Sarah Gilbert is a former investment banker, Wharton MBA, and mama of three young boys. She keeps her finger on the pulse of hundreds of like-minded mamas through social media and reports on the mood of the biggest consumer group out there: Moms.

It was the middle of the night when I first heard the news about melamine-tainted powdered milk sickening and killing Chinese babies. I was up with my youngest, who was teething, and listening to BBC. As the night wore on, it seemed that the numbers kept growing. Many, too many. Outrageously many. I comforted myself, remembering that those thousands who were sick may be mildly ill, in a contamination situation even similar-seeming symptoms are blamed for the poison. But this is China, not noted for its transparency. Maybe the numbers were far higher. I shuddered, clenched my teeth, glad my baby never had powdered milk, glad I didn't live in China, sad for all those who were tossing and turning with a fatal fright.

Today's news that White Rabbit Creamy Candies, a popular Chinese candy sold in Asian markets in the U.S., were tainted with unacceptably high levels of melamine was not surprising. Why should candy be any more carefully screened than babies' milk? But it was devastating to millions of moms. It's hard enough for us to trust corporations with our kids' health; after all, the past 50 years hasn't exactly been award-winning. Sky-rocketing obesity rates. Enormous rises in childhood diabetes and heart disease. The as-yet un-attributed upswing in autism. Someone's to blame.

Veggie Booty, a kids' snack food that all but screams "healthy alternative to Doritoes" on its packaging, is now being recalled due to concerns that it may carry salmonella. The green crunchy snack is made by Robert's American Gourmet Food of Sea Cliff, New York, which also makes other purportedly healthy snack foods like Pirate's Booty and Smart Puffs.

What's a mother to do? This latest case is reminiscent (albeit a milder version) of the awful cases of organic spinach E. coli poisoning that went on last fall. Mothers around the country bought the organic greens for the kids, thinking they were serving their kids a healthy meal and it turns out the tots would have have been better off with McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) nuggets.

Well, I hadn't served my kids organic spinach at that time, but I confess to having a bag of Veggie Booty on my shelves at this very moment. I sent my daughter to her first day of camp yesterday with a bunch of it, thinking I was meeting the camp's request that she bring a "healthy dry snack." Yikes!

So far, she is exhibiting no signs of salmonella poisoning. But a neighbor says her one-year-old, who ate the stuff by the bucketful, got salmonella recently. She thought a local restaurant was the culprit until she fielded a couple of calls from the health department.

All this, just when I was worrying about buying tainted food and toothpaste from China.

Call me old-fashioned but there's something about the proposition of communists manufacturing goods for sale to the free world that just goes against my grain. It's bad enough when they send us electronics with limited usefulness and lifespan, or tools made with sub-par castings and motor windings, but when they begin to send out consumer products with the potential to kill, that's where the line has to be drawn. Sorry if I offend anyone, but in my opinion it may be time for a Big China Smack Down. Actually, I'm not sorry if that offends you.

If an American company had included a poisonous substance in a food product ingredient that then killed and sickened potentially thousands of domestic pets, as the Pet Connection Blog reveals a Chinese company has done, there would have been such a tumultuous media outcry that almost certainly that American company would have been forced to close its doors for good. What has been done in our interest to deal with the Chinese company that threatened our very lives? My guess is just about nothing.

If an American company had included a poisonous substance in an oral hygiene product with the potential to destroy human organs and eventually kill, as the Bosque Boys Blog discusses that Chinese companies have done, once again the media outcry would resound across the globe with incredible force. That American company would be immediately locked down while inspectors and investigators scrutinized every square foot of its facilities and every digit of its business records. What is happening in regard to the Chinese toothpaste debacle? Oh yeah, they closed up a cottage workshop with about 30 employees and they're conducting a "probe." How nicely communist of them.

China should feel the brunt of their sloppiness. Their lack of real-world diligence should cost them billions of dollars. Instead, our mainstream media outlets play down these situations, dilute the focus, meander around the facts, and let the whole thing die out, while a few Chinese managers get tossed into the street and everything returns to business as usual. That's my prediction for how this shall all play out.

As I leave the subject here for you to form your own opinions on, I'll give you one more thing to think about: Do you really think our Chinese friends manufacture toothpaste, antifreeze, and solvents in the same facilities?

Hey China, give me a break.

Costa Rican authorities have seized 300 boxes of Chinese toothpaste tainted with a potential deadly chemical. Costa Rica joins Panama and the Dominican Republic in pulling the deadly dental products, and the United States has also said it is looking into the matter.

The chemical contained in high concentration in the contaminated tubes, diethylene glycol, is often found in anti-freeze, and Panamanian officials said that it arrived from China mislabeled as glycerin. Whoops.

This is more bad press for China, which became the subject of national media attention after its products containing wheat gluten and rice protein were linked to the deaths of many pets, causing a national pet-food scare.

Of course, China has said it is working to improve its exporting practices to prevent further disasters. Perhaps they should start by not mislabeling deadly toxins as glycerin, which is often used as a sweetener.

I was once a retailer of moderate to high-end pet foods. I sold many fine brands including Nutro Natural, Iams, Eukanuba and Hills Science diet. If you were looking for a bit better nutrition than the average grocery store brands for your dog or cat, I was the guy in Price County who had the goods.

So you can just imagine the level of interest I now have in the far reaching pet food recall announcements which have surfaced in the news. I quickly decided that I needed to do some intensive research in an attempt to get the best information I could. Here's how I searched and what I found.

My first stop is always at The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. This site revealed nothing about pet food recalls but you may appreciate the link anyway.

My second stop was at the ASPCA website . That's where I hit pay-dirt. It has specific section dedicated to the current pet food recall. At this time it indicates that the specific brands affected are: Menu Foods (list attached), Del Monte Pet Products (list attached), Purina (Alpo Primecuts in Gravy only) and Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. Prescription Diet m/d Feline Dry Food Only. Please do not accept this as a complete list. These are only the names provided on the ASPCA website. Consumers are warned to be wary of any pet foods containing wheat gluten.

Reuters news service reported that the FDA has issued orders to halt all imports of wheat gluten originating from Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Company Ltd. Apparently it has been determined that the food contaminants could be traced back to that company. I was unfortunately unable to confirm that information at the FDA website.

I also found a wealth of information, links, comments and suggestions at the Pet Connection Blog. They are a very active group of animal fanciers who are closely following this situation.

Please Note:

It is upsetting to any pet's digestion to quickly change its diet. If you are required to immediately discontinue feeding your pet the product(s) it is used to, please contact your veterinarian for some simple things you can do to ease the upset to your animal. As always, your regular pet care professional should be immediately consulted regarding any noticeable changes in your pet's health or eating habits.

March 18 through 24, 2007, marks National Poison Prevention Week and it comes with some good news.

In the 1970s there were more than 200 child deaths a year attributed to the accidental ingestion of any manner of dangerous household chemicals, personal care products, over-the-counter medications, and cleaning agents. Due to the efforts of multiple agencies, the occurrence of these unfortunate accidents has been reduced to about 36 a year.

In 2005 about 91,000 young children visited hospital emergency rooms do to unintentional poisoning, and poison control call centers fielded more than 1 million calls. By maintaining constant availability and aggressive public awareness, organizations such as the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission seek to further reduce accidental poison fatalities.

To prevent these incidents, CPSC recommends the following safety steps: