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Safety concerns leading shoppers to hunt for non-Chinese goods

Poisoned pet food. Seafood laced with potentially dangerous antibiotics. Toothpaste tainted with an ingredient in antifreeze. Tires missing a key safety component.

U.S. shoppers may be forgiven if they are becoming leery of Chinese-made goods and are trying to fill their shopping carts with products free of ingredients from that country.

The trouble is, that might be almost impossible.

Chinese exports have been in the spotlight since the deaths of dogs and cats in North America attributed to tainted Chinese wheat gluten, followed by recent recall of Chinese-made radial tires and an alert last week by the Food and Drug Administration, warning about contaminated Chinese seafood.

My family hit some stores to see how hard it would it be for the average consumer to avoid the “Made in China” label — even for just a week.

My sons’ well-worn sneakers were starting to resemble sandals, so our family headed to the Empire Mall in Sioux Falls, S.D. in search of a couple of cheap pairs to get the boys, ages 10 and 12, through the summer.

The quest began in the J.C. Penney shoe department. We soon found out this was going to be no easy task: Adidas, made in China; Skechers, made in China; Reebok, made in China. Click here to continue for a Full Article

By DIRK LAMMERS - The Associated Press