It seems like the cover of the New York Times is reporting a new production scandal everyday. Food, toys, healthcare and beauty products, pharmaceuticals and clothing have all become a sudden concern.

Nothing feels safe anymore, and it's time to use the American freedom to complain.

Most of the problems originate in China, where it seems cutting corners has become the norm. The "Made in China" label has become sketchy, and for a culture that prides its consumerism, the news is alarming. A violation of consumer safety and trust strikes at the core of modern American identity.

The most recent scandals involve a Chinese pharmaceutical company and three of Japan's largest candy and treats companies. The three largest candy companies — Akafuku, Fujiya and Shiroi Koibito — have recently all been plagued by misconduct and endangering consumer safety.

The government shut down Akafuku, Japan's oldest and most celebrated sweets store since 1707, because it reused up to 90 percent of its unsold products and forward-dated expiration labels. Fujiya was caught using expired milk, and Shiroi Koibito was also altering expiration dates.

The confectioner scandal in Japan is coming off of the news regarding chicken, rabbit and pork in meat that was labeled 100 percent beef. Consumers in Japan are shocked and alarmed at the scandals.

At a pharmaceuticals show halfway across the world in Milan, more than 82 of the attending Chinese companies are not certified. Many of the companies have been tagged by U.S. government agencies as dangerous and illegal.

A CEO of one of the companies, Orient Pacific National, couldn't attend the show because he was sitting inside a jail cell in Texas for tampering with drugs. Yet these Chinese companies are in Milan, socializing, contracting, making deals and enticing consumers.

Looking to Latin America next, there is a toothpaste scandal that rocked the world. Eduardo Arias, a poor indigenous man in Panama, read a toothpaste label one day and noticed a poisonous ingredient in his toothpaste.

The ingredient, diethylene glycol, killed and disabled 138 Panamanians last year. The poisonous toothpaste was found on shelves in 34 countries, including the United States, Canada, Japan and several European countries.

Just to name a few other scandals, sawdust was found in bread in China, RC2 lead paint in toys for children and unhealthy chemicals in beauty products. Companies are feeling the reverberation of these product scandals through the destruction of corporate credibility.

Governments are not monitoring the situation well enough. Thirty-four countries, including some of the best food and drug administrations, all failed to catch poisoned toothpaste being imported.

Illegal, dangerous drugs can be purchased on the Internet for U.S. consumers seeking cheaper medicines. Children are getting sick for playing with classic American iconic toys like Thomas the Tank Engine. Regulation has failed to protect the consumer, the all-important driving force of the American economy, and regulation has also failed to protect the producer corporations from scandal.

In a recent attempt to recover its "Made in China" label, the Chinese government arrested 774 people, but it's simply not enough. Pharmaceutical companies are still running amuck, unregulated in Milan. Environmental degradation due to economic growth without regard for its byproducts has sparked illnesses and NGO activism. There are lakes in China that no longer yield fish or any sign of life.

It's time to call on governmental action and regulation. Consumerism is under attack, and, oddly enough, all we have to do is what we do best: consume and complain. Show no toleration for anything but healthy and safe products and express outrage for every violation of the free purchasing power that all Americans of the modern century are endowed with.

[Reach columnist Sandley Chou at opinion@thedaily.washington.edu.]