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Previously (in the July 11 Socio Times entry) this site noted that fears of food problems tend to cluster around a turn to bear markets. Maybe some actual problems also tend to crop up at such times (similar to the airplane accident indicator that's been documented by Elliott Wave Int'l). At any rate, this unfortunate turn of events has potential to foster significant fears, especially as it involves so many brand names that should normally be deemed trustworthy.
--Tiane

I didn’t mean to suggest that fears are completely unfounded, although that was probably the case with Belgium’s Coca-Cola scare in 1999. In the wake of a bull market in 1906, however, the Jungle by Sinclair Lewis was a smash hit that helped to produce some badly needed reforms. The important thing is that it’s happening again. This is confirmed by the latest issue of Business Week which refers to the phenomenon as the “growing awareness of food perils.” The fears of Chinese food products – Business Week says “not made in China” has suddenly become “a major selling point -- is an appropriate twist also. After Chinese products claimed so much of just about every store shelf over the course of the last 20 years, it makes sense that the public is rebelling against its bull market buying habit. When a reversal sets in, the negative mood tends to attack the people and products that benefited most from the preceding advance.