No more scares

Globalisation might have no owners, but its collar often proclaims 8220;Made in China8221;. China, with its lowest-cost manufacturing, has been critical to the boom in consumer spending. But the lower cost of Chinese goods 8212; unbeatable to suppliers and irresistible to buyers 8212; has too often been seen to come at a price. The link between cost and quality may not be direct 8212; in fact it definitely need not be 8212; but a series of scares has caused concern. In September 2008, China admitted that 10 per cent of its dairy produce was contaminated with melamine, leading to its ban in several countries around the world. A year earlier, millions of 8220;toxic8221; Chinese toys were recalled from the markets in the US and many other countries upon fears of lead poisoning, with one company, Mattel, alone recalling 14 millions toys.

Given that Chinese toys take up a large share of the Indian market, in September 2007 itself, in response to a question tabled in the Lok Sabha, the minister of state for health admitted that 8220;studies which examined toys from Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, reported high levels of cadmium and lead used in soft toys8221;. But for an entire year after, tightened standards remained 8220;voluntary8221;, with one industry estimate indicating that 80 per cent of Chinese toys are sold untested. Traditionally, domestic manufacturing has been subject to tougher monitoring than imported products. But the experience of recalls indicates that stringent standards are needed all around. It is therefore welcome that the government has finally decided to act. A recent government circular states that imported toys must adhere to the Standards of Weights and Measures Packaged Commodities Rules 1977, failing which the consignment will be confiscated and importers penalised.

Of course, it8217;s not about Chinese toys 8212; just that manufacturing originating in China has accounted for the largest number of scares. India, as it opens itself to products from other parts of the world, has to take an independent appraisal, instead of acting after the detection of scares elsewhere. This is why regulation must be extended beyond toys.