The Whys On China's Food Safety Blame Game

Yesterday, I ran a very short "recommended reading" post linking over to an ImageThief post comprehensively setting forth the situation in China surrounding food and product safety, and going after China for handling the matter poorly from a public relations standpoint.  I said I was running the post as a sop for the "big one" we are working on that will set forth the things foreign companies must do to seek to avoid importing dangerous products into their home countries and to lessen the likelihood and extent of their own liability if such products do get through. 

The Peking Review Blog just did an excellent follow-up post, entitled, "Why China Might Be Playing the Blame Game," seeking to explain why China may be handling its food and product safety issues so poorly.  I posted on the ImageThief post because it made for such a great primer on international PR and I am posting on Peking Review's post because it is a brilliant exposition on how business is so often done in China. 

Peking Review's post begins by discussing ImageThief's "superb post" on how "China's entire PR strategy around the recent food and drug export tainting scandals has been abysmal - or worse."  That strategy has been to "basically do... everything but take responsibility," which to outside eyes "is the government of one of the most powerful nations on earth abjectly refusing to take responsibility for something that, conceivably, it could have had a hand in preventing." 

Rather "than lash out or go postal," Peking Review chose to "reflect on some of the reasons this could be happening" and then concludes that this "spate of denials and blamestorming that is going on are probably driven by some deeper issues:"

• First, it is entirely possible that Zheng Xiaoyou's [the head of China's FDA (Food and Drug Administration] recent death sentence for his dereliction of duty is having the perverse effect of scaring the living hell out of everybody in the food and drug inspection business, and thus causing them to play the blame game out of sheer fear for their own lives, facing the possibility that they may be next, rather than having them come clean with any issues they are already finding.

• Second, there is the very real possibility that out in the provinces there is some horribly deep rot in the inspection system. As good as things might be on top, it is entirely possible to imagine that a number of individual government inspectors have been turned, that the concerned bureaus know or suspect that, and they're worried it will wind up on their plates.

• Third, let's remember for a moment the enforcement challenges China faces on everything from traffic laws to intellectual property protection. It is quite easy to see how local political pressure to go easy on hometown enterprises could make real enforcement impossible, even for the most intrepid and honest inspector. Even in this case, the blame for failing to enforce would land on the enforcer.

Peking Review then goes on to say that "to stop all of this is an enlightened approach at the highest levels of the Chinese government. Somebody very senior has to say "I'm not out for somebody's head - I'm out to solve this problem. People will be evaluated in this process by the vigor with which they help us find and implement workable solutions."

Bad news, people: that is not the sort of thing that happens quickly and if you are a business importing product (be it food or otherwise) from China with the potential to harm people, you must start taking things into your own hands because relying on China's own safety monitoring is not going to cut it.  It is not going to work to prevent injury or death to your customers nor will it prevent or lessen your liability when you get sued for those injuries or deaths.  A skilled plaintiff's lawyer should have no trouble convincing a jury you were negligent for doing nothing more than relying on the Chinese government to protect the dead 11 year old whose parents are before them in the courtroom seeking massive damages.  I know this sounds rather blunt, but for those of you who have been a defendant in a United States courtroom, you know exactly what I mean. 

Stay tuned.