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1688_33 | on youth matters on circuit, including in Tennant Creek where the complaint arose. |
1688_34 | Incapacity
In relation to NSW Local Court Magistrate Jennifer Betts, the Judicial Commission held that incapacity extended beyond physical or mental incapacity caused by an identifiable disorder, referring to examples of alcoholism, drug dependency, senility or debilitating illness, to include "incapacity to discharge the duties of judicial office in a manner that accords with recognised standards of judicial propriety". Thus incapacity requires knowledge of what the judicial officer is required to do and the circumstances under which those duties must be performed. |
1688_35 | One of the features of Magistrate Maloney's case was that it was revealed in 2011 that he had previously been the subject of complaints before the Conduct Division in 1999, which resulted in him giving an undertaking “not to be too loquacious, not to interrupt solicitors, not to introduce matters reflecting his personal experiences, to be more judicial and to allow matters to run their course without interfering”, matters similar to the complaints dealt with in 2011. The concern in Magistrate Maloney's case was not that he would be unfit while he was undergoing treatment, but rather what happened if he stopped. Similarly the issues with Magistrate Betts appears to have arisen in the times in which she stopped taking her medication. The difficulty with supervision of judicial officers was highlighted by the judgment of Hoeben J in the Supreme Court in relation to Magistrate Maloney: |
1688_36 | 119. ... it is inherent in the judicial function that the sort of supervisory constraints which the evidence identified as appropriate to those in the medical profession with a bipolar 2 condition, could not be applied to judicial officers. The principle of judicial independence would simply not allow it. Most particularly a performance assessment and oversight by other medical practitioners would not be possible in the case of a judicial officer.
120. ... An undertaking not to engage in loquaciousness etc (the 1999 undertaking) or to provide judgments on time (Justice Bruce) are very different to a commitment to work under supervision by another judicial officer, the terms of which were never identified and which of its nature seems to be inconsistent with judicial independence. |
1688_37 | The Judicial Commission of NSW thought, in relation to Magistrates Betts and Maloney, that there was no alternative to their removal. The Legislative Council however disagreed.
Financial and administrative autonomy of the courts
More controversial is the proposition that reliance on funding from government for the operation of the courts is itself a threat to the independence of the judiciary. The United Nations basic principles only goes so far as the duty to "provide adequate resources to enable the judiciary to properly perform its functions". Writing in 1991 Justice McGarvie of the Supreme Court of Victoria asserted that judicial independence required that the judges must control the premises, facilities, staff and budget of their court. A contrary view was expressed by Church and Sallman who noted that executive administration of the courts had not prevented the judiciary in Australia from maintaining independence for a considerable time. |
1688_38 | Performance indicators |
1688_39 | The use of statistics and performance indicators as a measure of the performance of courts and judges is controversial. In 2013 Chief Justice Bathurst identified the way in which this performance is measured as one of the most substantial risks to the separation of powers. In 1994 the Federal Court rejected an attempt to argue that the relatively high number of appeals against decisions of a particular person as a measure of apprehended bias. In 2016 the Full Court of the Federal Court rejected, as irrelevant to an apprehension of bias, evidence that Judge Sandy Street found in favour of the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection in 99.21% of matters he decided. In 2018 the Australian Financial Review published a series of articles comparing the time Federal Court judges took to deliver judgments and the number of paragraphs per day. In the 2018 Victorian state election the Liberal Party campaigned on a platform that they would publish data on court performance including |
1688_40 | sentencing records, sitting times and successful appeals. |
1688_41 | References
Constitutional law
Accountability
Separation of powers
Philosophy of law
Judicial misconduct
Judiciary of Australia |
1689_0 | Stephen Boros Jr. (September 3, 1936 – December 29, 2010) was an American baseball infielder, coach, manager, scout, and administrator. Best known for his scientific approach to the sport and his use of computers, Boros' baseball career spanned almost 50 years from his debut as a player for the University of Michigan in 1956 to his retirement in 2004 as an executive with the Detroit Tigers. |
1689_1 | After playing college baseball for the University of Michigan from 1956 to 1957, Boros signed as a bonus baby with the Detroit Tigers in June 1957. He remained in the Tigers organization from 1957 to 1962. He was the most valuable player in the American Association in 1960 and had his best major league season in 1961 despite missing six weeks with a broken collar bone. During his tenure with the Tigers, Boros was the subject of widespread coverage of his tendency to read history books and fine literature and of his aspiration to become a professor of literature. He finished his major league playing career with the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds from 1963 to 1965. In 1964, he set a Reds club record with 50 consecutive errorless games at third base. He played a total of 13 years in professional baseball, including stints with several minor league clubs from 1957 to 1969. |
1689_2 | In 1970, Boros began a lengthy career as a baseball manager, scout, and coach. While working in the Kansas City Royals farm system, he developed a reputation as a leading advocate of the stolen base. Under his leadership, the San Jose Bees set a modern minor league record with 372 stolen bases in one year. As the first base coach of the Kansas City Royals from 1976 to 1979, he became known for his scientific approach to the stolen base, taking measurements with a stopwatch and maintaining a book on every pitcher and catcher in the American League. The Royals led the league in stolen bases in both 1978 and 1979. As the Montreal Expos' first base coach, he was credited with helping Tim Raines lead the National League in stolen bases in both 1981 and 1982. |
1689_3 | In 1983, Boros became the manager of the Oakland Athletics. He drew widespread press coverage after he hired a sabermetrician to track every pitch and feed the data into a mainframe computer in Philadelphia. Boros studied the data on a daily basis using an Apple II computer which he kept in the clubhouse. Boros's cerebral approach to the game drew criticism from baseball traditionalists and resulted in unwanted press coverage for a team that finished in fourth place in 1983. After the A's started the 1984 season with a 20–24 record, and as the press coverage of "Computer Ball" mounted, Boros was fired by the A's in May 1984. |
1689_4 | In February 1986, Boros was hired as the manager of the San Diego Padres after the sudden resignation of Dick Williams. The Padres finished in fourth place in 1986, and Boros was fired. Boros spent the next 18 years working as a scout, coach, and front office administrator for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, and Detroit Tigers. His advance scouting of the Oakland A's, and his identification of Dennis Eckersley's tendency to throw a backdoor slider on 3–2 counts to left-handed hitters, was credited with a behind-the-scenes assist in one of the most memorable moments in World Series history—Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series home run. |
1689_5 | Early years
Boros was a native of Flint, Michigan, where his father, Stephen Boros Sr. (1909–1994), and mother, Helen Boros, operated a grocery store. He had one brother and three sisters, David, Barbara (Reehl), Rosemary, and Patricia (Bradshaw). Boros learned to play baseball on the playgrounds of Flint's North End and attended Flint Northern High School. He helped Flint Northern win Saginaw Valley League baseball championships in both 1952 and 1953. He married Sharla and had a son, Stephen, and a daughter, Sasha, who are both married with children. |
1689_6 | University of Michigan
He enrolled at the University of Michigan where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree. He played baseball as a shortstop for the Michigan Wolverines baseball team in 1956 and 1957. He had a .324 batting average in 1956 and .381 in 1957. He was selected as an All-Big Ten Conference player in 1957. After an outstanding junior year in 1957, Boros was selected by his teammates as the captain of the 1958 team. However, Boros became the subject of a bonus bidding war among 14 major league teams. He signed in June 1957 with the Detroit Tigers who paid him a $25,000 bonus. Michigan's head coach Ray Fisher was angered at the loss of Boros and told the press: "Major league baseball is a cut-throat game, and they are cutting their own throats as well. Boros told me he didn't intend to sign. He's a good hitter and has power as good as Dick Wakefield's when he connects." |
1689_7 | Boros later credited college baseball with having made him a better player: "My last year in high school I hit but .275 and was a terrible fielder. I guess college matured me. I gained some weight and picked up the confidence I lacked in high school. If I hadn't gone to college and had signed right out of high school, I might have had one bad year and quit."
Baseball player |
1689_8 | Rookie season in Detroit
Boros made his major league debut on June 19, 1957, just days after signing his bonus contract with the Tigers. Under the rules in effect at that time, a player receiving a signing bonus was required to be kept on the major league roster for a year, a rule described as "that era's effort to prevent big-revenue teams from stockpiling the best talent." Boros briefly moved into the Tigers starting lineup, replacing a slumping Reno Bertoia at third base. Detroit manager Jack Tighe praised Boros as "a cool customer" with "strong wrists and a quick bat." Boros appeared in 24 games for the 1957 Tigers, including nine at third base and five at shortstop, but hit for only a .146 average. |
1689_9 | Minor leagues
Boros spent most of the 1958 season in the minor leagues, including stints with the Augusta Tigers (South Atlantic League), Birmingham Barons (Southern Association), and Charleston Senators (American Association). He also appeared in six games for the Tigers in 1958, with only two at-bats.
During the 1959 season, Boros spent the entire season with the Birmingham Barons. He appeared in 147 games, beginning the season at third base and then moving into the outfield. By early August, he had earned a reputation as "one of the quickest bats in the league." He compiled a .305 batting average for the Barons with 24 doubles, seven triples, 16 home runs, 85 runs batted in (RBIs), and 23 stolen bases. |
1689_10 | Boros spent the 1960 season with the Denver Bears of the Class AAA American Association. He hit home runs in his first and third at bats for Denver and narrowly missed with a towering foul ball in his second at bat. He was named the league's most valuable player while Carl Yastrzemski was named the league's best rookie. He tied for the league lead with 119 RBIs, hit 30 home runs, stole 22 bases, and compiled a .317 batting average, .402 on-base percentage, and .576 slugging percentage.
Detroit Tigers
Boros spent the full 1961 season with the Detroit Tigers, including 115 games as the team's starting third baseman. As the season got underway, Boros was touted as a "can't miss" star. Joe Falls, who was later inducted into the writers' wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame, wrote: |
1689_11 | 'Steve Boros can't miss. He's got all the tools. Great hands, great speed, great desire – and watch him swing that bat. He's got everything.' It may be so, too. For this young man up from Denver ... is the most celebrated rookie to move up to the Detroit Tigers since Frank Bolling in 1954. |
1689_12 | He got off to a quick start, and by late May, he was batting .341 and "getting as much ink as Roger Maris" who went on to hit 61 home runs for the season. On May 23, 1961, he tied a major league record when Norm Cash, Boros, and Dick Brown hit successive home runs for the Tigers in a game against the Minnesota Twins. A 5-for-55 slump followed, and his batting average dipped to .283 by July. He was hospitalized overnight at Detroit Osteopathic Hospital after being struck behind the left ear and knocked unconscious by an Eli Grba pitch on July 9 at Tiger Stadium. Boros, who was carried off the field on a stretcher, said he never saw the pitch. Detroit manager Bob Scheffing said the batting helmet had saved Boros from a serious injury. |
1689_13 | Boros suffered a more serious injury on July 24, 1961, after colliding with pitcher Frank Lary while both were chasing a bunt. Boros suffered a broken left collar bone and missed six weeks as the Tigers fought for the pennant with the New York Yankees. At the time of the injury, the Tigers were in first place in the American League, and Boros already had 53 RBIs, one more than Al Kaline. Boros spent the night at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City before flying home to Detroit while the rest of the team flew to the west coast for a road trip. The 1961 Tigers finished with an impressive 101–61 record, but the 1961 Yankees won the pennant with a 109–53 record.
Despite missing six weeks with the collar bone injury, Boros compiled a .270 batting average with a .382 on-base percentage and 62 RBIs. The Sporting News noted that Boros' 63 RBIs in 396 at-bats compared favorably with the league's best third baseman, as Brooks Robinson collected 61 RBIs in 668 at-bats. |
1689_14 | In addition to having a solid season at third base, Boros also gained attention as "a book worm who can — and does — read as many as four books at the same time." With plans to return to the University of Michigan in the fall to complete a degree in history, Boros' traveling library during the 1961 season included The History of Russia, Survey of Russia, and Greek and Roman History. Boros told reporter Joe Falls, "I never read just to be entertained. I read to be informed, and my favorite is modern history, if it can be called that — books on Eisenhower and Kennedy and our present-day administration." |
1689_15 | During the off-season between the 1961 and 1962 seasons, Boros returned to the University of Michigan seeking to complete the required coursework for his bachelor's degree. Joe Falls quipped that Boros "has learned that hitting the books is one thing; hitting an inside fastball is another." The Associated Press also published a feature story about Boros' studious nature in March 1962. The article noted that Boros was studying contemporary literature in the off-season and hoped to become a professor of literature. The article added: "Hardly a day goes by when Boros isn't carrying two or three books under his arms. He reads in hotel rooms, on planes and on trains." Boros recalled that some of his minor league coaches had opposed his reading, claiming it was bad for his eyes. As for ribbing by his fellow players, he noted that Detroit pitcher Paul Foytack replied to a good fielding play by Boros by yelling, "Atta boy, Steve. Just for that I'll buy you a book." |
1689_16 | In December 1961, Boros became the third member of the Tigers to sign a contract for the 1962 season. Detroit vice president Rick Ferrell said at the time, "Boros got a good raise. He was entitled to it. He had a wonderful first year. Steve will be even better next summer, in my opinion." |
1689_17 | In 1962, Boros saw his batting average slump to .228, though his propensity to draw bases on balls buoyed his on-base percentage over 100 points to .331. His 14 doubles and 16 home runs provided a .407 slugging percentage. On August 6, 1962, Boros became the eighth Detroit Tigers player to hit three home runs in one game — accomplishing the feat against the Cleveland Indians, including two home runs off Sam McDowell. After the game, Boros said, "I'm swinging the bat like I did two years ago." Two weeks later, he hit his first major league grand slam in the first inning of a game against the Washington Senators. The next day, he achieved a less desirable distinction when he tied an American League record by committing four errors, two in one inning. |
1689_18 | Chicago Cubs
On November 28, 1962, Boros was traded by the Tigers to the Chicago Cubs for pitcher Bob Anderson. The Cubs vice president John Holland said he expected Boros to provide "protection in the infield" and prove valuable as a righthanded pinch-hitter. Boros had been a leading candidate for the American League Rookie of the Year award until he broke his collar bone in August 1961. Less than two years later, and with Ron Santo securely entrenched as the Cubs third baseman, he spent most of the 1963 season on the Cubs bench. Boros appeared in 41 games for the 1963 Cubs, including 14 at first base and 11 as an outfielder. He compiled a .211 batting average in 90 at-bats, though his on-base percentage was nearly 100 points higher at .304. |
1689_19 | Cincinnati Reds
On December 14, 1963, Boros was purchased by the Cincinnati Reds from the Cubs. He was acquired for a sum that The Sporting News described as "peanuts" and assigned to the Reds San Diego Padres farm team in the Pacific Coast League. However, he was invited to spring training with the Reds in Tampa, Florida. |
1689_20 | With the departure of the Reds' two regular third basemen, Chico Ruiz opened the 1964 season as the Reds' starting third baseman, and Boros was returned to San Diego. However, Boros was quickly called up by the Reds and became the team's regular third baseman by the second week of May 1964. By early July, Boros was batting slightly under .300, set a club record with 50 errorless games, and had established himself as "one of the top favorites among Red fans." Boros' streak was seven games short of the National League record of 57 errorless games by third baseman Bob Aspromonte. Boros credited his improvement in fielding to his studying the play of Ron Santo in Chicago during the 1963 season. Boros concluded that Santo was the best third baseman he had ever seen. Previously, Boros had tried to be a "cool, graceful player of the Gil McDougald type." Based on his observation of Santo, he changed his philosophy and changed into "a scrambling, aggressive type." He later described the |
1689_21 | 50-game errorless streak as his biggest thrill in baseball. |
1689_22 | During the 1964 season, Boros started 113 games at third base, compiling a .257 batting average and .342 on-base percentage in 370 at-bats. At the start of the 1965 season, the Reds moved Deron Johnson from first to third base and had no further need for Boros. He appeared in only two games for the Reds in 1965, making his final major league appearance on May 8, 1965.
In all or parts of seven major league seasons, Boros batted .245 with a .344 on-base percentage and 26 home runs.
Return to the minor leagues
Boros continued to play at the AAA level through 1969. He appeared in 117 games for the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League in 1965. He spent the 1966 and 1967 seasons with the Buffalo Bisons in the International League. He split the 1968 season between the Indianapolis Indians and Vancouver Mounties in the Pacific Coast League and finished his playing career with the Omaha Royals of the American Association.
Baseball manager, coach and scout |
1689_23 | Kansas City Royals
Boros began a managerial career in the Kansas City Royals farm system in 1970 as the manager of the Waterloo Royals, their Waterloo, Iowa farm team from 1970 to 1972. While managing in Waterloo, he was ejected from a game after protesting what he called "a series of atrocious calls." Boros retreated to the clubhouse where he hand-lettered a sign reading "UMPIRES". He nailed the sign to the scoreboard on top of the visiting team's name. At the end of the game, the scoreboard read, "UMPIRES 9, WATERLOO 2". Boros was fined $100 for the incident.
In January 1973, Boros was transferred to the Royals other Class A affiliate, San Jose Bees. Boros was the manager in San Jose during the 1973 and 1974 seasons, where under his management, San Jose set a modern minor league record with 372 stolen bases. |
1689_24 | At the end of September 1974, the Royals announced Boros was being elevated to the major league club to replace Charley Lau on the team's coaching staff for the 1975 season. He was the Royals third base coach in 1975 under manager Whitey Herzog. From 1976 to 1979, he was the Royal's first base coach and was "credited with helping the Royals develop an aggressive baserunning style." While Boros was in Kansas City, he began to attract media attention for his "scientific approach" to baseball. In July 1977, the UPI published a feature story about Boros in which it observed: |
1689_25 | Boros began putting a book together on all the pitchers and catchers in the American League last year, noting their strengths and weaknesses and any tipoffs that might give Royals runners an edge on the basepaths. His observations were written into a small 25-cent notepad along with a flock of stopwatch readings that represent the time it takes a pitcher to throw the ball to home plate out of both the stretch and windup, and how long it takes a catcher to peg the ball to second and third base. |
1689_26 | Boros also studied pitchers, looking for tipoffs they intended to throw to first base. He said, "There's always some tipoff. The head, the shoulder, the hip, the knee, the toe – every pitcher has something that gives away his pickoff move. When you find it, you've got the upper hand on the base baths." With the benefit of Boros' scientific approach, the Royals led the American League in stolen bases in both 1978 (216) and 1979 (207). The 1978 team had eight players (led by Willie Wilson, Freddie Patek, Amos Otis, George Brett, and Hal McRae) who stole at least 10 bases and won the American League West pennant with a record of 92–70. |
1689_27 | Montreal Expos |
1689_28 | In 1980, Boros was hired by the Montreal Expos organization and managed the Calgary Expos. During the 1981 and 1982 seasons, he was the first base coach for the Montreal Expos. Boros was hired by the Expos in part due to his reputation as one of the best coaches in baseball at teaching base stealing technique. His San Jose team set the modern minor league record with 372 stolen bases, and the Royals led the American League in stolen bases during his tenure there. During Boros' two seasons as the Expos first base coach, Tim Raines became the leading base stealer in the National League with 71 and 78 stolen bases in 1981 and 1982. In May 1981, Sports Illustrated credited Boros with Raines' sudden burst of base-stealing: "Boros deserves some of the credit for Raines' base-running success. Positioning himself a few yards up the first base line from the bag, Boros surveys the mound from the same angle as Raines, notes whether the pitcher signals his move home with his front leg, front |
1689_29 | shoulder or head, and records his findings in a notebook. Boros also carries a stopwatch to time pitchers' deliveries home and catchers' throws to second." |
1689_30 | A March 1982 feature story by Peter Gammons focused on Boros' mentoring of Raines. Gammons described Boros as the "leading exponent" in baseball of the stolen base. Gammons added: "Boros is Lee Strasberg to Raines and the host of young speedsters coming through the Expos organization, constantly mixing technique and science with the athlete's artistic ability. There is constant work with measured leads and jumps and acceleration. Boros keeps a stop-watch on every catcher and pitcher in the league and records it all, along with telltale quirks and motions." In August 1982, another feature story run by the Associated Press was titled "Expos' coach lives by stopwatch." |
1689_31 | Boros preferred to refer to himself an advocate of base running: "I've always been a strong advocate of base running, not necessarily base stealing, but base running. Because ultimately, you win because you score more runs, and what I want is to be 90-feet smarter and 90-feet more aggressive than the other team." Always a student of the game, Boros' attitude toward the stolen base had changed by 1986. In an interview that year, Boros said: "The science against stealing has evolved radically in the last four or five years. That has made it tougher than ever to steal. Pitchers have quicker deliveries, step off and quick pitch, hold the ball. Catchers pitch out much more often. Now you've got pitching coaches with stopwatches timing pitchers' deliveries, while other coaches are timing catchers' throws to second base."
Oakland Athletics |
1689_32 | Hiring
In November 1982, Boros was hired as the manager of the Oakland Athletics, replacing Billy Martin. Baseball writer Peter Gammons called Boros "quiet, thoughtful and intelligent", while one American League manager said the move "could be one of the best managerial hirings in 10 years." Martin, who had implemented his trademark "Billy Ball" in Oakland, was known for his hot-tempered approach to the game. The Sporting News noted the difference in style between Martin and Boros: "The volatile, dirt-kicking days are over for the time being in Oakland. Steve Boros, the man named to succeed Billy Martin, will live on the quiet side of Manager's Row. . . . Unlike Martin, Boros said he will not rant and rave. He has been kicked out of just two games in his 25-year pro baseball career."
Computer pioneer |
1689_33 | During the 1983 season, Boros gained note for his pioneering use of "sabermetrics" and a computer to help guide his managerial decisions. In his book on baseball innovations, historian Peter Morris wrote that Boros was "the first manager to make extensive use of computers in his decision-making process." After every game, Boros had pitch-by-pitch data fed into a mainframe computer at Digital Equipment Corporation in Philadelphia. He would retrieve the data before the next game, analyzing how each pitcher and hitter matched up. Jay Alves, a "sabermetrician" hired by Boros to run the computer system, later recalled: "With Steve, we tracked (on paper) virtually every pitch and where it was hit. Then I'd type it into the computer after the game, but that would take a couple of hours. That's how long it takes me to do it with pencil and paper." |
1689_34 | In April 1983, a sports writer noted: "These days in the Oakland Coliseum, where the Athletics do their thing, the phrase is 'Computer Ball' [not 'BillyBall,'] as programmed by Martin's successor, Steve Boros." In May 1983, Newsweek published a story on Boros's pioneering use of the computer titled "The Computers of Summer." In a June 1983 feature story titled "It's the Apple of His Eye", Sports Illustrated wrote that Boros made access to a computer a condition of his hiring and used an Apple II, loaded with pitch-by-pitch data from the 1981 and 1982 seasons, as a scouting tool. The article's author opined: "Though traditionalists may shudder at the thought, it was inevitable that such a stat-happy pursuit as baseball would plug into a data bank. And Boros, 46, a Michigan grad who plans to take classes in computer science during the off-season, is in the forefront of a new wave of enlightened technocrats who are rewiring the game." However, Boros tried to downplay his reliance on the |
1689_35 | computer, noting, "We're not down in the dugout frantically leafing through pages of computer printouts. I'm too busy watching my pitchers for signs of fatigue or checking my base runners — all the little nuances and gut feelings that you get and no computer can pick up. However, I do study the printouts before each game." |
1689_36 | During the 1983 and 1984 seasons, Boros' use of the computer was also profiled in several other publications, including Psychology Today ("The Microchipped Diamond"), InfoWorld ("Playing Ball With Micros"), Digital Deli ("Computer Ball"), and Popular Mechanics ("Science Goes To Bat"). |
1689_37 | 1983 season
Despite Boros' use of the computer, the 1983 A's finished in fourth place in the American League West with a record of 74–88. Boros had long been an advocate of stealing bases, and his 1983 team totaled 235 stolen bases—more than any team in the American League since the 1976 Athletics. The team was handicapped by a pitching staff on which no pitcher won more than 12 games, compiling a mediocre 4.34 earned run average, ranking 12th of 15 teams in the American League. In a game against the Minnesota Twins on May 18, 1983, Boros put infielder Wayne Gross into the game as a pitcher, after the A's fell behind by a 16–5 score. Gross had not pitched since he was age 13. Boros was critical of the Twins home field at the Metrodome, saying there was no point in using a "real pitcher", and adding, "I used a joke pitcher for a joke park." |
1689_38 | 1984 season
Before the 1984 season got underway, Boros' notoriety from his use of a computer became a distraction in the eyes of team management and baseball traditionalists. Longtime friend Phil Regan recalled, "He received some criticism for using computers in the mid-1980s and now everyone in the game uses computers." In their book on baseball's fascination with statistics, Alan Schwartz and Peter Gammons wrote:
Baseball's conservatives howled in horror. As 1984 neared, you'd think that George Orwell was in the press box: Almost every article on baseball and computers used a silly, futuristic lead, with machines replacing managers and robots turning double plays. . . . Steve Boros woke up one morning as the standard bearer of baseball's on-field information revolution. After one year on the job, having been profiled in dozens of publications and all but cast as a circus freak, he became unpopular enough in his own clubhouse that he was fired midway through the 1984 season. |
1689_39 | After the A's got off to a 20–24 start (2 games out of first place) in 1984, Boros was fired in late May and replaced with first base coach Jackie Moore. The firing came hours after a team meeting in which Boros told the players that he would not change his personality. First baseman Bruce Bochte said, "Steve indicated there was a lot of talk going around, that his situation wasn't stable. He said he was going to go ahead and be the kind of manager he had been, that he wasn't going to change to keep his job." |
1689_40 | Reaction to firing
The A's offered Boros a front-office job, but he declined. Unemployed during a baseball season for the first time in over 20 years, Boros said he would take some time off but hoped to manage again. He met with the press at his home, drinking from a cup that read "No More Mr. Nice Guy." He noted that the team's management felt he wasn't tough enough on the players, especially Rickey Henderson. Boros said, "This nice guy label — I'm kind of getting clubbed to death with it. The public misinterpreted it when it saw a manager who went and talked to his players and asked their feelings. That all helped to create this impression of too nice a guy, one who can't make up his mind. The players are telling him what to do." Sports Illustrated ran a feature on the firing of Boros several months later. The article refuted the charge that Boros lacked toughness but opened as follows: |
1689_41 | When the Oakland A's dismissed Steve Boros in May, the manager's failing was more narrowly defined: He wasn't 'tough enough.' Newspapers across the country solemnly reported this canard. The shortcoming most mentioned was that the A's skipper didn't sufficiently 'stand up for his players'; that is, he didn't kick dirt on umpires or get thrown out of games. It was also revealed that Boros had read more than 100 books, cover to cover, and had other wimpy interests. Real men don't eat quiche. Tough guys don't dance. And so on.
Boros noted: |
1689_42 | When they talk about toughness, they always talk about arguing bad calls, spitting in an umpire's eye, kicking dust — all that macho image stuff. ... If the fans saw that kind of behavior in a football coach, they'd be repelled by it. Isn't it funny that one kind of behavior is expected from a football coach and another from a baseball manager? And they both have essentially the same job. It seems to me it takes a certain amount of mental toughness to keep control of your emotions. You owe it to management, your players and the fans to keep yourself under control at critical moments. |
1689_43 | San Diego Padres
In late 1984, Boros was hired as the director of minor league instruction for the San Diego Padres. When the Padres manager Dick Williams resigned suddenly at the start of spring training in late February 1986, Boros was hired to replace him. Boros was perceived as the antithesis of the "gruff and uncommunicative" Williams. Boros noted, "Dick likes to be aloof, apart from the players. I like to be close to them. I really like young players and enjoy working with them." Sports Illustrated wrote as follows about the contrast between Williams and Boros:
The move may not have been as revolutionary as the introduction of the McDLT, but last week the hamburger-funded San Diego Padres went from the hot of Dick Williams to the cool of Steve Boros. . . . [I]t marked the greatest contrast in successive baseball managers since, well, since Steve Boros followed Billy Martin in Oakland." |
1689_44 | In an interview with the San Diego Union at the start of the 1986 season, Boros assured Padres fans that he would not make extensive use of the computer as he had in Oakland. The resulting article noted:
At Oakland, Boros used computers extensively, studying percentages and tendencies to guide his strategic decisions, but at heart, he is a humanist. He would rather read a good baseball novel than a complex statistical analysis of the game. 'I found that players are very suspicious of computers, much like the general public,' he said. 'They fear them as cold and impersonal and inhuman. I couldn't make them understand that I was still going to make my own decisions, I wasn't going to let the computer make them for me. I'm going to use some data and stats here, but we won't have a computer and a programmer in the clubhouse like we did in Oakland. |
1689_45 | One of Boros' first managerial decisions resulted from stiff competition for the starting first baseman job. Steve Garvey began the season as the team's starting first baseman, but Boros saw the potential of rookie John Kruk. By late July, Boros concluded that Kruk deserved to be in the lineup and began alternating him at first base and in the outfield. Another widely publicized incident during Boros' tenure with the Padres occurred in early June 1986 when he was ejected before the first pitch in a game against the Atlanta Braves. During the exchange of lineup cards, Boros tried to hand a videotape to the umpire who had made a disputed call the previous night resulting in a triple play. Boros was ejected for the first time in 259 games as a major league manager. |
1689_46 | Boros also developed a reputation for constant tinkering with the lineup. In August 1985, veteran Graig Nettles gave Boros the nickname, "Mr. Moves." Boros responded by benching the slumping Nettles and joking that, while he'd tried a lot of things, "that's one thing I didn't try." Boros set a Padres team record in a September 22 game against the Atlanta Braves by using 22 players, including six pitchers, in a nine-inning game.
By September 1986, speculation began that he would not be retained as the team's manager. The Sporting News reported: "The Padres have foundered under his direction, sagging to last place in the National League west. While there are myriad extenuations — injuries to starting pitchers Eric Show and Dave Dravecky chief among them — those closest to the club's management have privately expressed doubts about whether Boros will be asked back." Boros replied that the speculation was "as predictable as the leaves turning in September and October." |
1689_47 | Having played in the World Series two years earlier, the 1986 Padres finished in fourth place in the National League West with a disappointing record of 74–88. The speculation that Boros would be fired proved accurate, as he was replaced by Larry Bowa on October 24, 1986. Boros said at the time, "I was prepared for the fact that I wouldn't be coming back. ... It's like the good news and bad news joke. The good news was that at the end of the season I hadn't been fired. The bad news was I hadn't been rehired." |
1689_48 | Later years
After his managerial career, Boros worked as a scout and coach for several teams. His work as an advance scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1988 resulted in one of the most memorable moments in World Series history — Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series home run. Boros was part of a scout team that studied the Athletics, the Dodgers opponent in the 1988 World Series. Boros noted that Oakland relief ace Dennis Eckersley tended to throw a backdoor slider on 3–2 counts to left-handed hitters. When Eckersley threw that pitch to Kirk Gibson in the ninth inning of the first game of the World Series, Gibson hit a home run to win the game for the Dodgers. Gibson's home run was voted the "greatest moment in L.A. sports history" in a 1995 poll. |
1689_49 | He worked for the Kansas City Royals from 1993 to 1994 and for the Baltimore Orioles in 1995. Phil Regan, who had been friends with Boros since the 1950s, hired Boros at Baltimore and later recalled, "When I became the manager at Baltimore in 1995, one of my first calls was to Steve and he joined us as my third-base coach. Steve was one of the finest baserunning instructors of his time. He was one of the first guys to always have a stop watch in his hand to clock both runners and the time it takes for a pitcher to throw to first base."
Boros was hired by the Detroit Tigers in 1996 and served as the team's minor league field coordinator from 1996 to 2002. He became the Tigers director of player development in 2003 and a special assistant to general manager Dave Dombrowski in 2004. |
1689_50 | Family and death
Boros and his wife, Sharla, were married in 1973. They had two children, Sasha and Steve. He also had a daughter Renee from a previous marriage. His son Steve became a baseball scout for the New York Yankees, later the Chicago Cubs. His daughter Sasha is the women's tennis coach for the University of Iowa. In 1996, Boros was honored with induction into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor.
In his later years, Boros suffered from multiple myeloma, a cancer of plasma cells. He died at his home in DeLand, Florida in December 2010 as the result of complications from the disease. After Boros's death, former Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Fred Claire wrote, "I don't know that I've ever met a nicer man in the game of baseball. I know I've never met a tougher and more determined man when it came to doing the right thing."
References
External links |
1689_51 | 1936 births
2010 deaths
Augusta Tigers players
Baltimore Orioles coaches
Baseball players from Flint, Michigan
Birmingham Barons players
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Charleston Senators players
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Detroit Tigers executives
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Major League Baseball farm directors
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American Association (1902–1997) MVP Award winners |
1690_0 | Food safety incidents in China have received increased international media scrutiny following the reform and opening of the country, and its joining the World Trade Organization. Urban areas have become more aware of food safety as their incomes rise. Food safety agencies in China have overlapping duties. The 2008 Chinese milk scandal and COVID-19 pandemic received the most attention among food safety incidents.
Food safety incidents in 2003
Poisonous Jinhua ham
In 2003, several small producers of Jinhua hams (from Jinhua, Zhejiang) operated out of season and produced hams during warmer months, treating their hams with pesticides to prevent spoilage and insect infestation. The hams were soaked in the pesticide dichlorvos, which is a volatile organophosphate insecticide used for fumigation.
Food safety incidents in 2004 |
1690_1 | Counterfeit baby formula
In April, at least 13 babies in Fuyang, Anhui, and 50–60 more in rural areas of Anhui died of malnourishment from ingesting fake powdered milk. In addition, 100–200 other babies in the province suffered malnutrition but survived. Local officials in Fuyang arrested 47 people who were responsible for making and selling the fake formula and investigators discovered 45 types of substandard formula for sale in Fuyang markets. Over 141 factories were responsible for the production of the formula and Chinese officials seized 2,540 bags of fake formula by mid-April. The State Food and Drug Administration ordered an investigation in May, 2004. |
1690_2 | Within three days of ingesting the formula, the babies suffered from what Chinese doctors described as "big head disease," since the babies' heads swelled while their bodies became thinner from malnourishment. The fake formulas were tested to have only 1-6% protein when the national requirement was 10% protein. The government promised to compensate families and help cover medical bills. Most of the victims were rural families.
Adulterated pickled vegetables
In June 2004, the Chengdu Quality Inspection Department released figures that only about 23% of all pickled vegetables produced in Chengdu, Sichuan, had an acceptable amount of chemical additives. The labels on the pickled vegetables that was supposed to indicate the chemical content were also found to be inaccurate. In Sichuan, the factories had been using industrial-grade salt to pickle the vegetables and had been spraying the pesticide DDVP on the pickled vegetables before shipment. |
1690_3 | Counterfeit alcoholic drinks
In spring 2004, four men died of alcohol poisoning in Guangdong and eight other men were hospitalized in the People's Hospital of Guangzhou. Wang Funian and Hou Shangjian, both from Taihe Town, died in May after drinking liquor bought from the same vendor. Two other men, one a migrant worker, died the previous night in Zhongluotan in Hunan. Authorities in the local health department suspected that the makers of the fake liquor blended industrial alcohol and rice wine, and closed several unlicensed liquor manufacturers.
Soy sauce made from human hair
Stories began circulating in the press about cheap soy sauces made from human hair. These sauces were manufactured in China using a chemical amino acid extraction process similar to artificially hydrolyzed soy sauces and then quietly exported to other countries. An investigative report that aired on Chinese television exposed the unsanitary and potentially contaminated sources of the hair: |
1690_4 | In response, the Chinese government banned production of soy sauces made from hair. Other carcinogens remain; see 3-MCPD.
Food safety incidents in 2005
Sudan I red dye
In 1996, China banned food manufacturers from using Sudan I red dye to color their products. China followed a number of other developed nations in banning the dye due to its links to cancer and other negative health effects. However, officials in the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, the State Bureau of Industry and Commerce, and the State Food and Drug Administration discovered in 2005 that Sudan I was being used in food in many major Chinese cities. In Beijing, the Heinz Company added the red dye to chili sauce; in Guangdong, Zhejiang, Hunan, and Fujian, the red dye was discovered in vegetables and noodles. Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) used the red dye in its 1,200 restaurants, and medicine in Shanghai also contained Sudan I. |
1690_5 | Before the year 2005, companies in China had been using Sudan I illegally, and government officials gave two reasons why the 1996 ban had not been adequately enforced. The first reason was that there were too many agencies overseeing food production, creating loopholes and inefficiency. The second reason was that the government agencies were not equipped or trained with the food testing equipment that could have detected the dye earlier. Officials announced that they would begin to reform the food safety system on national and local levels.
Food safety incidents in 2006 |
1690_6 | Counterfeit drugs
The State Food and Drug Administration reported that their officials had resolved 14 cases involving fake drugs and 17 cases involving "health accidents" at drug manufacturing facilities. One of these incidents involved fake Armillarisni A; ten people injected with the fake drug died in May, 2006. The drug quality inspectors at the factory that produced the Armillarisni A drugs failed to notice that the chemical diglycol had been added to drugs. In July, 2006, six people died and 80 more became sick after ingesting an antibiotic with disinfectant as an ingredient. In 2006, the government also "revoked the business licenses of 160 drug manufacturers and retailers." |
1690_7 | School food poisoning
On September 1, 2006, more than 300 students at Chongzhou Experimental Primary School in Chongzhou, Sichuan, got food poisoning after lunch. Of those, approximately 200 students had to be hospitalized due to headaches, fevers, vomiting, and diarrhea. The school was temporarily closed for an investigation. On the same day, middle school students in Liaoning also got food poisoning after eating dinner at school. The Ministry of Education ordered an investigation, and officials suspected that the cause of the food poisoning was unsanitary conditions at the schools. During summer vacation, the schools had not been cleaned or disinfected, and the pupils might have been exposed to unsanitary food or drinking water when they returned in September. |
1690_8 | Contaminated turbot fish
In late 2006, officials in Shanghai and Beijing discovered illegal amounts of chemicals in turbot. Shanghai officials from the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration found carcinogenic nitrofuran metabolites in the fish and Beijing found additional drugs, including malachite green, in its fish. Other cities, including Hangzhou, Zhejiang, have begun testing turbot fish and banning the turbot shipped from Shandong. Many restaurants in Shanghai, Beijing, and Hong Kong stopped purchasing turbot after officials discovered the high amounts of illegal antibiotics. |
1690_9 | Pesticide residue on vegetables
In early 2006, Greenpeace tested vegetables in two Hong Kong grocery stores, and discovered that only 30% of their samples contained acceptable amounts of pesticide residue. Some of the 70 percent failing the tests tested positive for illegal pesticides, such as DDT, HCH and Lindane. Greenpeace explained that nearly 80% of vegetables in these grocery stores originated from mainland China. John Chapple, manager of Sinoanalytica, a Qingdao-based food analysis laboratory, supplemented Greenpeace's information. He was not surprised by the findings and explained that farmers in China have little knowledge of correct pesticide use. Although many Chinese farms are converting to organic agriculture, pesticide use in many areas remains high. |
1690_10 | Infected snail meat
In June, July, and August 2006, the Shuguo Yanyi Restaurant in Beijing served raw Amazonian snail meat and, as a result, 70 diners were diagnosed with angiostrongylus meningitis. The snail meat contained Angiostrongylus cantonensis, "a parasite that harms people's nervous system" causing headaches, vomiting, stiff necks, and fevers. No one died from the meningitis outbreak and the Beijing Municipal Office of Health inspection did not find any more raw snails in 2,000 other restaurants. However, the Beijing Municipal Office of Health prohibited restaurants from serving raw or half-cooked snails and disciplined the Shuguo Yanyi Restaurant. The Beijing Friendship Hospital, where the first meningitis case was treated, began a program to educate doctors on the treatment of angiostrongylus meningitis. The Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention explained that these meningitis cases were the first outbreaks since the 1980s. |
1690_11 | Poisonous mushrooms
In December 2006, sixteen diners were hospitalized after eating a poisonous variety of boletus mushrooms in Beijing at the Dayali Roast Duck Restaurant. The mushrooms caused nausea, vomiting, and dizziness and the ill diners were treated at the Bo'ai Hospital and the 307 Hospital of the People's Liberation Army.
In November 2006, Chinese authorities at the Ministry of Health had warned of the rising number of mushroom poisonings. "From July to September, 31 people were killed and 183 were poisoned by toxic mushrooms." Officials worried that the public could not accurately separate edible mushrooms from poisonous ones.
Food safety incidents in 2007 |
1690_12 | Counterfeit drugs
According to John Newton of Interpol, Chinese organized crime is involved in working across national boundaries and faking drugs on an industrial scale, now appearing throughout Africa. China Central Television cited an official saying those making the false albumin were making a 300% profit, assisted by shortages of the genuine product. |
1690_13 | Alleged carcinogen used in frying oil |
1690_14 | In March 2007, the Guangzhou Information Times accused Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) of adding oil filtering powder, magnesium trisilicate, to its frying oil. It reported that KFC restaurants in several cities in Shaanxi added this chemical so that the frying oil could be used repeatedly for up to ten days. KFC pointed out that the additive is considered safe by United States and international standards, but health officials in Xianyang, Yulin, and Xi'an, inspected their local KFCs and confiscated the frying powder. Officials in Guangzhou also began in investigation into the frying oils, and the cities requested that the Ministry of Health step in. KFC stated that the oil filtering powder does not cause health problems and meets local and international standards, but local Chinese authorities claimed that reusing the powder decreased its nutritional value and that it was connected to cancer. Magnesium trisilicate is commonly used in medicines such as antacids, and is widely considered |
1690_15 | to be safe for human consumption with no known connections to cancer. |
1690_16 | Contaminated wheat gluten and rice protein used for export
In May 2007, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine (AQSIQ) confirmed that two domestic companies had exported melamine-contaminated wheat gluten and rice protein blamed for the deaths of dogs and cats in the United States. In August 2007, AQSIQ introduced recall systems for unsafe food products and toys and on December 3, 2007, China ordered 69 categories of products to be bar-coded at factories amid efforts to improve product safety, in response to several recent incidents, including: "scares rang[ing] from ducks and hens that were fed cancer-causing Sudan Red dye to make their egg yolks red, to pet food made of melamine-tainted wheat protein that killed scores of dogs and cats in the United States." See also 2007 pet food crisis. |
1690_17 | Sewage used in tofu manufacturing
Close to a hundred manufacturers of stinky tofu in Guangdong were found to use a combination of sewage, slop, and iron(II) sulfate to accelerate production and improve appearance of their fermented product.
The waste water produced by the tofu industries also has effects on the environment.
Cardboard bun hoax
Food safety incidents in 2008
Tainted Chinese dumplings
In January 2008, several Japanese people in the Hyōgo and Chiba prefectures fell ill after consuming Chinese-produced jiaozi (dumplings) tainted with the insecticide methamidophos. The dumplings had been produced by the Tianyang Food Plant in Hebei and sold by JT Foods and the Japanese Consumers' Co-operative Union. Kyodo News reported that about 500 people complained of symptoms such as nausea and stomach pain. On February 5, 2008, Hyōgo and Chiba prefectural police departments announced that they were treating these cases as attempted murder, establishing a joint investigation team. |
1690_18 | When Japanese police and other prefectural authorities inspected the recalled dumplings, they found pesticides other than methamidophos, including dichlorvos and parathion. The Japanese National Police Agency found these toxins in packages that were completely sealed, concluding that it would have been nearly impossible to insert such toxins into the packages from the outside. They provided the test results to the Ministry of Public Security of China (MPS). |
1690_19 | Investigations jointly held by both the Chinese and Japanese governments cleared the Chinese company of responsibility after finding no traces of any poison in the raw material used nor in the factory.
Officials are now treating this incident as a deliberate poisoning, and an investigation is underway. |
1690_20 | On February 28, 2008, the MPS criminal investigation bureau announced that there was little chance that methamidophos had been put into the dumplings in China, and declared that the Japanese police had rejected the requirement by the MPS to check the scene, relative material evidences, and test reports, thus information on the evidence was not fully provided to the MPS. On the same day, Hiroto Yoshimura, the Commissioner-General of Japan's National Police Agency, argued against the Chinese authorities that the Japanese had already offered test results and photographic evidence and claimed that some part of China's assertion "cannot be overlooked". They asked Chinese authorities to offer evidence. |
1690_21 | On August 5, 2008, Japanese media revealed that some Chinese people who had eaten the recalled Chinese dumplings made by Tianyang Food had also become sick after the incident in Japan, in mid-June 2008; the cause was again found to have been methamidophos contamination. The Chinese government alerted the Japanese government to this fact just before the 34th G8 summit in July 2008. The Yomiuri Shimbun reported that this incident has increased the suspicion of foods produced in China.
Contaminated powdered ginger
In July 2008, it was announced that the Whole Foods supermarket chain in the United States had been selling powdered ginger produced in China, which was labeled as organic food, but when tested was found to contain the banned pesticide Aldicarb. The ginger had been mistakenly certified organic by Quality Assurance International, who relied on two Chinese certifiers because, under Chinese law, foreigners may not inspect Chinese farms.
Contaminated baby formula |
1690_22 | In September 2008, a fresh outbreak of kidney disease occurred, due to baby formula contaminated by melamine. Melamine was deliberately added to fool quality testing intended to measure protein content, which was implemented after the 2004 incident where babies died of malnutrition due to baby formula being watered down too much. Six babies died and 54,000 were made sick by the melamine-tainted formula with 51,900 requiring hospitalization. The supplier of the milk, Sanlu Group, is a name brand and is a major player in the industry in China. The company is said to have known of the problem for months, but claims the contaminant came from milk suppliers.
Contaminated egg products
In October 2008 news emerged that certain egg products produced by Hanwei Group were also contaminated with melamine.
Food safety incidents in 2009
Plastic tapioca pearls
Tapioca pearls used for bubble tea were adulterated with macromolecular polymers to improve their texture. |
1690_23 | Pesticide in mantou
To improve the chewiness and texture of mantou (steamed buns) the pesticide dichlorvos was added.
Fake lamb meat
Businesses in Qingdao, Shandong, have been caught marinating duck meat in goat or sheep urine to give the duck the smell and taste of lamb. The duck is then sold as lamb to customers.
Formaldehyde-laced blood pudding
Inspectors in Wuhan, Hubei, discovered that most of the pork blood pudding in Chinese markets contained little actual blood, but rather, was manufactured with formaldehyde, corn starch, industrial grade salt, artificial food colourings, and a variety of other additives.
Food safety incidents in 2010
Gutter oil
Dyed green beans
Hunan police shut down various underground workshops that produced fake green beans by mixing soybeans with various chemical additives.
Food safety incidents in 2011 |
1690_24 | Adulterated noodles
Seventeen noodle makers in Dongguan city, Guangdong province, alleged to have included ink, industrial dyes, and paraffin wax in the manufacture of noodles normally made from sweet potatoes in order to lower costs.
Food safety incidents in 2012
Contaminated strawberries
In October 2012, frozen Chinese strawberries contaminated with norovirus infected over 11,000 children in Germany.
Aflatoxin-tainted baby formula
In the city of Guangzhou, authorities conducted health tests on over 610 batches of infant formula. Six samples failed the inspection. In response to this, Hunan Ava Dairy Company recalled five of the products. |
1690_25 | Inaccuracies in reporting food safety incidents
In the end of the year, a comprehensive report uses 12 food safety incidents, in which one was only deemed to be an actual food safety incident. One problem in understanding China's food safety problem is an inaccurate understanding to food safety and how much information is actually disclosed. The report explains that news is often confused with food safety. News reports don't determine how good food safety is and does not determine what the truth is. What the study finds lacking about food safety is that it is not consistent in maintaining food safety in China. In regards to information, there is a serious discrepancy with how information is shared and how much is requested by the public. Of the 43 largest cities in China, only 23% of information regarding food safety is actually reported
Food safety incidents in 2013
Pork meat scandal |
1690_26 | By March 2013, over 15,000 dead pigs had been found drifting down Huangpu River, caused by a crack-down on illicit pig-trade in Zhejiang. As reported by Shanghaiist, local pork dealers would buy up dead meat unfit for sale, process it in illegal workshops, and then re-introduce the products into the legal market.
Lamb meat scandal
In May 2013, the Ministry of Public Security released a press statement warning Shanghai consumers of lamb meat that inadvertently may have been, or contained, rat, fox or mink meat. According to some sources, respective fake lamb meat also reached Yum-owned "Little Sheep" hot pot chain restaurants, though Yum itself declined these rumours.
Recycled expired food |
1690_27 | In June 2013, Wenzhou police shut down 10 underground mills in Zhejiang's Cangnan County, and additionally seized large amounts of chemical additives and coloring agents, which were used to clean expired chicken drumsticks and wings, ducks’ heads, and duck meat prior to re-selling them to the public.
Fake beef
In September 2013, according to JRJ and Shanghaiist six workshops near Xi'an, Shaanxi, have been shut down that produced fake beef by mixing pork with chemicals, such as paraffin wax and industrial salts.
Cat meat scandal
In October 2013, cat meat, slaughtered at a "black" slaughterhouse in Huai'an City near Shanghai, was sold to butchers and local markets under the guise of “rabbit”. Some of the cats were kept alive and shipped to the southern provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi where they were sold for around 10 yuan (£1) per animal.
Food safety incidents in 2014 |
1690_28 | Gutter oil scandal
Gutter oil is a term used in China to describe illicit cooking oil that has already been used and is then processed by cleaning and filtering to be resold as a cheaper alternative to normal cooking oil. The sources of this oil are restaurant fryers, sewers and leftover or used oil that is sold by restaurants. A newer version of gutter oil uses discarded animal parts, animal fat, internal organs, and expired or otherwise low quality meat which is then cooked in large vats in order to extract the oil.
Expired meat sold to global brands
Shanghai Husi Food Co. Ltd. supplied products containing expired meat to McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, and Burger King. The products were sold in numerous countries including Japan.
Pizza Hut's and KFC's parent Yum! Brands, Inc. apologized to Chinese customers after the scandal was exposed. Shanghai Husi Food Co Ltd based in China was a subsidiary of U.S.-based OSI Group LLC. |
1690_29 | The company was forced in July 2014 to shut down after local television station Dragon TV ran footage of the company's factory workers picking meat such as hamburger patties from off the factory floor and throwing them directly into meat mixers, and handling poultry and beef on the assembly line with their bare hands. The footage also showed sewage and trash spread all over the floor of the plant. In addition, the expired meat, which workers described as "stinky," was concealed mostly by mixing it with non-expired meat. |
1690_30 | Sodium formaldehyde sulfoxylate (CH3NaO3S)
A video about the top 10 most common toxic substances in Chinese food and snacks looked into the use of the carcinogen, sodium formaldehyde sulfoxylate (CH3NaO3S), to bleach food. According to the video, this practice has been widely adopted by the largely unregulated Chinese food industry. In the video, all 12 samples taken from mianjing snack stalls in Beijing were found to contain CH3NaO3S. Mushrooms, tofu, mianjing (a Chinese starch product), mixian (mainly rice made noodles), vermicelli, and flour were among the food that contained contaminated substances. Bean and starch products were also found contaminated with CH3NaO3S. |
1690_31 | Fake hot pot soup
A video made by a Chinese dietitian has become popular on Internet showing a commonly adopted way to turn boiled water into "high quality pork soup" for hot pot. By adding ethyl maltol, capsicum oleoresin, and Disodium 5’-ribonucleotide into boiled water, fake pork hot pot soup becomes ready to serve in 20 seconds. As investigators dug deeper, it was revealed to the public that many cooks of hot pot restaurants took training programs in China that approved the fraud to reduce cost. Investigators also found antimalarial drugs in the soup to cover the side effects of rotten meat.
In the same video, the dietitian also showed a common method to make “beef balls” from bean powder by adding sodium pyrophosphate (Na4P2O7·10H2O) and sodium tripolyphosphate (Na5P3O10).
Food safety incidents in 2015
20 Million RMB Salt Raid |
1690_32 | In a massive crackdown, Chinese police seized 20 million RMB. 22 people were arrested after they sold industrial salt as “Beijing Salt with Iodine.” After testing the salt, it was found that there was no iodine in it. There was however, nitrite in the salt packets. Police conducted raids in cities and provinces such as Beijing, Tianjin, Hubei, Hunan, Shandong, Jiangsu, and Anhui. Investigations later revealed that the industrial salt had originated in Beijing and was transported to other provinces by long-distance truck drivers. Criminals bought large quantities of industrial salt, which they broken them down into very small portions, selling little baggies for 2 Yuan. Since industrial salt is not iodized, consuming it leads to an iodine deficiency as well as nervous system damage. The police believed that over 22,000 tonnes of salt was sold by this group. |
1690_33 | Contaminated infant formula recalled
During a routine inspection, Chinese authorities discovered that seven batches of goat milk failed safety standards. The authorities discovered nitrate and selenium in the milk. The three companies that failed the inspection were Shaanxi Feihe Guanshan Diary Company Limited, Xi’an Feihe Guanshan Diary Company Limited, and Shaanxi Shengtang Qunlong Diary Company Limited. One sample contained 10 times more nitrate than the national safety standard set by the China's Food and Drug Administration. In response to the failed test, the Chinese Food and Drug Administration ordered the three companies to cease production and to recall any milk that has been sold.
Food safety incidents in 2016 |
1690_34 | 500,000 food safety violations report by China's Food and Drug Administration
There were 500,000 cases of food safety violations in China in the first 3 quarters of 2016. In a report presented by Bi Jingquan, there were over 15 million food safety inspections conducted by China's Food and Drug Administration. Public health violations include false advertising of food, the selling of contaminated food and drinks, and the use of counterfeit material in the production of food and drink. Notable incidents of food safety violations included the use of industrial gelatine and salt. While Bi Jingquan argued that China was making progress in food safety, he argued that food safety problems remained to be “deep-rooted”.
Food safety incidents in 2017
Fake alcohol |
1690_35 | In November 2017, 13 people got poisoned by drinking methanol labeled as alcohol. The Muse Bar in Shenzhen has been closed and four people have been detained for selling the toxic fake alcohol. This is just an example of the widespread practice of labeling cheap or toxic drinks as brand-name alcohol in China.
Oil made from rotting pig carcasses
In July 2017, some journalists uncovered an oil refinery that was making oil from rotting pig carcasses. The stench that the factory released was so bad that the nearby villagers couldn't even open their windows at night.
Food safety incidents in 2019 |
1690_36 | Rotting food in high school
Parents of students at China's most prestigious schools in Chengdu discovered rotting food in the canteen. A group of parents invited to a tree-planting ceremony went to the canteen and found moldy bread, rotting meat, and seafood. Outraged at what they saw, the parents posted to social media. The Chengdu police threatened to arrest the parents for speaking out because they were “creating a disturbance”. In the aftermath of the incident, the school apologized to the parents and said that they would choose a different supplier. Thirty-six children went to the hospital for a check-up but they were all let go.
Food safety incidents in 2020 |
1690_37 | Fermented corn noodles
In Jixi city, located in Heilongjiang, nine people died after eating fermented corn noodles. On October 5, twelve members of a family were having corn noodles, a common dish in Heilongjiang. Three of the thirteen refrained from eating the dish due to its strange taste. Within hours of consuming the dish, members who did eat the dish started falling ill and later died. Later reports said that they have died from Bongkrek acid. Experts say that when poisoned with Bongkrek acid, victims have a mortality rate between 40%-100% Symptoms include sweating, stomach pain, coma, and even death. In later investigations, it was found that the fermented noodles were in the freezer for over a year. In response to these deaths, China's National Health Commission has warned its citizens not to make food with fermented flour and rice.
References
Health disasters in China
Food safety in China
Economic history of the People's Republic of China
China
Scandals in China |
1691_0 | Andover is a borough in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 606, reflecting a decline of 52 (-7.9%) from the 658 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn declined by 42 (-6.0%) from the 700 counted in the 1990 Census.
Andover was incorporated as a borough by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 25, 1904, from portions of Andover Township. The borough was named for Andover Township, which was in turn named for Andover, Hampshire, England.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough had a total area of 1.36 square miles (3.53 km2), including 1.35 square miles (3.49 km2) of land and 0.02 square miles (0.04 km2) of water (1.18%).
The borough borders the Sussex County municipalities of Andover Township, Byram Township and Green Township.
Demographics
Census 2010 |
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