General Mills, Kellogg, Toys ‘R’ Us and other big American companies are increasing their scrutiny of thousands of everyday products they receive from Chinese suppliers, as widening recalls of items like toys and toothpaste force them to focus on potential hazards that were overlooked in the past. These corporations are stepping up their analysis of imported goods that they sell, making more unannounced visits to Chinese factories for inspections and, in one case, pulling merchandise from American shelves at the first hint of a problem. General Mills, which makes food products like Pillsbury dough and Chex cereals, is testing for potential contaminants that it did not look for previously, although it would not name the substances. Kellogg has increased its use of outside services that scrutinize Chinese suppliers and has identified alternative suppliers if vital ingredients become unavailable. And Toys ‘R’ Us recently hired two senior executives in new positions to oversee procurement and product safety, mainly for goods made in China. ‘We’re thinking in new ways about this,’ said Tom Forsythe, a spokesman for General Mills. ‘We’re looking for things we didn’t look for in the past.’ A Kellogg spokeswoman, Kris Charles, confirmed that retailers […]