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Facing a financial crisis, Bond asks public to ‘Show Some Love’ to the NAACP
%NHAZEL TRICE EDNEY
PA Correspondent
WASHINGTON
(NNPA) — NAACP Chair
man Julian Bond says the
98-year-old organization,
which conflrmcg last week
that it is cutting 40 percent
of the staff at its Bafi‘imore
headquarters, is appealing
for public help.
“We've asked our regular
supporters to redouble their
contributions and are ask
ing anyone who has benefit
ed from the work of the
NAACP to ‘show some
Consumers: American consumers are being ripped off
Continued from page 1A
industrys main trade groups
said ingredient substitution is
overhyped as a problem. They
ate powerful business incen
tives to ensure products work as
advertised and don't harm any
one.
“Responsible companies
understand that they have a
relationship of trust with their
consumers,” said Steve Mister,
president and CEO of the
Council for Responsible Nutri
tion.
Like Mister, other industry
officials allowed that some
unscrupulous firms make bad
products but said those are the
rare exception among the hun
dreds of U.S. supplement mak
ers.
Firms with a reputation for
quality say they invest in find
ing reliable sources and even
then test all the supplies
because some batches will
inevitably be bad.
“We do this to prevent injury
t 0 Our CUStOMErs OF Surprises,”
said Lon Heiner, who oversees
quality control at Utah-based
Natures Way Products, Inc.
“When companies dont do
that, sooner or later they're
going to have problems. And
the consequences of that have a
tremendous cost.”
Doctoring products is not
new. During the Great Depres
sion, merchants bulked up
flour with wlc. For centuries,
sawdust was added to bread.
What's different now is the
global economy has expanded
the realm of potendially bad
products.
Augusta : ‘God first on anything’
Continued from page 2A
groups support the orga
nization’s mission. “Most of
the groups are supporting
this event, at the same time
its going to take more than
just New Order to make a
difference in the communi
ty.
The group has also began
volunteering the youth
detention centers. “The
future of this organization is
on an up rise -if we continue
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love’ by putting a check in
the mail and becoming a
member,” Bond told the
NNPA News Service this
week.
But, that’s not all. He says
the organization has also
“called upon our board
members and SCF Trustees
to give or get $15,000 each
by the year’s end. That will
put more than $1 million in
our treasury,” he says. “We
have asked our units - local
branches and state confer
ences — to hold fundraisers
and set up membership
drives.”
The latest examples involve
toothpaste which contained a
chemical cheaper than the stan
dard sweetener — and used in
antifreeze. The first brands were
from China — this week, the
FDA warned about product
from South Africa. Though no
serious illnesses have been
reported, the FDA is swopping
imports of suspect Chinese
toothpaste and has urged
Americans to throw away any
tubes they have.
Before that was pet food
spiked with a low-cost industri
al chemical from China that
appeared to boost its protein
content and has been blamed
for sickening hundreds of cats
and dogs.
Because the FDA inspects
only 1 percent of overall
imports, it falls to manufactur
ers to conduct quality control
tests.
The system is imperfect.
Pressure not to interrupt the
manufacturing process can
make for a shallow analysis.
The right battery of tests, for
example, can decipher whether
a substance actually is chon
droitin — but it’s cheaper to run
a basic test that’s tricked simply
by using a cheap filler with
molecules roughly the same size
as costly chondroitin.
Federal regulators are close to
producing “good manufactur
ing practice” guidelines specific
to supplement makers that
could solve some of the root
problems. The move to write
new rules dates to the 1990,
when at least two people
required emergency treatment
for an irregular heartbeat after
wking a “body deansing” sup
to put God first on anything
we do,” he said.
The group feels they can
reach a collective goal of
bring change and cohesive
ness to Blacks. Rose recog
nizes that Africans have a
long way to go with Black
buying power receiving
respect it deserves. “During
our tour, we want the various
communities to select one
particular business that has
disrespected each individual
African American communi
AUGUSTA FOCUS
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Julian Bond
NAACP leaders have not
said exactly how many peo
ple will be laid off. Howev
er, the Balumore staff will
plement containing the toxic
substance digitalis rather than
the listed herb plantain.
Absent those specific guide
lines, the private sector has cre
ated a patchwork of voluntary
quality certifications that can
include overscas inspections of
raw material suppliers, many in
China and India.
Federal regulators find - fake
ingredients in domestic prod
ucts as well. The FDA has
levied big fines and even won
jail terms for makers of “pure”
juices that were actually water,
food coloring and flavoring, as
well as cheap soybean oil mas
querading as olive oil.
Neither of those posed a
health threat. In other cases,
connecting substituted ingredi
ents with illnesses can be hard.
An unlisted ingredient could
trigger an allergy or become
harmful when combined with
a pharmaceutical someone is
taking — but doctors might not
realize the chain because the
patient didnt knowingly ingest
the ingredient.
Former agency scientist
William Obermeyer said FDA
officials estimated that only 1
percent of sicknesses caused by
supplements are reported. He
left to help found Consumer-
Lab.com, which arranges sup
plement testing and frequently
reports that products fail.
Based on fallout from the pet
food case, the FDA is assessing
how it can outthink suppliers
who try to substitute in harm
ful ingredients.
“Are there other incentives of
an economic nature that could
ultimately pose a safety haz
ard?” said David Elder, director
ty as a whole and not patron
ize the particular venue. It
will make a huge impact in
upsetting the business in the
pocket — until we be heard.
That's the message we are
bringing to Augusta on Sat
urday,” Rose concluded.
For more information, con
tact New Order National
Human Rights Organization,
PO. Box 1821, Marietta,
Georgia 30061 (telephone #:
678-887-2752) or online at
their website:
www.neworderhr.org
be reduced from 119 mem
bers to 70 members
through both layoffs and
attrition, Dennis Hayes,
the NAACP's interim pres
ident and CEQ, told the
Baltimore Sun. Hayes also
said that the organization
has used $lO million in
reserve funds over the past
three years in order to
cover shortfalls.
Because of the crisis in
finances, the national
headquarters is also tem
porarily closing at least
seven regional o%ficcs.
The financial situation is
of enforcement in FDAS regu
latory affairs office. “Thar’s
clearly some thinking and some
work that we have before us.”
Its a huge task: There are
thousands of ingredients that
could be altered in untold ways.
China also is promising action.
Beijing recendy announced
steps to repair the battered
image of its food and ingredi
ent exports. Assurances include
the nations first recall system,
better inspections and criminal
punishments for those who
ignore safety rules.
The central government’s
administration supervising
product quality ignored repeat
ed requests for comment on
ingredient substitution, includ
ing what mechanisms may
already be in to prevent it.
Meanwhile, China has start
ed rejecting U.S. shipments as
substandard, an apparent retali
ation for criticism of its own
exports. The products: pista
chios, raisins _ and health sup
plements.
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yet another controversy for
the nation’s leading civil
rights organization, only
four months after former
President and CEO Bruce
Gordon suddenly resigned
after only 19 months in
office. He cited differences
with the NAACPs 64
member board. Gordon
could not be reached for
comment by NNPA dead
line.
“We are right-sizing our
organization to meet pres
ent circumstances,” Hayes
told the Sun. “We had the
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unexpected departure of
our CEO at a time when
we were already without
a chief development offi
cer. So, understandably,
we have to regenerate our
revenue machine, our
fundraising machine, to
get us to where we should
have been.”
For more information on
NAACP fundhaising, the public
may call toll free, 1-877-
NAACP9S. Or write NAACP
National Headguarters 4805
M. Hope Drive Baltimore, MD
21215
9A