOTTLE OF APPLE JUICE AND YOU COULD BE HARD PRESSED TO FIGURE OUT WHERE IT'S FROM BECAUSE IT MAY NOT BE CLEARLY DISPLAYED ON THE LABEL.
STORY:
Ross: "I would like you to look at this stuff and tell me where this stuff is from."
NEED ANSWERS? GO THE EXPERTS.
Sarah Klein: "I don't see it."
SARAH KLEIN IS FOOD LABELING SPECIALIST.
Sarah Klein: "This is fascinating."
BUT EVEN SHE'S LOST.
Sarah Klein: "Um. Give me a hint."
Ross: "Look here."
Sarah Klein: "Oh my God!"
THE LABELS ARE HARD TO READ AND THE INFORMATION IS EVEN HARDER TO FIND.
Sarah Klein: "This one's from the U.S. This one's from China."
BUT EVEN WHEN YOU THINK YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T. BOTH...
Sarah Klein: "Packed in Thailand."
AND THAT'S WHY WE HIT LOCAL STORES.
TO SHOW WHAT CONSUMERS ARE UP AGAINST.
Ross: "America's favorite pineapple."
YEAH, BUT LOOK DOWN HERE.
Ross: "Product of the Philippines."
IT'S EVERYWHERE AND IT'S CONFUSING CONSUMERS.
Ross: "Distributed by Safeway. Distributed by Pleasanton, California."
THAT'S ON THE LABEL, BUT IF YOU SPIN THE BOTTLE AND LOOK HERE.
Ross: "China."
THIS SHOPPER...
Tamara McFarren/Shopper: "You got Chinese apple juice."
IS UPSET.
Tamara: "That's scary."
WHY? BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE IT'S COMING FROM HOW CAN YOU PROTECT YOURSELF? JUST LOOK AT THE FDA'S IMPORT ALERTS. EVERY YEAR IT SEIZES DOZENS OF PRODUCTS FROM MANY COUNTRIES BECAUSE OF HEALTH HAZARDS, LIKE APPLES DETAINED BECAUSE OF A TOXIC MOLD OR GRAPE JUICE WITH HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF LEAD.
Ross: "Look way in there."
IT DOES MATTER TO CONSUMERS WHERE IT COMES FROM?
Zina Sutch/Shopper: "Ahh, oh my God!"
THIS GIANT APPLE JUICE DISTRIBUTED BY FOODHOLD USA IN LANDOVER, BUT YOU CAN BARELY READ THE BLUE WRITING ON A DARK BOTTLE UNTIL WE SHINE A BRIGHT LIGHT THROUGH IT.
Zina Sutch/Shopper: "I can't believe that, it's from China."
THE PROBLEM IS EVERYWHERE EVEN IN THE FREEZER. BIRDS EYE HAS BRUSSELS SPROUTS LABELED FROM HOLLAND, BUT WHAT ABOUT THEIR BROCCOLI? IS THAT A PRODUCT CODE OR IS IT FROM MEXICO? THERE'S NO CONSISTENCY.
Tamara McFarren: "I'm frankly shocked. It's not dishonest but it's definitely a little bit misleading."
CONSUMERS FEEL DUPED.
Zina Sutch/Shopper: "I have been fooled. I mean that's just not fair, that's just not fair to us, as consumers we should know what we're buying."
EXACTLY WHY THE CENTER FOR SCIENCE IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST WANTS CHANGES.
Sarah Klein: "There are plenty of loopholes in terms of origin."
BECAUSE THEY FEEL MANUFACTURERS ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF CONSUMERS.
Sarah Klein: "They don't want to draw attention to it because the product may not always be from a place that U.S. Consumers want to buy from."
ROSS MCLAUGHLIN:
WHAT'S MORE AMERICAN THAN BIG BIRD APPLE JUICE? IT SAYS BOTTLED IN THE USA, NOT ONCE BUT TWICE, BUT WHEN YOU READ THE FINE PRINT, INCLUDES CONCENTRATE FROM USA, ARGENTINA AND CHINA. THEN THERE ARE SOME PRODUCTS LIKE THESE TOMATOES AND THIS SALSA THAT DON'T LIST ANY SOURCE AT ALL. RIGHT NOW THERE ARE NO REQUIREMENTS TO LIST COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN BUT CONGRESS IS TRYING TO CHANGE THAT.
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