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Tracy Hampton, PhD

JAMA. 2007;297:2577.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

A growing number of US imports from China have posed safety risks to individuals this year, prompting wide recalls and government investigations.

On May 24, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning to consumers not to buy or eat imported fish labeled as monkfish, noting that it might actually be puffer fish, a species that contains a potentially deadly toxin called tetrodotoxin. The warning was issued after 2 persons in the Chicago area became ill after consuming soup containing a product from China labeled "monkfish," which FDA testing revealed to contain life-threatening levels of tetrodotoxin.

Poisoning by this toxin, which is not destroyed by common food preparation or storage, such as cooking or freezing, can in severe cases result in muscle paralysis and death.

The agency also announced that it was stopping all imports of Chinese toothpaste to test for the deadly chemical diethylene . . . [Full Text of this Article]