http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122115170115523971.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Wall Street Journal September 11, 2008
"Chinese health officials said contaminated baby formula could be responsible for an unusual spate of kidney-stone cases that are afflicting dozens of infants across China, rekindling concern about safety problems with the country's products.
"Officials are examining a suspicious increase in the number of infant kidney-stone cases in at least four provinces, the government said Thursday. In Gansu province, in China's northwest, 59 cases of kidney stones in infants have been reported so far this year -- including at least one related death, according to China's state-run Xinhua news agency. By comparison, there were no such cases reported in the previous two years in Gansu.
"China's Ministry of Health, in a statement late Thursday, said that after an initial investigation it had a "high degree of suspicion" that at least some of the cases were caused by ingestion of infant milk powder contaminated with melamine. Last year, melamine was found to be responsible for sickening or killing thousands of pets in the U.S., after the animals ate pet food containing a Chinese-made ingredient tainted with the industrial chemical.
"It wasn't immediately clear if any of the possibly tainted baby formula has been exported. The health ministry said it suspects the contaminated formula was produced by Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group Co., a dairy company based in Hebei province, and that Sanlu had announced a recall of all baby-milk powder produced before Aug. 6. Officials for Sanlu couldn't be reached for comment on the ministry's statement.
"Speaking earlier Thursday, in response to Chinese media reports that many of the sick infants may have consumed Sanlu-branded formula, a Sanlu spokeswoman said the company was conducting its own nationwide investigation, and that results from lab analyses are still pending. "There isn't necessarily a link between powdered milk and getting kidney stones," the Sanlu spokeswoman said in a phone interview. "Our products have passed quality certification and are in accordance with national standards."
"In 2006, Sanlu won a Chinese-government export license from for its milk powder, according to a statement on its Web site. But it couldn't immediately be determined to which countries it ships formula, or whether any of the possibly tainted batch had been sold overseas. The Chinese health ministry said in its statement that it has notified the World Health Organization and "relevant countries" about the situation.
"Underscoring the high stakes of the issue, however, the illnesses and the government's investigation were given prominent attention by the largely state-controlled media on Thursday. The health ministry in its statement said that the State Council, China's cabinet, considered the issue "highly important," and said that other agencies have been dispatched to inspect Sanlu's production facilities and to examine stocks of milk powder throughout the country.
"China's product safety came under intense scrutiny last year after a series of incidents involving tainted or unsafe toys, toothpaste, dumplings and other goods made in the country. The issues prompted calls in the U.S. and elsewhere for stepped-up checks of imports, and triggered harsh punishments by the Chinese government for some of those found to be responsible. That included the execution of the former head of China's State Food and Drug Administration for accepting bribes to approve drugs for the domestic market.
"China has had problems at home with bad milk powder in the past. In 2004, 171 babies were hospitalized, and more than a dozen died, after consuming counterfeit milk powder that had little or no nutritional value. At the time, officials initiated a crackdown that resulted in hundreds of arrests of officials and businesspeople who allowed the sale of the formula.
"Kidney stones are crystalline masses that, while generally treatable, can cause extremely painful blockages. They are relatively uncommon in most babies, although they do occur often in premature infants.
"It's unclear why the current spate of cases in China didn't receive attention sooner. The surge in numbers appears to have been dramatic in several locations: One doctor in the eastern city of Nanjing, in Jiangsu province, said he has seen more than 40 children with kidney stones in his hospital since July, compared to just five-to-seven such cases per year in the past.
"In addition to Gansu and Jiangsu, Xinhua reported that similar kidney-stone cases have also surfaced in central China's Hubei province, and in Shaanxi province in the north. It said that parents of some affected babies said they bought the milk at sharply discounted prices."
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSPEK34255620080911
Reuters September 11, 2008
Baby dies as new milk powder scare spreads across China
"Traces of cyanuramide, which can cause kidney stones, were found in Sanlu-brand milk formula, the Ministry of Health said late on Thursday. The Sanlu Group issued an immediate recall of milk formula made before Aug 6."
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/11/content_9932520.htm
Xinhuanet.com September 11, 2008
China's Sanlu admits contamination of baby milk powder products
"Sanlu Group, a leading Chinese dairy producer, said it had found in its self-check that some of its baby milk powder products were contaminated by tripolycyanamide.
"It has decided to recall all the baby milk powder it had produced before Aug. 6 this year.
"Recently, quite a number of infant kidney stone cases were reported in Gansu and other provinces. Investigations showed that most of the baby patients had drank the Sanlu formula before.
"At least one baby in the northwest province had died as a result of kidney stones."
The most recent story is WSJ and they're the ones who bring up the Chinese government's suspicions the formula contains melamine.
Holy moly. I still say we should test some people food. Poor babies. :'(
That is beyond disgusting. The most powerless members of society. Babies and pets.
And still "they" say it's too expensive to do real protein testing. They want to stick to their 100+ year old nitrogen test. I see another round of letter writing in my future.
We now have CBC reporting that traces of melamine HAVE been found in the baby formula:
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/09/11/baby-powder-china.html
CBC News September 11, 2008
Chinese baby dies, formula scare spreads to other provinces
"Traces of contamination have been found in a brand of baby formula that may have killed one baby in China and sickened others with kidney stones, health officials said Thursday.
"Traces of melamine (cyanuramide), which can cause kidney stones, were found in Sanlu-brand milk formula, the country's health ministry said.
"Sanlu, a Chinese dairy company, has recalled formula made before Aug. 6. A spokesperson for Sanlu said the company is investigating whether counterfeit formula was mislabelled.
"Doctors in China's northwestern Gansu province said it is rare for babies to develop kidney stones, never mind 14 cases at once, the official Xinhua news agency and China Daily reported.
"Since then, cases have emerged at two other hospitals in Gansu, as well six other provinces in central, eastern and northern China, Xinhua said.
"One baby with kidney stones has reportedly died but there is no clear link to the milk powder, the news agency quoted a Gansu provincial health department spokesman as saying.
"Health officials in Gansu were aware of the potential risks since July 16, Xinhua said. No explanation was given for the delay in disclosure.
"Kidney stones are masses of salts or minerals that crystallize in the kidney. If the stones become large enough to stop the flow of urine from the kidney, they need to be removed surgically or by other methods.
"In 2004, at least 13 babies in China's eastern Anhui province died after they drank fake formula that investigators said had no nutritional value. The deaths prompted food and health investigations and international concern.
"Last year, the former head of China's food and drug administration was executed for taking bribes to approve untested medicine.
"Also last year, Canada's food watchdog said it had intercepted a shipment of corn gluten from China that tested positive for melamine. Canadian fish farms and pet foods have also been affected by melamine contamination."
Thinking about it, babies get the same formula every day, just as pets got the same daily food and the melamine could be used to falsify the protein content of the formula, just as it was in the "wheat gluten" and "rice protein concentrate".
Just awful!!
well, the powers that be did not react the way they should have with "our canaries in the coal mine" and I for one knew something like this would happen sooner or later.... >:(
Wonder if this will make the mainstream media here in the US...and help to make changes sonner rather than later!
I have forwarded Menusux' links to CNN. I feel that anything with protein in it is suspect. :'(
http://chemicalland21.com/industrialchem/organic/Melamine.htm
"MELAMINE also called Cyanuramide, or Triaminotriazine, a colourless, is a crystalline substance belonging to the family of heterocyclic organic compounds, which are used principally as a starting material for the manufacture of synthetic resins. Melamine is manufactured by heating dicyandiamide under pressure. Its most important reaction is the forming resinous compounds of high molecular weight, with formaldehyde. These resins form under the influence of heat but, once formed, are insoluble and infusible. Usually formulated with fillers and pigments, they are molded into dishes, containers, utensils, handles, and the like or used as laminating agents or coating materials for wood, paper, and textiles. Formica and Melmac are well-known trade names for products based on melamine resins. Butylated melamine resins, made by incorporating butyl alcohol into the melamine-formaldehyde reaction mixture, are fluids used as ingredients of paints and varnishes."
This certainly should make the MSM! I don't have time to read things now, but this is TERRIBLE!
I emailed this to Marion Nestle....she authored that book--Pet Food Politics and invited her to come read here!
WTF?! This is outrageous! Does China put melamine in every d--n thing they make? If there isnt a large public outcry over this, I will be even madder than I am already. And now I am even more worried about pet food if that was possible. :( >:( :'( :-X ???
Let me guess: some poor schmuck will be executed, the baby formula factory will be razed in the middle of the night and the FDA will issue a blurb about how there's no reason for concern, we have the safest food supply in the world...
I just e-mailed the links to newstips at the New York Times.
http://www.dairyreporter.com/Financial/Fonterra-s-stake-in-San-Lu-given-all-clear
Dairy Reporter April 6, 2006
"Fonterra (NZ), the world's biggest exporter of dairy products, said today that it has gained approval from the Chinese government for its purchase of a 43 per cent stake in dairy company San Lu.
"San Lu, which is based in Hebei province, is China's biggest milk-powder producer and one of the 'big six' Chinese dairies that control over half of China's fresh milk market.
"While San Lu is already a long-time customer of Fonterra's, the New Zealand group is keen to gain a greater foothold in China's rapidly growing dairy sector."
http://www.sanlu.com/en/SanLu.aspx?sortId=5&id=5&Is=4
SanLu Home Page
http://www.sanlu.com/en/ProductList.aspx?cid=23&Is=1
BeiBei Series Products--these are the formulas shown on their website. There's a lot "missing" on it--links for QC, aftermarket guarantees, etc., have no copy on them. The site provides no information as to if any of SanLu's products are exported, which one(s), if any, and what markets they might be exported to.
OK--more info from USA Today--
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-09-11-tainted-formula_N.htm
USA Today September 11, 2008
FDA: Melamine found in baby formula made in China
"Reports in Chinese newspapers say that Chinese infant formula has been linked to kidney problems in babies there because the formula contains melamine — the same industrial contaminant that poisoned thousands of dogs and cats in the USA in 2007.
"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that no U.S.-approved baby formula is manufactured in China. However there is a "grey market" for Chinese-made formula that is sometimes sold in Asian markets in the United States, says the agency's Siobhan DeLancey.
"Melamine is a by-product of plastic manufacturing. It can be used to mimic high-protein additives such as wheat and rice gluten.
"The FDA is preparing a Health Information Advisory on the problem and expects to release it later today."
BTW--baby formula is the ONLY food product FDA has legal authority to issue a recall on, as the laws stand now.
I find it interesting that the Reuters article which many newspapers will pick up, doesn't mention that cyanuramide is melamine (and all that entails). Is that deliberate or an accident? I have contacted Reuters to ask why the history of melamine has been left out.
Darn, darn, and double-darn! >:( I hate the fact that I am not at all surprised. Every bit of manufactured protein product is probably full of melamine. Look out for that hydrolyzed vegetable protein in sauces, mixes, and so forth!
I wonder how much baby formula in this country uses protein ingredients sourced in you-know-where.
I have had kidney stones. To think of a poor baby in the amount of pain that this causes is beyond horrible! It's the worst pain in the world, bar none. I wonder if that is what the poor pets with the melamine crystals suffered too. :'( :'( :'( :'(
Well another thing Im not understanding and anyone can jump in and correct me, but if its true that its "only" melamine in this baby formula, what else is in it that would be causing the crystals to formulate? Werent we told that melamine by itself wouldnt cause crystals? ??? Something isnt making sense here....
I thought of that too, Sandi. So it seems that either 1)there is also cyanuric acid in the formula, 2)there are other ingredients that can cause the crystal/stones to form with melamine, in addition to CA, or 3)the whole thing about "melamine alone doesn't do anything" is not true.
where is David Barboza...is he with the New York Times??
I just got the auto-reply back from the NYT.
"Your message will be evaluated and passed promptly to the appropriate editor. In some cases, we are able to follow up with individual replies, and we will certainly write or telephone if we need further information."
I wish I had a human being's e-mail there.
Quote from: catbird on September 11, 2008, 12:05:24 PM
I thought of that too, Sandi. So it seems that either 1)there is also cyanuric acid in the formula, 2)there are other ingredients that can cause the crystal/stones to form with melamine, in addition to CA, or 3)the whole thing about "melamine alone doesn't do anything" is not true.
I agree with your 3 theories. I just don't like the choices. :-\
Can't wait to hear what the FDA has to say...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melamine#Chronic_toxicity
Melamine-Wikipedia
"Ingestion of melamine may lead to reproductive damage, or bladder or kidney stones, which can lead to bladder cancer.[14][19][20][21][22]
"A study in 1953 reported that dogs fed 3% melamine for a year had the following changes in their urine: (1) reduced specific gravity, (2) increased output, (3) melamine crystalluria, and (4) protein and occult blood.[23]
"Wilson Rumbeiha, an associate professor in MSU's Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health, commenting on results from a survey commissioned by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians and designed and implemented by MSU toxicologists presented at the AAVLD's October 2007 meeting, said: "Unfortunately, these [melamine cyanurate] crystals don't dissolve easily. They go away slowly, if at all, so there is the potential for chronic toxicity."[24][25][26]
Leaving the Wikipedia citation numbers in this, as there are links to them on the Melamine Wikipedia page.
More-
USA Today (blog) September 11, 2008
Reports: Chinese company recalls tainted formula after babies fall ill
"Tests show that some of the formula was contaminated with melamine, the same industrial compound that poisoned thousands of pets last year in the United States, according to Shanghai Daily.
""This year, at least 59 kidney-stone cases in infants have been reported in Gansu and other provinces," the paper says. "Investigations showed that most of the baby patients had drunk the Sanlu formula."
"Xinhua, the state-run news agency, says Sanlu Group found traces of melamine, also known as tripolycyanamide, and is recalling all the "baby milk powder" it manufactured before Aug. 6. Shanghai Daily says about 700 tons of the formula is still in circulation.
"Melamine is a byproduct of plastic manufacturing. It can be used to mimic high-protein additives such as wheat and rice gluten. The FDA is preparing a Health Information Advisory on the problem and expects to release it within the next five hours.
""A spokesperson for Sanlu said the company is investigating whether counterfeit formula was mislabeled," CBC reports."
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h_0icROcE8vDvBdanXyvd0g600oQD934MUG80
Associated Press September 11, 2008
"Federal officials warned Thursday that tainted infant formula from China may be on sale at ethnic groceries in this country, even though it is not legally approved for importation.
"The Food and Drug Administration urged U.S. consumers to avoid all infant formula from China, after several brands sold in that country came under suspicion of being contaminated with melamine, a chemical used in plastics. Officials said there have been reports from China of babies developing serious kidney problems as a result.
""We're concerned that there may be some infant formula that may have gotten into the United States illegally and may be on the ethnic market," said Janice Oliver, deputy director of the FDA's food safety program. "No infant formula from China should be entering the United States, but in the past we have found it on at least one occasion."
"All U.S. brands of infant formula are safe, Oliver said. After hearing of the latest food safety scandal in China, the FDA checked with formula manufacturers here to determine if they were receiving any ingredients from that country. They were not.
""We want to assure the American public there is no threat of contamination to the domestic supply," said Oliver.
"There have been no reports of illnesses in the U.S., but officials are concerned that some Chinese formula may be on sale at ethnic groceries, particularly in places like New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Boston that have large populations of Chinese immigrants. The FDA is working with state officials to spread the word in immigrant communities.
"Melamine is the same chemical involved in a massive pet food recall last year. It is not supposed to be added to any food ingredients, but unscrupulous suppliers in China sometimes mix it in to make foodstuffs appear to be high in protein. Melamine is nitrogen rich, and standard tests for protein in bulk food ingredients measure levels of nitrogen."
Quote from: YesBiscuit! on September 11, 2008, 12:10:05 PM
Quote from: catbird on September 11, 2008, 12:05:24 PM
I thought of that too, Sandi. So it seems that either 1)there is also cyanuric acid in the formula, 2)there are other ingredients that can cause the crystal/stones to form with melamine, in addition to CA, or 3)the whole thing about "melamine alone doesn't do anything" is not true.
I agree with your 3 theories. I just don't like the choices. :-\
Can't wait to hear what the FDA has to say...
I heard back from the Reuters auto-responder. I phoned the links into USAToday. I've had better luck with them on the phone, than through e-mail. And they were really good about the pet food recall.
Another possibility: no "dilution factor" for the babies may have resulted in more serious side effects from consuming the melamine. Infants don't eat/drink anything but formula so whatever was the ratio of melamine to other ingredients in the formula - that's ALL they were getting. And considering that baby formula is kinda like protein powder for infants, the amount of melamine may have been very high.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-09/10/content_7014863.htm
China Daily September 10, 2008
"A hospital has received 14 kidney stone patients in the past two months, all were infants below 11 months, and the milk powder they drank was of the same brand, said a doctor with the hospital in Lanzhou, capital of northwest China's Gansu Province Wednesday.
"These infants shared the symptoms of being unable to pass urine, accompanied by vomiting, Zhang Wei, chief urology doctor of the No.1 Hospital of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) said.
""it was rare for babies to get kidney stones, let alone so many babies at the same time," said Zhang, a doctor with 22 years experience in urology, who received the first case on June 28.
"The infants, all from the remote countryside, drank the same brand of milk powder, much cheaper than the one on the market, said their parents.
"The provincial Public Health Bureau told Xinhua that it had investigated, but didn't give specific figure of how many infants were involved."
So we see that these children were under a year old and probably had been drinking the tainted milk powder for a matter of months. We also see that the particular brand of formula was considered to be least expensive compared to other available brands. This sounds SO dreadfully familiar.
I emailed my local news (among too many to count others) just in case they won't cover it---I stressed how this may be in some Asiam markets in the city....I hope this gets picked up by the news tonight! >:(
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/09/11/baby-powder-china.html
Tainted Chinese baby formula may be on sale in U.S., FDA says
Last Updated: Thursday, September 11, 2008 | 3:10 PM ET Comments5Recommend11CBC News
Chinese baby formula contaminated with melamine may be for sale in ethnic grocery stores in the U.S., officials with the Food and Drug Administration warned Thursday.
All U.S. brands of formula are safe, the FDA said, and no Chinese brands are approved for export to the U.S.
But it's possible that ethnic grocers may be selling formula from China, particularly in cities with large populations of Chinese immigrants.
What a sad, terrible thing. :'(
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on September 11, 2008, 01:25:26 PM
All U.S. brands of formula are safe, the FDA said, and no Chinese brands are approved for export to the U.S.
Somehow, I'm not getting a warm and fuzzy feeling. :(
Quote from: JustMe on September 11, 2008, 01:36:15 PM
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on September 11, 2008, 01:25:26 PM
All U.S. brands of formula are safe, the FDA said, and no Chinese brands are approved for export to the U.S.
Somehow, I'm not getting a warm and fuzzy feeling. :(
Me neither, but how would these show up in the US in the ethnic grocery store then?? ???
Something about a gray market. Imports not inspected and mislabeled? A technique used before.
Did ChemNutra import the wheat gluten labelled as "textiles"? And, of course, less than 1% are inspected. :P
Quote from: Arlo on September 11, 2008, 01:53:18 PM
Did ChemNutra import the wheat gluten labelled as "textiles"? And, of course, less than 1% are inspected. :P
Yes, I remember that one of the factors was that it was labeled as a "non-food" item. I'm sure that happens all the time.
There is NO EXCUSE for this happening over and over again. And I agree that the most innocent and dependent among us are being targeted ~ infants and animals.
I'm too angry for words! >:(
Better definition of "grey" market:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_market
more profit to be had in the US.
Quote from: Sandi K on September 11, 2008, 12:01:55 PM
Well another thing Im not understanding and anyone can jump in and correct me, but if its true that its "only" melamine in this baby formula, what else is in it that would be causing the crystals to formulate? Werent we told that melamine by itself wouldnt cause crystals? ??? Something isnt making sense here....
We had this posted during the pet food crisis. Melamine degrades into cyanuric acid. So where you have melamine, you can under the right conditions simutaneously have cyanuric acid.
http://umbbd.msi.umn.edu/atr/atr_map.html
http://umbbd.msi.umn.edu/tria/tria_map.html
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3183/2849454600_0fb326d2ae.jpg)
more fun facts: http://www.answers.com/topic/melamine
I wonder if there will be reports that clarify this issue for us since this is a human food.
I hope so.
http://itchmoforums.com/your-problems-with-pet-food/warning-making-accusations-or-claims-about-pet-food-t418.0.html
Do report what you find, but be accurate and fair.
We should let you know that if you are claiming something negative about a product (IE: Product X contains poisons, or uses roadkill) please make sure that you state either "I believe" or provide evidence of the claim. Your opinions are totally fine as long as you don't claim something not true as a fact. As you may know, many pet food companies visit this site and we would hate for you or us to be sued by what's posted here. We hate having to remove anyone's posts. We also don't want to cause unsubstantiated panic.
Itchmo or any of our admins will not be responsible for unsubstantiated comments.
Thank you!
ITCHMO ADMIN
I merely offer it for consideration, Don, since melamine was found in the infant formula and I believe in the recalled food and feed. For me it is something to keep in mind as there were levels of all four compounds found in the hog and chicken feed from way back when. It's only one possible explanation for the simultaneous occurence. I don't know what the degradation catalyst would be, but I wouldn't rule one out because I don't know.
Everyone who lives in a community with an ethnic Asian market could try to purchase some of this
product for potential testing by an independent lab which could then provide some answers before the
evidence is removed from the shelves.
Sanlu-brand milk formula
BeiBei Series Products
Can anyone help with better product identification?
Both recalled and pre-recall samples would be needed, if possible.
Oh 3Cat, thats a great idea. We dont have any such stores where I live but I will still check the regular stores just in case....
PetConnection is running this story too thanks to one of our Itchmonians...... ;)
http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2008/09/11/toxic-baby-formula-gee-who-could-have-guessed/#comments
Just noticed this from September 10:
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/09/10/baby-powder-china.html?ref=rss
Sanlu, a Chinese dairy company, said its brand was used illegally and it has sent teams to investigate, the news agency said
So there's a possibility it's a counterfeit and then you're into black market goods.
http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/crime/20080331/4/2476
Knockoff, Incorporated:
Most counterfeits come from China, where experts believe that anywhere between two-thirds and 85 percent of all fake goods are manufactured
http://www.everydaycitizen.com/2007/05/conterfeit_food_simply_profita_1.html
Boric and benzoic acid, industrial dyes, fertilizers and pesticides, antibiotics, bad oil and sulfur dioxide are among the substances found in fresh and packaged foodstuffs throughout Asia.
3. Fake Milk in Chinese Baby Food.
As many as 200 babies died in China as a result of being fed counterfeit baby formula obtained from at least five Chinese food wholesalers. As many as 10 brands of baby formula contained less than 17% of the amount of protein listed on the label. Iron and zinc also were entirely absent in the formula, despite claims on the labels. Thousands of babies that were fed the formula lost weight rapidly and, oddly, ended up with bloated faces, masking the fact that they were becoming malnourished. The babies developed what Chinese doctors called "big head disease," causing their heads to swell while their bodies wasted away. More about the counterfeit milk powder here.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/05/10/health/main616432.shtml
Police have raided scores of markets, reportedly confiscating thousands of bags of fake milk powder made under 45 different brand names by 141 factories scattered across China.
Perhaps old counterfeiters don't change much, and government regulators have not been able to improve the situation.
Quote from: Don Earl on September 11, 2008, 04:40:55 PM
If memory serves me correctly, crystals are more likely to form under acidic conditions, although I don't know if that plays a role in babies or not. Numerous articles I've run across refute the theory melamine could degrade to cyanuric acid as a part of the body's normal metabolism.
My thoughts were more along the line of the melamine degrading before consumption and possibly addition to food==by bacteria and/or heat. Conversely, I have read that raw cyanuric acid often contains melamine and the two other deaminations, but I can not find the link now. The chart I posted shows a well-established degradation pathway, note the blue arrow. Soil bacteria can does this.
Babies do have different systems when under 6 months old. Stomach acids are weaker, but bacteria levels are higher, so maybe there is a conversion link there. This explains it in terms of nitrite poisoning in infants:
http://www.p2pays.org/ref/20/19714.htm
"Until infants reach about six months of age, their digestive system secretes lower amounts of gastric acid and the pH level in their digestive system is higher than most adults. Adults with a diminished capability to secrete gastric acid also can experience a rise in pH in their digestive system. In both situations, bacteria can proliferate, increasing the transformation of nitrate to nitrite."
Looks like CBS picked up the story.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/11/ap/health/main4442082.shtml
5CatMom
=^..^=
http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/GoodBadUgly.html
;)
We have an Asian market in Cherry Hill NJ. I have mil duty tomorrow,won't be able to go til Saturday at the earliest. If anyone else in this area can go earlier its in the Barclay Farms shopping center on Rt 70.
Xinhuan News reports that SanLu discovered the contamination of their product when doing what seem to be internal QC checks:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/11/content_9932520.htm
Xinhuanet.com September 11, 2008
China's Sanlu admits contamination of baby milk powder products
"Sanlu Group, a leading Chinese dairy producer, said it had found in its self-check that some of its baby milk powder products were contaminated by tripolycyanamide.
"It has decided to recall all the baby milk powder it had produced before Aug. 6 this year.
"Recently, quite a number of infant kidney stone cases were reported in Gansu and other provinces. Investigations showed that most of the baby patients had drank the Sanlu formula before.
"At least one baby in the northwest province had died as a result of kidney stones."
I'd believe the "self-check" referred to in the story is the company's own in-house QC testing on product which definitely was produced by SanLu. This makes it appear that the contamination may have come via a supplier or suppliers to SanLu, just as it happened with the vegetable proteins.
That would eliminate the counterfeit theory if admitted by the manufacturer. Says nothing about the suppliers, I agree.
Keep trying for those product samples, even if only in the Asian aisle of the grocery store. You never know.
This story was on our local news at 6 pm with a caution not to buy baby formula at ethnic markets.
Well at least they are admitting it could be over here. That's a start. It would be really bad if babies here got sick or died because they went through the usual runaround of no danger, not a problem here.
This news source is unfamiliar to me:
http://www.gorkhapatra.org.np/detail.php?article_id=6612&cat_id=4
However, although Xinhua first reported the problem this week, it said health officials in remote northwestern Gansu province — where one baby died — had known of the potential risks since July 16.
Hi, I am a U.S. citizen currently residing in China. My husband and I moved to China 1 month ago when he accepted a position to teach here. We have a 6 month old daughter. Earlier today I received a call from family members in the U.S. telling me about the tainted baby formula. Obviously, I am very concerned. While looking for additional information on the internet, I happened across this site and honestly, it contains the most comprehensive and up-to-date informaiton I have been able to find. I am not sure if anyone can answer my questions but I figured this was a good place to start. I am currently feeding my daughter Similac Advance, however, I believe it is manufactured here in China because it does not have an import label on it and the writing on the can is all in Chinese. I discovered that Abbott (producers of Similac brand) do have offices in China and other countries as well. I have been unable to find out where Abbott obtains the milk powder that it uses to produce its Chinese brand of Similac. It seems unlikley that it would import U.S. made milk powder. Could it be getting its milk powder from the same supplier as Sanlu (company who has been implicated by news reports with producing baby formula tainted with melamine)? News reports have indicated that the FDA has checked with U.S. formula manufacturers to see if they were receiving ingredients from China and...apparently none were. As far as Abbott and Similac are concerned, does that mean that they don't receive ingredients from China ONLY for formulas manufactured in the U.S. or for ALL of the formulas they produce worldwide? It seems unlikey that they would import U.S. produced ingredients into China when there are several ingredient manufacturers here. Secondly, the FDA did not provide a list of formula manufacturers it checked with so can we be certain that they even checked with Abbott? Finally, news reports keep mentioning that "several" manufacturing companies have been implicated but only list Sanlu. I have been unable to find out which others they are referring to. Often times, one or two manufacturers produce the majority of products and just add different labels to them.
I would appreciate any feedback or info that anyone on this site can provide.
Devra
Hi dmorin02,
Welcome to Itchmo forums. Where do you live in China? A friend of mine travels to Taiwan several times each year, and enjoys it very much.
Abbott's Similac website provides a phone number: 800-232-7677
Are you able to call them via phone? If not, please let me know and I'll be happy to call them for you.
5CatMom
=^..^=
Welcome to itchmo, dmorin02. It's good that your family called you. There are several good researchers here that dig up a lot of information about recalls. The media here are picking up the story and may find out more details. Best wishes and stay tuned.
I read this morning of just melamine added to the formula....nothing else has been mentioned so why is this a problem if melamine is safe by itself??? I think this is a huge problem for the FDA's info we all got last year if this is melamine alone... >:(
and
welcome devra....alot of our great researchers are not awake yet!.....I am sure there will be posters trying to get answers for you and everyone else!
>:( http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-09/10/content_7014863.htm
this link states the first case was seen June 28...yup...just about right....3 months to make it public... >:(
It made the Yahoo front page.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080912/wl_nm/china_babies_dc
It says 700 metric tons of the fake milk powder in circulation.
on page 127 of Marion Nestle's book "Pet Food Politics" she writes that after indictments were handed down on ChemNutra and Suzhou Textiles and Mao Lijun (one of the managers) she contacted David Barboza to see what happened to Mao Lijun as Chinese officials had revoked the licenses of Xuzhou Anying and Binzhou Futian and vowed to pursue criminal proceedings against the managers......Barboza told Nestle that he had called Lijun and he answered his phone (Barboza believed) but he denied he was indeed Lijun and then hung up the phone....so why is he not in jail???
China must step up to the plate and prosecute these adulterers.....just saying they will proves nothing...the execution of the food and drug czar I think was just about propaganda...
I highly recommend reading this book now...especially with this melamine nightmare going on....and then passing it on to all your family and friends
Welcome, dmorin02. That sounds like a very scary situation not knowing if your baby's formula is part of this recall yet. Is there any way you can have some US formula shipped over by family or friendsuntil you can find out?
Since Similac is a supposed to be high quality product, they probably didn't buy from the place that produced the contaminated milk powder. Let's hope they have better quality control for theirs. A statement from the story that Arlo posted makes it sound like it was a lower quality, cheaper product that was affected:
"The problem formula had been sold in mainly poor and remote regions at much lower prices than usual, Xinhua said, citing parents whose children were affected."
Quote from: petslave on September 12, 2008, 06:55:13 AM
Since Similac is a supposed to be high quality product, they probably didn't buy from the place that produced the contaminated milk powder. Let's hope they have better quality control for theirs. A statement from the story that Arlo posted makes it sound like it was a lower quality, cheaper product that was affected:
I too hope that. OTOH it sounds a little like "store brand, cuts and gravy wet foods are the only ones affected"... :-\
I'm also wondering if this "milk powder" was sold as a single ingredient to other manufacturers to make other products to use in, say, baked goods, cream-based soups, creamy salad dressings, etc.??
Quote from: dmorin02 on September 12, 2008, 12:51:54 AM
Hi, I am a U.S. citizen currently residing in China. My husband and I moved to China 1 month ago when he accepted a position to teach here. We have a 6 month old daughter. Earlier today I received a call from family members in the U.S. telling me about the tainted baby formula. Obviously, I am very concerned. While looking for additional information on the internet, I happened across this site and honestly, it contains the most comprehensive and up-to-date informaiton I have been able to find. I am not sure if anyone can answer my questions but I figured this was a good place to start. I am currently feeding my daughter Similac Advance, however, I believe it is manufactured here in China because it does not have an import label on it and the writing on the can is all in Chinese. I discovered that Abbott (producers of Similac brand) do have offices in China and other countries as well. I have been unable to find out where Abbott obtains the milk powder that it uses to produce its Chinese brand of Similac. It seems unlikley that it would import U.S. made milk powder. Could it be getting its milk powder from the same supplier as Sanlu (company who has been implicated by news reports with producing baby formula tainted with melamine)? News reports have indicated that the FDA has checked with U.S. formula manufacturers to see if they were receiving ingredients from China and...apparently none were. As far as Abbott and Similac are concerned, does that mean that they don't receive ingredients from China ONLY for formulas manufactured in the U.S. or for ALL of the formulas they produce worldwide? It seems unlikey that they would import U.S. produced ingredients into China when there are several ingredient manufacturers here. Secondly, the FDA did not provide a list of formula manufacturers it checked with so can we be certain that they even checked with Abbott? Finally, news reports keep mentioning that "several" manufacturing companies have been implicated but only list Sanlu. I have been unable to find out which others they are referring to. Often times, one or two manufacturers produce the majority of products and just add different labels to them.
I would appreciate any feedback or info that anyone on this site can provide.
Devra
Welcome Devra!
Hope we have some answers here. FDA is telling people to avoid all formulas made in China:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/2008174686_taintedform12.html
Seattle Times/Associated Press September 12, 2008
"FDA officials urged U.S. consumers to avoid all infant formula from China, after several brands sold in that country came under suspicion of being contaminated with melamine, a chemical used in plastics".
Then the article continues--
"After hearing of the latest food-safety scandal in China, the FDA checked with six U.S.-approved formula manufacturers —
Abbott Nutrition, Mead Johnson Nutritionals, Nestlé USA, PBM Nutritionals, Solus Products and SHS/Nutricia. None receives formula or ingredients from China."This would apply to the products which are made for sale in the US, obviously. You are right about the possibility that products made elsewhere by these companies for sale other than in the US may have Chinese ingredients in them--we don't know. Abbott would have the answer about the Similac your daughter's using. You may learn that while a brand is sold in China with packaging for the Chinese market, it may have been made in the US for that market.
Since you're a US citizen in China, my suggestion would be to get in touch with the US Embassy or a nearby US Consulate for assistance with some further answers. The embassy or consulate may either have the answer or be able to get in touch with Abbott, et. al. to get answers for you and for all other Americans in China with small children. My thought would be that getting in touch with them would be a big help for all those who have a similar situation; the Embassy can then advise all US citizens what formulas they consider safe.
Hope this will help you find more answers!
Quote from: Carol on September 12, 2008, 04:27:43 AM
>:( http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-09/10/content_7014863.htm
this link states the first case was seen June 28...yup...just about right....3 months to make it public... >:(
Well, I was wrong...it has been 6 months according to this.... >:( >:(
http://www.chinastakes.com/story.aspx?id=656
But questions are being raised about the company's innocence in the matter. Sanlu claims now that it found out in March that its products were contaminated and has been making efforts to call them back, but until yesterday morning it was still saying that its products had no problem at all. And the alacrity with which the local government joined the company in laying all the blame on local milk suppliers is also suspect. Sanlu is a major player in the local economy. A major investigation by legal authorities is certainly called for.
Quote from: Carol on September 12, 2008, 08:28:52 AM
Well, I was wrong...it has been 6 months according to this.... >:( >:(
http://www.chinastakes.com/story.aspx?id=656
But questions are being raised about the company's innocence in the matter. Sanlu claims now that it found out in March that its products were contaminated and has been making efforts to call them back, but until yesterday morning it was still saying that its products had no problem at all. And the alacrity with which the local government joined the company in laying all the blame on local milk suppliers is also suspect. Sanlu is a major player in the local economy. A major investigation by legal authorities is certainly called for.
OK so let me get this straight, they knew about this since March and have been making so-called efforts to call them back but yet there are still 700 metric tons of this stuff out there? Wow great job. NOT. Do we know what other products, if any, this company makes and whether they sell them to the U.S.? Im getting pretty nervous about other things that might be affected that we dont know about too.
I am concerned about that, too, SandiK. Fonterra, the New Zealand based company mentioned in the Yahoo article as partial owner, exports a lot of dairy products to the US. Do they export products made in China to the US? I don't know.
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Fonterra-CoOperative-Group-Ltd-Company-History.html
"...The Group's top exports included whole milk powder, cheese, skim milk powder, butter, casein, anhydrous milk fat, liquid milk and cream, buttermilk powder, prepared edible fat, and lactalbumin...."
"...Fonterra aims for global dairy industry leadership. The Group strives to be the lowest cost supplier of commodity dairy products, the leading price and inventory manager in the global commodity market, an effective developer of dairy ingredients partnerships in selected markets, a leading specialty milk components innovator and solutions provider, a leading consumer nutritional milks marketer, and to be a leading dairy marketer to foodservice in key markets...."
I called that 800 number for Similac. I am waiting to hear back as to whether they use Fonterra products, and if so, where they come from.
Just some more info about the company, so far Im not finding any thing that indicates other products besides the milk stuff...
http://english.sjzchina.com/art/2007/12/07/art_25655_215516.html
Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group
Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group is a large enterprise group which combines milk cow feeding, milk product processing and scientific study and development into one system. It is one of three largest milk product enterprises in China. It is also one of the largest enterprises specially supported by Hebei province.
There are 13 milk product production enterprises in the group. The products are ingredient milk powder, milk liquid, milk drink and cold drink and snack, totally 8 series and 136 kinds of products. In 2001, 50,000 tons of milk powder were produced which realized sales income of RMB 2360 million and profit tax of RMB277 million. Since 1993, Sanlu milk powder production and sales capacity have been No. 1 in China for 9 year. It is sold well in 31 provinces, cities and autonomous regions in China. The production and sales volumes of lactic acid bacteria drink in 2001 have also ranked the first in China. In 1998, Sanlu brand was valued RMB 1.39825 billion through the estimated of authoritative institutions. In the same year, the enterprise obtained the IS09002 International Quality System Certificate. In 1999, Sanlu brand was rewarded as Chinese Famous Brand. In 2001, Sanlu milk powder was considered as the Safe Food and one of the 20 Famous Brands of Chinese Food Industry.
Since 1990, the enterprise has been approved by the state to gain over 30 state reputations such as, May 1 Labor Medal Advanced Basic Party Organization, one of China Top Ten Enterprises of Light Industry, Advanced Enterprise of Quality management, China Excellent Enterprise of Sci-Tech Progress in Food Industry, Quality Efficient Advanced Enterprise of China Food Industry, one of the 20 Key Food Enterprises of China Agricultural Industry.
Fonterra owns a sizeable stake in SanLu. If you go to Fonterra's main website, you'll get a global map--
http://www.fonterra.com/wps/wcm/connect/fonterracom/fonterra.com/home/fonterra+world+map/
For the US, here's what's listed as to what they do here in their manufacturing sites--they have 8 of them in the US.
DairiConcepts - Allerton
DairiConcepts is a 50/50 joint venture between Fonterra and Dairy Farmers of America, the world's largest co-operative. With nine manufacturing sites across the USA, including a large Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) plant, DairiConcepts specialises in producing cost-effective, high quality cheese and dairy powders, cheese concentrates, functional dairy replacement systems and hard Italian cheeses. The company also supplies dairy ingredients to some of America's leading brands.
DairiConcepts - Bruce
DairiConcepts is a 50/50 joint venture between Fonterra and Dairy Farmers of America, the world's largest co-operative. With nine manufacturing sites across the USA, including a large Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) plant, DairiConcepts specialises in producing cost-effective, high quality cheese and dairy powders, cheese concentrates, functional dairy replacement systems and hard Italian cheeses. The company also supplies dairy ingredients to some of America's leading brands.
DairiConcepts - Chili
DairiConcepts is a 50/50 joint venture between Fonterra and Dairy Farmers of America, the world's largest co-operative. With nine manufacturing sites across the USA, including a large Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) plant, DairiConcepts specialises in producing cost-effective, high quality cheese and dairy powders, cheese concentrates, functional dairy replacement systems and hard Italian cheeses. The company also supplies dairy ingredients to some of America's leading brands.
DairiConcepts - Eldorado Springs
DairiConcepts is a 50/50 joint venture between Fonterra and Dairy Farmers of America, the world's largest co-operative. With nine manufacturing sites across the USA, including a large Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) plant, DairiConcepts specialises in producing cost-effective, high quality cheese and dairy powders, cheese concentrates, functional dairy replacement systems and hard Italian cheeses. The company also supplies dairy ingredients to some of America's leading brands
DairiConcepts - Greenwood
DairiConcepts is a 50/50 joint venture between Fonterra and Dairy Farmers of America, the world's largest co-operative. With nine manufacturing sites across the USA, including a large Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) plant, DairiConcepts specialises in producing cost-effective, high quality cheese and dairy powders, cheese concentrates, functional dairy replacement systems and hard Italian cheeses. The company also supplies dairy ingredients to some of America's leading brands.
DairiConcepts - Hummelstown
DairiConcepts is a 50/50 joint venture between Fonterra and Dairy Farmers of America, the world's largest co-operative. With nine manufacturing sites across the USA, including a large Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) plant, DairiConcepts specialises in producing cost-effective, high quality cheese and dairy powders, cheese concentrates, functional dairy replacement systems and hard Italian cheeses. The company also supplies dairy ingredients to some of America's leading brands.
DairiConcepts - Pollock
DairiConcepts is a 50/50 joint venture between Fonterra and Dairy Farmers of America, the world's largest co-operative. With nine manufacturing sites across the USA, including a large Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) plant, DairiConcepts specialises in producing cost-effective, high quality cheese and dairy powders, cheese concentrates, functional dairy replacement systems and hard Italian cheeses. The company also supplies dairy ingredients to some of Americas leading brands.
DairiConcepts - Portales
DairiConcepts is a 50/50 joint venture between Fonterra and Dairy Farmers of America, the world's largest co-operative. With nine manufacturing sites across the USA, including a large Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) plant, DairiConcepts specialises in producing cost-effective, high quality cheese and dairy powders, cheese concentrates, functional dairy replacement systems and hard Italian cheeses. The company also supplies dairy ingredients to some of America's leading brands.
DairiConcepts - Springfield
DairiConcepts is a 50/50 joint venture between Fonterra and Dairy Farmers of America, the world's largest co-operative. With nine manufacturing sites across the USA, including a large Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) plant, DairiConcepts specialises in producing cost-effective, high quality cheese and dairy powders, cheese concentrates, functional dairy replacement systems and hard Italian cheeses. The company also supplies dairy ingredients to some of America's leading brands.
It looks like they're using US-source milk and milk products only.
Fonterra US Brands--Anchor and Fernleaf Milk
Switching to Asia on the map-
San Lu - Baoding
Fonterra's joint venture with leading Chinese dairy company San Lu Group is helping to meet growing consumer demand for dairy products in China. The partnership formally commenced in June 2006 and operates 21 sites across China, manufacturing Ultra Heat Treated (UHT) milk and yoghurt as well as a variety of milk powder products in sachets and cans.
This is the same story re: what's produced for all of the SanLu/Fonterra manufacturing sites in China.
Fonterra Asia/China Brands--Perfect Italiano Cheese, Anchor Mile, Fernleaf Milk, Anlene Yogurt and Milk, Anmum Milk Powders
ANMUM is our brand of milk powders for pregnant and breast-feeding women as well as children over one year of age. ANMUM is formulated with essential nutrients such as Sialic Acid (SA), DHA, Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) and iron. These nutrients are scientifically shown to play a role in the brain development of your child. ANMUM is available in: Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. Asia
http://anmum.com/main.php?m=Content&f=article&id=113
My belief would be that in China, Fonterra/SanLu uses Chinese suppliers, just as it appears to use US suppliers for its products sold here.
Devra, hi, I can't imagine how difficult the situation you find yourself and your child in
must be. In addition to making other suggested inquiries, I have had good results going directly
to the retail managers of grocery stores, asking them direct questions, in this case about Similac
ingredients and where they're from, asking them to contact distributors if they don't have answers,
who in turn have direct distributor contact with company representatives in, in this case, China
if they don't have the answers. That might be the direct approach fastest answers you can get about
ingredients in Similac distributed in China. Please let us know what you find out and
how you're doing.
"The company also supplies dairy ingredients to some of America's leading brands." I just don't get a safe
feeling from seeing this mantra repeated for Fonterra partnerships. For all we know, the cost savings are
achieved by importing ingredients from elsewhere and packaging them in the US, as the pet food companies
did. It's the milk and cheese protein concentrate, dairy and cheese powders reference that I wonder about.
Is anyone familiar with the Anchor brand and the Fernleaf brand in local grocery stores? Milk and cheese products.
There is no list of American company brands supplied to on the Fonterra website that I can find. Yet Fonterra
claims to have about one-third, I think, of the international dairy market. At this point, I believe I'd like to
know what American brands out of an abundance of caution.
http://consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/09/chinese_formula.html
Ever since this story started breaking yesterday, this has been stuck in my head, so I suppose it's time to let it out (again):
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/content.asp?contentid=172182
New Food Defense Policies Won't Stop At Pet Food
Cattle Network October 29, 2007
"In view of growing concerns about the safety of U.S. imports, no fewer than 13 bills relating to food safety are in play in Congress, Nancy Cook, vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based Pet Food Institute, told attendees of the Meat Industry Research Conference at Chicago's McCormick Place.
""Some involve inspections, others certification, penalties, record keeping and country-of-origin labeling. It's not going to stop at pet food, either," she said, acknowledging last spring's massive recalls of melamine-laced pet food. "Have we figured out how to put a COOL label on a Hershey bar? It's about 10 feet long."
"She warned that U.S. legislators and others involved in trade negotiations with China, the source of the melamine, "must walk a tightrope. We can't insult them. They're our largest growing supplier of ingredients in the world."
Wonder if this remains her opinion in light of recent news. ???
From FDA Website-
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01883.html
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 12, 2008
FDA Issues Health Information Advisory on Infant Formula
In response to reports of contaminated milk-based infant formula manufactured in China, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today is issuing a Health Information Advisory. This is to assure the American public that there is no known threat of contamination in infant formula manufactured by companies that have met the requirements to sell infant formula in the United States. Although no Chinese manufacturers of infant formula have fulfilled the requirements to sell infant formula in the United States, FDA officials are investigating whether or not infant formula manufactured in China is being sold in specialty markets which serve the Asian community.
The FDA is advising caregivers not to feed infant formula manufactured in China to infants. This should be replaced with an appropriate infant formula manufactured in the United States as mentioned below. Individuals should contact their health care professional if they have questions regarding their infant's health or if they note changes in their infant's health status.
The FDA began investigating the reports of contamination immediately and received information from the companies who manufacture infant formula for the American market that they are not importing infant formula or source materials from China. The following manufacturers have met the necessary FDA requirements for marketing milk-based infant formulas in the United States: Abbott Nutritionals, Mead Johnson Nutritionals, Nestle USA, PBM Nutritionals, and Solus Products LLC. Also, one manufacturer, SHS/Nutricia, Liverpool, England, markets an amino acid based exempt infant formula that does not contain any milk-derived ingredients.
We are asking state officials to work with the Agency to assist with the removal of any Chinese infant formula found on store shelves, and to warn members of the Asian community to avoid using Chinese manufactured infant formula.
It has been reported that a number of infants in China who have consumed Chinese manufactured infant formula are suffering from kidney stones, a condition which is rare in infants. The Chinese manufactured infant formula may be contaminated with melamine. Melamine artificially increases the protein profile of milk and can causes kidney diseases such as those seen in these Chinese infants.
FDA requires that all infant formula manufacturers register with the Agency and adhere to specific labeling and nutritional requirements. All properly registered infant formula manufacturers marketing infant formula in the United States undergo an annual inspection of their production facilities.
The story is in the NYT now.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/13/world/asia/13milk.html?hp
"...The official Xinhua news agency cited Zhao Xinchao, the vice mayor of Shijiazhuang, in Hebei Province, where Sanlu is based, as saying that the police have already questioned 78 people, including dairy farmers and milk dealers. The police suspect that some of them may have diluted milk with water so as to increase the total volume for sale to Sanlu, and then added melamine to disguise the dilution, Mr. Zhao told the news agency....Contamination with melamine is especially embarrassing for the Chinese authorities. Pet food made from Chinese ingredients contaminated with melamine killed thousands of pets last year in the United States, and the Chinese government promised at the time that it would prevent melamine from entering food products for people..."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10531877
NZ Herald September 12, 2008
Fonterra partner recalls baby formula over chemical
"Chinese company Sanlu Group, in which Fonterra owns a 43 per cent stake, has recalled milkpowder linked to babies falling seriously ill in China.
"The South China Morning Post today reported Sanlu Group admitted it had found the chemical tripolycyanamide in its infant formula.
Sanlu-branded milkpowder has been linked to babies in seven Chinese provinces falling seriously ill with kidney stones, but until now Sanlu had claimed the problem lay with counterfeit product.
"The same chemical was found in tainted pet food that sickened or killed thousands of dogs and cats in 2007. The chemical can be used to manufacture fertiliser and melamine plastics, but also has a high nitrogen content which increases the apparent protein levels when foods are tested for nutritional value.
""We have been advised that Sanlu has had a quality issue in its products as a result of receiving defective milk in China," a Fonterra spokesman said.
"Fonterra said it understands the contaminated product is only sold in China, though Sanlu exports a small amount to Taiwan.
So we see this is a lot like what happened to the vegetable proteins and quite similar to the contaminated heparin.
With the wheat gluten" and "rice protein concentrate", the suppliers were trying to make them appear more protein rich than they were to get a higher price for them. By adding the oversulfated chondroitin to the heparin, suppliers were able to make money by using that to "stretch" the amount of higher-priced heparin they were selling. It looks like the melamine in the milk powder was a lot like them both.
Quote from: Arlo on September 12, 2008, 12:01:08 PM
"The police suspect that some of them may have diluted milk with water so as to increase the total volume for sale to Sanlu, and then added melamine to disguise the dilution, Mr. Zhao told the news agency...."
Would this even work? Many powders (don't know about melamine) wouldn't fully dissolve in watered down milk. It would so easily noticeable with the naked eye I would think.
Quote from: menusux on September 12, 2008, 11:45:04 AM
"She warned that U.S. legislators and others involved in trade negotiations with China, the source of the melamine, "must walk a tightrope. We can't insult them. They're our largest growing supplier of ingredients in the world."[/b]
Wonder if this remains her opinion in light of recent news. ???
I hope I am just being cynical, but considering what we allow in our food produced here in the US and elsewhere, I bet her opinion remains. As does that of the government and industry. My DH, who is a pharmacist, said if the FDA was actually serious about human health, they would ban hydrogenated fats immediately. There is so much evidence against them. And then they would start working their way on down the list and testing the hundreds or thousands of additives that have never even been tested for human safety. This statement is in no way, shape, or form, meant to diminish this current crisis or any other. All of it is indefensible...unthinkable even, by all but a very few. But this is the way things have gotten. We had the post before about toxic waste being fed to livestock legally, and look at this. It is all legal. The illnesses these practices cause can not be attributed directly to the toxins because there are too many of them and no real controls. But we all know these things must cause long-term illness.
http://www.arkinstitute.com/AmericasFarmlands.html
QuoteIt would so easily noticeable with the naked eye I would think.
Melamine in the wheat gluten was visible, but it got used anyway. It looked like gray and white chunks in a beige powder. I am thinking workers are trained not to ask questions.
What if you diluted the milk and then made it into a milk powder? The diluted milk powder would have less protein in it than powder made from undiluted milk. Then to disguise the lack of enough protein, you add melamine powder:
http://chemicalland21.com/industrialchem/organic/Melamine.htm
APPEARANCE------white powder
MELAMINE--------99.9% min
MOISTURE---------0.05% max
ASH---------------0.01% max
pH-----------------7.5 ~ 9.5 (5% sol.)
COLOR, APHA-------30max
PARTICLE DISTRIBUTION---90%(50 max) 100%(500 max)
PACKING-----------25kgs in bag and big bag
If you go back to the heparin story, you remember that the raw heparin was being produced in local workshops, often located in people's homes and often very unsanitary. It would seem that similar local workshops were given the job of producing milk powder from raw milk.
The more milk powder they can make, the more money they make also, so if they could find a way to make the raw material (raw milk) go further, they could make more milk powder and more money.
If you look back on the 2004 news story about children in China dying from malnutrition after being fed some baby formula(s) over a period of time, you see that they learned there was not enough protein in the counterfeit fomula. There was little to no nutritive value to the counterfeit formula at all. Looks like these people decided to falsify the protein content with melamine and believe they wouldn't be discovered.
I am still not understanding something about this though and that is they keep saying melamine is causing the problem in these infants and causes kidney disease. http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2008/safety08.htm But in this article about the pet food recalls, they are pretty clear that melamine by itself wasnt the problem so Im not understanding why the babies developed kidney problems if it was just melamine. http://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/86/8619sci3.html Are they meaning that it was melamine and its related compounds and just not saying that or do they really mean just melamine...... :-\
Sandi, I have the same question. :-\
I'm not getting it either :-[
And it is interesting to note that current AP articles on this situation refer to melamine as a "dangerous chemical" and a "toxic chemical."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080912/ap_on_re_as/china_baby_formula_recall;_ylt=AnQtUECd0uEjhg8n0g_EqrOs0NUE
What interests me too, is the pH of 7.5-9.5n this formula
Big difference from almost neutral to pretty damn alkaline.
Humans and animals are best served with a neutral pH.
This was the biggest problem I was having with Rufus was getting his pH down from 8+.
Peg, that is interesting about the PH.....
I have sent an e:mail to FDA to see if I can get an answer.....if others have any contacts, you might want to try those too. This is just not making sense to me.
This is some info on melamine: http://www.dsm.com/en_US/html/dmm/faq_page.htm
Is melamine safe?
Melamine is a stable, non-hazardous product. It has no acute or chronic toxic effects on human health. For more detailed information, see the Safety Data Sheet.
Remember that melamine was all that was announced after aminopterin was discounted...and then it was made public later on that they also found cyanuric acid as melamine was not known to be toxic by itself-but that was not released for a while....so melamine sort of stuck around as the "contaminant" when there were actually two (or more I think) and even now we still only see melamine mentioned with the pet food recall....so I think this is still early enough on so we will hear more of what is in there...If they announce it...so that is why it's important to keep asking "where's the other toxin"...
or
that the concentration of melamine in this formula is high and there is no dilution factor in these infants...probably most have nothing else to drink as they are so young... ??? So maybe melamine is not so non-toxic as previously thought?
Quote from: Carol on September 12, 2008, 01:44:29 PM
??? So maybe melamine is not so non-toxic as previously thought?
Wouldn't surprise me at all. It's happened time and time again that a substance is thought to be perfectly safe and then turns out to have serious bad effects.
I couldn't agree more.
Seems like suspicious chemicals in food are assumed to be safe - until illness (and worse) start to occur.
5CatMom
=^..^=
It looks like very little is known about melamine toxicity in humans or it's compounds:
http://www.answers.com/topic/melamine
Toxicity
Little is known with respect to melamine toxicity in human subjects. Animal studies have shown that melamine is not metabolized in rats, and is excreted unchanged.[13]
Chronic toxicity
Ingestion of melamine may lead to reproductive damage, or bladder or kidney stones, which can lead to bladder cancer.[18][14][19][20][21]
A study in 1953 reported that dogs fed 3% melamine for a year had the following changes in their urine: (1) reduced specific gravity, (2) increased output, (3) melamine crystalluria, and (4) protein and occult blood.[22]
http://www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_ChemUse.jsp?Rec_Id=PC35459#ChemID
check out all of the question marks.
OK, so why did FDA say melamine by itself wasn't toxic for our pets then? ???
More-
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j9TWJGihXFri_4iWWPS7iDjKrT5gD935DNA80
Associated Press September 12, 2008
China blames dairy farms for tainted baby formula
"Investigators believe dairy farmers added a dangerous chemical to milk that has been linked to kidney stones in dozens of babies and one death in China's latest product safety scandal.
"The government vowed "serious punishment" on Friday after China's biggest milk powder producer recalled 700 tons of baby formula. The official Xinhua News Agency said the powder was tainted with melamine, a toxic chemical used in plastics that contaminated pet food last year.
"U.S. authorities warned American consumers to avoid all Chinese infant formula. Although Chinese formula is not approved for import into the United States, it might be sold at ethnic grocery stores, the Food and Drug Administration said.
"A New Zealand company that owns a stake in the Chinese producer said it believed none of the powder was exported from China.
"The producer, Sanlu Group, knew about the contamination Aug. 6 but refrained from telling the public, said a company manager, Su Changsheng, quoted on the Web site of Caijing, a leading Chinese business magazine. Su said Sanlu kept silent because some grocers refused to return tainted powder.
"A separate Xinhua report said investigators believed dairy farmers were to blame. People who answered the phone at Sanlu said managers were not available to comment.
"Authorities are questioning 78 people suspected in the contamination, Xinhua said.
""The suspects added water to the milk they sold to Sanlu to make more money," Xinhua said, citing deputy mayor Zhao Xinchao of Shijiazhuang, the city where Sanlu is based. "They also added melamine so that the diluted milk could still meet standards."
"Su, the Sanlu manager, said the chemical might have been added to make the milk's protein content appear higher, according to Caijing. Melamine is nitrogen-rich, and standard tests for protein in bulk food ingredients measure levels of nitrogen.
"Those responsible will face serious punishment," said a Health Ministry spokesman, Mao Qunan, quoted by Xinhua.
"The tainted formula sent 59 babies in northwest China's Gansu province — most less than a year old — to the hospital and one baby died, Xinhua reported. Other cases were also being reported across the country.
"Investigators found melamine in the urine and kidney stones of the sick babies, Xinhua said, citing a government investigation team.
"Lu Yuan, a urologist with the No. 1 Hospital of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, told Xinhua that 14 sick babies were brought into her facility in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province.
""Most of the babies looked worn-out and had a fever when they arrived at the hospital. Some didn't produce any urine for two to three days and were in very serious condition," she was quoted as saying. She said eight babies remained hospitalized, while six had been treated and released.
"It was the second prominent case involving harmful baby formula in China in recent years. In 2004, more than 200 Chinese infants suffered malnutrition and at least 12 died after being fed phony formula that contained no nutrients. Some 40 companies were found to be making phony formula and 47 people were arrested.
"The reputation of Chinese exports was battered last year by deaths and injuries blamed on tainted toothpaste and other products. The incidents damaged faith abroad in Chinese goods and sparked an overhaul of its regulatory system.
"Sanlu has 18 percent of China's market for milk powder, according to government data. The company says it produces 6,800 tons of milk a day and buys milk from suppliers that include 60,000 farming households.
"Sanlu became the dairy supplier to China's space program in June and might provide milk for astronauts on the country's upcoming third manned space flight.
"The Health Ministry said Friday it was launching a nationwide investigation. It told local officials to report all possible cases and said it is "is urgently organizing experts to conduct research and treatment."
"The milk powder is sold in China under the name Sanlu Bei Bei Infant Powder.
""We understand that the product involved is only sold in China," Fonterra Co-operative Group, a New Zealand dairy farmers' group that owns 43 percent of Sanlu, said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press."
This speculation has been stuck in my head since this was announced, too. So I'm going to mention it
as strictly my opinion and concern for the recall parallels between this baby formula recall and the pet
food recalls of 2007.
We have another major food contamination based on melamine and/or other presently unknown possible contaminants
that inflate the protein value content in food, this time in human baby formula and perhaps other dairy products and
processed foods.
We have another previously little known company, claiming to be a large international player in the dairy product market, Fonterra,
with multiple plants in China and the United States, selling brands that I don't recall seeing throughout Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the Americas, and supplying ingredients to unnamed food manufacturers in those countries.
Is this company, Fonterra, playing a role similar to Menu Foods Income Fund as a co-processor of dairy products of dubious
quality, cut-rate store brands, cut-rate prepared foods in the US market using possibly imported and possibly contaminated
ingredients? The parallels are just eerily similar. If it turns out Fonterra supplies dry ingredients and other products to a lot of
cut-rate private label store brands and large popular processed US food manufacturers, I would be even more worried.
I was looking for this earlier, and it could explain how melamine and cyanuric acid are occuring together:
http://www.intox.org/databank/documents/chemical/cyanacd/cie286.htm
Crude cyanuric acid contains up to 30% impurities consisting of melamine and its precursors, biuret, triuret, ammelide and ammeline.(6)
And on the other hand:
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/tandf/tfac/2007/00000024/00000012/art00001
Crude melamine may contain several by-products, i.e. ammeline, ammelide, and cyanuric acid. The simultaneous analysis of all four chemicals is difficult because of the formation of an insoluble salt between melamine and cyanuric acid.
from the above article, this statement is interesting. Note cereal flours:
"Melamine has been used for the adulteration of cereal flours in order to increase their apparent protein content."
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/tandf/tfac/2007/00000024/00000012/art00001
Thanks for that info DMS....so Im wondering what that means for the cyanuric acid they found in my pre-recall food (level testing results still pending). Very interesting.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j9TWJGihXFri_4iWWPS7iDjKrT5gD935N7UG1
All I can say about the following article is " AMEN "
http://www.justicenewsflash.com/2008/09/13/too-many-recalls-too-many-consequences/
Too many recalls, too many consequences
September 13, 2008
"Washington, D.C. (JusticeNewsFlash.com – News Report) – Toys painted with toxic lead paint, melamine-tainted pet food, and toothpaste laced with antifreeze – what's next? Contaminated infant formula. It has gone too far. When does our nation finally say, "Stop, now you are harming our children"? Each of the recalled products has been made in Southern China's low-cost factories with the barest minimum of regulations."
From Carol's article:
"A Sanlu manager quoted by the newspaper Beijing News said the dairy received complaints in March and June but could not track down the problem.
"We finally imported foreign equipment in August and finally found the milk powder contained melamine," the manager, identified only by the surname Wang, was quoted as saying."
You would think in a country where the use of NPN is so widespread, they would not need to import equipment to test for it. Also, that it would be one of the first things to test for. Maybe it's not so clear to them to check NPN first with the huge number toxins added to products over there?
imo, why would one want to expose to public scrutiny a manufacturing practice that inflates
protein content and makes so much profit for industry in China or any other country using it?
Not to mention risk health liability.
Just a tidbit regarding melamine from an article on the pet food recall before they had it "solved" - thought it might be of interest to the discussion:
QuoteRichard Goldstein, associate professor of medicine at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, who is part of a Cornell team investigating the cause of death, says he would not normally expect melamine to kill a pet. Research on melamine's effects on animals is very limited: only a few dated studies have been done on dogs and just one on cats, which showed limited poisonous effects and no kidney damage. And melamine has a very low level of toxicity to rodents. "It looks like it [the melamine] is causing direct cell death in the kidneys and this is not something we would have expected to happen," says Goldstein. "I don't think it's pure melamine. Maybe there is some kind of reaction with the metabolism of melamine that would cause this."
Full article: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1607483,00.html
Well, it looks like some of the milk powder went to Taiwan consumers..
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2008/09/14/2003423175
We are concerned that some of the finished products [made from the toxic milk powder] have been sold to consumers..Lin Fang-yue, health minister
The department said local authorities were trying to locate 130 packs sold to Royal Fun Food Corp, which then sold them to other companies in Taipei County. A company in Pingtung has already sold the powder to farmers for agricultural purposes, while in Hualien 20 packs have beenused in other products, it said.
Two packs in Yunlin have been sold to a company in Chiayi, where some of the powder has been made into semi-finished products, the department said, adding that the products had been traced and sealed by authorities. Health officials have also traced and sealed 20 packs in Kaohsiung that were sold to a processed food factory in Changhua County and had been used in finished products such as milk coffee beverages.
The first of the reports that it was sold outside of China. Great.
Since this stuff is being used illegally to up protein results, it seems very likely it wouldn't be pure, clean melamine produced specifically to spike food while not causing any harm. If they ever test it out completely, there will probably be other ingredients in the "melamine", like those in the list DMS pointed out
Reports now say that 432 children are ill from the formula-
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j9TWJGihXFri_4iWWPS7iDjKrT5gD935Q0NO0
Associated Press September 13, 2008
"The official Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday that the dairy, Sanlu Group Col, was ordered to stop production as the number of sick babies rose to 432."
Another report says that this was kept quiet because of the Olympics:
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=13212&size=A
AsiaNews.it September 13, 2008
"At least since June, the harmful nature of the powdered milk from the company Sanlu had been denounced to the competent general administration for the supervision of quality, inspection, and quarantines. In July, a local TV station in Hunan talked about it, alarmed over the elevated number of children hospitalized with kidney stones. But everything was silenced to avoid scandals ahead of the Olympics, and the media were prohibited from even speaking about it.
Yesterday, many parents stood outside the main offices of the company in Shijiazhuang. When the executives refused to meet with them, the parents shouted that they are "child murderers"."
Looks like they conduct business there just as they do here. >:(
Over 400 babies sick because of the Olympics. Unbelievable.
I wonder if anything will be learned from this regarding choice of countries for future Olympics. Those countries in bad financial shape with numerous food, health, safety and environmental problems should maybe be left of the list in the future. It leads to too many desparate actions to clean up and look good for the time period they are the center of attention.
I wonder if anyone will be held accountable for any of this.
Quote from: petslave on September 13, 2008, 01:21:58 PM
Over 400 babies sick because of the Olympics. Unbelievable.
and one death according to some media reports:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/12/asia/13milk.php
why is this all so familiar???? >:(
Quote from: DMS on September 12, 2008, 08:45:13 PM
from the above article, this statement is interesting. Note cereal flours:
"Melamine has been used for the adulteration of cereal flours in order to increase their apparent protein content."
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/tandf/tfac/2007/00000024/00000012/art00001
From this link and the adulteration of flours with melamine would someone please be able to find out just how long this practice has gone on and what agency approved it? Also after all these years of ingesting this chemical how long would the cumulative effect be to make anyone of any age sick or quite possibly kill them? Just look at all our poor lil fur children that are now dead and some still just barely alive thanks to the care of their humans. How many products/foodstuffs/liquids (milk, juice etc.) is this added to and is in right now without anyone's knowledge? Whos behind the approval and addition of this? If I read that right from the link from DMS it is in all kinds of things and how many do we not know about or were never going to be told about til something like the canaries in the coal mines - the babies - had to suffer?
:'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(
Just unbelievable.
Quote from: JJ on September 13, 2008, 02:01:45 PM
Quote from: DMS on September 12, 2008, 08:45:13 PM
from the above article, this statement is interesting. Note cereal flours:
"Melamine has been used for the adulteration of cereal flours in order to increase their apparent protein content."
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/tandf/tfac/2007/00000024/00000012/art00001
From this link and the adulteration of flours with melamine would someone please be able to find out just how long this practice has gone on and what agency approved it? Also after all these years of ingesting this chemical how long would the cumulative effect be to make anyone of any age sick or quite possibly kill them? Just look at all our poor lil fur children that are now dead and some still just barely alive thanks to the care of their humans. How many products/foodstuffs/liquids (milk, juice etc.) is this added to and is in right now without anyone's knowledge? Whos behind the approval and addition of this? If I read that right from the link from DMS it is in all kinds of things and how many do we not know about or were never going to be told about til something like the canaries in the coal mines - the babies - had to suffer?
Let's go back to a 2007 story from the New York Times from April 30, 2007. You may need to register (free-no spam either) to view the news story in its entirety:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/30/business/worldbusiness/30food.html?_r=3&sq=melamine&st=nyt&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&scp=3&adxnnlx=1221342332-20CvEenwxwZxMufhgci2jA (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/30/business/worldbusiness/30food.html?_r=3&sq=melamine&st=nyt&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&scp=3&adxnnlx=1221342332-20CvEenwxwZxMufhgci2jA)
Filler in Animal Feed Is Open Secret in China
"For years, producers of animal feed all over China have secretly supplemented their feed with the substance, called melamine, a cheap additive that looks like protein in tests, even though it does not provide any nutritional benefits, according to melamine scrap traders and agricultural workers here.
""Many companies buy melamine scrap to make animal feed, such as fish feed," said Ji Denghui, general manager of the Fujian Sanming Dinghui Chemical Company, which sells melamine. "I don't know if there's a regulation on it. Probably not. No law or regulation says 'don't do it,' so everyone's doing it. The laws in China are like that, aren't they? If there's no accident, there won't be any regulation."
Melamine is the new scam of choice, they say, because urea — another nitrogen-rich chemical — is illegal for use in pig and poultry feed and can be easily detected in China as well as in the United States.
"People use melamine scrap to boost nitrogen levels for the tests," said the manager of the animal feed factory. "If you add it in small quantities, it won't hurt the animals."
"The manager, who works at a small animal feed operation here that consists of a handful of storage and mixing areas, said he has mixed melamine scrap into animal feed for years.
"He said he was not currently using melamine. But he then pulled out a plastic bag containing what he said was melamine powder and said he could dye it any color to match the right feed stock."
Now another NYT link re: cyanuric acid--May 9, 2007:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/business/worldbusiness/09food.html?scp=1&sq=cyanuric%20acid&st=cse
Another Chemical Emerges in Pet Food Case
"Three chemical makers said Chinese animal feed producers often came to purchase cyanuric acid to blend into their feed because it was cheaper and helped increase protein content.
""Cyanuric acid scrap can be added to animal feed," said Yu Luwei, general manager of the Juancheng Ouya Chemical Company in Shandong Province. "I sell it to fish meal manufacturers and fish farmers. It can also be added to feed for other animals."
"Yang Fei, who works in the sales department of the Shouguang Weidong Chemical Company in Shandong Province, echoed that view: "I've heard that people add cyanuric acid and melamine to animal feed to boost the protein level."
"Two of the Chinese chemical makers say that cyanuric acid is used because it is even cheaper than melamine and high in nitrogen, enabling feed producers to artificially increase protein readings which are often measured by nitrogen levels of the feed. The chemical makers say they also produce a chemical which is a combination of melamine and cyanuric acid, and that feed producers have often sought to purchase scrap material from this product.
""The substance is nontoxic — it's legal to add it to animal feed," Mr. Yu at Juancheng Ouya Chemical said of cyanuric acid. "The practice has been around for many years. I often sell it to animal feed makers.""
At the time of the pet food crisis, it was not illegal to do this in China--my understanding is that it is now illegal to add melamine to any food--don't know if they ruled about cyanuric acid.
The practice was never approved of in the US.
New York Times September 13, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/14/business/14china.html?ref=worldbusiness
China Detains 19 as Toxic Formula Sickens Hundreds of Infants
"In interviews with melamine producers and sellers last year, several acknowledged that melamine was commonly used to artificially raise the protein count in a variety of foods, fish feeds and even dairy products.
"Melamine, which can be created from coal, is high in nitrogen and for decades has been used by farmers to bolster protein counts in food and feed. Food safety officials in Beijing said Saturday that dairy producers could have used cheap melamine filler to make the infant formula powder seem far richer."
And here you see some elaboration on the earlier stories re: adding melamine and cyanuric acid to foods, with the admission that it's not just for vegetable protein spiking.
Quote from: menusux on September 13, 2008, 03:01:21 PM
Quote from: JJ on September 13, 2008, 02:01:45 PM
Quote from: DMS on September 12, 2008, 08:45:13 PM
from the above article, this statement is interesting. Note cereal flours:
"Melamine has been used for the adulteration of cereal flours in order to increase their apparent protein content."
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/tandf/tfac/2007/00000024/00000012/art00001
From this link and the adulteration of flours with melamine would someone please be able to find out just how long this practice has gone on and what agency approved it? Also after all these years of ingesting this chemical how long would the cumulative effect be to make anyone of any age sick or quite possibly kill them? Just look at all our poor lil fur children that are now dead and some still just barely alive thanks to the care of their humans. How many products/foodstuffs/liquids (milk, juice etc.) is this added to and is in right now without anyone's knowledge? Whos behind the approval and addition of this? If I read that right from the link from DMS it is in all kinds of things and how many do we not know about or were never going to be told about til something like the canaries in the coal mines - the babies - had to suffer?
Now another NYT link re: cyanuric acid--May 9, 2007:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/business/worldbusiness/09food.html?scp=1&sq=cyanuric%20acid&st=cse
Another Chemical Emerges in Pet Food Case
"Two of the Chinese chemical makers say that cyanuric acid is used because it is even cheaper than melamine and high in nitrogen, enabling feed producers to artificially increase protein readings which are often measured by nitrogen levels of the feed. The chemical makers say they also produce a chemical which is a combination of melamine and cyanuric acid, and that feed producers have often sought to purchase scrap material from this product.
At the time of the pet food crisis, it was not illegal to do this in China--my understanding is that it is now illegal to add melamine to any food--don't know if they ruled about cyanuric acid.
The practice was never approved of in the US.
Would this chemical combination produced of melamine and cyanuric acid be the same that was found in all the pet food recalled? Were the reports just on the melamine itself only to cover up the real combo that together is deadly as test results and reports have shown? Is this the real missing 5th ingredient? If so then no one would test for a combo in sending in pet food since no one would know if it was in the food after all IMO. Wonder if this is reason the information was held back before being made public to come up with a scapegoat ingredient to blame it on so no pet owner or shelter/kennel would be the wiser and test for it after the recalls started in 2007.
This isn't adding up to a comfortable feeling either:
http://www.dairynz.co.nz/page/pageid/2145837507/Who
Fonterra Co-operative Group is the giant of the New Zealand dairy industry. Formed in October 2001, Fonterra
is owned by around 11,600 dairy farmers.
One of the top ten companies in the world, Fonterra is the leading exporter of dairy products and is responsible for a third
of all international dairy trade supplying 140 countries around the world. Fonterra accounts for a considerable 7% of the nation's
Gross Domestic Product and over 90% of all dairy production in New Zealand
http://www.dairynz.co.nz/page/pageid/2145837506/What_our_dairy_industry_produces
New Zealand dairy companies produce an extensive range of products, these products include:
Milk powders - New Zealand is renowned for its high quality milk powders and nutritional powder products.
Cream products - products such as butter and whipping cream and other used in baking products.
Cheese and cheese ingredients - these are produced for both food manufacturers and retail markets.
Milk and whey products - high quality protein products with a wide range of nutritional and food manufacturing applications.
Clinical products - such as probiotics, hydrolysates and colostrum
http://www.dairyreporter.com/Industry-markets/Fonterra-concentrates-on-Asian-calcium-market
Fonterra is reaping the benefits of investment in the Asian region – it has a strong presence in China and growing presence in many other markets – as well as science to back Anlene's health claims.
The company has spent more than €25m on studies backing the brand in the past 10 years.
Fonterra's Asian, Middle Eastern and African operations generated sales of $1.5bn in 2007-08, with Asia-Middle East revenues jumping
13 per cent and China 31 per cent.
The rapidly developing dairy market in China saw Fonterra purchase its first dairy farm in China in 2007 to cope with demand, in conjunction with its Chinese dairy partner, SanLu, which took a 15 per cent share in the 3000-cow farm.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10518722
Fonterra bulks up its North American footprint
2:00PM Friday Jun 27, 2008
Fonterra licks lips over prime US stake
Fonterra has opened a new corporate headquarters for North America and a laboratory in Chicago.
The laboratory - an application and sensory technical and development centre - will be used to work more closely with North American customers developing products using New Zealand technology and ingredients.
Product innovations will be tailored specifically to the needs of Fonterra's customers operating in the US and Canadian markets.
"This move puts Fonterra closer to key customers, suppliers and centres of dairy research in an area that is one of the heartlands of dairying in the United States," said Fonterra chairman Henry van der Heyden.
Fonterra's US operations produce revenues of about $2.67 ($3.57) billion. The company runs a joint venture, DairiConcepts, with the largest dairy co-operative in the US, Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), to process milk from DFA members into milk protein concentrates - increasingly used in chilled products such as dairy desserts - and milkpowders and specialty ingredients.
Fonterra also works closely with Dairy America, a group of nine US-based co-operative dairy companies, to export US-origin milk powder into the global marketplace ...
"We will be concentrating on speciality ingredients, whether it's through high-end milk proteins or cheese flavours and so on," he said. "These are the areas we look at. We are trying to add value to milk."
3Cat, no definately not a warm and fuzzy feeling for sure. That last line in the article is interesting: We are trying to add value to milk." So how does one add value to milk, isnt milk already valuable enough on its own? ???
Remember the "French Connection"?
Drug dealers "cutting" the drugs for sale with cheap and lethal ingredients?
Why do we have the French Connection going on for our food and our furkids food?
Why is the FDA openly permitting this to happen?
:(
Now I have a really uncomfortable feeling. This company is setting up a milk market
so that on any given day in your milk, ice cream, bakery goods, or protein bar
it can order up available ingredients in the form of milk powders, etc., from any of its subsidiaries
anywhere or supply partners, including SanLu, it looks like:
http://www.dairyreporter.com/Industry-markets/Fonterra-develops-online-trading-for-dairy-commodities
Fonterra develops online trading for dairy commodities
Fonterra expects to open globalDairyTrade to its supply partners and maybe even its competitors. This may herald the development of a international dairy futures or derivatives market, such as already exists for other commodities such as oil or sugar.
3cat, Thank you for all your help with this valuable information.
I am getting sick to my stomach and really scared with this info.
Do you think, I know I'm asking a stupid question.........I ask a lot of stupid questions...........
Do you think it's worth attacking the FDA with your discoveries and making it known, en masse, that we don't want this? Notifying local health departments and possibly the CDC with the up and coming problems for humans never mind the furkids?
I am surprised at New Zealand and Australia allowing this, as I was led to believe they held very strict standards for food and it's production.
Ya got me, bunky. I don't know. I don't even know any more that the FDA is set up
or funded or allowed to do anything. :( This isn't even the largest dairy conglomerate.
Fonterra just has supply partners in places I wish it didn't.
How nice the lab is going to be in Chicago. So should anything go wrong and its on the local news I will post it right away so no one will need to wait til the news wires pick up the story. Hoping thats not going to be the case but when you see who their partner is - well, kinda makes one want to keep an eye on and ear open.
Thanks, JJ. That's kind of where I'm at, at least caution.
http://www.dairiconcepts.com/
We service many icon brands in large categories in the food industry
products lists are available by pdfs at this URL. Make snack flavorings for soups, sauces, stews, dressings, dips, cheese sauces, sour cream,
yogurt for private or custom label -- all kinds of stuff. Looks like it could be on our favorite pizza.
as we all suspected....the numbers are really climbing.. :( >:(
but they made an arrest....for what it's worth..
and still no mention of another contaminant....so time to rethink the safety of melamine maybe?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080915/ap_on_re_as/china_baby_formula_recall
I think it is better idea to rethink how protein testing is performed. As long as protein levels are estimated only by nitrogen content, there will be motivation to add various nitrogen rich small molecules to boost up "protein" content of inferior products. Even if something perfectly safe is used, you still end up with inferior nutritional value of the product.
second death reported:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/15/china.formula/index.html
I think we're going to see more fallout as time goes on because it takes a while for Chinese authorities to "cooperate" with regulatory agencies, not that U.S. businesses are much better. I'll bet the supply and distribution chain here is one huge untraceable mess! Any company that sources ingredients from China looking for cheap, cheap, cheap is asking for trouble.
As things stand now:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7615315.stm
BBC News (Asia) September 14, 2008
"New Zealand-based dairy giant Fonterra said it had urged China's Sanlu Group to recall the tainted powder six weeks before Sanlu took adequate action.
"The Fonterra farmers' co-operative owns a 43% stake in Sanlu.
"In a statement released on Sunday, Fonterra said it had urged Sanlu's board to recall the milk powder as soon as it learnt of the contamination - on 2 August.
""From the day that we were advised of the product contamination issue in August, Fonterra called for a full public recall of all affected product and we have continued to push for this all along," the statement said.
"Chinese officials have complained that they were only alerted last Monday of the dangers posed by the milk. They said Sanlu's customers had been complaining about the milk since March."
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSPEK33424020080915
Reuters September 15, 2008
"By Monday morning, 1,253 children had been diagnosed with illnesses linked to the milk powder, with 340 still in hospital and 53 "relatively serious", Vice Minister of Health Ma Xiaowei told the news conference. At the weekend, officials said 432 children were ill from the milk powder.
"Two brothers surnamed Geng were arrested for "producing and selling toxic and hazardous food," police in Hebei, the north Chinese province where Sanlu is based, told Xinhua on Monday.
"From late last year they added melamine to the 3 tonnes of milk they sold on from farmers every day, the report said.
""Geng did so because he suffered losses after milk from his station had been rejected several times by Sanlu Group," it said.
"Local Chinese officials acted only after the New Zealand government contacted Beijing, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said on Monday.
""They have been trying for weeks to get official recall and the local authorities in China would not do it," Clark told TVNZ. "I think the first inclination was to try and put a towel over it and deal with it without an official recall."
"The Beijing Olympics opened on August 8, and China has been keen to avoid scares during them and the following Paralympics.
"Sanlu began receiving complaints in March that babies' urine was discolored and some had been admitted to hospital, Chinese officials have said."
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j9TWJGihXFri_4iWWPS7iDjKrT5gD936TSRG0
Associated Press September 14, 2008
China launches nationwide inspection of dairies
"The General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine on Sunday deployed groups of officials to Hebei, Guangdong and Heilongjiang provinces and the Inner Mongolia region to inspect dairy companies. The teams will also work with local officials in removing all substandard milk powder from the market.
"In a quality supervision laboratory in Hebei, Li was shown more than 60 bags of white powder seized by police from milk collecting stations. Tests showed the powder contained high levels of melamine, the report said.
""It's shocking," Li was quoted as saying. "It's a crime against the people."
"The nationwide inspection will cover the country's 175 baby milk food factories, with results of the checks expected to be released in up to two days, Li said."
So until the government of New Zealand, where Fonterra is based, insisted something be done, nothing really was. >:(
This a response I got this morning from Center for Veterinary Medicine in response to my inquiry about whether melamine is truly the only thing being found in the baby formula. I asked about the discrepancy between the pet food recall findings that melamine by itself supposedly wouldnt cause illness as compared to what is being reported about the melamine causing the babies to get sick and even die in some cases. Their response:
The issue with the infant formula is limited to China so we don't have enough data to make an evaluation of just what the issue is. The warning was issued for anyone that may have brought formula with them from China or some of the ethnic stores that might carry it. I believe the Chinese are still evaluating the problem.
I'm confused where the brothers Geng come in here. Did they make all the milk powder that has the melamine in it or were they just one of many? Sounds like they added melamine when their milk was rejected by Sanlu, I guess because the milk's protein wasn't high enough?
And how/where does this factor back into Fonterra. Maybe all the info coming in is just in too many pieces right now, or maybe I'm just not reading this right.
Sounds like a cop out to me. At least they could answer the apparent discrepancy between what they said during the pet food recall and what's being said now. Either they were wrong last year or the info we're getting now is wrong. Does the FDA stand behind the info they gave us last year about melamine alone not causing kidney problems?
Quote from: Sandi K on September 15, 2008, 08:32:15 AM
This a response I got this morning from Center for Veterinary Medicine in response to my inquiry about whether melamine is truly the only thing being found in the baby formula. I asked about the discrepancy between the pet food recall findings that melamine by itself supposedly wouldnt cause illness as compared to what is being reported about the melamine causing the babies to get sick and even die in some cases. Their response:
The issue with the infant formula is limited to China so we don't have enough data to make an evaluation of just what the issue is. The warning was issued for anyone that may have brought formula with them from China or some of the ethnic stores that might carry it. I believe the Chinese are still evaluating the problem.
Fonterra in NZ owns 43% of the Sanlu company; since they don't own it totally, they would not be able to do anything about recalling these products on their own. They attempted to use their 43% ownership leverage with Sanlu, but to no avail re: doing something about recalling the products before this. Someone then came up with the diplomatic idea and advised the NZ Prime Minister, who delivered the message to those in charge in China.
From the reports, the Gengs are in charge of a milk collection station where all the local farmers who sell milk to Sanlu deliver their milk--a middleman, so to speak. From that point--the collection station--it then would continue on to Sanlu. It looks like the local dairy farmers were selling pure non-adulterated and non-diluted milk to Sanlu, but where the dilution and melamine to cover it seems to have happened is at the collection station.
It also looks as if one of the Gengs is also a dairy farmer but his farm was not producing milk up to Sanlu's standards--we don't know why Sanlu rejected the milk from his farm.
Speculating still further, if Sanlu bears the same relationship to Fonterra that Dariconcepts/Dairy Farmers of America milk cooperative does in the United States, producing dried milk powders and cheese powders and flavor additives for many other better known Chinese brands, in addition to the melamine contaminated milk going into baby formula, the product could have ended up going into a whole lot of Asian snack foods or snack food equivalent products throughout Asia, the Middle East, New Zealand, and ?
The nitrogen testing definitely needs to be abolished for protein content. Offy knew this some time ago. Maybe testing Nacho flavored chips could
tell us what happened to our pets. >:(
I feel so bad for those innocent trusting Chinese parents and their precious children.
Why didn't Fonterra step up and do the responsible thing, Olympics or no Olympics, as soon as it knew?
My worries exactly, 3cat. Where are these individual "dairy" ingredients going?
If Fonterra asked for a recall 6 weeks prior, and that didn't happen, that should have been a big clue to Fonterra to sell off its portion of Sanlu or to "urge" an immediate recall more forcefully. Why Fonterra did not go public with it 6 weeks before, I don't know! Fonterra could have alerted the media as to problems with the baby milk powder -- perhaps not the Chinese media who were told not to talk about the issue, but the media of other countries. Word would have spread to Chinese consumers one way or the other. Innocent LIVES were/are at stake.
Has anyone written to Fonterra yet to let them know what they think of their doing business which such Chinese operations? I'm thinking of it.
I just spoke to my firewood person this morning who's also disgusted with the toxic, contaminated food and products from China. It seems as though so many people I talk to are disgusted with all the recalls and have stopped buying imported food and products from China.
Ya deal with China and ya gotta be prepared for the consequences. Cheap is not so cheap after all as more and more companies are finding out from having to do recalls...
We also need to once more let people like this and the companies they represent how we feel.
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/content.asp?contentid=172182
Cattle Network October 29, 2007
"In view of growing concerns about the safety of U.S. imports, no fewer than 13 bills relating to food safety are in play in Congress, Nancy Cook, vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based Pet Food Institute, told attendees of the Meat Industry Research Conference at Chicago's McCormick Place.
""Some involve inspections, others certification, penalties, record keeping and country-of-origin labeling. It's not going to stop at pet food, either," she said, acknowledging last spring's massive recalls of melamine-laced pet food. "Have we figured out how to put a COOL label on a Hershey bar? It's about 10 feet long."
"She warned that U.S. legislators and others involved in trade negotiations with China, the source of the melamine, "must walk a tightrope. We can't insult them. They're our largest growing supplier of ingredients in the world."
China is becoming to food and pharmaceuticals what the Middle East is to oil. Too many shades of Chem/Nutra and Iams.
I'm really afraid the practice of protein content spiking that creates this problem is much more widespread than anyone
wants to address.
What planet does that woman (Nancy Cook) come from? I wonder how or if her reaction would change if she had a pet die from the tainted pet food or a baby get sick from toxic formula. She doesnt get it, we are already walking a tightrope just not the kind she is worried about. :P Sorry for the mornin' snark.
This is an interesting abstract paper published by Oxford University in the UK in Aug '08 regarding the contaminants found in pet food in '07, but the research was done by The Procter & Gamble Company, Cincinnati, OH 2 Center for Veterinary Medicine, U.S. FDA :
This paper describes research relating to the major recall of pet food that occurred in Spring 2007 in North America. Clinical observations of acute renal failure in cats and dogs were associated with consumption of wet pet food produced by a contract manufacturer producing for a large number of companies. The affected lots of food had been formulated with wheat gluten originating from China. Pet food and gluten were analyzed for contaminants using several configurations of HPLC and mass spectrometry, which revealed a number of simple triazine compounds, principally melamine and cyanuric acid, with lower concentrations of ammeline, ammelide, ureidomelamine and N-methylmelamine. Melamine and cyanuric acid, have been tested and do not produce acute renal toxicity. Some of the triazines have poor solubility, as does the compound melamine cyanurate.
Pathological evaluation of cats and dogs that had died from the acute renal failure indicated the presence of crystals in kidney tubules. We hypothesized that these crystals were composed of the poorly soluble triazines, a melamine-cyanuric acid complex, or a combination. SD rats were given upt to 100 mg/kg ammeline or ammelide alone, a mixture of melamine and cyanuric acid (400/400 mg/kg/day), or a mixture of all four compounds (400 mg/kg/day melamine, 40 mg/kg/day of the others). Neither ammeline nor ammelide alone produced any renal effects, but the mixtures produced significant renal damage and crystals in nephrons. HPLC-MS/MS confirmed the presence of melamine and cyanuric acid in the kidney. Infrared microspectroscopy on individual crystals from rat or cat (donated material from a veterinary clinic) kidneys confirmed that they were melamine-cyanuric acid co-crystals. Crystals from contaminated gluten produced comparable spectra. These results establish the causal link between the contaminated gluten and the adverse effects and provide a mechanistic explanation for how two apparently innocuous compounds could have adverse effects in combination, i.e., by forming an insoluble precipitate in renal tubules leading to progressive tubular blockage and degeneration.
http://toxsci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/kfn160
Wonderful link, Nabiya. Anyone up for testing mac n cheese, chips, powdered milk?
3cat, my kidneys hurt just thinking about all the foods this could be in. Who knows what premade mixes restaurants may be using, also?
Apparently adulterated cereal flours with Melamine is nothing new, if a procedural test is now established. The question is, who's testing?
Melamine has been used for the adulteration of cereal flours in order to increase their apparent protein content.
http://tinyurl.com/58zejh
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/8/ora_oasis_i_02.html
OASIS Refusals August 2008 02-Whole Grain/Milled Grain Prod/Starch
China BNI-0010827-2 1 1
Kun Fung Trading Co
Kowloon , HK NYK-DO
02HFT05 WHEAT STARCH
06-AUG-2008 POISONOUS
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/7/ora_oasis_i_02.html
OASIS Refusals July 2008--same product classificatio--for human consumption.
China GL5-0846357-4 1 1
Tide International Co Ltd.
Longkou City , CN LOS-DO
02BGT99 MINCED CORN
23-JUL-2008 UNSAFE ADD
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/5/ora_oasis_i_02.html
OASIS Refusals May 2008 same product classification--for human consumption
China 101-7807745-8 1 1
Shanghai Jinjianer Imp & Exp Co Ltd
Shanghai , CN SEA-DO
02FFT08 VITAL WHEAT GLUTEN
28-MAY-2008 UNSAFE ADD
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/4/ora_oasis_i_02.html
OASIS Refusals April 2008--same classification--for human consumption
China 112-1394117-5 1 1
Changzhou Dahua Im
Jiangsu , CN CHI-DO
02AYH03 GENISTEIN
02-APR-2008 PESTICIDES
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/1/ora_oasis_i_02.html
OASIS Refusals January 2008 same product classification--for human consumption
China BRI-0006549-0 1 1
Fujian Yang Zhenhua 851 Bio Science Co., Ltd
Fuzhou , CN LOS-DO
02GET08 FERMENTED SOY POWDER
11-JAN-2008 UNSAFE ADD
China BEA-9035871-0 1 1
Guanghan Lusong Pharmaceutical Co..
Sichuan , CN LOS-DO
02GGT08 SOY ISOFLAVONE
22-JAN-2008 UNSAFE ADD
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/12/ora_oasis_i_02.html
OASIS Refusals December 2007--same product classification--for human consumption
China BNU-0005055-2 1 1
DALIAN SHENGFANG ORGANIC FOOD CO.,LTD.
dalian CN-21, CN 116600 SAN-DO
02BGT99 ORGANIC CRACKED CORN
28-DEC-2007 UNSAFE ADD
FILTHY
POISONOUS
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/10/ora_oasis_i_02.html
OASIS Refusals October 2007--same product classification--for human consumption
China W33-0981379-6 1 5
Shanghai Hai Li Toys Co. Ltd
Shanghai , CN LOS-DO
02EGT06 FROZEN GLUTEN 11 CTNS.
04-OCT-2007 POISONOUS
China 144-0781682-9 1 1
Sinoglory Oppenheimer Soya Pro
Qingdao , CN NYK-DO
02GFT08 SOY PROTEIN
23-OCT-2007 FILTHY
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/9/ora_oasis_i_02.html
OASIS Refusals September 2007--same product classfication--for human consumption
China 101-7500168-3 1 1
Shanghai Jinjianer Imp & Exp Co Ltd
Shanghai , CN LOS-DO
02FFT08 WHEAT GLUTEN
05-SEP-2007 UNSAFE ADD
POISONOUS
China 101-7502781-1 1 1
Xiancheng Kemao Gluten Co Ltd
Ziancheng City Henan , CN 466200 SWI-DO
02FFT08 WHEAT GLUTEN
07-SEP-2007 UNSAFE ADD
China 101-7511391-8 1 2
Tianguan Group
Nanyang City Henan , CN SWI-DO
02FFT08 VITAL WHEAT GLUTEN
07-SEP-2007 UNSAFE ADD
China 101-7511391-8 1 1
Tianguan Group
Nanyang City Henan , CN SWI-DO
02FFT08 VITAL WHEAT GLUTEN
07-SEP-2007 UNSAFE ADD
China 101-7521507-7 1 1
Shanghai Jinjianer Imp & Exp Co Ltd
Shanghai , CN CHI-DO
02FFT08 VITAL WHEAT GLUTEN
18-SEP-2007 UNSAFE ADD
This was meant for human consumption--it's listed as above--not under pet food or feed.
The abstract above says that a PH 11-12 keeps the melamine and cyanuric acid from causing the crystals (I think that is what it says anyhow) first I have seen of that...
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2008/09/200891418282690460.html
Product recall
Normally inert, melamine can trigger the formation of kidney stones when it comes into contact with cyanuric acid.
Sanlu had first begun receiving customer complaints in March that babies' urine was discoloured and that some had been admitted to hospital, officials said.
The company said it had investigated the problem and recalled some products and sealed other contaminated powder.
This is the first article I have read since Friday that mentions cyanuric acid too..... ??? so I wonder when we will hear that CA was found in it too?
Quote from: Carol on September 15, 2008, 11:59:59 AM
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2008/09/200891418282690460.html
Product recall
Normally inert, melamine can trigger the formation of kidney stones when it comes into contact with cyanuric acid.
Sanlu had first begun receiving customer complaints in March that babies' urine was discoloured and that some had been admitted to hospital, officials said.
The company said it had investigated the problem and recalled some products and sealed other contaminated powder.
This is the first article I have read since Friday that mentions cyanuric acid too..... ??? so I wonder when we will hear that CA was found in it too?
Ah ha, so the truth might slowly be worming its way out......did whoever do this to the baby formula think it wouldnt be discovered? >:(
There's little doubt that it's happening in products from China. The FDA has focused
on China ever since the 2007 pet food recalls with its limited resources. If you obtain
all the necessary components from one food or the perfect confluence of ingredients from
several foods consumed in Nabiya's "Oxford recipe," you have the lethal consequences already
seen in 2007 pet food and now 2008 baby formula. Who's testing for the rest of it, including that
produced Stateside?
Why isn't there a certified triazine free national label standard requirement for all food products sold
in the United States? How many recalls and deaths is it going to take?
Huh... Cyanuric acid was mentioned. I wonder if the tell-tale spoked crystals have been seen in the sick babies' urine? Certainly, the hospitals or labs looking at urine specimens must know if what is seen is a kidney stone or the signature crystal from the "milk powder" cocktail. These CA-melamine crystals are nearly insoluble. Do you think due to language differences that they're actually talking about the same formation of crystals seen in the poisoned pets but are using the word "stones"?
well, I also am waiting for the annoucement that it is really renal failure and not just "stones" that is really going on with these poor babies....the discolored urine was probably hematuria---same bloody urine that some of our pets had I bet....and the reports that some babies could not urinate....makes me think it is much more than just stones in the ureters or kidneys.... :-\ either way the pain these poor little guys are going through makes me sick....the punishement of the adulterers should be to drink the milk and then see how horribly painful this is....one of the absolute most painful things I ever saw in 30 years of x-ray was a patient with an acute kidney stone attack....worse than any broken bone or labor patient I came into contact with...horrible. >:(
Quote from: Carol on September 15, 2008, 12:56:22 PM
one of the absolute most painful things I ever saw in 30 years of x-ray was a patient with an acute kidney stone attack....worse than any broken bone or labor patient I came into contact with...horrible. >:(
I can tell you from personal experience that there is absolutely no other kind of pain that even compares with this. When I think of our innocent pets, and innocent babies, going through this, I break into tears. :'(
Thanks for the refusal report, menusux. That's A LOT of grain products mentioned. Still the grains...
Thank goodness they found the ORGANIC cracked corn that was adulterated 3 ways: filthy, unsafe additive, and poisonous! I'd love to know what "poisonous" means... It could have said "pesticide"...
I'm just about ill reading this. Menusux, what would we do without you?
I've read some about the Chinese business mentality of "getting rich for yourself and getting rich for China," but deliberately poisoning people? I cannot understand that mentality at all! And, this country was awarded the honor of hosting the Olympics, and for MONTHS leading up to the Olympics, authorities were trying to keep the lid on the poisoned baby formula the whole time? All of the money China made from the Olympics should be confiscated and used to start a brigade of independent inspectors over there.
when we will see the US in this...
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=14f31ceb-cc7a-4074-b569-d9f24472dad4
Tainted formula hunt spreads to Canada
What does it say if a country can just go right ahead and poison their own babies? How long before that happens here with some company just out to make a quick buck and tries something similar IMO. How can these people look themselves in the mirror and not feel anything or care at all? So sad, very sad.
tripolycyanamide aka melamine?? [also try "tripoly cyanamide" & "cyanamide" & "n-tri-cyantriamide" ]
http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Cyanamide
CYANAMIDE, NC NH 2j the amide of normal cyanic acid, obtained by the action of ammonia on cyanogen chloride, bromide or iodide, or by the desulphurization of thio-urea with, mercuric oxide; it is generally prepared by the latter process. It forms white crystals, which melt at 40° C., and are readily soluble in water, alcohol and ether. Heated above its melting point it polymerizes to di-cyandiamide (CN2H2)2, which at 150° C. is transformed into the polymer n-tri-cyantriamide or melamine (CN 2 H 2) 3, the mass solidifying.
Somehow, I don't think that quite relates to what we researched as "melamine" & that might be the answer to some of our questions.... I'll look later, but maybe somebody else can get to research that quicker... Did the cooking temperature of the pet foods impact this adulteration?
That, tripolycyanamide, is what the brother said he put in the milk. Wasn't that liquid when he put it in??? Does this lead to answers about the other colored particles found when they were researching the melamine contamination of pet food? [I emailed Barbara Powers & William Burkholder to ask about this]
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/16/china.formula/
Investigators said the brothers -- surnamed Geng and residents of the city of Shijiazhuang -- confessed to watering down the raw milk and mixing in tripolycyanamide, also known as melamine. They said they did it to recover losses suffered when the factory rejected earlier milk shipments, the paper reported.
The paper quotes the reaction of one brother, age 48, when asked if thought about the consequences of adding melamine.
"I've never asked and never thought about it," he said. "I only know it's bad for health."
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/16/content_10034427.htm
In November 2007, Ma purchased around 200 kg of the chemical melamine. He then mixed it with fresh milk purchased from individual cow owners and resold it to Sanlu Group.
Melamine is not water soluble is it???? So the heating/processing turned it into melamine?
http://www.3news.co.nz/News/BusinessNews/ChinesemilkpoisoningsnowimpactingFonterrasownbrand/tabid/421/articleID/71785/cat/52/Default.aspx
Dairy giant Fonterra says its own Chinese business - separate to the Sanlu joint venture which has poisoned thousands of babies - has announced a voluntary recall of one batch of its Anmum Materna milk.
"This particular batch had been manufactured and distributed under licence by Sanlu using what we believe to be contaminated local raw milk,"' the company said tonight.
Anmum is one of Fonterra's most valuable brands in Asia, along with Anlene, and the Materna milk is intended for consumption by pregnant women. Fonterra China said in a statement issued in Auckland that the stock was being recalled because consumer safety was the company's "utmost concern".
The company said all its other Anmum and Anlene products had been produced using only milk imported from New Zealand and were free from any possibility of contamination with melamine from locally sourced milk.
A company spokesman said the batch of Anmum Materna was distributed in China but not Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. "None of the batch in question was exported out of China," said Fonterra.
The local Department of Health said that some people in Taiwan may have already consumed processed foods and beverages that were made with 50 bags, or 1250kg of the melamine milkpowder.
Of the total 1000 bags imported, 564 bags have been seized, and Fonterra sold another 434 bags to food processors to be used as an ingredient in cakes, calcium tablets, creams and beverages. The remaining two bags were used by distributors as samples.
"Of the total 1000 bags imported, 564 bags have been seized, and Fonterra sold another 434 bags to food processors to be used as an ingredient in cakes, calcium tablets, creams and beverages. The remaining two bags were used by distributors as samples."
Do I understand that 434 bags are still out there or have been used to make other products. I never thought of calcium tablets... Are these finished products made overseas and shipped here by chance? I do NOT want to hear the phrase "dilution factor" again.
Quote from: Offy on September 16, 2008, 03:17:54 AM
tripolycyanamide aka melamine?? [also try "tripoly cyanamide" & "cyanamide" & "n-tri-cyantriamide" ]
http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Cyanamide
CYANAMIDE, NC NH 2j the amide of normal cyanic acid, obtained by the action of ammonia on cyanogen chloride, bromide or iodide, or by the desulphurization of thio-urea with, mercuric oxide; it is generally prepared by the latter process. It forms white crystals, which melt at 40° C., and are readily soluble in water, alcohol and ether. Heated above its melting point it polymerizes to di-cyandiamide (CN2H2)2, which at 150° C. is transformed into the polymer n-tri-cyantriamide or melamine (CN 2 H 2) 3, the mass solidifying.
Somehow, I don't think that quite relates to what we researched as "melamine" & that might be the answer to some of our questions.... I'll look later, but maybe somebody else can get to research that quicker... Did the cooking temperature of the pet foods impact this adulteration?
That, tripolycyanamide, is what the brother said he put in the milk. Wasn't that liquid when he put it in??? Does this lead to answers about the other colored particles found when they were researching the melamine contamination of pet food? [I emailed Barbara Powers & William Burkholder to ask about this]
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/16/china.formula/
Investigators said the brothers -- surnamed Geng and residents of the city of Shijiazhuang -- confessed to watering down the raw milk and mixing in tripolycyanamide, also known as melamine. They said they did it to recover losses suffered when the factory rejected earlier milk shipments, the paper reported.
The paper quotes the reaction of one brother, age 48, when asked if thought about the consequences of adding melamine.
"I've never asked and never thought about it," he said. "I only know it's bad for health."
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/16/content_10034427.htm
In November 2007, Ma purchased around 200 kg of the chemical melamine. He then mixed it with fresh milk purchased from individual cow owners and resold it to Sanlu Group.
Melamine is not water soluble is it???? So the heating/processing turned it into melamine?
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/30/business/worldbusiness/30food.html?_r=3&sq=melamine&st=nyt&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&scp=3&adxnnlx=1221342332-20CvEenwxwZxMufhgci2jA
New York Times April 30, 2007
Filler in Animal Feed Is Open Secret in China
"He said he was not currently using melamine. But he then pulled out a plastic bag containing what he said was melamine powder and said he could dye it any color to match the right feed stock."
http://chemicalland21.com/industrialchem/organic/Melamine.htm
PHYSICAL STATE white, crystalline powder.
MELTING POINT 345 C (Decomposes)
BOILING POINT
SPECIFIC GRAVITY 1.573
SOLUBILITY IN WATER slightly
pH
VAPOR DENSITY 4.3
AUTOIGNITION 500 C
REFRACTIVE INDEX
NFPA RATINGS
FLASH POINT
STABILITY Stable under ordinary conditions
It would seem that if this was added to fresh milk before it was made into powder, they had to get it to liquify.
More news:
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hLmS_IYOSFJkM4bmP9OKEPpUxdyA
AFP September 16, 2008
Two more arrested in China milk scandal: state press
"Police in Hebei province arrested two people who confessed to adding the industrial chemical melamine to milk and stepped up an investigation of the Sanlu Group, packagers of the product, Xinhua news agency said.
"The report quoted one of the suspects, a milk dealer surnamed Zhao, as saying he added melamine to eliminate a "strange smell" in milk from his cows.
""Someone told me if melamine is added, it will not only dispel the strange smell of the milk, but will also drive up the protein content in the milk," he said.
"Four people have been formally arrested in the scandal, which has killed two babies so far.
"Those arrested included two brothers surnamed Geng, while 22 others have been detained for questioning, it said.
"More arrests are expected, Xinhua quoted police officials as saying."
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUST2288620080916
Reuters September 16, 2008
China worries about long-term effects of bad milk
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/china/sanlu-milk-victims-4294.html
EpochTimes September 15, 2008
Contaminated Milk Victims May Reach 30,000
"The Xinhuanet's September 13 issue indicated that based on Sanlu Group's announcement, approximately 700 tons of contaminated milk powder was on the market.
"The report states that based on a five-month circulation if each infant consumed 3,600 kg per month, victims will exceed 30,000."
This is breaking news-
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hLmS_IYOSFJkM4bmP9OKEPpUxdyA
AFP September 16, 2008
More Chinese baby milk powder brands contaminated: state TV
"A chemical blamed for killing two infants in China has been found in 69 brands of baby milk powder nationwide, state television said on Tuesday, in a potential dramatic escalation of the scandal.
"The government has ordered a halt to the sale of the 69 brands tainted with the chemical melamine, said the report by state-run CCTV, adding the products were made by 22 different companies".
Have not seen a list of the names of the 69 brands they're reporting contaminated.
Given how many edible products we import from China to the US, I sincerely hope the FDA is doing a thorough investigation into possible contaminated foods/pills/powders behind the scenes. And that they'll tell us about their findings very soon.
Quote from: Carol on September 13, 2008, 01:51:57 PM
why is this all so familiar???? >:(
ditto... >:( >:( >:(
More Breaking News re: melamine-
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aPYE0JvTLHQA&refer=home
Bloomberg September 16, 2008
China Milk Scandal Widens With Melamine Found in Yogurt Bars
"China's tainted milk scandal widened as regulators said they found melamine in products of a second dairy company, after infant formula contaminated by the chemical was linked to 1,253 cases of infant kidney stones, killing two.
"Wellcome, a supermarket chain owned by Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd., said it will stop selling ice cream made by Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group after the chemical was found in a sample, according to a statement sent by e-mail late today.
"The discovery in Hong Kong and in a second company's products of the crystalline compound, which can make the protein level in dairy products appear higher than it is, boosts concerns that contamination may be widespread. Chinese authorities are investigating all dairy companies in the mainland market as the official Xinhua News Agency said contaminated milk made by Sanlu Group Co. sickened children.
"Officials at Yili, China's largest maker of dairy products, weren't immediately available for comment today after calls to three different numbers after office hours.
`Natural Choice' Yogurt
"Hong Kong's Food and Environmental Hygiene Department found melamine in Yili's ``Natural Choice Yogurt Ice-bar with Real Fruit,'' Wellcome said in its statement. The supermarket operator said it will stop selling all Yili brand ice cream as a precaution.
"Other products made by the dairy company will still be for sale, according to Annie Sin, Wellcome's marketing and communication manager. Wellcome had sold Yili ice cream products in some of its more than 250 stores in Hong Kong, Sin said."
Whoa - it's almost like you could take all the 2007 pet food recall news articles and replace the words "pet food" with "dairy products". I'm trying to think where we are going next: companies recalling products that they "didn't know" the melamine contaminated ingredients were being added to by the manufacturers?
Four hundred thirty-four bags were sold to food producers. Already, the authorities must know to what food manufacturers those other 434 bags were sold and in what types of foods/pills/mixes the concoction was to be used. And, they must know what brand names are affected.
Since awareness of the problem started in March, unless food producers ordered way, way in advance to stock up on this "milk powder," I'd assume that whatever other products this was used in have already been manufactured and put on store shelves.
More news-
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSSP23492320080916
Probe shows China milk scandal widens
Reuters September 16, 2008
"Almost 20 percent of Chinese dairy firms probed in the wake of a baby milk health scare have been found to have produced melamine-tainted formula, state media reported.
"The results of a government-led probe announced on Tuesday showed that out of 109 dairy producers checked, 22 had been found to have produced batches of milk contaminated with melamine.
"State television, citing China's quality watchdog, said as well as the Sanlu Group, offending companies included Beijing Olympic Games supplier Yili and other major brands".
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hLmS_IYOSFJkM4bmP9OKEPpUxdyA
AFP September 16, 2008
More Chinese baby milk powder brands contaminated: state TV
"The 22 companies mentioned by CCTV included Torador Dairy Industry, a China-Australia joint venture in the northern city of Tianjian. Calls to Torador on Tuesday evening went unanswered.
"The companies affected also included Guangdong Yashili Group, the report said, adding that the firm has exported its products to Bangladesh, Myanmar and Yemen.
"However, it added that tests of the Yashili products made for export had shown no melamine traces."
I am so afraid this is just the beginning of a long list of "where it went"!! This is the same thing we went through last year...all because of greed...when the risk outweighs the benefit...that is when it may stop..I hope... :'(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pasteurization
Pasteurization typically uses temperatures below boiling since at temperatures above the boiling point for milk, casein micelles will irreversibly aggregate (or "curdle"). There are two main types of pasteurization used today: High Temperature/Short Time (HTST) and Extended Shelf Life (ESL) treatment. Ultra-high temperature (UHT or ultra-heat treated) is also used for milk treatment. In the HTST process, milk is forced between metal plates or through pipes heated on the outside by hot water, and is heated to 71.7 °C (161 °F) for 15-20 seconds. UHT processing holds the milk at a temperature of 138 °C (250 °F) for a fraction of a second. ESL milk has a microbial filtration step and lower temperatures than HTST.[1] Milk simply labeled "pasteurisation " is usually treated with the HTST method, whereas milk labeled "ultra-pasteurization " or simply "UHT" has been treated with the UHT method
http://www.foodsci.uoguelph.ca/dairyedu/concprod.html
Dried Dairy Products
Milk Powder
Milk used in the production of milk powders is first clarified, standardized and then given a heat treatment. This heat treatment is usually more severe than that required for pasteurization. Besides destroying all the pathogenic and most of the spoilage microorganisms, it also inactivates the enzyme lipase which could cause lipolysis during storage. The milk is then evaporated prior to drying
What could be the effects of these heating processes on triazine compounds mixed in the milk, then pasteurized or dried?
Probably a stupid question, but not my first.
I still am scratching my head....so for the last year or so we have been told it was the deadly combo of melamine and cyanuric acid (although where did the CA come from...I haven't really seen that anywhere)
http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/16798
so now we hear melamine is causing kidney stones.... ??? and occasionally they mention renal failure...
so are we really being told the truth? and what is the truth?
Exactly. We have to wonder just what the truth is.
from Menusux's last citation:
"...offending companies included Beijing Olympic Games supplier Yili and other major brands".
Does this mean that spectators (athletes?) of the Olympics may have eaten these Yili treats with melamine in? I wonder if spectators should have their kidneys tested.
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/china/sanlu-milk-powder-chinese-babies-4275.html
In March 2007 in the U.S., a large number of dogs and cats died from eating pet food imported from two Chinese manufacturers in Jiangsu and Shandong provinces. Soon after, it was revealed that melamine was added in some of wheat protein powders and rice protein powders imported from China. The Chinese regime arrested several Chinese people and coverage about the incident then fell silent.
Mr. Liao Xinbo, vice director of the Health Department in Guangdong, said in his article published Sept. 13, "I think hundreds of millions of Chinese people, without knowing it, have been eating pork, beef and chicken which are fed with melamine-tainted feeds. [They have also been] drinking adult milk powders with the melamine added for many years. Unknowingly, everyone has been contaminated with melamine."
remember I posted previously that one of the managers of the melamine factories alledged during the pet food disaster had answered his phone when the New york times reporter, David Barboza called recently...refer to what I highlighted in red! (this was from Pet Food Politics by Marion Nestle!)
Sanlu Group Dumps Chairwoman & General Manager after Milk Powder Scandal
"SHIJIAZHUANG, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Tian Wenhua, the board chairwoman and general manager of China dairy giant Sanlu Group, was fired from her posts in the wake of the tainted baby formula milk powder scandal.
Tian was also removed from her post as the secretary of the corporation committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), according to Party authorities of Hebei Province and its capital Shijiazhuang where the company is based."
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/16/content_10041638.htm
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-09/17/content_7032353.htm
China Daily September 17, 2008
"Apart from Hebei-based Sanlu Group, the firms whose products are contaminated include such dairy giants as the Yili and Mengniu groups, both based in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, and Shanghai-based Bright Dairy.
"The AQSIQ report, however, said no contamination was found in samples of milk food exported or supplied (exclusively by Yili) to the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic villages.
"The Guangdong-based Yashili Group is the only tainted firm to have exported some products to Bangladesh, Yemen and Myanmar, the report said. But tests on the export batch samples found no melamine.
"All liquid milk packaged after Sept 14 is safe for human consumption, the report said, but it did not give the tests' results before that date.
"The highest concentration of melamine was found in Sanlu products. Tests show every kg of Sanlu milk food contains 2.56 g of melamine, which can make milk appear rich in protein in quality tests. The chemical is usually used to make plates, bowls, mugs and sundry other products, but is banned from being used in the food industry.
"The other tainted products contain between 0.09 mg to 619 mg of melamine per kg.
Two more arrested
"Two more milk dealers were arrested in Hebei late on Monday for allegedly adulterating the products they sold to Sanlu to earn more money, taking the total arrest to four.
"Twenty-two others have been detained for their alleged involvement in the scandal, Shi Guizhong, a spokesman for Hebei provincial public security bureau, said.
"The newly arrested dealers, both in the early 40s, were identified just as Ma and Zhao.
"Ma, a resident of Luquan city, ran a farm in his hometown where some 400 cows gave about 3 tons of milk every day. Last November, Ma bought about 200 kg of melamine, which he used to mix with the fresh milk to artificially raise its "protein" content. Police have seized about 15 kg of melamine from his house.
"Zhao, a native of Jinzhou city, worked as manager of a cattle-breeding farm in Dahe township of Luquan. Police said he bought four bags of melamine, 80 kg in total, to mix it with milk.
"The Centre for Food Safety (FSC) of Hong Kong Tuesday said melamine had been found in an Yili ice bar sample in the special administrative region.
"After testing 27 ice cream and milk samples, the FSC found a Shanghai-manufactured Yili product "Natural Choice Yogurt Flavored Ice Bar with Real Fruit" (90ml) to be contaminated with 15 ppm of melamine. Fifteen ppm means 15 mg in a kg.
""It will not cause huge health risk under normal consumption," a spokesman for the FSC said.
"Chen Junshi, a senior researcher with the National Institute for Nutrition and Food Safety, said the tests show it has been a common practice in the industry to mix melamine with dairy products".
Where have we heard this before? >:(
Question, since I haven't followed this topic completely: is the Chinese government only testing for Melamine, because they knew it was being added anyways; or are they testing for any other chemicals? Like, when it all started here, at first just Melamine, then another, then another, then another....
All I've seen in the various news reports is melamine brought up. If someone has any links that show they're looking for other chemicals like cyanuric acid, etc., please share.
My understanding is that after the pet food tragedy here, China passed a law making the addition of melamine to food products illegal. Never heard that they also outlawed the addition of cyanuric acid.
It's interesting to note that there was no melamine found in the goods for export and those sent to the Olympics--looks like they expected that these would be tested for it but not the domestic products.
The August OASIS reports states under United States Land O Lakes had milk spray whole powdered returned -----reason poisonous. What does this mean ? What poison?
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/8/ora_oasis_c_us.html
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/ora_oasis_viol.html#251
Reason: POISONOUS
Section: 402(a)(1), 801(a)(3); ADULTERATION
Charge: The article appears to contain a poisonous or
deleterious substance which may render it injurious to
health.
Reason: POISONOUS
Section: 601(a), 801(a)(3); ADULTERATION
Charge: The cosmetic appears to bear or contain a poisonous
or deleterious substance which may render it injurious to
users under the conditions prescribed in the labeling
thereof, or, under such conditions of use as are customary
They're not really very direct in telling us what was found to gain a label of poisonous. When we were reading the pet food and various grain/vegetable protein refusals, they were labeled the same way and it was up to us to connect the dots and assume melamine and/or cyanuric acid was found.
Mr. Liao Xinbo, vice director of the Health Department in Guangdong, said in his article published Sept. 13, "I think hundreds of millions of Chinese people, without knowing it, have been eating pork, beef and chicken which are fed with melamine-tainted feeds. [They have also been] drinking adult milk powders with the melamine added for many years. Unknowingly, everyone has been contaminated with melamine."[/color] So they have been slowly killing the kidneys of these innocent people by doing this for HOW MANY YEARS! I am so utterly beside myself with anger held in check that our poor pets had to be the canaries in the coal mines for this all to come out. How big of a problem with kidney issues do they have there with all these poor people being fed this, arrrrhggghhhg, eating their livestock loaded with it, OMG. Would anyone know if there are any companies here who are availing themselves of this powdered mystery stuff and feeding/putting in the food, etc here? Would there be kidney problems if this weren't in the food-ask yourself that.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=a01qefqeLN1o&refer=asia
The scandal raises questions about the effectiveness of tighter controls China promised after scares over contaminated seafood, toothpaste and pet-food exports. Tainted milk powder was exported to five countries in Asia and Africa, with no shipments to the U.S. or Europe, quality inspection director Li Changjiang said at a briefing today in Beijing.
Kidney Failure
A total of 6,244 infants were taken to clinics on suspicion of being poisoned, of which 1,327 were hospitalized and 158 were found to have kidney failure, Chen said. Most of those affected showed symptoms three to six months after ingesting Sanlu milk powder, Chen said.
kidney failure is completely different than kidney stones that were first reported... ???
In remembering such things as the reporting on SARS from China, it makes me suspicious that the number of sick/dead babies is higher - possibly much higher - than the Chinese are reporting.
I also question whether the reporting of no shipments to the US or Europe only means
no shipments of contaminated powders directly. That says nothing about shipments
of finished product utilizing melamine contaminated powders, and we all know how
effectively global product shipments are "traced."
3Cat-
I agree with you because all we seem to know is that no milk powder, per se, has been exported to the US. But we don't know what MIC food products which have been exported here may have been made with the contaminated milk powder, if any.
I believe we ought to absolutely pepper Fonterra New Zealand and Fonterra US with a demand to behave as
a good global corporate citizen now, since they acquiesced in the Chinese government coverup for the Olympics,
to make public the names of all possible product manufacturers in China and New Zealand and the United States
that use Fonterra milk and cheese powder products. Off to look for contact email addresses.
Oh, Oh,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fonterra
Fonterra have recently suggested that they will move their US headquarters from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Chicago, Illinois adjacent to the Chicago O'Hare International Airport for close proximity to a wide range of international flights, proximity to public transportation, their dairy suppliers and clients (Kraft Foods Inc. and General Mills Inc.)in the Midwest
Brands
Key Brands
Anchor
Tip Top
Anlene
Anmum
Mainland
Brands in New Zealand
Anchor (milk)
Anlene
Tip Top and Kapiti (icecream)
Country Goodness
Yoghurt-2-Go, De Winkel, Fresh and Fruity, Metchnikoff, and Slimmers Choice (yoghurt)
Anchor Calciyum
Primo (flavoured milk), Primo Extremo
Mainland, Kapiti, Ferndale and Galaxy (cheese)
Brands in Australia
Brownes Calcium Plus
Bega Cheese[3]
Peters and Brownes[4]
Riverina Fresh [5]
http://www.foodnavigator.com/Financial-Industry/Fonterra-appoints-European-dairy-distributor
Fonterra appoints European dairy distributor
09-Jan-2007 - Univar food ingredient brand Fiske has been appointed the European distributor for international dairy giant Fonterra
Contact us form:
http://www.fonterra.com/wps/wcm/connect/fonterracom/fonterra.com/home/contact+us/
Fonterra also manufactures pharmaceutical excipients and is partnered with the Clover brand in South Africa.
I'm having trouble finding email addresses, just the contact us form above. So if you find anything, please post.
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err28/err28e.pdf
Attractiveness of U.S. Dairy Market
Three characteristics of the U.S. dairy industry attract foreign investment,
alliances, and partnerships: (1) the sheer size of the market and the
dynamism of U.S. consumer demand; (2) the absence of supply controls for
raw milk production; and (3) liberal foreign investment policies in the
United States, compared with other high-income markets.
Can anyone post a screen shot of Table 9 on Fonterra?
http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=20606
US food giant after Fonterra
Fonterra is being weighed up as a global partner by US-based pharmaceutical and food giant Wyeth, Philadelphia. The company is also a world leader in nutritional products for infants and young children and Fonterra in Waikato will produce 11,500 tonnes of these products for Wyeth this year.
We cannot afford a first mistake.
It wasn't enough when you killed thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of pets in the United States in 2007. In 2008, you're killing
babies. Is that enough of a "first mistake" to wake up government regulators and multinational corporations?
Global networks arising from partnerships among major dairy companies
Europe, Africa, and Asia---Fonterra---North and South AmericaDairy
-------------------------World's largest dairy Exporting company (new Zealand based)
Arla Foods-----------Arla Foods Fonterra--------DairiConcepts--------------Dairy Farmers of America
Largest European----Joint venture—marketing---Joint venture—first U.S.----Largest U.S.
dairy cooperative----distribution of branded-----commercial operation for----dairy cooperative
(Scandinavian based)-products-----------------milk protein concentrates
Clover Industries-----Clover Fonterra Ingredients-----------Dairy America
Largest South--------Joint venture—marketing-------------Federated marketing-Alliance with seven
African dairy----------bulk ingredients in-------------------company—Fonterra--U.S dairy cooperatives
company-------------sub-Saharan Africa------------------exports U.S. nonfat--U.S dairy cooperatives
---------------------------------------------------------- dry milk
Britannia Industries-----Britannia/Fonterra-------SanCor/Fonterra------------SanCor
Leading dairy company-Joint venture to market--Fonterra exports------------Argentina's largest
in India affiliated with-- dairy products in India---cheese and powders--------dairy cooperative
Danone (French based)-------------------------from Argentina
Nestlé--------------------------------------Dairy Partners Americas
Largest multinational supplying brands--------Joint venture—sourcing fresh
and distribution expertise--------------------milk from South America with
--------------------------------------------ingredients from New Zealand
Source: Prepared by USDA, Economic Research Service.
Fonterra's marketing services and a stable supply of U.S. nonfat dry milk, which benefits milk producers in both New Zealand and the United States. Similarly, Fonterra signed an agreement in 2004 with Argentina's largest dairy cooperative, SanCor, to export milk powders and cheese.
Although New Zealand historically accounts for a significant share of nonfat dry milk in world trade, Fonterra is increasingly emphasizing production and exports of whole milk powders to improve overall returns to New Zealand milk producers. By entering into agreements in other dairy-producing countries, Fonterra can effectively coordinate shipments of nonfat dry milk to international markets, potentially lessening price volatility and improving returns to New Zealand milk producers, actions that would be more difficult without such partnerships. In recent years when New Zealand had shortfalls in milk production, Fonterra has been able to tap the U.S. market for nonfat dry milk to supply many East Asian markets.
This is Table 9 copied from the pdf in Google cache.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/09/17/Danish_co_implicated_in_China_milk_probe/UPI-76951221675103/
UPI September 17, 2008
Danish Company Implicated in China Milk Probe
"The Chinese government has implicated the Danish food company Arla in the tainted milk scandal that has sickened thousands of babies.
"Officials said that traces of melamine were found in powdered milk manufactured by Arla, the Copenhagen Post reported. The substance has now been discovered in milk from 22 companies.
"Arla has suspended production at an infant formula plant and recalled some other dairy products, including fresh milk, yogurt and ice cream.
"Signs of melamine poisoning have been found in more than 6,000 infants and at least three have died. Experts say the substance, generally used in plastic manufacturing, may have been put in milk to increase its protein content.
"Last year, melamine in pet food killed hundreds of dogs in the United States.
"At least four people have been arrested in China."
You see Arla in the chart in the post above.
Screenshot of Fonterra structure, minus China connection, Table 9, on the theory that one picture
is worth a thousand words. Dairy ingredients from anywhere on this chart are a possibility, including
Sanlu in China.
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err28/err28e.pdf
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aib794/aib794App.pdf
World's leading food manufacturing firms 2002--Page 1--Fonterra was # 36.
http://search.usda.gov/search?q=cache:3OG_u0lpgiYJ:http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/GlobalFoodMarkets/Data/GlobalSalesManufacturer.xls+hormel&access=p&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&client=usda&num=10&proxystylesheet=OC (http://search.usda.gov/search?q=cache:3OG_u0lpgiYJ:http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/GlobalFoodMarkets/Data/GlobalSalesManufacturer.xls+hormel&access=p&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&client=usda&num=10&proxystylesheet=OC)
Global sales by manufacturer 2006--Fonterra is # 45.
Those rankings are for packaged foods, I think. I'm not sure if that includes Fonterra's
powder products that are packaged by Kraft in my mac n cheese or by General Mills in
my breakfast cereal or nutrition bar. ???
I am not hearing anything in depth about this on the news. I only see it on the ticker tape running below the cable news anchors. I think they don't want anyone thinking it could be here contaminating powdered milk and cheeses, etc. It's amazing that this doesn't get more coverage--just like the pet food all over again, but possibly further reaching.
This is interesting--and angering:
http://www.forbes.com/markets/2008/09/17/china-milk-scandal-markets-equity-cx_tw_0917markets03.html
Forbes September 17, 2008
Olympics Led To Milk Scandal Hush-Up, Some Say
""There is no question that the PR disaster of this happening during the Olympics is a major factor in the way the problem was handled," said Qingdao-based lawyer Steven Dickinson, a partner at Harris Moure. Chinese leaders were keen to avoid airing any food safety concerns close to or during the Olympics. "They were simply following orders. It was an impossible situation for the participants," he noted.
"Dickinson said some Chinese lawyers have told him that Sanlu may face minor fines because China's food safety law focuses on primary suppliers rather than manufacturers higher up the supply chain. "There is a strong attempt right now to push the liability away from Sanlu and onto the intermediate-level suppliers of milk," he observed. The government said it has dispatched 5,000 inspectors to dairy farms across the country."
So it looks like Sanlu, who was aware of the contamination and did nothing for a long time, will get off lightly in all of this.
this is angering as well... >:(
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/1316907/2085421
Ferrier says that dairy companies cannot test for every known poison.
"It's a brutal lesson to learn that someone can contaminate a product in this way.
"To our knowledge, there isn't a dairy company in the world which tests for melamine because it's not a naturally occurring substance in milk," he says.
"If somebody breaks the law and puts a poison chemical in the milk, we're all vulnerable to that.
"Fonterra missed testing for melamine ... so did everybody else," says Ferrier, who then corrected himself to say Sanlu missed testing.
ISN'T THE REASON FOR TESTING FOR CONTAMINANTS IS TO FIND THINGS THAT ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THERE???? (had to yell, sorry >:()
It's just below the "milk radar screen." I believe I'm going to puke. Why don't I have a barf icon? >:(
The pet food industry in the US tried to use that excuse in 2007. The FDA developed a specialized test to detect the presence
of melamine and cyanuric acid for all of you. The media in a million different places reported that China and perhaps a lot of other
countries spike their foods with melamine and cyanuric acid to cheaply and artificially boost its protein content. That excuse is pathetic
to a degree that cannot escape legal punishment, in my humble opinion. Next don't even try and tell me that babies are only property
and have no intrinsic value beyond their replacement costs.
History is in the process of repeating itself. This time it's human lives at stake. The entrenched bureaucracies in Washington, D.C., and
every representative in Congress better produce regulations to deal with the threat of multinational corporations adulterating our
food supply in very short order.
Quote from: menusux on September 17, 2008, 01:01:24 PM
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/09/17/Danish_co_implicated_in_China_milk_probe/UPI-76951221675103/
UPI September 17, 2008
Danish Company Implicated in China Milk Probe
"The Chinese government has implicated the Danish food company Arla in the tainted milk scandal that has sickened thousands of babies.
"Officials said that traces of melamine were found in powdered milk manufactured by Arla, the Copenhagen Post reported. The substance has now been discovered in milk from 22 companies.
"Arla has suspended production at an infant formula plant and recalled some other dairy products, including fresh milk, yogurt and ice cream.
"Signs of melamine poisoning have been found in more than 6,000 infants and at least three have died. Experts say the substance, generally used in plastic manufacturing, may have been put in milk to increase its protein content.
"Last year, melamine in pet food killed hundreds of dogs in the United States.
"At least four people have been arrested in China."
You see Arla in the chart in the post above.
Isn't this the pot calling the kettle black? Blaming the company that you got the stuff from as the culprit when the blame should be shared equally as they didn't test the stuff either to see if it was safe or not. Just sold it to the people who never knew of the toxic surprise waiting for their lil babies. No one should feel sorry for these places instead save your concern and hope for these lil babies that they survive being poisoned by the very places that their parents trusted. Sheesh they did it to our pets now their own children, how utterly horrible, just horrible.
Every place along the supply line from the original source to the final finished product - all the companies involved should be mandatorily be made to test for toxins that should not be there at all no matter what country is selling the finished product/foodstuff/etc!!
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/18/content_10070863.htm
Xinhuan News September 18, 2008
No melamine found in imported dairy products
"No melamine was found in 224 samples of dairy products imported from 18 countries and regions, China's quality watchdog said on Wednesday
"Meanwhile, it issued an urgent circular on Wednesday, ordering inspection and quarantine departments nationwide to increase melamine tests on imported and exported feed, with a view to "ensuring safety of feed and feed additives".
"The State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) required local departments to improve supervision over feed import and export companies, increase sample proportion for melamine tests, strictly look into the responsibility of relevant companies' product safety officials and work with local customs to trace fake quarantine certificates and illegal activities such as escaping from inspections.
"It would soon organize spot tests on feed exporters in key regions and list those with bad records. Local departments would hand law-violating cases to the police, said the circular."
So it seems that buying imported if you're in China is the safest.
It also looks like there will be more stringent checking than before on feed and feed ingredients that are sourced from China. What a shame there were so many tragedies both this year and last year before this happened!
China will have a much easier time inspecting our US imports:
Trade Balance US - China, January to July, 2008: -142,339.7 (in millions of dollars)
US exports to China: 43,128.8
US imports from China: 185,468.5
http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html#2008
Trade Balance US - China, January to December, 2007: -256,206.7 (in millions of dollars)
US exports to China: 65,236.1
US imports from China: 321,442.9
http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html#2007
The US inspects what? Somewhere between one to three percent of all imports from everywhere?
This remains a disaster waiting to happen. Something needs to be done by regulators about inspection
and safety standards by manufacturers/importers/distributors/retailers very quickly.
More-
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/18/asia/AS-China-Baby-Formula-Recall.php
International Herald Tribune/Associated Press September 18, 2008
12 more arrested in China's tainted milk scandal
"Police also confiscated 660 pounds (300 kilograms) of suspected chemicals, including 490 pounds (223 kilograms) of melamine, he said. In addition to the 18 arrests, 87 people were summoned for questioning and 28 people have been detained, according to Shijiazhuang Vice Mayor Zhang Meizhi."
We don't know whether any of the non-melamine suspected chemicals mentioned might be cyanuric acid or not.
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSSP21493420080918?pageNumber=3&virtualBrandChannel=0
Reuters September 17, 2008
China vows clean-up as baby milk scare spreads
Page 3
"A vice governor of Hebei, Yang Chongyong, said on Wednesday that Sanlu knew "long ago" that melamine was being used in its milk from as early as 2005, reported a mainland-controlled Hong Kong newspaper, the Wen Wei Po."
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/17/asia/milk.php?page=2
Anger over tainted milk rises in China
On Wednesday afternoon, a popular Internet chat room operated by People's Daily, the Communist Party's authoritative newspaper, offered a live question-and-answer session with a nurse and government scientist.
But public confidence seemed shaken.
"What should we eat then?" asked one person commenting on a discussion forum, expressing a common sentiment. "I'm furious! The milk powder is now exposed, but what about other tainted food that we don't know about? What has the central government been doing every day?" ...
Zhang, the migrant worker, said his infant daughter was still waiting for the second urine test. The waiting list was so long that her ultrasound is not scheduled for six more days. He said he and his wife chose the Sanlu brand because it was cheaper; it cost the couple about $3.20 for two days' worth of formula compared with about $5 for the top brands.
"I read a story in the newspaper two days ago," said Zhang, explaining how he learned about the problem. "I was stunned. My concern is that whether or not people will be held accountable and whether they will be put in jail. They might simply buy their way out.
"I want to see them jailed or even executed for this."
I believe people in lots of countries are echoing some of these sentiments.
I wish they would disclose the "other" chemicals and the levels of melamine detected in these products. In a "global trade" environment, we've all been exposed to various interpretations & dilution theories.. IMO these contaminations are rarely isolated events. ..We just don't get told because of the "accepted" levels- no worry, right? Sigh, I keep waiting on the other shoe to drop...
From a 2007 NV archived Melamine post:
http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=how+to+boost+protein+with+non+protein+nitrogen&d=73879780132869&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=f51a331b,f1aabf06
"Over 99% of the toxicology studies done on the mode of action (MOA) and pathology of melamine have been conducted in rodents (mice and rats). No data exist on the direct consequences of melamine ingestion in people and pets. That being said, toxic levels for humans and pets have been determined based on rodent data. Scientists know that it takes 2,000-8,000 parts per million (ppm) to elicit any type of pathological consequence in rodents. The EPA has devised a method of extrapolating these data from laboratory rodents to larger animals, factoring in a 100 fold safety level. Thus, if the value 4,000 ppm was presumed to be the lethal dose in rodents, the FDA has determined that 40 ppm is the safe upper limit (SUL) in pet and people food. This level is far below toxic levels. Even 900 ppm is still well below toxic levels."
(ETA: keeping in mind that when these tests for toxicity are done that they are done on "healthy" animals.... at this point in time, I'd bet laboratory animals are the only "healthy" creatures on this planet.. and toxicity studies would not be reflective of the realities of health consequences in an environment of pollutions & contaminations such as ours..)
sadly another child has died...wonder what the real number is...and I finally see "acute renal failure" so not just "kidney stones" and like others want to know the levels and what else is in the powder...my money is on CA! >:(
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080918/wl_nm/china_milk_dc
A regional Chinese health authority said on Thursday a fourth child had died at a hospital in remote northwestern Xinjiang. The report on the authority's website (www.xjwst.gov.cn) gave no further details.
At the latest count, 6,244 children have become ill with kidney stones after drinking powdered milk laced with melamine, with three deaths and 158 suffering "acute kidney failure."
You also have to wonder how many infants have died or been sickend by this and the cause wasn't even known.
With all the contamination & adultration issues over there, I would be surprised if there is any pure melamine being produced. They probably spike the melamine with cheaper NPN compounds to raise the results of N testing on it.
Pure MELAMINE - is that not what plastic dishes are made out of? Who would care if it was pure - that would mean not diluted going into the foodstuffs to boost the protein content.
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/china/tainted-milk-sanlu-group-china-4399.html
Epoch Times September 18, 2008
Tainted Milk Has Been Concealed for Three Years, Deputy Governor Admitted
"Hebei Province deputy Governor Yang Suiyong admitted on September 17 that an investigation unveiled that Sanlu Group, a milk vendor, started mixing melamine in milk since 2005 and had concealed it all along.
""Caijing" Magazine reported that, Yang admitted on September 17 that government of Hebei Province and especially the government of Shijiazhuang City should both bear responsibility for Sanlu's milk powders.
"Shijiazhuang was where the problem powdered milk was found first.
"Shijiazuang's Sanlu Group Co., Ltd. reported to Shijiazhuang government on August 2 that the quality of powdered milk had problems. The city government did not announce to the society promptly, and did not report to the provincial government until September 9th.
"Yang stated that the police are investigating whether Sanlu mixed melamine their milk production. He said, before reporting to Shijiazhuang government, Sanlu had adopted measures to cover up the situation. But he did not elaborate on the details.
"According to the initial investigation by Hebei Province, 41 of the 372 Sanlu fresh milk supply centers mixed melamine in milk. Presently, the police have arrested 4 of the 27 suspects.
"Before this, Sanlu claimed that it was the milk farmers that mixed melamine in milk.
"According to Yang, because melamine is only slightly soluble, through heating, suspects added other chemicals to promote the dissolution of melamine."
How much worse can this sitch get? Wait, don't tell me...
well if melamine was beiing used for years and no reported kidney failures or stones reported until recently I wonder if it is because they changed whatever they were also adding to something like cyanuric acid....I have to say I am surprised we are getting info from there...just wonder how much of it is true and what they are not telling the press...
doesn't this all sound just too familiar? >:(
It was posited during the pet food recalls that melamine had been added to the wheat gluten for years but that perhaps companies had "gotten greedy" and spiked the amount of melamine being added in order to increase profits. Maybe it's the same possibility with the milk powders.
I'm having a hard time believing there are no US foods with this stuff in it. If I had my own lab, I'd like to walk into a grocery store right now and start pulling things off the shelf for testing - granola bars, protein powders, etc.
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-suspected-chinese-officials-say-baby-formula-tied-to-kidney-stones-t6256.0.html;msg86870#msg86870
Here on this thread we went back to the 2 New York Times stories on adding melamine and cyanuric acid to feed. Both stories cite people who say that both practices have been going on there for years.
And now, we're seeing this:
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1559772/south_korea_launches_probe_into_chinese_biscuits_following_milk_powder/
Text of report in English by South Korean news agency Yonhap
September 18, 2008
South Korea Launches Probe into Chinese Biscuits Following Milk Powder Scandal
"South Korea's food protection agency said Thursday it has started a probe to look into whether imported biscuits and other processed foods from China contain a poisonous chemical, following reports of a mounting scandal over tainted Chinese baby formula.
"The Korea Food and Drug Administration said it has collected some 615 imported Chinese food products on sale in South Korea believed to contain the contaminated milk formula as an ingredient.
""It is not known whether the imported products were made using any of the 22 baby formula products, but the investigation is aimed at allaying consumer fears here," said an official at the KFDA.
"The investigation will take at least a week, the official added."
I cannot believe as of this morning 4 babies are dead from this. I agree with all you I would love to know what is really in half the stuff I eat and feed my furkids. SIGH This whole think makes me ill. I fear it has made its way over here again some how some where.
I watched a web video clip about the milk powder scandal yesterday and saw a Chinese grocery store sign for infant powder and adult milk powder. What is adult milk powder? Do you think the adult milk powder refers to the protein-type drinks athletes drink and/or those nutritious drinks for the elderly such as Ensure or the meal substitute drinks?
Quote from: purringfur on September 18, 2008, 09:05:14 AM
I watched a web video clip about the milk powder scandal yesterday and saw a Chinese grocery store sign for infant powder and adult milk powder. What is adult milk powder? Do you think the adult milk powder refers to the protein-type drinks athletes drink and/or those nutritious drinks for the elderly such as Ensure or the meal substitute drinks?
well, we have this in the US..used to use this in my younger years...
http://www.verybestbaking.com/products/carnation/dry/
I am now off to email them about their milk powder.... ???
From China's government website, an explanation of Chinese food producing companies that have been "exempt" from inspections. Why were they exempt you may ask? The exemption is a "special reward" granted to Chinese companies since 2000 because they had a reputation of quality products; big market shares and strict safety controls in place. Sanlu Group was one of these "exempt" companies.
"Take Sanlu for example. The company, based in Shijiazhuang, was fully aware of the contamination but kept the fact from the public."
http://english.gov.cn/2008-09/18/content_1099219.htm
http://www.tradekey.com/ks-adult-milk-powder/
Search of adult milk sellers from Tradekey--website is similar to AliBaba.
http://unitedairy.21food.com/showroom/35368/product/Adult-Milk-Powder.html
Adult milk powder 21Food--again site is like AliBaba.
It looks like they define adult milk powder as powdered milk which is not strictly formulated for infants and young children.
computer cautionary note:
McAfee Site Advisor:
21food.com
When we tested this site we found links to 21food.cn, which we found to be a distributor of downloads some people consider
adware, spyware or other potentially unwanted programs.
Are you the owner of this site? Leave a comment
Contact information: Country China Popularity Many users
"Hong Kong has ordered the recall of a Chinese Company's products after milk, ice cream and yogurt were found to be contaminated with melamine..."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080918/wl_nm/china_milk_dc
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/hong-kong-recall-expands-china/story.aspx?guid=%7B2F84FFF3-605D-4094-9FC1-4C7EB0B5FE8B%7D&dist=msr_1 (http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/hong-kong-recall-expands-china/story.aspx?guid=%7B2F84FFF3-605D-4094-9FC1-4C7EB0B5FE8B%7D&dist=msr_1)
MarketWatch September 18, 2008
"Constance Chan, the head of Hong Kong's Centre for Food Safety said that various items produced by mainland Chinese firm Yili were found to contain the chemical, normally used in plastics production.
"Yili -- an Inner Mongolia-based company that serves as one of China's largest dairy producers -- responded with a recall of all of its milk, yogurt, ice cream and ice cream, according to the Associated Press.
"Several reports said Hong Kong authorities had discovered melamine in eight out of 30 products tested.
"The company had previously been among those to recall infant milk-powder formula after melamine was blamed for the deaths of at least four infants and the sickening of thousands of others in China's interior."
http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12262271
Prodding from the government of New Zealand may have been what eventually goaded the Chinese authorities into action. On September 8th it told them what it had learnt from Fonterra, a New Zealand dairy company that owns 43% of Sanlu. Fonterra says it was told by Sanlu of a problem with the powder on August 2nd, six days before the games.
Helen Clark, New Zealand's prime minister, said Fonterra had tried "for weeks" to persuade local officials to allow a public recall. Instead, in an unpublicised recall, powder was withdrawn from shops. Fonterra has defended its decision to keep its information under wraps for so long. "If you don't follow the rules of an individual market place then I think you are getting irresponsible", says the company's chief executive, Andrew Ferrier.
...
But officials still appear nervous about public reaction to the news. Chinese journalists say the Communist Party's Propaganda Department has ordered all but the party's most trusted media to refrain from investigating the story. At Sanlu's headquarters people lining up to return their powder complain that the local press has barely covered the issue.
shades of March 2007 >:( >:( >:(
Fonterra has defended its decision to keep its information under wraps for so long. "If you don't follow the rules of an individual market place then I think you are getting irresponsible", says the company's chief executive, Andrew Ferrier.
This expanding nightmare revives so many ugly memories of the US 2007 pet food recalls. I know I'm into ranting.
Sight I would like to see:
Middlemen Paul Henderson of Menu Foods Income Fund lunching with Andrew Ferrier of Fonterra New Zealand on
2007 Special Kitty cat food, topped with 2008 Pedigree Small Crunchy Bites dog food, dessert of Yili ice cream,
and toasting each others respective profit margins with Sanlu milk ;D - I'll quit now.
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on September 18, 2008, 10:47:00 AM
Fonterra has defended its decision to keep its information under wraps for so long. "If you don't follow the rules of an individual market place then I think you are getting irresponsible", says the company's chief executive, Andrew Ferrier.
This expanding nightmare revives so many ugly memories of the US 2007 pet food recalls. I know I'm into ranting.
Sight I would like to see:
Middlemen Paul Henderson of Menu Foods Income Fund lunching with Andrew Ferrier of Fonterra New Zealand on
2007 Special Kitty cat food, topped with 2008 Pedigree Small Crunchy Bites dog food, dessert of Yili ice cream,
and toasting each others respective profit margins with Sanlu milk ;D - I'll quit now.
Well 3cat, I can supply the 2007/2006 food! Got plenty chilled...
ps...it is okay to rant I think...we all understand this is so much deja vu all over again...
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/18/asia/AS-China-Baby-Formula-Recall-Q-A.php
International Herald Tribune September 18, 2008
"Thus far, all of the deaths and illnesses have been linked to formula from one producer, Sanlu, based in the northern Chinese city of Shijiazhuang.
Some questions consumers may be asking:
Q. What is melamine and why was it added to raw milk?
A. Melamine is a chemical that can be derived from coal and is about 66 percent nitrogen. It is combined with other chemicals to produce plastics. It is found in fertilizer, flame retardant clothing, countertops, dyes, glues and many other household items. When added to milk, it gives the appearance of higher protein levels, even though it contains no nutrients. Most protein tests take nitrogen levels, so melamine's chemical structure is able to fool the instruments. Some dairies water down their milk, and melamine boosts protein readouts to mask the result.
Q. How does melamine harm those who ingest it?
A. Melamine is blamed for causing kidney stones leading to renal failure among infants. U.S. scientists last year hypothesized that it combined with another chemical, cyanuric acid, to cause kidney failure in cats and dogs in North America who ate pet food made from imported Chinese ingredients.
Q. When was latest outbreak detected and how did companies and officials respond?
A. The company at the heart of the scandal, Sanlu, which is 43 percent owned by New Zealand's Fonterra, received complaints as early as March and company tests in August found the milk powder contained melamine. However, no recall was ordered until Sept. 11, after New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark informed officials in Beijing of the problem. Some have speculated that Sanlu held off on taking action to avoid a national embarrassment during August's Beijing Olympic, although no one in the company has confirmed such talk.
Q. Were any of the milk products exported outside of China?
A. Yes. Guangdong-based Yashili and Qingdao-based Suncare, have recalled tainted milk powder that was exported to Bangladesh, Yemen, Gabon, Burundi and Myanmar. In Hong Kong, milk, yogurt, ice cream and other products made by Yili Industrial Group Co. were recalled.
Q. What are the long-term plans to deal with the problem?
A. Overseas regulators stepped up testing for melamine following last year's pet deaths. U.S. authorities meanwhile have been working with Chinese regulators to boost their own system of inspections and testing, although those stricter rules have yet to be consolidated at the grass roots. No announcements have been made concerning tighter controls over Chinese melamine production and distribution."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China_Business/JI18Cb01.html
Asia Times online
Still, the crackdowns, inspections and sackings are unlikely to appease angry parents who told state media that the company ignored their complaints about their sick children as early as March. According to health officials, the first two reported deaths - a 5-month-old boy and an 8-month-old girl - occurred in Gansu province on May 1 and July 22.
Just to make a record on the earliest yet reported dates of deaths and reconfirm reports of problems going back to March 2008.
I don't know if by "adult milk powder" mentioned by Purringfur above, they mean the same thing as the "milk protein concentrate" used in many products in the US and worldwide. Or how the "whey protein concentrate" would figure in. Because I use some of these products due to medical necessity, I have emailed two companies asking where their ingredients are sourced from. Here is an article on how milk protein concentrate is made (in case the process would suggest any clues to anyone about this issue):
http://www.innovatewithdairy.com/InnovateWithDairy/Articles/IF_Facts_MPC_062905.htm
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/09/19/asia/19milk.php
International Herald Tribune September 19, 2008
"An FDA official said the agency was also inspecting bulk shipments from Asia to examine milk-derived ingredients, like milk protein concentrate and whey powder, in order to determine if they were contaminated with melamine. So far all the samples have shown no contamination."
Since this sounds so much like the pet cover-up when info was withheld til Iams threatened to step up, how many products on american shelves is this cwap in? Sorry if I have little faith in someone saying - no its not - when the pet food recalls proved way differently over and over with all the food.
Some Chinese yogurt products are found in Toronto Canada; none has actual been proven to be tainted but they are from the suspected companies and are being tested.
http://money.canoe.ca/News/Sectors/Consumer/2008/09/18/6802486-sun.html
The situation is now involving more than milk powder or products made with milk powder:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7624498.stm
BBC News September 19, 2008
China tainted milk scandal widens
"The scandal of tainted dairy products in China has widened, with liquid milk now found to be contaminated.
"Inspectors found that 10% of liquid milk taken from three dairies was tainted with melamine.
"China's quality watchdog, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, tested liquid milk from three dairies.
"Its website said 10% of the milk from the country's two largest - Mengniu Dairy Group and Yili Industrial Group - contained up to 8.4 milligrams of melamine per kg.
"Products from Shanghai-based Bright Dairy were also contaminated, it said."
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=ayHwtUisulDg&refer=asia
Bloomberg.com September 19, 2008
"China has found the toxic chemical melamine in batches of liquid milk and yogurt from the nation's biggest producers, broadening a scandal in the country's $19 billion dairy industry.
"Batches of liquid milk and yogurt produced by China Mengniu Dairy Co., Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co. and Bright Dairy & Food Co., the country's top three dairy producers by value, contained melamine, the Chinese quality watchdog said, adding to a list of infant formulas already known to be tainted.
" ``We believe the whole Chinese dairy sector will be significantly impacted as Mengniu, Yili and Bright Dairy in total had more than 60 percent market share in 2007,'' UBS AG analyst Lei Chen said in a note."
The last paragraph of the link states: Health scares and fatalities in recent years have ranged from the contamination of seafood to toothpaste and, last year, to pet food exported to the US. Is this a typo or is pet food being made over there also besides the treats and shipped here? Was the supposed bag that was found labeled melamine over here at the one plant just to throw someone off the track? Still no one has come up with any kind of explanation of pets continuing to have reactions to the food out there that our pet humans are trustingly feeding to their fur babies.
Sorry to be off topic but this paragraph tied it in with the spiked milk and now with gawd know how many other products they will find it in - what about cheese, sour cream, butter among other dairy products? Are they checking that too?
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/18/china.tainted.milk/
The positive samples came from the Mengniu, Yili and Bright dairies, according to the Xinhua news agency. All of the samples contained trace amounts of tripolycyanamide, also known as melamine.
Health experts say ingesting melamine can lead to kidney stones, urinary tract ulcers, and eye and skin irritation.
.
Just in case tripolycyanamide is in any way chemically reactive or different from melamine.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4697597a6479.html
Melamine tests clear Kiwi milk
A "very small number" of other products potentially contained Chinese milk, such as body-building supplements, icecreams and coffee whitener, Ms Daly said.
There were claims yesterday that the milk scandal was hushed up because of the Olympic Games in Beijing, and that some company officials had not acted because of sensitivities during the international sporting spectacle.
Fonterra - which owns 43 per cent of SanLu, the company which made the baby milk products first found to contain melamine - said last night it would not comment on speculation about the Olympics.
Otago University international marketing specialist John Knight believed the damage to Fonterra's corporate image would be limited, though there could be significant financial losses.
"If they do everything they can to make amends, they should come out of it quite well." ...
WHAT IS MELAMINE AND HOW DOES IT CAUSE HARM?
Melamine is an industrial chemical, rich in nitrogen, used in making plastics and glues.
It may have been been illegally added to inferior milk to make it appear as if it contained extra protein.
Melamine is absorbed from the gut and quickly transported around the body, concentrating in the kidneys. It has low solubility, causing crystals to form in the kidneys.
When melamine mixes with other naturally occurring bodily substances such as uric acid, kidney stones can form. This causes blockage and can be fatal if not treated quickly.
This seems to imply that you don't even need cyanuric acid(?)
Just in case tripolycyanamide is in any way chemically reactive or different from melamiine.
WHAT IS MELAMINE AND HOW DOES IT CAUSE HARM?
Melamine is an industrial chemical, rich in nitrogen, used in making plastics and glues.
Melamine is absorbed from the gut and quickly transported around the body, concentrating in the kidneys. It has low solubility, causing crystals to form in the kidneys.
When melamine mixes with other naturally occurring bodily substances such as uric acid, kidney stones can form. This causes blockage and can be fatal if not treated quickly.[/color]
[/quote]When melamine mixes with uric acid - is this the missing part that caused so many cats to die and sickened and killed so many dogs also? The melamine just needed the uric acid that all animals have to give it the lethal punch to kill without anyone being able to have to the time to treat because of not knowing what you needed to know to treat it. What a bunch of scum, pure scum IMO all of those who willfully did this just for the money, always the money no matter if its humans or animals.
The process by which the melamine is made is another factor which can include use of/ scraps from the processing to make melamine: cyanamide ( A caustic acidic crystalline compound, NHCNH, prepared by treating calcium cyanamide with sulfuric acid), mercuric oxide (can cause vomiting, diarrhea etc), Benzoguanamine, urea, another reactive agent Formaldehyde, polymer resins, etc.
(a link from 3cat that was posted by Codybear
http://itchmoforums.com/news-recall-related/how-the-fda-is-testing-for-melamine-t402.0.html
and one from PetConnection recent Comments by Bernard J. (Bernie) Starzewski
http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2008/09/14/china-holds-19-in-melamine-baby-formula-case/
)
I think I'd be pretty naive to think they're using high grade materials for making "high grade" melamine, especially in light of the business news article below and the fact that I believe any government agency protects businesses first and will not disclose the other contributors to the toxicity in this whole mess, no matter if melamine nor do they tell us how salmonella ends up in so many products:
http://www.icis.com/Articles/2008/09/09/9154741/china-credit-controls-keep-trade-sluggish.html
China credit controls keep trade sluggish
"The smaller players had either shut down or gone bankrupt as they did not have sufficient working capital to afford high feedstock costs. Lull demand conditions also means a locked liquidity position," Wang Fang, a trader with Shaoxing-based Vision Export Co said.
A source from melamine producer, Tianjin Kaiwei complained: "There is more business to be done out there but we do not have sufficient cash to buy urea feedstock to keep up melamine production."
Are we still getting melamine contamination through our food or pet food ingredients? I'd say yes since that's a current news article about feedstock. Now milk is giving them a nice blanket to cover them while they do business as usual with even lower quality processing of melamine..and the monitoring of the melamine adulteration has yet to mention feedstock.. it's focused on the milk/human foods....
Will the focus on melamine adulteration of human foods make more melamine available for the animal feed/pet food ingredient industry ???? I seriously doubt that the ethics and morals will kick in with the realization that either way, it's adulteration.. most likely it's just a way to make more bucks on a broader scale with more NPN available for use in the animal feed/pet food industries- transferring protein boosting profits from human foods to animals/pets.
I think that until regulations cover animal feed/pet food ingredients, then we're still in trouble. To compound it all is the dilution theory, risk assessment attitudes which do NOT look at the effects of long term exposure to these contaminants.. and that makes the "SUL - safe upper limits" really terrifying:
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-suspected-chinese-officials-say-baby-formula-tied-to-kidney-stones-t6256.0.html;msg87671#msg87671
Thus, if the value 4,000 ppm was presumed to be the lethal dose in rodents, the FDA has determined that 40 ppm is the safe upper limit (SUL) in pet and people food. This level is far below toxic levels. Even 900 ppm is still well below toxic levels."
Oh, and let's not forget the completely asinine Menu Foods settlement agreement which lets them stop testing pet foods for melamine.
ETA: http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-suspected-chinese-officials-say-baby-formula-tied-to-kidney-stones-t6256.0.html;msg87259#msg87259
Then, what happens if they get wise to the solubility issues and being aware that heat processing will form melamine and the protein boosting is still retained? Will any tests find the components or are they only testing for the resulting melamine? Menu noted the solubility issues with the Chem Nutra wheat gluten early on. Would anyone catch the use of ingredients containing adulterants that still falsely boost protein content but will form melamine during the creation of finished goods?
So, here I am watching yet another round of melamine adulteration and the solution still remains what it was back in the beginning. I've come full circle back to my original opinions.. and nothing anywhere indicates it will ever happen..
http://itchmoforums.com/news-recall-related/pet-food-recall-it-could-have-been-prevented-one-pet-owners-opinion-t1118.0.html
September 18, 2008
From Chemical & Engineering News:
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/86/i38/8638news7.html
The current case first came to light in March, when major dairy product company Sanlu
began receiving complaints about its milk powder, according to Xinhua. After investigating
the matter the company recalled some of its products but didn't alert the public or the government.
The situation gained widespread attention just this month after news reports linked the rash of health
problems with the company's product. Sanlu publicly acknowledged the problem on Sept. 12.
Government tests showed that melamine content in the company's milk powder reached 2,563 mg/kg, Xinhua
reported. After officials widened their investigation, they found melamine in milk powder made by other dairy
product companies, including Yili Industrial Group and Mengniu, at levels ranging from 0.09 to 619 mg/kg.
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/news/86/i38/8638news7.html
From Chemical & Engineering News
May 12, 2008 Volume 86, Number 18 pp. 41-43
Anatomy Of A Pet Food Catastrophe
Investigators deployed an array of analytical tools while probing a wave of pet deaths in 2007
FCC staff next examined samples of the suspect wheat protein concentrate under a light microscope and separated
out what appeared to be foreign particles. Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectra of the particles, as well as DART
and GC-MS, confirmed the presence of melamine. FCC's analysis also unearthed further triazine contaminants, particularly
cyanuric acid. Satzger says that total adulterant levels in the protein concentrate ran as high as 25% by weight.
The DART technique is much quicker than GC-MS because it requires no sample preparation, Satzger notes, but it depends
on expensive equipment that's not widely available. Throughout April 2007, FCC scientists labored to develop a GC-MS method
to rapidly screen pet food samples—one that could be replicated in other labs across the country with commonly available
instrumentation. One challenge involved finding a way to test for multiple triazines, which have widely varying solubilities, in a
single run. FCC researchers working in collaboration with FDA's Pacific Regional Laboratory Northwest, in Bothell, Wash., found
that a solvent system of acetonitrile, water, and diethylamine did the trick.
During this same period, other FCC scientists were examining crystals from kidney tissue provided by FDA's Rockville, Md.-based
Center for Veterinary Medicine, Satzger says. Raman mapping studies indicated the crystals could be melamine cyanurate. Lab tests
also showed that mixing melamine and cyanuric acid in water forms melamine cyanurate crystals.
Meanwhile, Tolleson was gathering data about the toxicity of the pet food contaminants using cultured cells from the immune system known as macrophages. He found that cyanuric acid by itself was only slightly toxic; by contrast, melamine and the combination of both compounds were toxic to the macrophages.
In April 2007, Procter & Gamble toxicologist George P. Daston showed that the triazine compounds are deadly to rats when consumed in
combination, Tolleson says. Rats that ate the mixture developed the same kidney disorder seen in pet cats and dogs. Neither Daston nor
other P&G representatives would comment for this story because the company is involved in ongoing litigation associated with the contaminated pet food.
As Puschner suggested, the behavior of melamine and cyanuric acid depends on pH. Tolleson determined that different pH values in different zones in the body influence the solubility of melamine and cyanuric acid, "just as you would predict from the acid-base dissociation constants for those compounds." The compounds are most soluble in the acidic conditions of the stomach and least soluble near pH 5, which is found in parts of the kidney, he says.
Under neutral conditions, the compounds form a stable and insoluble hydrogen-bonded network; the network is destabilized at pH extremes. Accordingly, melamine cyanurate crystals could be expected to form in blood, which has a neutral pH. But they don't. "The hypothesis is that serum proteins might sequester one or both of the triazines and allow them to remain in circulation until they can be deposited in the kidney, where they precipitate," Tolleson says. He is now searching for triazine-binding proteins in the blood and urine and is studying proteins found together with melamine cyanurate in crystals.
Other researchers at the University of Guelph, in Ontario, "mixed melamine, cyanuric acid, and cat urine and reproduced the kidney stones that are quite characteristic for this melamine-associated renal failure syndrome," Tolleson says. "Using Fourier transform infrared spectrometry, they were able to get a very clear signature that melamine cyanurate was present in those crystals in affected cats."
Okay, now, what about not forming in the blood because of the ph levels?
I'm confused ..could that mean that the levels of uric acid in the blood are another issue and it's not metabolism & "just" uric acid and not "just" ph as something that makes melamine or other things toxic?
http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/uric-acid-in-blood
"High levels of uric acid in the blood can cause solid crystals to form within joints. This causes a painful condition called gout. If gout remains untreated, these uric acid crystals can build up in the joints and nearby tissues, forming hard lumpy deposits called tophi. High levels of uric acid may also cause kidney stones or kidney failure."
Now, that's not talking about uric acid & ph making melamine form the crystals in the kidneys.. That's high levels of uric acid causing kidney stones, isn't it?
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/uric+acid
white, odorless, tasteless crystalline substance formed as a result of purine degradation in man, other primates, dalmatians, birds, snakes, and lizards. The last three groups of animals also channel all amino acid degradation into the formation of glycine, aspartic acid, and glutamine, which combine to form purines and finally uric acid; these so-called uricotelic organisms thus excrete uric acid as the major end-product of the metabolism of all nitrogen-containing compounds. Uric acid is a very weak organic acid that is barely soluble in water and insoluble in alcohol and ether. The urates are its salts. Uric acid is present in human urine only in extremely small amounts but constitutes a large part of the body waste matter of birds (see guano) and of reptiles. It collects sometimes in the human kidneys or bladder in calculi, or stones, and is responsible, when present in tissues or deposited upon bones in the form of urates, for gouty conditions (see gout). It occurs also in normal human blood. The pure acid is obtained from guano and other similar substances. Upon decomposition urea is obtained.
excrete uric acid as the major end-product of the metabolism of all nitrogen-containing compounds... from that, the nitrogen in the food sources have to be contributing to the impact of melamine, ph, kidney stones, renal failure.
It's gout? and it's not "just" melamine... it's a nutritional issue too. Usable protein and changing the way we test for "true" protein in foods, animals, pets, humans is loudly put to issue IMO. Nitrogen containing compounds (NPN?) are apparently in excess in the scope of things.
Question: melamine and cyanuric acid are digested by stomach acid, absorbed into the blood
stream, sequestered by serum proteins in the blood, deposited as waste in the kidneys, where
there is also urea, uric acid, where, in high enough concentrations, the pH allows them to form the deadly
precipitate? All speculation.
"Singapore suspended the sale and import of all Chinese milk and dairy products because several tested items were contaminated."
http://www.wtopnews.com/index.php?nid=105&sid=1478415
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on September 19, 2008, 09:29:11 AM
Question: melamine and cyanuric acid are digested by stomach acid, absorbed into the blood stream, sequestered by serum proteins in the blood, deposited as waste in the kidneys, where there is also uric acid, where the pH allows them to form the deadly precipitate? All speculation.
The metabolism of high levels of nitrogen-containing compounds creates high levels of uric acid and thus I imagine a
major precipitate in the kidneys .. I wonder if we eventually recognize one long-term impact of the adulterations is a higher incidence of arthritis in humans/pets? (gosh, the pfcs are already putting "stuff" in the pet foods to treat arth aren't they.. even for young animals). Hydration is an issue too.. and cats are notorious for needing to drink more water (gosh, the pfcs are already putting "stuff" in the pet foods to make our animals drink more water)
All bases are covered
except for the nitrogen containing compounds in the foods they're being fed... and dietary issues which cause high levels of uric acid in the blood and kidneys.
--------
http://www.goutpal.com/hyperuricemia.html
Hyperuricemia
"Here, we'll look at general causes of excess uric acid or hyperuricemia. The causes are either excess uric acid production or insufficient uric acid excretion. They fall into 4 main groups: -
MetabolismIncreased breakdown of cells through illness, starvation, exertion and other factors.
DietIncreased production of uric acid from direct breakdown of food. Likely to be a small part of the problem, but can tip the balance.
EnzymesXanthine oxidase, in the liver, drives the final stages of purine metabolism, converting xanthine and hypoxanthine into uric acid. Injury and certain nutrition deficiencies appear to trigger increased xanthine oxidase activity. This can lead to an increase in the percentage of purines that convert to uric acid.
KidneysThis complicated organ both secretes uric acid from the blood and reabsorbs it. The net effect will be either an increase or decrease in uric acid in the blood. pH levels and hydration are significant factors that affect this. There are many others including general health, medications and heredity.
total adulterant levels in the protein concentrate ran as high as 25% by weight.
The only treatment given our pets seems to have been IV fluids in massive doses, and many times it didn't work.
I really hope there's something else for these Chinese children, and perhaps the melamine concentrations were lower.
There seem to be different concentration level reports showing up in different news sources.
Mengniu Dairy Group and Yili Industrial Group - contained up to 8.4 milligrams of melamine per kg.
Government tests showed that melamine content in the company's milk powder reached 2,563 mg/kg, Xinhua
reported. (in regard to Sanlu)
This is all so sad & maddening.
The IV was rehydration and being hopeful that there would be flushing out of the crystals/toxins.
The necrosis is another factor that they never could explain.. the major incidence of cell death.
There has to be an end to this .. and all our governments, scientists and industries (no matter where, US or China or wherever) need to get really firm and stop this madness from happening to any human or animal ever again.
?? The size of the renal tubes of humans compared to our pets. I cannot fathom the extent of the adulteration and the ignorant people that would do this to foods & to do this to the poor babies and the pain they're having.
All for the sake of money. What have we come to?
(and that means too..what have the people at pet food companies and their lobbyists come to also.. they obviously care as little about our pets/pet food ingredients as the folks do that put the cwap in the milk products knowing the damage it could/would/did cause)
http://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/melamine-in-milk.html
Melamine in Milk September 7, 2008
"So, what is melamine and how does it spoof the protein levels in baby formula milk?
"Melamine is an organic compounds, a base with chemical formula C3H6N6. Officially it is 1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine in the IUPAC nomenclature system (CAS #108-78-1). It is has a molecular mass of just over 126, forms a white, crystalline powder, and is only slightly soluble in water. It is used in fire retardants in polymer resins because its high nitrogen content is released as flame-stifling nitrogen gas when the compound is burned or charred.
"Indeed, it is this high nitrogen level - 66% nitrogen by mass - in melamine that gives it the analytical characteristics of protein molecules. Melamine can also be described as a trimer of cyanamide, three cyanamide units joined in a ring. It is described as being harmful according to its MSDS sheet: "Harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Chronic exposure may cause cancer or reproductive damage. Eye, skin and respiratory irritant." Not something you would want in your infant's milk. However, that said, the toxic dose is rather high, on a par with common table salt with an LD50 of more than 3 grams per kilogram of bodyweight.
"But, if melamine has low toxicity (hat tip to commenter Barney) then what is it that has poisoned thousands of babies in China and why has this scandal occurred? Well, LD50, the toxic dose issue, tells us something about acute exposure not the apparent six-months' worth of accumulated exposure these babies have suffered. Chronic exposure to melamine can lead to bladder or kidney stones and even bladder cancer and as we have learned, acute kidney failure.
"The melamine in milk headlines also ignore the fact that the compound added to the milk may not be pure. There is no reason to imagine that those unscrupulous enough to add a toxic compound to baby formula milk would worry about contaminants, such as cyanuric acid, that might be found in the raw material. Indeed, even if melamine toxicity were not an issue and truly was an inert substance added to spike the protein readings in quality control tests, then any one of the impurities associated with rough melamine manufacture may be a major cause for concern. "
And here you see he brings up the issue of the purity of the melamine which was added, just as it came up in the wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate, to which they were adding melamine scrap of questionable origin. He also talks about the possible addition of cyanuric acid to the milk, just as it was found to be added to the vegetable proteins sent here.
This article also suggests when dealing with the thought of melamine alone, what we see for data is the LD50 information, meaning that a large dose of the chemical is given at one time. It looks like both the children and the pets were exposed to it over a period of time, from what we've seen re: melamine being used in feed and in milk in the various news stories.
Then what we need to see as a consumer safety protection is total safety testing of all
food products capable of being adulterated by melamine and/or cyanuric acid.
The only legal standard I'm aware of at this point in time is the one year monitoring which was
imposed on Menu Foods Income Fund by the New Jersey consolidated case settlement. I have
never seen an exact statement of when that monitoring began or when it will end. None for human foods
of any kind that I'm aware of. And Fonterra New Zealand's idiot statement that this contamination
was below their "radar screen."
I guess I go back to my proposal some pages ago of a required triazine-free US food standard certification
on all food products, from pet food to milk products to baked goods to cheese sauces or any other food product
subject to this form of adulteration, backed up by testing documents from all manufacturers, producers of finished
product, and/or food retailers, from anywhere in the world sold in this country as of right NOW.
Control of the levels of non protein nitrogen in our food supply would be at the top of my list. It comes in many more forms than melamine & cyanuric acid or urea. Then, maybe the necrosis from the rest of the toxic substances that come with the production of the NPNs.
http://itchmoforums.com/pet-food-testing/test-results-thread-2-t1928.0.html;msg28844#msg28844
NPN induced Gout is what it seems to me we've made a huge issue in this century. I don't even think there is an actual cure for gout.. so that would speak IMO to the long-term health issues of the children & pets.
Not to mention the deadly, won't dissolve/hard to dissolve crystals in the renal tubes/kidneys/tissues courtesy of melamine/cyanuric acid.
When's the last time Gout was a medical condition that was in the headlines?
And just as we saw in North America, we have the finger-pointing and who knew what when:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iCL58EMBN1tqq6xujZlsaITAFpCQD939RQNO0
Associated Press September 19, 2008
China Tainted Milk Scandal Widens
"Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority said tests revealed traces of melamine in samples of a Yili-brand yogurt bar and Dutch Lady-brand strawberry milk manufactured in China. Authorities said they plan to destroy all samples of these two products in Singapore. Officials also warned local food manufacturers against using milk products from China as ingredients.
"Though most of the suspect dairy products are only sold domestically, two of the companies involved exported baby formula to five countries in Asia and Africa. Other products such as milk, yogurt and ice cream went to Hong Kong.
"Two distributors said Friday that Sanlu ordered them to pull its baby formula off store shelves in early July, weeks before the company went public with the melamine contamination.
"The statements by the distributors in Hebei province, where Sanlu is headquartered, raise further questions about when the company and government knew milk powder being fed to babies was tainted with a banned chemical.
"A New Zealand stakeholder in Sanlu has said it was told in early August, before the start of the Beijing Olympics on Aug. 8, that there was a problem. The dairy farmers' group Fonterra, which owns 43 percent of Sanlu Group, told the New Zealand government, which informed Chinese officials.
"The public was not told until Sept. 11 that the powder, used in baby formula and other products, was laced with melamine.
""We were asked by Sanlu to take all their 2007 to July 2008 baby powder off the shelves in early July" and replace it with new powder, said one of the distributors, Zhang Youqiang.
""Then things got weird. In early August, they came to us again and said all the new Sanlu baby milk powder we had just put on the shelves" did not meet a certain government standard unrelated to product quality, said Zhang, who declined to give his company name for fear of offending Sanlu. He said it was not clear what the standard was that had not been met.
"Zhang said he now has warehouses full of contaminated milk powder and is trying to get refunds from Sanlu.
"Another distributor, Liang Jianqiang, said he was also trying to get money from Sanlu. He also took Sanlu baby milk powder out of stores in July.
""They told me there would be a new formula that's better quality. They did this again in August and September," he said. Liang also did not want to disclose the name of his company.
"Phone calls to Sanlu rang unanswered Friday and its Web site was not working. China's quality watchdog did not respond after asking to be sent a fax with questions."
So is it the cumulative effect that our pets have been exposed to for exactly how long, how many years, how many decades!!!!! ARRRRRGGGHHHH - and all along we were kept in the dark until the greedy scum bags IMO decided to just add in pure toxic loaded melamine and it is now killing humans! Thats what it took for this to be exposed for everyone to know. Some one must know how long this has been going on. And our pets would never have kidney problems or liver failure either if this was not in the food??? We should demand answers -not the standard - no its not in our food - sorry just not good enough. My dog would be alive today if it were not for this!!!!!!!!!!!
The pet food makers need to put test results directly on their web sites and on each pkg with date of testing and results before its put on any store shelf. Why would anyone have any trust left after this?
Control of the levels of non protein nitrogen in our food supply would be at the top of my list.
OK, I'll vote for that, too.
I can't undo the past, JJ. God knows I would. Only fight for a better tomorrow.
Before the Christmas holidays, entrenched bureaucracies and lazy Congressional members.
These are a couple of interesting links from China, written in English. They deal with what appears to be a Chinese internet search engine/portal, Baidu, and a letter said to have been sent to Sanlu by a public relations firm, Teller. It's said that the letter offers to "manage" negative Sanlu Baidu search engine results for a price.
http://www.chinasmack.com/stories/kidney-stone-gate-baidu-denies-censoring-search-results/
http://www.chinasmack.com/stories/kidney-stone-gate-fake-baby-milk-powder-sanlu-baidu/
This link also deals with that but when you scroll down further, you will see translated reports made to the Chinese government about adulteration happening in a Sanlu milk collection center before the recall.
"Chinese netizens quickly discovered that...
"Someone complained to the government before, but nothing was done:
"[English Translation AQSIQ screen capture]
"Food Production Supervision Department Message Reply
"Relevant Department? [Food Production Supervision Department]
Inquiry Number? [20080707-2946-26530]
Reply Date? [2008-07-16]
"Q. Qinghe in Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province, we have a Sanlu milk collection point. Our boss is named Wei Dehua, and the milk he acquires from the milk farmers are all made at home with plant and animal fat, protein powder, maltose dextrin, and other fake ingredients. If not, it would not be enough to meet his milk target/quota. Then he adds some fake milk before sending it to Xuzhou City, Jiangsu province Sanlu for enormous profits. As a nationally famous brand, Sanlu actually sources this kind of milk without regard for consumers' health. This year is the Olympic year, if our foreign friends drink this kind of milk and problems appear, this will cause adverse effects for our country. Hopefully, our country's relevant departments can take care of this so it will not be like the fake milk powder incident that happened a few years ago. Sanlu is a big brand, how can it accept this kind of milk. Do not tell me there is no inspection department to inspect this?
"A. With regards to your question, we have transferred this matter to the the Jiangsu Provincial Quality Supervision Bureau for investigation, handling, and will also track the results of the investigation and handling."
Some of the replies to these blog posts contain some rough language, so click these links with that knowledge.
The Washington Post has as part of the story at this link, a claim from the Chinese internet search engine, Baidu, mentioned above that they were OFFERED a large payment from a certain giant milk producer to delete negative reports about the company--Baidu says it refused--
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/18/AR2008091803914.html?hpid=moreheadlines
Public Anger Over Milk Scandal Forces China's Hand
Washington Post September 19, 2008
"China's largest Internet search engine, Baidu, said that in the interest of "revealing the whole truth to all," it had rebuffed a half-million-dollar "public relations" payment from one of the mostly state-owned milk powder producers that had asked the online site to delete negative reports about it."
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=743257
eTaiwan News September 19, 2008
"The recalls come as evidence is mounting that adding chemicals to watered-down milk was a widespread practice in China's dairy industry.
"Farmers are cutting corners to cope with rising costs for feed and labor, said Chen Lianfang, senior dairy analyst at Beijing Orient Agribusiness Consultant Co.
""Before the melamine incident, I know they could have been adding organic stuff, say animal urine or skin," Chen said. "Basically, anything that can boost the protein reading."
"Authorities said farmers or merchants who buy milk for resale to dairies might have added melamine to watered-down milk to fool quality tests. Melamine is rich in nitrogen _ as is urine _ and standard tests for protein measure nitrogen levels.
"But the chemical can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure. Some 1,300 babies, mostly newborns, remain hospitalized, with 158 suffering from acute kidney failure.
"I don't know if this is an industrywide problem, but it is definitely not a single case. It is on a massive scale," said E.R. Hong, an executive of Hua Xia Dairy Ltd., a U.S.-owned dairy farm east of Beijing that has not been accused of supplying tainted milk.
"Chen and others expressed surprise that so many farmers would know the process to add melamine to milk. Melamine is not water-soluble and must be mixed with formaldehyde or another chemical before it can be dissolved in milk.
""Farmers can't be well-educated enough to think of melamine," Chen said. "There must be people from chemical companies contacting them and telling them it's a good idea.""
Chinese netizens seem to feel a lot like we do in terms of wanting this to stop immediately.
Mixing melamine and formaldehyde or another chemical (?) is how they liquefy it at whatever level
it is added apparently. Neither pets nor infants can complain about the taste. Just smell it and walk
away until they're hungry enough.
They added urine and skin before discovering MELAMINE-and to think they are not enterprising folks looking to cheat ingredients to make big bucks IMO. So now the hunt goes on for what person(s) taught the farmers out in the country how to mix the MELAMINE with the FORMALDEHYDE (embalming fluid also that the put in you when your dead so you don't smell) to ramp up proten level and how much did these farmers cut back on what used to be in the milk, etc. and add so much MELAMINE that it caused instant kidney stones, illness and eventual death?
Like what happened to our pets here and is quite possibly still happening IMO.
I called Kraft today to see where their milk protein concentrate for the mac and cheese was sourced. First they tried to tell me that it complies with FDA yah-duh-yah-duh and if it were manufactured outside the US it would be labelled as such. I said I knew that did not apply to ingredients, only whole products. Then I was told that this is proprietary information. I told them I would not be buying their product anymore and objected to the fact that they did not see fit to tell where their ingredients were sourced, if asked. More FDA babble. Krafty folks, what did I expect. Just what I got.
"Melamine is not water-soluble and must be mixed with formaldehyde or another chemical before it can be dissolved in milk."
Yup, there it is... this off the chart pet owner actually did have a tiny clue.
I'm going to run away screaming right now...
(ETA: I'm back. I ran and got a bttle of Pinot Grigio. I thought this might sound arrogant, and it's not meant that way. Frustration. Anger. Me a peon and the FDA making millions of our tax dollars in salaries sitting with their Thumbs in a nasty place... And, sigh, 3Cat, that was what I was too afraid to post and scare people,, but yes, sure enough, that's what scare's me more... how many people got accused of their animals getting into antifreeze (like Nutro).)
Quote from: DMS on September 19, 2008, 11:44:33 AM
I called Kraft today to see where their milk protein concentrate for the mac and cheese was sourced. First they tried to tell me that it complies with FDA yah-duh-yah-duh and if it were manufactured outside the US it would be labelled as such. I said I knew that did not apply to ingredients, only whole products. Then I was told that this is proprietary information. I told them I would not be buying their product anymore and objected to the fact that they did not see fit to tell where their ingredients were sourced, if asked. More FDA babble. Krafty folks, what did I expect. Just what I got.
The heparin complied with FDA standards until it was necessary to test the h@@l out of it and the oversulfated chondroitin was found in it as a "replacement" for some of the more expensive heparin.
A little more than a year ago, there was quite a scandal in the Philippines and other Asian nations about a Chinese-made milk candy called White Rabbit. Testing by the Philippines and Indonesia revealed some formaldehyde in the candy. The Philippines banned the Chinese candy totally, while Indonesia found only trace amounts, which were under the health risk guidelines.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/04/AR2007090402284_pf.html
Washington Post September 5, 2007
Seeing the need for some chemical like formaldehyde to dissolve melamine made me think about the candies because they have milk as an ingredient. Possible that the candy picked this up from any adulterated milk used to make them?
Here's the antifreeze connection.. In a patent application to create a liquid form of melamine resin, I think. I'm joining
Offy in running away screaming I think. Searched google for liquefy melamine at room temperature. Please comment
those with better backgrounds:
http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/wo.jsp?wo=1998026002&IA=US1996019559&DISPLAY=DESC
Exemplary among these are organic solvents such as ethylene glycol, a pH buffering system such as citric acid/sodium diacetate, and an amine block sulfonic acid salt.
melamine, formaldehyde, ethylene glycol and sucrose?
And this was linked to menusux's last article:
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=743564&lang=eng_news&cate_img=35.jpg&cate_rss=news_Business
Tests find chemical also in liquid milk in China
By TINI TRAN
Associated Press
2008-09-20 02:01 AM
The crisis was initially thought to have been confined to tainted milk powder. But about 10 percent of liquid milk samples taken from Mengniu Dairy Group Co. and Yili Industrial Group Co. _ China's two largest dairy producers _ contained melamine, according to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. Milk from Shanghai-based Bright Dairy also showed contamination.
(http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3204/2871087564_2d2a85b29b.jpg)
China's Mengniu Dairy Co. Ltd. Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer Yao Tongshan, left, and Chief Administrative Officer Lei Yongsheng drink their products in Hong Kong Friday, Sept. 19, 2008. Hong Kong's two biggest grocery chains removed all milk made by the leading Chinese dairy from shelves Friday after traces of a chemical that has killed and sickened babies was found in products in mainland China. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on September 19, 2008, 12:23:59 PM
Here's the antifreeze connection.. In a patent application to create a liquid form of melamine resin, I think. I'm joining
Offy in running away screaming I think. Searched google for liquefy melamine at room temperature. Please comment
those with better backgrounds:
http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/wo.jsp?wo=1998026002&IA=US1996019559&DISPLAY=DESC
Exemplary among these are organic solvents such as ethylene glycol, a pH buffering system such as citric acid/sodium diacetate, and an amine block sulfonic acid salt.
melamine, formaldehyde, ethylene glycol and sucrose?
And this ties it back to this thread which gets into the glycols: http://itchmoforums.com/news-recall-related/please-read-replythis-needs-an-answers-melaminecomponent-of-antifreeze-t6134.0.html;msg84339#msg84339
3cats, strangely enough, while reading your link, I wouldn't have mistaken it for a recipe. What can people be thinking?
Quote from: Offy on September 19, 2008, 11:46:31 AM
[
(ETA: I'm back. I ran and got a bttle of Pinot Grigio. I thought this might sound arrogant, and it's not meant that way. Frustration. Anger. Me a peon and the FDA making millions of our tax dollars in salaries sitting with their Thumbs in a nasty place... And, sigh, 3Cat, that was what I was too afraid to post and scare people,, but yes, sure enough, that's what scare's me more... how many people got accused of their animals getting into antifreeze (like Nutro).)
Offy, if this is the case, the FDA has to know it after all of their analysis. It would have to be a cover-up, IMO. Very good sluething.
Melamine dissolves in formaldehyde...
Symptoms of Formaldehyde Consumption:
Ingestion
Ingestion of as little as 30 mL (1 oz.) of a solution containing 37% formaldehyde has been reported to cause death in an adult. Ingestion may cause corrosive injury to the gastrointestinal mucosa, with nausea, vomiting, pain, bleeding, and perforation. Corrosive injuries are usually most pronounced in the pharyngeal mucosa, epiglottis and esophagus. Systemic effects include metabolic acidosis, CNS depression and coma, respiratory distress, and renal failure.
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/mhmi/mmg111.html
Quote from: DMS on September 19, 2008, 11:44:33 AM
I called Kraft today to see where their milk protein concentrate for the mac and cheese was sourced. First they tried to tell me that it complies with FDA yah-duh-yah-duh and if it were manufactured outside the US it would be labelled as such. I said I knew that did not apply to ingredients, only whole products. Then I was told that this is proprietary information. I told them I would not be buying their product anymore and objected to the fact that they did not see fit to tell where their ingredients were sourced, if asked. More FDA babble. Krafty folks, what did I expect. Just what I got.
If I remember correctly from the news yesterday, Kraft will replace AIG's spot on the NYSE.
I love that first they tried to mislead you with a lie, and when that failed, they fell back on the old 'proprietary information'. ::)
If this has been covered up by anyone in the government or the food industry, it has to be
criminal in nature in my consumer's opinion. Antifreeze poisoning and/or formaldehyde and/or melamine.
So many symptoms we saw in our pets. So much illness for infants, babies.
As wrong as I might be, I think the answers nobody seemed to be able to find about the necrosis are right here in this particular thread and all over Itchmo. I hope the babies fair better than our pets.
Now, we're getting our answers back reading articles about this again... we really all were on the right trails..
[Footnote: Necropsies of animals that died during the pet food recall showed massive necrosis.
http://www.answers.com/topic/melamine?cat=technology
"In light of these findings, on May 1, the American Veterinary Medical Association noted in a press release that the "extremely insoluble" crystals formed in animal kidneys are suspected of blocking kidney function.[49] On May 7, however, Barbara Powers, president of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians and a professor of veterinary diagnostics at Colorado State University cautioned "There's something more going on than just the mechanical blockage. Because you wouldn't see so much necrosis (cell death) and inflammation."[50]"
http://itchmoforums.com/news-recall-related/cytotoxicity-necrosis-cell-death-t3882.0.html
http://itchmoforums.com/news-recall-related/anatomy-of-a-pet-food-catastrophe-t4791.0.html;msg63136#msg63136
flame-retardant additives are melamine salts and melamine formaldehyde for their application in thermoset resins (Grabner, 1993)."
I just backed this thread up to my computer. Please do the same.
Ok, so I've been reading backwards through this thread. On page 16, Uric Acid, purines and gout are mentioned. Dalmatians are born stone formers (to different degrees) and need a special diet low in purines to minimize the stone forming risks. If anyone wants to read more about uric acid, stone forming, purines and diet, checkout http://www.thedca.org/ for info on the ongoing research they do and diet (and you can branch out from there). Also research gout, as I have found charts that show not just purine levels but also how acidic foods are which also contributes to the issue. One of the reasons I started raw feeding Dot was because it was too hard for me to judge how much of anything was in commercial food (and I got sick of reading freakin' labels!). I just wanted to toss this out there for those that are still feeding commercial as a way to possibly minimize risks with low level contaminations that are prob still in our pet (and people) foods. Remember they came up with acceptable levels at some point last year trying to minimize the the appearance of the food toxicity (anyone have a link to that Risk "Assumption" Report? It came up during one of those FDA/USDA briefings that used to cause massive head explosions). Another thing in the preventive area is to "dip stick" your pets urine every once in awhile to make sure they are staying in the neutral range. You can usually get ph strips at the drug store or pool supply or just order them online. This is especially good to do if you have pets that survived the poison pet food.
I think most here know I dumped all processed food last year, fired all brands and only buy whole foods from local sources. Part of that was protest against the big corps, but also because of all the research we were doing. Milk Protein Concentrate was one of the things that freaked me out. Sad to say, that insane warning email that I sent family and friends about MPC may have not been do insane after all. I know what I chose to do food wise isn't possible for everyone, but I'm going to stress again how important it is to eat as little processed food as possible. Not only will it keep you safe, but it may actually make the big food producers reverse the way they are trying to force us to eat. What's going on (and has been going on) right now is beyond criminal. If they aren't killing us and our pets quickly, you can bet your a$$ they are doing it slowly.
"In light of these findings, on May 1, the American Veterinary Medical Association noted in a press release that the "extremely insoluble" crystals formed in animal kidneys are suspected of blocking kidney function.[49] On May 7, however, Barbara Powers, president of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians and a professor of veterinary diagnostics at Colorado State University cautioned "There's something more going on than just the mechanical blockage. Because you wouldn't see so much necrosis (cell death) and inflammation."[50]"
I am posting some articles for more on cell necrosis....have not read them all yet though...so don't have anything to highlight yet
http://ndt.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/15/3/318
http://www.jci.org/articles/view/14320
I have one vet opinion that the substances of melamine, formaldehyde, and ethylene glycol
could explain symptoms treated and continuing to be treated. Please ask your vets, who too
many of us know too well.
I hope that since this milk powder poisoning involves babies, and not "just pets" as some would say, that we will find out EXACTLY what chemical(s), if any, was mixed with the melamine, if not through China's investigations, then through other countries that were shipped these poisonous food products. And if China and/or the Sanlu company withheld the information about the poisoned babies for months, I don't put much credence in what any agency from there would say. It's simply criminal.
Maybe now, we can find out just what poisoned cocktail killed our pets. Those *%#& murderers!
I wonder just how many babies are affected who have not had access to medical care? Do you think we're hearing the true numbers?
Do you think we'll see published graphics of the crystal formations found in those poor, poor babies?
Any person or company handling any commodity that involves protein content, either for determining a selling price or for meeting a certain protein percentage in a product, has the responsibility to test for melamine or its derivatives EVERY step along the way, especially after the pet food poisonings.
Does anyone know how much liquid formaldehyde it takes to dissolve a certain amount of melamine? Or for that matter, any of the other chemicals that dissolve melamine? Just the "other" chemicals sound quite lethal to me.
Quote from: Carol on September 19, 2008, 02:45:08 PM
"In light of these findings, on May 1, the American Veterinary Medical Association noted in a press release that the "extremely insoluble" crystals formed in animal kidneys are suspected of blocking kidney function.[49] On May 7, however, Barbara Powers, president of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians and a professor of veterinary diagnostics at Colorado State University cautioned "There's something more going on than just the mechanical blockage. Because you wouldn't see so much necrosis (cell death) and inflammation."[50]"
I am posting some articles for more on cell necrosis....have not read them all yet though...so don't have anything to highlight yet
http://ndt.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/15/3/318
http://www.jci.org/articles/view/14320
Those are good, Carol. It brought back to mind the question we wondered earlier in the recall period..
How many pets that were quickly or fatally injured were on medications/antibiotics? Did that play a part in why some survived and others didn't? (Not withstanding the inconsistency of exposure to the adulterants)
I saved an article from a link posted here in March of this year, but I can't find the post right now or who posted it. It's a research paper done by leading professors of top universities entitled Unraveling the Food Supply Chain: Strategic Insights from China and the 2007 Recalls. Paper published by:
ALEDA V. ROTH, Clemson University,
ANDY A. TSAY, Santa Clara University,
MADELEINE E. PULLMAN, Portland State University
JOHN V. GRAY, Ohio State University
Excerpts from the paper:
The popular saying of modern China is — money talks. Over the past decade, this saying accurately reflects the values of modern Chinese people; money doesn't always work, but nothing works without it. Two related maxims convey the individual's drive for personal fortune: "People die for money, birds die for food" and "With money you can get a devil to work the grindstone". A recent study by Peking University researchers suggested that even when Chinese people publicly express negative feelings toward the wealthy class, privately they tend to aspire to personal wealth.
Despite rapid growth and industrialization, making money is difficult in the current competitive environment. China's cities contain an estimated 30 million unemployed and countless transient workers. The situation appears to be even worse for the 900 million people living outside urban centers. Overpopulation has created cut-throat competition for any available economic opportunities. Any profitable company must regularly fend off hordes of copycats that will undercut its price. Even though a segment of Chinese society seems to be getting rich quickly, the rank-and-file workforce toils long hours for modest wages and possibly no health or welfare benefits.
One popular sentiment is that in China's ultracompetitive business environment, company survival is simply impossible without breaking some rules. Importers most often go to the cheapest supplier, so the supplier who quotes low and quietly cuts corners on quality is the one who wins. All this leads to an obsession with keeping costs low and helps to explain Chinese companies' swapping out of approved ingredients for cheaper substitutes or skimping on proper handling. These are examples of a phenomenon termed "quality fade," which defines the situation in which suppliers quietly cut corners on products once an export relationship is safely underway in order to fatten their own margins, figuring that there will be no real consequences in the short term.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/119422173/HTMLSTART
Link to paper in HTML format.
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/119422173/PDFSTART
Link to paper in PDF format.
from Itchmo main blog last year..and yes...the first comment is me.. >:(
http://www.itchmo.com/random-or-related-fda-issues-warning-against-anti-freeze-633
May 4, 2007
Random? Or Related? FDA Issues Warning Against Anti-Freeze
Filed under: Other Pets, Pet Food Recalls & Safety, Cats, Dogs, Products & Services for Cats & Dogs, National Dog, Cat & Pet Info, Veterinary/Medical — Ben Huh @ 6:00 pm
David Goldstein, a Seattle talk show host, points out this press release from the FDA today:
Today, the agency is issuing guidance to industry recommending methods of testing glycerin and other controls to identify any contamination with DEG before use in the manufacture or preparation of pharmaceutical products.
David says:
Hmm. Glycerin is an ingredient sometimes used in pet food. Diethylene glycol is a poison used in antifreeze, that is known to cause renal failure. Thousands of dogs and cats have died from renal failure, supposedly due to melamine, an industrial chemical not previously known to be highly toxic.
Can’t help but wonder.
When reports of pet kidney failures were first reported, anti-freeze was one of the first suspects named by many people. FDA says the release is unrelated to the pet food recalls.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
P07-81
May 4, 2007
Media Inquiries:
Kimberly Rawlings, 301-827-6242
Consumer Inquiries:
888-INFO-FDA
FDA Advises Manufacturers to Test Glycerin for Possible Contamination
Glycerin Contaminated with Diethylene Glycol (DEG) Remains a Potential Health Hazard to Consumers
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning pharmaceutical manufacturers, suppliers, drug repackers, and health professionals who compound medications to be especially vigilant in assuring that glycerin, a sweetener commonly used worldwide in liquid over-the-counter and prescription drug products, is not contaminated with diethylene glycol (DEG). DEG is a known poison used in antifreeze and as a solvent. Today, the agency is issuing guidance to industry recommending methods of testing glycerin and other controls to identify any contamination with DEG before use in the manufacture or preparation of pharmaceutical products.
At the present time, FDA has no reason to believe that the U.S. supply of glycerin is contaminated with DEG, though the agency is cognizant of reports from other countries over the past several years in which DEG-contaminated glycerin has caused human deaths. FDA is emphasizing the importance of testing glycerin for DEG due to the serious nature of this potentially fatal problem in combination with the global nature of the pharmaceutical supply chain and problems that continue to occur with this kind of contamination in some parts of the global supply of glycerin.
DEG poisoning is an important public safety issue and FDA is exploring how supplies of glycerin become contaminated. In addition, FDA is working with a variety of manufacturing and pharmacist organizations to raise awareness of this risk and to put into place controls to ensure that this problem does not happen in the U.S. or elsewhere.
The most recent incident occurred in Panama in September 2006 and involved DEG-contaminated glycerin used in cough syrup, which resulted in dozens of hospitalizations for serious injury and more than 40 deaths. In late 1995 and early 1996, at least 80 children died in Haiti due to DEG-contaminated glycerin in acetaminophen syrup. Between 1990 and 1998, similar incidents of DEG poisoning reportedly occurred in Argentina, Bangladesh, India, and Nigeria and resulted in hundreds of deaths. In 1937, more than 100 people died in the United States after ingesting DEG-contaminated Elixir Sulfanilamide, a drug used to treat infections. This incident led to the enactment of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which is the nation's primary statute on the regulation of drugs.
FDA reminds pharmaceutical manufacturers, compounders, repackers, and suppliers, as well as brokers and distributors, that all pharmaceutical manufacturing operations, including the re-packaging and re-labeling of ingredients like glycerin, must conform to current good manufacturing practice (CGMP). The guidance provides recommendations for complying with CGMP and is intended to help manufacturers, compounders, repackers, and suppliers avoid the use of glycerin that is contaminated with DEG and prevent incidents of DEG poisoning.
For a copy of the guidance, go to http://www.fda.gov/cder/guidance/7654fnl.htm
####
29 Responses to "Random? Or Related? FDA Issues Warning Against Anti-Freeze"
Carol says:
May 4th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
When I brought my sickest cat into my vet 3 weeks after my 1st cat—he said (and wrote in her chart) looks like antifreeze poisoning—Hmm-he said we'll know because IF she survives, it's not–well she still alive 7 weeks later but gravely ill—does make me wonder if her melamine cocktail had a side of antifreeze–
susanUnPC says:
May 4th, 2007 at 7:45 pm
Thanks so much, Itchmo. This rang a bell, and I went hunting ... here's what I read about this yesterday, posted by a member of the Young Turks radio show:
Quote"The suspicion of international contamination is eerily similar to past incidents in China," Barton said. "A dozen years ago, 89 children in Haiti died after taking cough medicine made with, believe it or not, poisonous antifreeze that was traced back to China. The world never got an answer from the Chinese on how this crime occurred.
"In an investigation started in 1998 when I was the chairman of this subcommittee, we found that 155 Americans were sickened by impure gentamicin sulfate made by a Chinese firm," Barton continued. "We never got a definitive answer on how this unapproved, impure drug ingredient got into that particular product."
FULL LINK TO STORY:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com.....afety.html
This was posted yesterday at Daily Kos by Nonie3234 — The Young Turks, the first nationwide liberal talk show and first live, daily internet TV show
http://www.theyoungturks.com/
Annie C. says:
May 4th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
Anyone know what the symptoms of antifreeze poisoning in humans are?
mal says:
May 4th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
This is very interesting considering the recall in South Africa was inititally blamed on anti-freeze, then changed to contaminated corn gluten.
What else is being hidden from us??
mal says:
May 4th, 2007 at 7:56 pm
Antifreeze poisoning occurs in two stages: In the first stage, the ethylene glycol in the antifreeze causes a drunken appearance in the animal within about 30 minutes which may continue for several hours. After passing through stage 1, the animal appears to recover. Stage 2 begins when the dog's liver begins metabolizing the ethylene glycol, changing it into more toxic substances. Within 12 to 36 hours of ingestion, these metabolites have reached such a level that the dog's kidneys stop functioning, and the animal slips into a coma.
http://www.petshealth.com/dr_l.....reeze.html
ann says:
May 4th, 2007 at 8:27 pm
Greenies dog and cat treats contains a preservative that is one molecule away from antifreeze. From what I read about this derivative -propyll gallate- it is widely used in pet and human products.....
Sandy says:
May 4th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Ugh it never ends..I have trouble keeping up
SinbadsMom says:
May 4th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
OMG.
Glycerin is fed to poultry.
There's a glut of glycerin now because it's a byproduct of biodiesel production, and they've been looking for uses for it, and one that's gotten a lot of attention has been feeding glycerin to poultry.
Here:
http://www.biodieselmagazine.c.....amp;page=2
Excerpt:
—
A more recent animal feed trial using glycerin has received national attention. Researchers at the University of Arkansas’ Center of Excellence for Poultry Science recently studied glycerin as a dietary supplement in growing broiler chickens. Poultry nutritionist Park Waldroup initiated the study, which evaluated glycerin in diets fed to broilers of typical market age in litter floor pens.
The study, which Waldroup cautions is strictly preliminary, showed that as much as 10 percent glycerin could be fed to chicks in battery brooders up to 16 days of age. Battery brooders are brooding boxes with wire floors stacked on top of each other to conserve space.
Five percent glycerin inclusion in pelleted feed showed no adverse effect on bodyweight, feed intake, feed conversion or mortality. However, 10 percent glycerin inclusion reduced body weight due to reduced feed flow rate. More information on the study can be found at www.biodieselmagazine.com.
Waldroup and his researchers concluded that glycerin can be used as an energy source for broiler diets. While the results of this study are intriguing, Waldroup cautions they are preliminary and were based on a consistent, clean supply of glycerin.
—
So if you have a warning about glycerin, and news that more than 20 million chickens were affected...
I'm going to post this in the topic about those chickens, too — hope that's okay. It's relevant to both.
Lorie says:
May 4th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
Oh the fun never ends here in the good old USA. This country is falling apart at the seems and all the government can do is worry about cover ups. I really wish I would wake up from this nightmare soon. Bees dying suddenly, pets being poisoned, chickens and pigs being feed tainted food to enter food chain. You know if we went up to someone and started rattling this all off and they are one of the ones who are still clueless anything is going on, they might call the guys in the little white coats to come get us.
Traci says:
May 4th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
"mal Says:
May 4th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
This is very interesting considering the recall in South Africa was inititally blamed on anti-freeze, then changed to contaminated corn gluten.
What else is being hidden from us??"
Actually, it was never changed to corn gluten. You are dealing with two seperate instances of contamination.
Traci says:
May 4th, 2007 at 11:38 pm
"ann Says:
May 4th, 2007 at 8:27 pm
Greenies dog and cat treats contains a preservative that is one molecule away from antifreeze. From what I read about this derivative -propyll gallate- it is widely used in pet and human products…"
Find "propyl gallate" as an ingredient:
http://www.greenies.com/en_US/products_feline.asp
It's not listed.
Karen says:
May 5th, 2007 at 1:51 am
Wrong page - it's in the dog Greenies not the cat.
http://www.greenies.com/en_US/.....eeding.asp
ann says:
May 5th, 2007 at 9:45 am
Thanks for the clarification Karen. I forgot to mention last night that they are both high in veg. protein isolates and glutens.
Lady says:
May 5th, 2007 at 1:56 pm
In late January, I lost two cats to what i thought was antifreeze poisoning. The deaths were two days apart. The first cat was indoor/outdoor cat. She came home one day and vomitted a little but otherwise appeared fine. I thought it might be a hairball. The next morning she was in excrutiating pain. We rushed her to the vet and she was in kidney failure. The vet came back and said she had crystals in urine characteristic of antifreeze. They gave her the antidote but it didn't work and i had to euthanize her. This was the first antifreeze case my vet had seen in our area. We live in Southern LA and antifreeze poisoning is rare. I did not see antifreeze leaking from cars anywhere around my house. A day later the other cat showed up and she could hardly move. She died before we could even get her to the vet. I remember switching the food one time to a recalled brand. I asked the vet if it could have been the food but they insist it was anitfreeze. It wouldn't surprise me in the least. I still think my pets died from the food.
Lady says:
May 5th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
Interesting, glycerin is used in wet cat food as a humectant.
Patty L says:
May 5th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Fake glycerin (to save money, of course) from China contained diethylene glycol, killed thousands! Long article that is very scary. No more imports from China, please, of anything any living being ingests!!!
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05.....on.html?hp
John says:
May 5th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Isn't it a coincidence that all of these "fake" and poisonous ingredients come from China originally? The U.S. and other countries need to stop buying any items that originate in CHINA! Interesting too that no drug or food manufacturers even bothered to test the ingredients in the barrel. I guess if it says 'glycerin' it must be 'glycerin'. What fools!!! There should be mandatory testing of ALL ingredients, and there should be criminal (felony) penalties for the lack of doing so!
Gary says:
May 5th, 2007 at 3:41 pm
It's long past due when all countries stop any trade with China and bring them to an international tribunal for crimes against humanity.
YaYa says:
May 5th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
For right now I'd like 3 things DONE.
1. STOP All manufacturing of pet food {yeah I know tough one huh}
2. DUMP All existing PET Foods in a Pit and Burn it {possibly a way to get rid of the contaminants? They did that with the bad spinac to it was a Bio- contaminant then}
3. STOP ALL Imports IN from CHINA NOW!
For me nothing less would work.
This has gone Beyond the INSANE Piece-meal Recall work. The Whole shootin' Match needs to be Scrubbed!
I think THIS confirms a Cover-up. They'ven been hiding this {part} for weeks. The Public would FREAK!
And then——Force their Hands to DO Something NOW!
sandi says:
May 5th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
Question, I mix propyl glycol with i vermec for monthly heartworm protection and prevention in my six dogs.
Is propyl glycol also a toxin??
Been doing it for many a year,
Also we use it to heartworm dogs who are negative awaiting adoption at the shetler
Patty L says:
May 5th, 2007 at 5:16 pm
For Sandi: I checked some stats about propyl glycol (propylene glycol). its metabolites are not very toxic. it is used commonly as a solvent for various drugs.
Cynthia says:
May 6th, 2007 at 9:43 am
If you don't want to risk being poisoned, AVOID ALL CHEMICAL SUPPLEMENTS AND PROCESSED FOODS.
Buy only whole foods for your pet and yourself. Buy only US organic meats, vegetables, fruits and grains. Look for organic, whole foods supplements. You and your pets will live a much longer healthier life if you do.
The Organic Consumers Association is an excellent place to start if you want to learn about organics.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/
The OCA deals with crucial issues of food safety, industrial agriculture, genetic engineering, children's health, corporate accountability, Fair Trade, environmental sustainability and other key topics.
Rhonda says:
May 6th, 2007 at 11:12 am
Patty L,
The 7 page NY Times article blew my mind! I cannot believe that the Chinese gov refused to prosecute or investigate because they don't regulate stuff that is to be exported (that's what I got from reading the article). That a tailor with a 9th grade education could make something so illegal (and deadly) and have it shipped around the world and made into cough syrup and kill so many people is insane!
I'm afraid to take aspirin or vitamins now! Where do the medicines in my cabinet actually come from? China? I'm surprised we aren't all already dead!
TC says:
May 6th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
Sinbad's Mom - thank you so much for posting that blurb re the use of glycerin for poultry.
It sure tied up some loose ends, didn't it? Recap - FDA warning re fake glycerin, the NY Times article, the need for the EPA to also be involved in the chicken quarantine, and glycerin used as a feed additive for chickens. At least it is some insight into some of the things they may be freaking out about.
Dh and I have been discussing this all morning.
TC says:
May 6th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
I don't know where else to put it. But I make biscotti. Recently I switched to using a bulk supplier for the anise seed and ever since, whenever I eat it, I bloat badly. Did an experiment this morning having made it without the anise seed. Stomach is normal.
I went to the website, because they used to show where their stock came from. But maybe a coincidence, but I can't pull up the anise seed origin. I am tossing it in the trash, as some of their stock was coming from China. I recalled that was the origin for the anise seed. But that was before the recall, and my new awareness of the fact that I need to be looking out for my family, because no one else is.
This was my fault. The anise was FAR cheaper here than anywere else online. When it came, it had more stemmy material as well. Not buying from a place who does business as China does means I need to not be such a cheapskate.
Kathy Thompson says:
May 6th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
TC, I think we can grow anise, I wouldn't eat any more of those seeds either, but you might try planting some to grow your own! If they won't grow, they've probably been irradiated.
I really think we need to be growing anything we can, we sure can't count on our gov't to protect us anymore.
Can someone remind me how civil disobedience works? I think we can calculate how much of our tax dollar goes to finance FDA (or whatever) and we can refuse to pay that....
Jade says:
May 8th, 2007 at 4:55 pm
Quick note: be careful that you don't confuse "one molecule away" with being "the same" as the related substance... remember, methamphetamine can be made by chemically removing the oxygen molecule from pseudoephedrine, if I'm remembering my documentary days accurately. The difference is: while one is safe when used properly (such as in menthol inhalers) and is available for sale in nearly every grocery store and gas station in America, the other is literally one of the most addictive and deadly street drugs in the world.
You can add a lot of unnecessary stigma to an object or idea that way... though don't assume I'm standing up for the use of any of the revolting contaminants that are used so haphazardly in production...
Also worth noting may be the recent incidences of unauthorized genetically-modified crops making their way into the UK- again in from China, or the Netherlands as a by-way for China. I wouldn't be surprised at all if GM organisms were found in the SA corn gluten, or even in all the melamine-cyanuric-contaminated pet foods...
Also worth noting are the living conditions of the animals that supposedly "show no adverse affects" when fed up to 10% glycerin in the above noted tests... how the he** do you identify "adverse effects" in any animal kept in a battery brooder??? That's like testing running shoes on a fat guy in a wheelchair!!!! Who's the hack running these "research" facilities anyway??
Barbara says:
May 8th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Jade,
WELL PUT!
Cwang619 says:
July 10th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
A man working at a dog food company in China put Anti-Freeze into the dog food. They had found out today and beheaded him.[/color]
Quote from: dmorin02 on September 12, 2008, 12:51:54 AM
I am currently feeding my daughter Similac Advance, however, I believe it is manufactured here in China because it does not have an import label on it and the writing on the can is all in Chinese. I discovered that Abbott (producers of Similac brand) do have offices in China and other countries as well. I have been unable to find out where Abbott obtains the milk powder that it uses to produce its Chinese brand of Similac. It seems unlikley that it would import U.S. made milk powder. Could it be getting its milk powder from the same supplier as Sanlu (company who has been implicated by news reports with producing baby formula tainted with melamine)?
Hey, I am in China, too. Similac Advance, and Gain Advance, sold in China use milk powder from Ireland according to the packaging, though I think it is packaged in China.
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on September 19, 2008, 03:06:16 PM
I have one vet opinion that the substances of melamine, formaldehyde, and ethylene glycol could explain symptoms treated and continuing to be treated. Please ask your vets, who too many of us know too well.
I hope that means there's more clues for treatment!
All 3 of those can be found in the resin categories I mentioned earlier to be potential scraps/adulterants.
Here's a link that talks about a process.
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4093579.html
A composition of matter comprising (1) a blend of an
aqueous melamine/formaldehyde resin solution and from about 2 to about 20.0% of an ethylene glycol or (2) an aqueous solution of the resinous reaction product of melamine, formaldehyde and from about 2.0 to about 20.0% of an ethylene glycol, is disclosed
snip To the
melamine/formaldehyde resin-ethylene glycol blend or the
melamine, formaldehyde and polyethylene glycol reaction produce can also be added an elastomer, as a mixture therewith, in such a quantity so as to result in a solids content of the elastomer of from about 2.5 to about 30.0%, preferably from about 5.0 to about 25.0%, by weight,
based on the total weight of the resin solids.
Menusux, thank you for the information you posted upthread on the milk protein concentrate. The two companies I emailed sent a toll free number for me to call so it will be next week before I can phone them.
Here's something for "downthread"--information as to the stepped-up inspections on other milk products from Asia by FDA:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hktq6zc7nO6I49nDTvVmKR1-36jAD93A2BN80
Associated Press September 19, 2008
US steps up inspections to keep out tainted milk
"The Food and Drug Administration has widened its inspections at ports of entry to focus on shipments of bulk food ingredients from Asia that are derived from milk, such as milk concentrate and whole milk powder.
"Infant formula is closely regulated here, and no Chinese companies have approval to export to the United States. China is an importer of milk, and so it's also unlikely that any milk products from China would turn up in this country.
"Leon said the FDA is sampling bulk shipments of milk-derived products from Asia for possible contamination with melamine or other banned ingredients. The products being tested include whole milk powder, whey powder, milk concentrate, lactose, casein protein, and other milk derivatives."
At least we know there's more checking going on! :)
Like ripples in the pond after the stone has been dropped....we are now hearing of recall of products made with the milk in China....that is what I am concerned about getting into the US.... :( >:(
http://www.pr-inside.com/china-seeks-public-trust-after-milk-r816887.htm
On Saturday, Japan joined Singapore and Chinese-ruled Hong Kong in recalling Chinese-made dairy products. The Marudai Food Co. issued a recall of cream buns, pork buns and three other products as a precaution because they were made by its Chinese subsidiary using milk from Chinese dairy giant Yili Industrial Group Co., which sold tainted products.
The headlines in several countries are on the WHO stepping up to help China with the crisis...
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/10201520.htm
UNITED NATIONS: The UN health agency is assisting Chinese authorities to deal with the crisis created by melamine-contaminated baby food that has caused over 6,000 cases of kidney stones in infants and three deaths across the country.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has taken action in disseminating information on the situation to its member states through the International Food Safety Authorities Network (IFOSAN).
The WHO said that all these products were most probably manufactured using ingredients made from melamine-contaminated milk. While two of the companies exported products to Bangladesh, Burundi, Myanmar, Gabon and Yemen, contamination in the distributed p roducts remains unconfirmed.
A recall has, however, been issued from China and IFOSAN has specifically alerted the countries importing the products.
This entire situation is beyond belief ~ and where is the outcry? People are concerned, but how does China continue to do this over and over and over and it is never stopped? I just don't understand what it will take. Reminds me of the song "Blowin' In The Wind" (okay, now I've aged myself). How many deaths will it take . . .
catmom11
National & local news media were talking about the liquid melamine milk last nite ..
Melamine found in Chinese liquid milk
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/536641/2090743
Tests show 10% of liquid milk supply has been contaminated with Melamine, the chemical that has killed four infants and left thousands more ill.
In New Zealand, food safety investigators are taking no chances. They are now testing Chinese dairy products including milk tea and yoghurt.
When companies and governments don't regulate and have a system for safety of the food supply they will remain open markets for adulterations. The US being a case in point as we've all seen in the animal feed/pet food safety system which has still not been addressing the situation from the 2007 melamine scandal here (FDAAA : lip service is not a food safety system).
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia-pacific/2008/09/200892034653278312.html
News Asia-Pacific
Asian states ban Chinese milk goods
Tainted milk powder has killed four babies and made more than 6,000 sick [AFP]
Malaysia has joined Singapore in banning the import of all Chinese dairy products after China's contaminated-milk scare widened.
Malaysia imposed the ban on all baby milk formulas, milk and milk products from China on Saturday, a day after Singapore initiated a similiar move.
Four babies have died, nearly 160 have suffered acute kidney failure and more than 6,000 have suffered illness after drinking products containing melamine.
The moves came after it was revealed three of China's biggest dairy firms sold milk contaminated with the chemical.
The chemical is used to make industrial products and plastics but can also be added to milk to make it appear to have a higher protein content.
In the United States, inspections have been stepped up at ports on shipments of bulk food ingredients from Asia that are derived from milk.
Reports & allegations that the milk supply has been contaminated since April 2005.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10533201&pnum=0
Testing by China's State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine found the melamine content in San Lu's milk powder sample to be 2563mg a kilogram, far higher than others, which ranged from 0.09mg to 619mg a kilo, said the official Xinhua News Agency.
A Chinese official told the Weekend Herald melamine contained nitrogen. Food testers checked nitrogen levels in milk products to determine the protein content, which explained why Chinese infant formula producers added it to their products.
"But while there is enough melamine in the other milk powder to deceive, the level found in San Lu's milk powder is enough to kill," he said.
The replacement chairwoman of the San Lu group, Zhang Zhenling, issued an apology late on Thursday.
But she made no mention of the dead babies or the anguish their parents are facing, instead apologising for "the physical damages and economic losses the company had caused to consumers, including those in Taiwan".
Meanwhile, new allegations have emerged, suggesting San Lu knew melamine was being added to its milk products more than three years ago.
The vice-governor of the Hebei province, Yang Chongyong, said the practice of adding melamine to milk began in April 2005.
Connecting the dots after a scandal.. homemade pet food vs commercial & now the breast feeding vs commercial formulas... the factor impacting the consumers? Marketing.
http://www.danwei.org/milk/yanhong_on_breastfeeding_in_ch.php
Danwei: Do you think the melamine milk scandal is going to change Chinese women's attitude to breast feeding?
Xiao Wu: For the really smart ones, for people who connect the two together.
But there are pediatricians and health care professionals who say outrageous things in the media in support of baby feeding formula. The milk formula companies have big marketing budgets.
Do we think the melamine pet food scandal is going to change attitudes to homemade pet foods & non-commercial diets?
Do we think the vets, pet food industry says outrageous things in the media in support of commercial pet foods?
Do the pet food companies have big marketing budgets?
When does Safety First become reality?
When you ban Chinese food and ingredient imports in your country until the problem(s) is(are) fixed
and a meaningful effective food safety system is adopted and in place in the United States?
Immediate action needed: food labelling which requires notice to the consumer that any part of the
food or packaged food product includes any ingredient or additive from China no matter who the producer,
manufacturer, or private label retailer is in the US so that the consumer can make a choice. With apologies
to the Chinese people, who are also victims here.
Japan recalls Chinese food products:
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp:80/dy/national/20080921TDY01304.htm
OSAKA--Marudai Food Co. announced Saturday a voluntary recall of five Chinese-made products marketed in this country, saying they may contain the toxin melamine.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry instructed Japanese firms that have imported processed foods from China to confirm the safety of their products, while the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry asked bakery and confectionery industries in Japan to conduct urgent safety checks of their products.
Marudai, a leading manufacturer of ham and sausages based in Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture, said: "The amount of milk [that may contain melamine] used in our products is very small. Although we haven't received any reports of people sickened by eating our products, we decided to recall them to make doubly sure."
Marudai has asked an inspection agency to check the products in stock, and the results will be issued around Thursday
Implied here is that Japanese industries are fully able to test for melamine. Apparently not something off their radar screens.
http://www.thestatesman.net:80/page.news.php?clid=8&theme=&usrsess=1&id=223391
China in damage control mode after tainted baby milk scare
Press Trust of India
BEIJING, Sept. 20: The Chinese government has started serious fire-fighting measures to save babies after the contaminated baby milk scare claimed four lives and sickened thousands with kidney stones.
President Hu Jintao criticised local officials for lapses in public safety at a Communist Party meeting yesterday, saying there were "painful lessons" to be drawn from a spate of health scares and industrial accidents, local media reported today.
The State Council said sick babies will be given free medical treatment, ordered more checks on the dairy industry and vowed to punish those responsible for the scandal, the state Xinhua news agency said, quoting a statement.
Four babies have died and more than 6,200 have developed kidney stones after drinking infant milk formula tainted with melamine.
Melamine is used in manufacture of plastics but was used to increase the protein content of watered-down milk. The government said this week that regular milk, yoghurt and ice cream were also affected by the chemical.
The cabinet statement said the companies responsible would be made to foot the bill for treatment of sick babies.
I really hope there is an effective treatment for these children.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk:80/default.asp?page=2008%5C09%5C21%5Cstory_21-9-2008_pg4_18
Myanmar to destroy Chinese baby formula
YANGON: Myanmar will seize and destroy imported Chinese baby formula to safeguard against poisoning by the toxic chemical melamine, a senior health ministry official told AFP Saturday.
http://www.sundayherald.com:80/international/shinternational/display.var.2450000.0.0.php
This report is from Glasgow, Scotland:
Milk scandal tests China to limits in post-Olympic era
In an unprecedented stand yesterday that will test the Communist Party's limits on civil society, more than 70 human rights lawyers from 23 provinces and municipalities announced they will help parents whose babies are sick or have developed kidney stones from drinking tainted infant formula
Nice to know these 70 lawyers will be helping all the parents and children harmed by this. Seems same in all countries that the PTB forget - DO NO HARM to our BABIES, CHILDREN or PETS. They are OFF LIMITS - Get It?
Quote from: catmom5 on September 20, 2008, 05:06:59 AM
This entire situation is beyond belief ~ and where is the outcry? People are concerned, but how does China continue to do this over and over and over and it is never stopped? I just don't understand what it will take. Reminds me of the song "Blowin' In The Wind" (okay, now I've aged myself). How many deaths will it take . . .
catmom11
Ive finally had time to catch up after getting behind on my Itchmo stuff and this is all so overwhelming to me. I dont know where this will end or when anything will be done, I hate to say it but is it going to take the relative, baby or pet of some of our higher officials to pay attention to all of this? Its like Carol and I were talking that most folks that didnt have pets get ill or sick didnt know the extent of all of this and I guess its going to be the same with these babies, very sad. I think it also depends on how much the news stations decide whether its big news or not and obviously they dont seem too interested.
As a sidenote, I wish we knew what the list of unknown toxins are that Expertox checks for in their test. Didnt some here get their food tested and wouldnt it have shown ethylene glycol and formaldehyde or maybe those 2 things arent included in that test?
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gXk8GXUAF378d-J7_Io5SAvZ7pbQD93AT7F80
Associated Press September 15, 2008
Hong Kong says girl sick from tainted milk
"The Hong Kong government says a 3-year-old local girl has been diagnosed with a kidney stone after drinking milk laced with the industrial chemical melamine.
"The government said in a statement late Saturday that the girl is in good condition and was discharged from the hospital Saturday afternoon.
"The statement said the girl drank two to three cups of low-fat milk made by Chinese dairy Yili every day for the past 15 months."
Quote from: purringfur on September 19, 2008, 12:54:53 PM
Melamine dissolves in formaldehyde...
Symptoms of Formaldehyde Consumption:
Ingestion
Ingestion of as little as 30 mL (1 oz.) of a solution containing 37% formaldehyde has been reported to cause death in an adult. Ingestion may cause corrosive injury to the gastrointestinal mucosa, with nausea, vomiting, pain, bleeding, and perforation. Corrosive injuries are usually most pronounced in the pharyngeal mucosa, epiglottis and esophagus. Systemic effects include metabolic acidosis, CNS depression and coma, respiratory distress, and renal failure.
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/mhmi/mmg111.html
Aspartame also breaks down to formaldehyde with exposure to heat.
Could there be a connection?
Melamine to formaldehyde
and
aspartame to formaldehyde
Could china be putting aspartame in our pet food?
Quote from: Carol on September 18, 2008, 09:14:45 AM
Quote from: purringfur on September 18, 2008, 09:05:14 AM
I watched a web video clip about the milk powder scandal yesterday and saw a Chinese grocery store sign for infant powder and adult milk powder. What is adult milk powder? Do you think the adult milk powder refers to the protein-type drinks athletes drink and/or those nutritious drinks for the elderly such as Ensure or the meal substitute drinks?
well, we have this in the US..used to use this in my younger years...
http://www.verybestbaking.com/products/carnation/dry/
I am now off to email them about their milk powder.... ???
After I emailed the Nestle Company about testing their milk products in China--the response back was the usual 3-5 businness days for a response but if it was important to call the numbers they provided..so i called the Carnation number...the young girl was unaware of melamine and the formula contamination in China--asking me if it was on the news yet...told her it was a week prior...I asked her if the products in China and from China are being tested in light of the growing melamine contamination...sadly here is what her response was...she said (paraphrasing) "I can tell you we wouldn't bring stuff in from China...we make our products here in the US..." so I said I know you have plants in China and I know that companies import ingredients from China and then I told her about the Menu Foods China connection and I asked her if any ingredients in the powdered milk here in the US are sourced from China...so she put me on hold and came back with "strict QC is done here"--again paraphrasing...so I asked her if they are testing for melamine and/or derivitives...on hold again...for a while this time as she was going to talk to her supervisor....and then came back with the regular corporate jargon we all have read...I was not told yes or no... >:(
I was not going to post this phone exchange even though I was furious but got the answer I truly suspected sadly....I was going to post the email response but I am inreasingly irate at the absolute lack of coverage of this castrophe on the news and the implications of our entire food supply....that I thought maybe someone here reading might get mad like me and start calling companies asking questions about China sourced ingredients!
There is a complex of reasons, says Hughes: "systemic corruption, bureaucratic inefficiencies and the lack of a strong civil society of non-governmental organizations and a free press."
This quote comes from the Toronto Star about China. But when I read it, I thought how applicable it is to so many countries.
http://www.thestar.com:80/News/World/article/503168
ANALYSIS
TheStar.com | World | A crisis rooted in two Chinas
How can Canada....
sit and point the finger at China when we're just finishing mopping up our own Food crisis - listeriosis. How can this happen? In China? Same way it happened in Canada - ignorance by the food testing people results in random public deaths. There are 30x as many people in China, so there's 30x as many mistakes. No big mystery here. It should happen nowhere - but stop roasting China about EVERYTHING they do. We're not that perfect ourselves.
The US needs equally to look at what other countries have done in the face of this second worldwide melamine food threat and react to protect
its citizens much more strongly than it did to the pet food recalls of 2007.
Mary, I don't think adding unsafe ingredients to up profitability of food is restricted to any one country. Good question on aspartame and formaldehyde.
"White Rabbit creamy candy" found to contain melamine
AsiaOne - Singapore
http://health.asiaone.com/Health/News/Story/A1Story20080921-89066.html
... Authority (AVA) has said that its laboratory test have shown that the "White Rabbit Creamy Candy" from China is also contaminated with melamine. ...
Hong Kong finds melamine in Nestle milk from China
http://www.abc4.com/news/world/story.aspx?content_id=dc9bb794-944a-4237-9d00-48fb04f248c2
ABC 4 - Salt Lake City,USA
All the melamine-tainted batches have been recalled and will be destroyed, according to the AQSIQ. Four babies across the country have died after drinking ...
And, thoughts of aminopterin rears its poisonous head...
http://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/melamine-in-milk.html#comment-537825
Quote
jamez said,
September 20, 2008 at 6:07 pm
I agree with Barney`s comments about Melamine being relatively harmless. If Melamine caused rapid and acute kidney failure this would be indicated as toxicological data on the msds sheet but it does not.
I believe the baby formula may contain wheat gluten( starch ) that has been laced with Aminopterin.
The poisoned gluten used in the infant formula was an obvious mistake. The poison being added to wheat gluten was deliberate.
You see, China has a Rabies epidemic( 200 people die from Rabies every month ). In an effort to contain the epidemic, I think Aminopterin laced wheat gluten was used, as or in bait to kill off stray animals(about 150 million dogs and cats). This was especially prudent as the Beijing Olympics was approaching. The Authorities began using clubs to cull the stray animals but a more efficient and faster method was needed.
Menu Foods purchased wheat gluten form China last spring which they used in their pet food causing numerous pet deaths from kidney failure. The pet food was analyzed and Aminopterin was the initial finding confirmed by New York State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker and Dr. Donald Smith, Dean of Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.
I think by some terrible mishap, the baby formula and the pet food have the same wheat gluten.
I`m so sorry for the stricken families.
(not to mention they eat cats/dogs)
A pattern of delaying taking action, not reporting adulteration, allowing evidence to be
consumed, and time for manufacturers to clean up their products is all too familiar
to US consumers who went through the pet food recalls of 2007.
Did anyone notice that in the current Chinese milk scandal they found the adulteration was up to 25% by weight and guess what was found during the pet food recall "total adulterant levels in the protein concentrate ran as high as 25% by weight".
Offy, perhaps they figured they had to find some place to put the leftovers that they couldnt finish with when they were discovered putting it in pet food. >:( In addition to your article above here is some more info on the Chinese made Nestle milk, so anyone wanna take bets on when it shows up in the U.S.?
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/21/china.tainted.milk.ap/index.html
On Sunday, the Hong Kong government said its tests have found melamine in Chinese-made Nestle brand milk and ordered the product recalled.
The government said in a statement that the chemical was found in Nestle's Dairy Farm brand milk for catering use. It said the milk was made by Nestle Qingdao Ltd., located in the Chinese coastal city Qingdao.
The tests found only a small amount of melamine and the milk does not pose a serious health risk, the government said. However, it recommended that it not be fed to young children.
Nestle said in a statement last Wednesday that none of its infant formula and milk powder products contained melamine.
Nestle's Hong Kong office didn't immediately respond to messages left on its general line and customer hot line. Calls to its Beijing office and Beijing hot line went unanswered.
Also Sunday, Hong Kong Disneyland said it dropped Chinese dairy Mengniu as its milk supplier at the park and its two hotels earlier this week and had temporarily replaced it with Nestle milk.
Vice President for Public Affairs B.C. Lo said the park will switch to Australian and New Zealand-made Anchor brand milk on Monday.
Lo said no park visitors have complained of illness after drinking Mengniu milk.
We're getting more statistical data out of this scandal than we did from the FDA during the entire pet food scandal...but, dilution/risk assessments still :-X
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-09/21/content_7045016.htm
A sample of pure milk was found to contain melamine. The product was Nestle Dairy Farm Pure Milk (Catering use only) (1L) and the level of melamine detected was 1.4 ppm.
"Based on the low level detected, normal consumption will not pose major health effects. However, it is not advisable for small children to consume the milk product," a CFS spokesman said.
"We have informed the trade of the test results and asked them to stop selling and to recall the product concerned." he added.
According to the standards of the US Food and Drug Administration, the safety reference value (i.e. tolerable daily intake - TDI) for melamine is 0.63 mg per kg of body weight per day. [eta: PER DAY???? man, somebody feed it daily to the guys at the FDA sitting in those chairs]
The spokesman said it would for a 1-year-old child weighing 7.5 kg to drink around three packs (around 3.38 liters) of the product a day to have exposure reaching the TDI though the milk is usually for catering use.
"Today's results include 11 samples of locally available international brands of infant formula that are not manufactured by the Chinese mainland. Together with the results announced yesterday, a total of 57 samples of this group were tested and found to be free of melamine".
"The CFS has by now more or less completed testing of locally available international brands of infant formula that are not manufactured on the Mainland," the spokesman said.
Im wondering if that "safe" level is really so safe when its combined with say.....cyanuric acid....I still dont think they are quite getting it.......Im still frustrated here, arent they testing for anything else other than melamine? ???
Bernard seems to have been right. Uric acid from metabolizing high levels of nitrogen compounds can most likely replace the cyanuric acid part of the equation. Pets sick/dead with cyanuric acid & no melamine in the food or with melamine & no cyanuric acid in the food.
All the things shown in Gout, are most likely going to be the long term consequences and a clue to caring for damaged animals.. but Gout is human, is this what it looks like in animals?? pretty darn close is my bet. which is why this off chart pet owner is emailing anybody I can to ask about it. .. If I'm an idiot that's ok.. but I have to ask.
It's a good bet that this stuff is already in US foods.
Just another example of what happens when the issue of toxins in the food supply is not taken seriously by the FDA, the Dept. of Homeland Security, or anyone else whose salary is paid by the US taxpayer.
IMHO, it will take a crisis similar to 9/11 or last week's meltdown on Wall Street before anything changes.
Whether it's food or Wall Street, where are the regulators?
Founding Father James Madison noted that government and regulation was needed because men are not angels.
"It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, no government would be necessary."
The Federalist
5CatMom
=^..^=
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aWAQoXBKj5Nk&refer=home
Bloomberg.com September 21, 2008
Nestle `Confident' It Isn't Using Contaminated Milk
"Nestle SA, the world's largest food company, said it is "confident'' its dairy products aren't made from milk tainted with melamine, following a scandal with contaminated milk in China.
"A sample of milk for catering use tested in Hong Kong was found to contain only traces of the chemical, well below the amount considered harmful by international standards, Nestle spokesman Robin Tickle said today in a telephone interview.
""This is not made from milk adulterated with melamine,'' Tickle said. "These are very minute traces.''
Since when does this qualify as not being aduterated? Milk doesn't contain melamine by nature. >:(
I wonder if some of this melamine is leeching from the cows being fed with melamine enhanced feed??
And yes melamine is not a natural milk product, it is organic but not found in nature, it is processed.
well what is safe to eat/drink now, hmmmmm
db
Quote from: Sandi K on September 21, 2008, 09:02:31 AM
Im still frustrated here, arent they testing for anything else other than melamine? ???
Good question SandiK. I think the realistic answer is, they would have to be testing for hundreds if not thousands of chemicals and combinations of chemicals, and for every batch of whatever is being tested ,the next batch would be different. The Chinese are always a step ahead of us and adulterate their food products every way they can. Melamine has been used in animal feeds for years and years with the Chinese government well aware of it. A quick look at Alibaba shows thousands of "feed additives" being exported from China with no real description of what the products are comprised of: http://www.alibaba.com/countrysearch/CN-suppliers/feed_additive.html
Note that most of these companies have in their company names bio-tech; engineering; bio-engineering; technology; chemical. New chemicals are being engineered every day.
So, a company that makes a feed additive, is also manufacturing flame retardants, rubber clay, sewage treatment chemicals, poreclain clay, industrial soaps, etc. The feed additive is the leftover chemicals from the other manufacturing processes. Here's a good example of one of those companies: http://nhjh.en.alibaba.com/
Robin Tickle said today in a telephone interview.
""This is not made from milk adulterated with melamine,'' Tickle said. "These are very minute traces.''
Now, I vote that Robin Tickle finds a new job. And, I vote that there's an international boycott earned by Nestle for that statement.
Long term health consequences aren't even part of the consideration, so IMO, Tickle, just said they don't care about our long term health, only concern is the quick buck & their financial gratification from continuing to sell their products with known toxins (no matter the level) .....
At the very least, all the chocolate lovers should immediately switch brands...
Sigh, the word I dreaded - non-dairy coffee creamer - and here's it comes...
(running to check the store brand)...
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/local/taipei/2008/09/22/175684/Melamine-taints.htm
Public health officials announced yesterday melamine taints instant coffee, milk tea and chicken-and-corn soup that have non-dairy creamer mixed with them.
All tainted products came from China.
"It's the first time the non-dairy creamer was found to have been tainted by melamine," said Dr. Song An-jen, deputy director-general of the Department of Health (DOH).
I don't know what to think anymore about businesses & our governments... I mean I have a sailor's vocabulary *^&% already how much lower can it get?
This is an excerpt from an email I received from a reporter last year during the recalls:
It apparently has been proven to be true & the FDA complicit in the adulterations with their dilution theories/risk assessments with NO long term science studies to support them allowing us all to be poisoned.
"We actually had a group of Chinese journalists at __ (redacted -their office) on __ (redacted-day of the week) and one of my colleagues asked them about the melamine. They said it's in everything. FDA probably doesn't want to cause widespread panic. But all of this raises a lot of questions that, at least, I know journalists are beginning to look into."
Offy,
From your link:
"But so far no creamer, made of vegetable protein, had been found to have contained melamine."
This type of melamine spiking we all know too well--wheat gluten, rice protein concentrate, etc. There is an Import Alert for detaining all vegetable proteins for detention without physical exam--it stems from the CN/W-E shipments.
http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/ora_import_ia9929.html
Last edit 1/7/08.
http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/ora_import_ia7205.html
This is the one dealing specifically with animal feed--last edited 2/25/08
Menusux.. my non-diary coffee creamer has "sodium caseinate (a milk derivative)" on the label... "contains: milk derivative, soy"
I'm so brain dead at the moment that I have no clue if that's good/bad as far as melamine contamination...
Question--how do they class it as non-dairy if there's milk derivatives in it? Anyone?
It sounds like Taiwan found the melamine in the vegetable protein in the non-dairy coffee creamer they recalled.
The news crawl on Fox News is reporting that two suppermarket chains in Hong Kong are recalling Nestle milk powder.
Are any of the cable news programs covering this story?
I watch all the news channels and haven't heard any actual reports.
From The Standard, a newspaper in Hong Kong:
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking_news_detail.asp?id=6442&icid=3&d_str=20080919
Also, headlines from China newspapers indicate that Hong Kong is testing thousands of consumer products.
Lots of related headlines at the UK's Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/
5CatMom
=^..^=
To start the post from Offy that aminotrophen (spelling mine) was found in the pet food tested and that the Chinese used the same thing to kill the strays before the Olympics and then Menu Foods purchased this same wheat gluten with the RAT POISON in it - was that left over after the Chinese had gotten rid of all the strays and then sold so as to not lose any money on it to pet food companies as protein additive for food. Then these companies processed it into the pet food and voila - thousands of dead dogs and cats? Is the RAT POISON the 5th missing ingredient that was hushed up after its initial finding so as not to panic the pet lovers even more? WTF is wrong w/these people who did this, apparently they have no shame and no conscience as long as the cash registers ring. Was any of this feed fed to the livestock in this country or the swine containing RAT POISON bought as feed from overseas? Did anyone test the cows or swine before slaughter to see if they contained RAT POISON? How many food/drinks/powders/instant coffee/instant drinks contain MELAMINE in this country? Or even worse low levels of RAT POISON?
Offy also asked about the non-dairy creamers. Well if soy is in it then bingo your consuming genetically modified soybeans because 89% of soy is genetically modified which is just how safe now?? I have seen posts on here from experts that state you should not feed soy to a pet so why would it be safe for human consumption IMO? You can check on GMO'd frankenfood on organicconsumers.org to find out more information. Any intestinal problems I would look at the GMO'd frankenfood as a likely culprit IMO. But ck the site and see for yourself.
In order to make any of this stick, consumers are going to need independent test results on food product
sold in the US. For example, I have in my hand "Coffee Cream" from McDonald's that requires no refrigeration,
has a "Real" logo on it that requires a magnifying glass to see, is "not labeled for individual use, requires no refrigeration," yet
has an expiration date in early November 2008 on it that I got this morning from McDonald's. Stamped on the bottom of the
container is "Purity, c-8-10, P8 packaging." If product sold/purchased/found in the US has melamine, formaldehyde, ethylene
glycol, from ingredients or package leaching, that's what it would take to bring home the need for immediate action.
http://www.innovatewithdairy.com/NR/rdonlyres/62E49B3F-C58B-481B-A7C0-CBB82C78EC8D/0/DMI5550RealSeal_Jan11_v2.pdf
The REAL® Seal logo may be used on core U.S. dairy
products that meet federal standards of identity. It
may also be displayed on manufactured products
using at least 51% U.S. dairy products or ingredients
that meet certification requirements.
Consumers look for the REAL® Seal to find authentic
dairy foods and ingredients that they expect to taste
better than dairy substitutes
Talk about light weight plastic resin packaging. The logo is the same.
Maybe this is what Fonterra means by "adding value to milk"?
Sorry, menusux, McAfee Site Advisor says dangerous site to go to. DMI, Dairy Management, Inc., site owner for Real. I'm chicken
to take my computer there, 21food.com/showroom:
Dairy Management Inc. - dairy products and ingredientsChina dairy products and ingredients Supplier - Dairy Management Inc.
www.21food.com/showroom/45167/productlist/list.html - 42k - Cached - Similar pages
Quote from: menusux on September 21, 2008, 11:00:09 AM
Question--how do they class it as non-dairy if there's milk derivatives in it? Anyone?
It sounds like Taiwan found the melamine in the vegetable protein in the non-dairy coffee creamer they recalled.
According to FARRP Allergen Information Library, "Non-dairy: A regulatory definition does exist for the term, non-dairy. But, incredibly, the regulatory definition actually allows the presence of the milk protein, casein, in such products. Non-dairy is commonly used on coffee creamers made from caseinate, a milk protein, rather than milk or cream. The term, non-dairy, is a long-standing byproduct of the strong dairy lobby that wanted to assure that substitute milk and cream products could not bear the "dairy" name.
Non-dairy definitely does not mean that the product is milk-free. FDA regulations specifically allow the use of caseinates (and casein is one of the major milk allergens) in non-dairy products. However, the term, caseinate, will appear in the ingredient statement and must be followed by a parenthetical explanation, such as (a milk derivative). While non-dairy is a term that is frequently used on coffee creamers, it is also used similarly on various other products containing caseinates. Once again, careful inspection of the ingredient statement is the consumer's best defense." http://www.farrp.org/articles/dairyfree.htm
Quote from: Offy on September 21, 2008, 10:21:40 AM
Robin Tickle said today in a telephone interview.
""This is not made from milk adulterated with melamine,'' Tickle said. "These are very minute traces.''
Now, I vote that Robin Tickle finds a new job. And, I vote that there's an international boycott earned by Nestle for that statement.
At the very least, all the chocolate lovers should immediately switch brands...
If only we, the people, had a vote. I have no confidence in any brand of chocolate--or much of anything at this point. I think the FDA is waiting for us to eat the evidence again and really agree with those who suggest we need some organized independent testing of key items. I'm in.
Ice cream and dairy deserts and yogurt and liquid milk hard to test because of shipping problems.
Dry packets/little containers of coffee creamers, dairy and non-dairy? Store brand dry milk powders? Help with
suggestions here. And start snagging products fast, please. Nestle Carnation brands? Kraft brands? What?
Store brand baked goods containing milk? Suggesting store brands as the cheapest, bottom of the line?
My computer survived trip to 21foods.com, I think. Very interesting.
For those interested, please PM me. We really lost out in the 2007 pet foods recalls by not acting fast
enough to round up food samples I believe. By the time we knew how extensive the adulteration was,
it was really very late. Things were difficult to prove. I believe that's part of the familiar company strategy
with which some of the government seems to be cooperating.
3Cat,
Good idea. I have a 16 oz. Nestle Lite Coffee-mate, unopened. Bought last week. Also, still have 2 cans of Campbell's beef broth (contains wheat gluten) from 2006.
5CatMom
=^..^=
Does Nestle make a powdered milk? Like in a box, just add water? Who else makes it?
I have the Kroger storebrand coffee creamer. I have to go to the grocery this week and will take a look at the stuff & around the oriental/asian food products for gluten/dairy products.
Lots of use for the powdered milk products... goes out with a lot of packages to help needy folks too.
If this has been happening like the guy in China said since April 2005, then sheesh.. I think expired dates like found around BigLots or Family Dollar type stores might be a good check.
I sincerely hope there's a public outcry by consumers to denounce any level of melamine - in/from any country.
Who tests below 10ppm for melamine & how much? How much is the quantification (or whatever it's called) to determine the amount of it if it's found?
Try instant cocoa mixes; they have milk powder or "non-dairy creamer." (Nestle even makes some.) Instant mixes for chai, cappuccino, those "international" favored coffees. Sauce mixes, sold separately or in Hamburger Helper and the like. Pre-packaged scalloped potato mixes and such. Those could all potentially contain some form of milk powder.
Anybody a member of consumer labs?
Maybe they'll pick this up and test.
Cos we've got Nestle quoted as saying there is no melamine in theirs , then the test saying there is and Nestle saying that's ok , just a small amount.
Maybe not to consumers...
Here's a list of Nestle products A - Z:
http://www.nestleusa.com/PubOurBrands/Brands.aspx
I think we should also report any products of any brand made with milk/milk derivatives/vegetable proteins that are missing from stores.
I just noticed that cottage cheese has whey protein concentrate in it... ???
Think major corporations involved in 2007 pet food recalls, suppliers of the same type. Big-box retailer we all know and major chain store brands like Kroger and Wegman's packaged under private label were the biggest; right? Then we know Kraft and General Mills are
involved with Fonterra (1/3 international dairy trade) here in the US. You'll need two examples of the smallest sized product you can
find, one for initial testing, and second for possible repeat confirmatory testing unopened preferrably with the same production codes
and best by dates. Some really good ideas have come forward. Please keep sending. I have no ability to get to a Wegman's.
And, yes, by all means report sudden shortages as perhaps silent recalls. Frozen and/or refrigerated are difficult and costly to transport for
testing. Think products already reported for recall in Asia. Purchase on a separate receipt, make sure you can read the receipt, and absolutely
save the purchase receipt.
Thanks purringfur on Nestle brands. Carnation Instant Breakfast gets my vote. Wondered what the heck was in the lumpy stuff for years. ???
This link shows how a company was formed in the USA is registered in Delaware and involves dairies in China. It mentions Nestle.
http://www.secinfo.com/dv768.22b.htm
This link names all 22 dairies involved.
http://www.chinaretailnews.com/2008/09/18/1492-milk-powder-products-from-22-chinese-companies-contain-melamine
Here's an aside.........
In the link from yl, it said how LL Bean is opening up a retail store in Beijing >:(
That's not to say they won't start using the factories over there to get their wares sent to the US.
I'm done with LLBean...............
Sorry about the deviation.
yl, I get 404 page not found error on second link -- found on search (fromm above has one too many m's):
http://www.chinaretailnews.com/2008/09/18/1492-milk-powder-products-from-22-chinese-companies-contain-melamine/
Contaminated products found in the tests include baby milk powder products produced by Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group, Shanghai Panda Dairy, Qingdao Shengyuan Dairy, Shanxi Gu Cheng Dairy, Jiangxi Guangming Yingxiong Dairy, Baoji Huimin Dairy, Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy, Torador Dairy Industry (Tianjin), Guangdong Yashili Group, Hunan Peiyi Dairy, Heilongjiang Qilin Dairy, Shanxi Yashili Dairy, Shenzhen Jinbishi Milk, Scient (Guangzhou) Infant Nutrition, Guangzhou Jinding Dairy Products Factory, Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group, Yantai Ausmeadow Nutriment, Qingdao Suncare Nutritional Technology, Xi'an Baiyue Dairy, Yantai Leilei Dairy, Shanghai Baoanli Dairy, and Fuding Chenguan Dairy.
As to Feihe, the stock is going up, does business in China, brands cleared, registered in US, but otherwise I'm lost.
I fixed the link ! Sorry folks. I found both links interesting . The second one also has an article on Nestle and price increase. The first link mentions Nestle as a large dairy producer in china.
Got it, yl. Thanks. Makes Nestle products here worth looking at.
http://www.nestle.com/MediaCenter/PressReleases/AllPressReleases/No+melamine+adulteration.htm
??? there is a safe amount of melamine to ingest in EU and US standards? ???
Can't wait to see how they answer my email from Thursday...will post it when I get it..
From Carol's link, and heard before, this from Nestle:
In general terms, melamine is found throughout the food chain across the world in minute traces which do not represent any health risk for consumers. There is a generally accepted tolerable daily intake of melamine in food in the EU (0.5mg/kg of body weight/day) and in the US (0.63mg/kg of body weight/day). The lowest level of melamine traces which can be measured by commonly-used testing equipment (2 ppm) is 20 times below these internationally-recognised safety limits. In other words, based on this 2 ppm value, a three year-old child would have to consume over 40 litres of milk every day to exceed these safety limits.
Must be the dilution factor ... What if you eat a combined diet of several of these products, and some have more melamine than others?
Quotethere is a safe amount of melamine to ingest in EU and US standards?
Carol
Apparently there is a "safe" amount to ingest.
The question is the ones who determine this, do they ingest any??
Remember when the FDA was testing this stuff, last year??
They wore masks (with filters), gloves, and would not allow pregnant women near it
hmmmmmmmmmm
safe huh
db
I wonder what happens when the allowable minimum detection level of melamine is ingested and combines with the allowable minimum detection level of cyanuric acid??? >:(
I have 2 unopened boxes of Nestle cocoa mix,different codes & dates though. No receipt,I got them monthes ago before I started saving every grocery receipt. I might be able to document when & where from my Acme shoppers card. I bought them there on the $ sale.
Quote from: Carol on September 21, 2008, 05:28:10 PM
I wonder what happens when the allowable minimum detection level of melamine is ingested and combines with the allowable minimum detection level of cyanuric acid??? >:(
That is always the big question, combinations and cumulative effects.
Unfortunately, long term studies and combination studies are usually not done. Either funding issues or lack of interest on the part of those that do the studies.
So in essence we become the test subjects, and after years of ingestion some conclusions can be made.
or basically we are the friggin guinea pigs
db
Page 20, Reply #286:
The statement said the girl drank two to three cups of low-fat milk made by Chinese dairy Yili every day for the past 15 months Diagnosis: kidney stone.
Nestle press release says: The lowest level of melamine traces which can be measured by commonly-used testing equipment (2 ppm). Aren't there indications in other news reports of amounts detected below one, as in 0.6, etc?
SEC alleges insider trading in Nestle deal
Article Abstract:
The acquisition of Ralston Purina Co. by Switzerland's Nestle S.A. has led to a lawsuit by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC has sued unknown individuals for insider trading related to the merger.
author: Gordon, Marcy
Publisher: Bell Globemedia Interactive
Publication Name: Globe & Mail (Toronto, Canada)
Subject: News, opinion and commentary
ISSN: 0319-0714
Year: 2001
They stop at nothing to take over what once was a good pet food producer.
Now look what happened >:( >:( >:(
http://www.kansascity.com:80/451/story/807254.html
More than 12,000 Chinese children sick from milk
The Associated Press
China's Health Ministry says the number of children sickened by tainted milk products has doubled, with nearly 12,900 in hospital and 104 of them seriously ill.
In a statement posted on its Web site late Sunday, the ministry said the sick children consumed milk made from milk powder, most of it produced by the Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group. It said 12,892 children have been hospitalized
It's time for governments and manufacturers to stop lying. Governments need to say exactly what's adulterated here with what. Manufacturers
everywhere need to be recalling even just suspicious products. These are just babies, and this is beyond awful.
Wow, 3Cat, take a look at the linked report you posted and then look at this one...
There's an additional paragraph:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/China/12000_babies_hospitalized_for_taking_contaminated_milk_China_/articleshow/3511260.cms
About 39,965 babies were hospitalised, across the nation, after they fell ill following the consumption of contaminated milk powder, while 1,579 babies had been treated and released from the hospital.
Quote from: Offy on September 21, 2008, 02:55:43 PM
Does Nestle make a powdered milk? Like in a box, just add water? Who else makes it?
I have the Kroger storebrand coffee creamer. I have to go to the grocery this week and will take a look at the stuff & around the oriental/asian food products for gluten/dairy products.
Lots of use for the powdered milk products... goes out with a lot of packages to help needy folks too.
If this has been happening like the guy in China said since April 2005, then sheesh.. I think expired dates like found around BigLots or Family Dollar type stores might be a good check.
I sincerely hope there's a public outcry by consumers to denounce any level of melamine - in/from any country.
Who tests below 10ppm for melamine & how much? How much is the quantification (or whatever it's called) to determine the amount of it if it's found?
Offy, I think Don said Expertox isnt doing quantitative testing any longer, why I dont know when other labs are still doing it. Who would want to get a test done and be told yes there is melamine but sorry we wont tell you how much....makes no sense to me...I had checked with Eurofins and they said they would test pet food down to 2 ppm and I cant remember for sure but Medallion labs did too and they were down to 1 ppm but I think they were too spendy. Eurofins was $175.00 per test for melamine and its analogues. Im wondering if any of our New York members have access to the NY agriculture lab? That might be a good option depending on the cost....
I don't know whose report to believe at this point, Offy, except it sounds so much like 16 dogs and cats versus 18,000 reports
to FDA in 2007. Somebody is misrepresenting things, and each parent not alerted to seek treatment immediately risks long term illness
for their child or worse. Exactly what has happened here cannot be beyond every Asian government's ability to analyze and alert
parents about. And every manufacturer utilizing Chinese milk powders, milk protein concentrates, cheese powders and products. whey powders and products needs to be listing brands and recalling all of them in countries all over the world, including this one.
Perhaps the FDA, with their 2007 melamine training, could even assist China in arriving at understanding what all the adulterants are here.
I think one is across the country (12000) and one is across the nation (39000)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/China/12000_babies_hospitalized_for_taking_contaminated_milk_China_/articleshow/3511260.cms
A total number of 12,892 babies were hospitalised throughout the country, of which condition of 104 were serious, the Xinhua news agency quoted officials from the Ministry of Health as saying.
About 39,965 babies were hospitalised, across the nation, after they fell ill following the consumption of contaminated milk powder, while 1,579 babies had been treated and released from the hospital.
How did they treat the babies? With what for what? That part truly puzzles me.
Puzzles me, too, Offy, since there has been no treatment other than fluids to manage dehydration for surviving
affected pets with renal failure. The only treatments I've seen reported were IV lines in these poor children's heads
and arms. I wonder what these Chinese parents are being told about long term prognosis.
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on September 21, 2008, 05:44:30 PM
Page 20, Reply #286:
The statement said the girl drank two to three cups of low-fat milk made by Chinese dairy Yili every day for the past 15 months Diagnosis: kidney stone.
Nestle press release says: The lowest level of melamine traces which can be measured by commonly-used testing equipment (2 ppm). Aren't there indications in other news reports of amounts detected below one, as in 0.6, etc?
Yes, the Nestle was reported at 1.4. Hong Kong article? I can't find the thing now. http://en.ce.cn/National/Local/200809/22/t20080922_16870154.shtml
A sample of pure milk was found to contain melamine. The product was Nestle Dairy Farm Pure Milk (Catering use only) (1L) and the level of melamine detected was 1.4 ppm.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10533201&pnum=0
Testing by China's State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine found the melamine content in San Lu's milk powder sample to be 2563mg a kilogram, far higher than others, which ranged from 0.09mg to 619mg a kilo, said the official Xinhua News Agency.
(I gotta snark - PURE?
Tickle me! Nestle originally said their product had no melamine..then discounted the amount found in theirs.)
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-suspected-chinese-officials-say-baby-formula-tied-to-kidney-stones-t6256.0.html;msg88142#msg88142
This is a followup comment based on information in Post #539 from "Menusux", stating the following information from the Dairy Reporter, April 5, 2006:
"Fonterra (NZ), the world's biggest exporter of dairy products, said today that it has gained approval from the Chinese government for its purchase of a 43 per cent stake in dairy company San Lu. San Lu, which is based in Hebei province, is China's biggest milk-powder producer and one of the 'big six' Chinese dairies that control over half of China's fresh milk market. While San Lu is already a long-time customer of Fonterra's, the New Zealand group is keen to gain a greater foothold in China's rapidly growing dairy sector."
The reason I find Post 539 so interesting is that I've just been told by the quality control technical services representative of PetAg (U.S. manufacturer of KMR, kitten milk replacer, formula) that NONE of the ingredients they put in KMR come from China except, of course, for the vitamin supplments. The primary ingredients listed on the KMR label are whey protein concentrate, casein and dried skim milk.
The PetAg rep stated that the casein in the KMR comes from NEW ZEALAND and, at the time, that made me feel as if the KMR I've been feeding to my foster kittens was likely to be safe. Now I'm wondering if it could, in fact, be contaminated with melamine, since there's clearly now a chance it could have come from China to New Zealand, due to San Lu's connection with the New Zealand company . . . since 2006.
My concern about the KMR stems from the fact I've recently fed powdered KMR to several foster kittens. The kittens readily drank formula made from the first can I purchased 2 months ago but have rejected formula made from the two cans purchased during the past month and 2) the formula made from the older can was noticeably thicker and smelled like milk, whereas the formula made from the two newer cans was thin/watery and smelled like chemicals. Fortunately, I was able to switch these kittens to canned cat food soon after they began rejecting the formula. And I quickly ceased mixing the formula with the canned food because they routinely rejected that mixture (trying to bury it) but accepted the canned food that did NOT include the formula.
I'm not one to be paranoid about these things, but, in view of the current information about melamine-adulterated Chinese infant formula, I'd be a lot more comfortable if I knew the source of the casein provided to PetAg by a company in New Zealand! I'm no longer satisfied by PetAg's response that the casein is safe because it "comes from New Zealand".
I now think PetAg should be testing the casein from New Zealand for possible melamine contamination. If anyone feeding KMR to kittens reads this post, I urge them to be observant for any signs of product rejection by their animals, and especially for any signs of urinary/kidney distress. At this point, erring on the side of caution is probably warranted.
Quote from: Offy on September 21, 2008, 06:52:51 PM
I think one is across the country (12000) and one is across the nation (39000)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/China/12000_babies_hospitalized_for_taking_contaminated_milk_China_/articleshow/3511260.cms
A total number of 12,892 babies were hospitalised throughout the country, of which condition of 104 were serious, the Xinhua news agency quoted officials from the Ministry of Health as saying.
About 39,965 babies were hospitalised, across the nation, after they fell ill following the consumption of contaminated milk powder, while 1,579 babies had been treated and released from the hospital.
How did they treat the babies? With what for what? That part truly puzzles me.
Probably 40,000 by now. Just boggles the mind that this continued for so long and just like the pet food - tried to keep a lid on it and not let anyone know til now they have thousands sick. Just like the pet food - don't tell, let people keep right on poisoning their pets with no knowledge the food is spiked with a toxin and who's to say that that was not RAT POISON after all as was first documented and discovered in the food then all of a sudden nah that was only one test, but, lo and nehold - enter MELAMINE as the one that took down thousands and thousands of pets in this country. How many of your babies will this spiked milk take down til its discovered IMO? Sorry if I have little trust in someone saying the milk is 100% safe without posting test results in every paper across the country to prove what they state is the truth and nothing but the truth. They lied about the pet food and blew everyone's trust right out the window so the milk is now safe cause we say so? PROVE IT
the reported number of sick keep growing.... >:( >:(
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jXx8r3EV1DI9eKKiZtjuQc0D3S6w
China toxic milk sickens 53,000 as scare spreads
5 hours ago
BEIJING (AFP) — China's tainted milk scandal spiralled into uncharted territory Monday as authorities said nearly 53,000 children had been sickened and more countries moved to ban or recall Chinese dairy imports.
In a dramatic update of previous figures, the health ministry said a total of 52,857 children were taken to hospital after drinking milk thought to have been contaminated by the industrial chemical melamine.
Most had "basically recovered" but 12,892 of them remained in hospital, a health ministry official told AFP.
Joining a clutch of other countries, Taiwan said it was banning all Chinese milk products with immediate notice, regardless of brand, because of consumer concerns.
"There is no timeframe for the ban," said Wang Chih-chao, an official with the Department of Health, but said milk products already on the shelves after passing safety tests would not be removed.
Meanwhile retailers in Hong Kong said they were pulling more milk products off their shelves after samples tested positive for melamine.
Melamine, normally used in making plastics, was first found in infant milk formula in Chinese markets but has since been detected in a range of products with dairy ingredients both in China and abroad.
The discovery, the latest in a series of scandals to tarnish the reputation of Chinese products, has led to mass recalls and a Chinese government campaign to tighten quality inspections across the dairy sector.
Three children have died and 104 are still in serious condition, the health ministry said, with symptoms including kidney stones.
A fourth child was also reported dead by authorities in Xinjiang province but has not been added to the national figure.
The scandal stems from the practice of adding melamine to watered-down milk to give it the appearance of higher protein levels.
A host of countries -- Bangladesh, Brunei, Burundi, Japan, Gabon, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Tanzania -- have barred Chinese milk products or taken some other form of action to curb consumption.
Hong Kong's government said a three-year-old girl developed a kidney stone after drinking the tainted milk -- believed to be the first such case outside mainland China.
The girl has since left hospital and is in good condition, it added.
Major retailers in Hong Kong were emptying shelves of milk powder products from Nestle, plastic-bottled Dutch Lady milk, and canned Mr Brown coffee.
Many Hong Kong parents took the day off work Monday to have their children checked at a hospital but were told they had to wait up to three days because of the queue, local broadcaster Cable TV reported.
"It has become a crisis," said Gabriel Choi, a kidney specialist and former president of the Hong Kong Medical Association.
Swiss food giant Nestle said it was "confident" its products in China were safe and that none had been adulterated with melamine.
The Centre for Food Safety, a Hong Kong government body, said it had found melamine in a Nestle Dairy Farm pure milk sample from northeastern China.
Singapore has also found melamine in a Chinese-made milk candy, officials there said, while across China, supermarkets and shops have been pulling milk and a wide range of other dairy products off their shelves.
More than 80 percent of affected children are aged under two, the Chinese health ministry said.
The melamine scandal first came to light two weeks ago in state-controlled media, but some press reports say the scam had been going on for years.
Shigeru Omi, Western Pacific director for the UN World Health Organization, raised concerns the health risks were not reported earlier by China.
China has been hit by a wave of embarrassing scandals in recent years over dangerous products including food, drugs and toys, spoiling its manufacturing reputation.
Melamine was found in pet food containing Chinese ingredients that killed cats and dogs in the United States last year.
What amazes me is how fast numbers & testing stats & suppliers are being released. Maybe they could teach the FDA how to be transparent and work faster. Or maybe get the FDA science more current. We suffered and our animals were sickened & killed for months on end and the FDA was less than forthcoming during the whole thing.
In spite of the delay admitting it (which is close to the same amount of time Menu Foods just sat on the issue), they sure have been "fast" getting the information out, and you cannot say that at all about the FDA or the pet food companies.
Here's USA Today's story:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-09-22-china-babyformula_N.htm?csp=34
"The chemical in the dangerous pet food was the same as in the milk scandal — melamine."
5CatMom
=^..^=
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/22/china.tainted.milk/index.html
QuoteThe head of China's quality watchdog is reported to have resigned over the tainted baby milk scandal that has killed four children and sickened nearly 53,000 others.
The official Xinhua News Agency said Li Changjiang had quit with the approval of China's State Council. Li's agency is responsible for ensuring that China's food supply chain is safe.
Monday's resignation came hours after the World Health Organization said the scandal had highlighted flaws in the country's entire food supply chain.
In light of what we know now, wonder if it had anything to do with this:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/13/business/14suicide.php
International Herald Tribune August 13, 2008
Questions surround death of food-safety official in China
"One of China's highest-ranking food safety officials committed suicide earlier this month during a government corruption investigation, according to a report in a respected Chinese business magazine, though his agency disputed the circumstances of his death.
"The official, Wu Jianping, 42, the head of food production supervision at the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, died after jumping from a building on Aug. 2, a day after being questioned by prosecutors about his financial assets, the magazine Caijing reported on its Web site.
"The government agency, which regulates things like food and consumer goods, could not be reached for comment late Wednesday. But The Associated Press reported Wednesday that an agency spokeswoman had called the death accidental, saying Wu fell from the building. The agency declined to offer more details, The AP reported.
"Wu's death comes a year after China was rocked by a series of product safety scandals involving contaminated food and drugs, and toys tainted with high levels of lead.
"In its report this week, Caijing said prosecutors had questioned Wu on Aug. 1 about his real estate holdings and large financial assets that suggested he had other sources of income."
What will be the consequences for well-known companies selling foods in the USA if and when melamine is found in our foodstuffs?
IMO, it is all about the money because now we are dealing with people being sickened, not pets seen as property in most states. >:(. There will be a bigger financial hit and backlash to the corporations if this hits the USA in the form of well known foods we thought were manufactured in the USA of USA ingredients. All done for profit, profit, profit, and more profit, without a thought to safety.
They will pass it off as criminal activity in another country, claim innocence, but never their fault. >:( Will they be able to squeak by on this one, giving lipservice and only paying out tokens to the victims?
More background on how melamine damages the renal system:
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUST36613120080922
Reuters September 22, 2008
Tainted China milk "may pose further kidney danger"
"Melamine, a plastic-making chemical that has been found in a growing number of Chinese milk products, may cause far more serious complications than just kidney stones, medical experts warned on Monday.
While stones can be removed easily, far more worrying is when melamine starts crystallizing in small kidney tubes, or tubules -- long, winding structures that filter blood, reabsorbing what is needed and excreting the rest as urine -- which will block connecting ducts and result in kidney damage and even failure.
"Human urine seems to have the right acidity for melamine to crystallize," explained Daniel Chan, professor in nephrology at the University of Hong Kong.
"The damage may be occurring in renal tubules where the urine is being transported. When a lot of the tubules are blocked by crystals, the kidneys don't serve their function and the children go into kidney failure," Chan said in an interview.
"Melamine turned up last year in Chinese pet food exported to the United States, where many animals developed kidney failure and died. That scandal led to the theory melamine can crystallize in kidney tubules.
"Wong Kar-yin, a consultant pediatrician in Hong Kong, added: "Large stones can be removed. But if renal tubules are stuck with crystals, there may not be effective treatment. Hopefully, other undamaged tubules can compensate for the function."
"He said affected children would need long-term monitoring.
""If there is severe tubular damage, there could be kidney impairment ... the child may have to undergo dialysis or even need a kidney transplant. That's the worst case scenario," Wong said.
"Chan said the youngest children were most vulnerable.
""Damage seems highest in very small children who depend solely on milk for food. They consume large amounts and their blood level of melamine would be high," he said.
""When the kidney fails, it fails to clear the body of excessive electrolytes, like potassium. If blood potassium rises to a very high level, the heart will stop."
"China needs to tell the world how the four children died -- whether from stones or tubular obstruction, the experts stressed.
"While normal stone obstruction would take weeks, if not months, to lead to kidney failure, deterioration from intratubular obstruction would be far more rapid.
""For intratubular obstruction, kidney failure can occur overnight because it would be all over, not one or two tubules," Chan said. "The kidney is suddenly switched off ... toxins build up. That is more dangerous because it is more rapid.""
http://www.phsciences.com/about_ph/research/pH%20Control%20Effect%20on%20Urine%20Acid_Mkt.pdf
Page 3
The pH range for human urine is abut 4.8 to 8.4 but either extreme is considered unhealthy. Urine pH varies durig the day as much as a full pH unit. At night, the body concentrates urine with acidic waste products since voiding and fluid intake are both restricted. Therefore, urine pH is at its minimum (most acidic) when rising in the morning and at its peak (most alkaline) in the late afternoon or early evening for most people.
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=0&cat=1474&articleid=3136
Urine pH – This number is a reading of how acidic or alkaline the urine is. On a pH scale of 1-14, 7 is considered neutral, meaning neither acid nor alkaline. A number less than 7 indicates acidity, while a number greater than 7 indicates alkalinity. It is the pH (acidity or alkalinity) of the patient's urine that is being measured in a urinalysis, not the pH of the food the patient has eaten, or the pH of the patient's blood.
Most normal dogs and cats have a urine pH of 5.5 to 7.0; however, some normal pets may have higher or lower values.
From this, it looks like human and pet urine fall into the same pH ranges.
PatMRaleigh:
Maybe you could start a thread in the "Experiences with Cat Food Brands" thread about the KMR kitten milk formula. You can just state your experience saying that your kitties tried to "cover" the formula all of a sudden and ask if anyone else had any refusals of KMR. I hope your kitties are OK. Did you save the formula? Have any unopened containers? Thank you for sharing your experience.
.................................
Wow. 53,000 babies now. Those poor babies and the worried! My heart goes out to them. You can bet this poisoned milk powder is in just about everything there, and maybe here as well! We have such a tendency in this country that "if IT happens somewhere else," we're not as concerned, and there's less media play. In this global marketing of foods and sourcing individual products from all over the globe, EVERY country has to be concerned with what happens elsewhere!
Everyone, please try to avoid all packaged and processed foods here until this this milk powder scandal unfolds more. There was some discussion of "dairy creamer" for coffee. Please try to switch to whole milk for a while, if you can, if you like your coffee light. Although we supposedly don't import baby formula from China, we've learned about all of the milk derivatives that can be added to foods & beverages. And, we know how greedy American CEO's look for cheap, cheap, cheap from China to fatten their wallets. Stay safe.
This is not the first time that Nestle got caught with their diapers down over contaminated baby milk powder:
Nestle China apologizes for unsafe iodine infant milk powder
6.6.2005
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-06/06/content_449105.htm
Nestle China ordered to recall second type of baby milk powder
6.23.2005
http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/afx/2005/06/23/afx2107387.html
Quote from: PatMRaleigh on September 21, 2008, 08:54:55 PM
The reason I find Post 539 so interesting is that I've just been told by the quality control technical services representative of PetAg (U.S. manufacturer of KMR, kitten milk replacer, formula) that NONE of the ingredients they put in KMR come from China except, of course, for the vitamin supplments. The primary ingredients listed on the KMR label are whey protein concentrate, casein and dried skim milk.
The PetAg rep stated that the casein in the KMR comes from NEW ZEALAND and, at the time, that made me feel as if the KMR I've been feeding to my foster kittens was likely to be safe. Now I'm wondering if it could, in fact, be contaminated with melamine, since there's clearly now a chance it could have come from China to New Zealand, due to San Lu's connection with the New Zealand company . . . since 2006.
My concern about the KMR stems from the fact I've recently fed powdered KMR to several foster kittens. The kittens readily drank formula made from the first can I purchased 2 months ago but have rejected formula made from the two cans purchased during the past month and 2) the formula made from the older can was noticeably thicker and smelled like milk, whereas the formula made from the two newer cans was thin/watery and smelled like chemicals. Fortunately, I was able to switch these kittens to canned cat food soon after they began rejecting the formula. And I quickly ceased mixing the formula with the canned food because they routinely rejected that mixture (trying to bury it) but accepted the canned food that did NOT include the formula.
I'm not one to be paranoid about these things, but, in view of the current information about melamine-adulterated Chinese infant formula, I'd be a lot more comfortable if I knew the source of the casein provided to PetAg by a company in New Zealand! I'm no longer satisfied by PetAg's response that the casein is safe because it "comes from New Zealand".
I now think PetAg should be testing the casein from New Zealand for possible melamine contamination. If anyone feeding KMR to kittens reads this post, I urge them to be observant for any signs of product rejection by their animals, and especially for any signs of urinary/kidney distress. At this point, erring on the side of caution is probably warranted.
Oh my. Thank you for looking into this Pat. I've sent links to some friends. I wonder about CatSure. It has similar ingredients. Recently purchased some for my older boys.
Quote from: menusux on September 19, 2008, 12:02:48 PM
A little more than a year ago, there was quite a scandal in the Philippines and other Asian nations about a Chinese-made milk candy called White Rabbit. Testing by the Philippines and Indonesia revealed some formaldehyde in the candy. The Philippines banned the Chinese candy totally, while Indonesia found only trace amounts, which were under the health risk guidelines.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/04/AR2007090402284_pf.html
Washington Post September 5, 2007
Seeing the need for some chemical like formaldehyde to dissolve melamine made me think about the candies because they have milk as an ingredient. Possible that the candy picked this up from any adulterated milk used to make them?
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=743257
eTaiwan News September 19, 2008
"Chen and others expressed surprise that so many farmers would know the process to add melamine to milk. Melamine is not water-soluble and must be mixed with formaldehyde or another chemical before it can be dissolved in milk." http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/22/china.tainted.milk/?imw=Y&iref=mpstoryemail
CNN.com September 22, 2008
China quality chief quits over milk scandal
"The scandal has spread beyond the mainland with melamine being found in three Chinese-made dairy products in Singapore.
"The country's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority said tests on
"White Rabbit Creamy Candy" showed that it was contaminated with melamine and it ordered stores to remove the product from shelves."
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/122106/BFAD-asks-BOC-to-be-on-alert-vs-China-products
GMANNewsTV Philippines September 22, 2008
BFAD asks BOC to be on alert vs China products
"The Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) on Monday asked the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to check all the cargoes entering the Philippine waters especially those coming from China.
"The BFAD request came amid a scare regarding milk contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine.
"At the same time, the BFAD chief said that BFAD is checking the veracity of reports that
China-made White Rabbit Creamy Candies also contain melamine.""We heard something about that so our inspectors will be collecting samples and we will be testing it," she added.
"A few months ago, BFAD had banned White Rabbit after finding that it contained formaldehyde, an embalming chemical."
It looks like the formaldehyde found in the candies last year may have been an indication for melamine. I'd believe BFAD did not run any tests for melamine when the formaldhyde was detected last year--most likely because it didn't seem necessary then.
Quote from: Sandi K on September 21, 2008, 06:39:36 PM
Quote from: Offy on September 21, 2008, 02:55:43 PM
Does Nestle make a powdered milk? Like in a box, just add water? Who else makes it?
I have the Kroger storebrand coffee creamer. I have to go to the grocery this week and will take a look at the stuff & around the oriental/asian food products for gluten/dairy products.
Lots of use for the powdered milk products... goes out with a lot of packages to help needy folks too.
If this has been happening like the guy in China said since April 2005, then sheesh.. I think expired dates like found around BigLots or Family Dollar type stores might be a good check.
I sincerely hope there's a public outcry by consumers to denounce any level of melamine - in/from any country.
Who tests below 10ppm for melamine & how much? How much is the quantification (or whatever it's called) to determine the amount of it if it's found?
Offy, I think Don said Expertox isnt doing quantitative testing any longer, why I dont know when other labs are still doing it. Who would want to get a test done and be told yes there is melamine but sorry we wont tell you how much....makes no sense to me...I had checked with Eurofins and they said they would test pet food down to 2 ppm and I cant remember for sure but Medallion labs did too and they were down to 1 ppm but I think they were too spendy. Eurofins was $175.00 per test for melamine and its analogues. Im wondering if any of our New York members have access to the NY agriculture lab? That might be a good option depending on the cost....
I just called Eurofins to verify again and the gal I talked to this time said they dont do testing for individual consumers. Before I had called their headquarters and they said yes they do, this gal from the actual testing facility said no they dont, they only do it for pfc's. Bummer, does anyone have any ideas on other labs we can use for consumer testing? My state does not have an agriculture lab.
Should we be contacting manufacturers whose products contain milk powder and/or derivatives (such as creamer, granola/energy bars, instant breakfast drinks, etc) and asking if they've posted independent lab test results verifying their supplies and products are free of melamine?
My personal thought is "anything helps"--if enough people contact the producers of questionable items, it has to help.
It will also put companies on notice that people DO NOT want to buy food products which are China-sourced or made with China-sourced ingredients.
To make Netle/Carnation easy for you...here is the link I sent my email to and then I called the carnation number on the bottom as I did not want to wait the 3-5 days...
http://www.verybestbaking.com/general/contactus.aspx
Quote from: menusux on September 22, 2008, 07:27:50 AM
More background on how melamine damages the renal system:
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUST36613120080922
Reuters September 22, 2008
Tainted China milk "may pose further kidney danger"
"Melamine, a plastic-making chemical that has been found in a growing number of Chinese milk products, may cause far more serious complications than just kidney stones, medical experts warned on Monday.
While stones can be removed easily, far more worrying is when melamine starts crystallizing in small kidney tubes, or tubules -- long, winding structures that filter blood, reabsorbing what is needed and excreting the rest as urine -- which will block connecting ducts and result in kidney damage and even failure.
"Human urine seems to have the right acidity for melamine to crystallize," explained Daniel Chan, professor in nephrology at the University of Hong Kong.
"The damage may be occurring in renal tubules where the urine is being transported. When a lot of the tubules are blocked by crystals, the kidneys don't serve their function and the children go into kidney failure," Chan said in an interview.
"Melamine turned up last year in Chinese pet food exported to the United States, where many animals developed kidney failure and died. That scandal led to the theory melamine can crystallize in kidney tubules.
"Wong Kar-yin, a consultant pediatrician in Hong Kong, added: "Large stones can be removed. But if renal tubules are stuck with crystals, there may not be effective treatment. Hopefully, other undamaged tubules can compensate for the function."
"He said affected children would need long-term monitoring.
""If there is severe tubular damage, there could be kidney impairment ... the child may have to undergo dialysis or even need a kidney transplant. That's the worst case scenario," Wong said.
"Chan said the youngest children were most vulnerable.
""Damage seems highest in very small children who depend solely on milk for food. They consume large amounts and their blood level of melamine would be high," he said.
""When the kidney fails, it fails to clear the body of excessive electrolytes, like potassium. If blood potassium rises to a very high level, the heart will stop."
"China needs to tell the world how the four children died -- whether from stones or tubular obstruction, the experts stressed.
"While normal stone obstruction would take weeks, if not months, to lead to kidney failure, deterioration from intratubular obstruction would be far more rapid.
""For intratubular obstruction, kidney failure can occur overnight because it would be all over, not one or two tubules," Chan said. "The kidney is suddenly switched off ... toxins build up. That is more dangerous because it is more rapid.""
http://www.phsciences.com/about_ph/research/pH%20Control%20Effect%20on%20Urine%20Acid_Mkt.pdf
Page 3
The pH range for human urine is abut 4.8 to 8.4 but either extreme is considered unhealthy. Urine pH varies durig the day as much as a full pH unit. At night, the body concentrates urine with acidic waste products since voiding and fluid intake are both restricted. Therefore, urine pH is at its minimum (most acidic) when rising in the morning and at its peak (most alkaline) in the late afternoon or early evening for most people.
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=0&cat=1474&articleid=3136
Urine pH – This number is a reading of how acidic or alkaline the urine is. On a pH scale of 1-14, 7 is considered neutral, meaning neither acid nor alkaline. A number less than 7 indicates acidity, while a number greater than 7 indicates alkalinity. It is the pH (acidity or alkalinity) of the patient's urine that is being measured in a urinalysis, not the pH of the food the patient has eaten, or the pH of the patient's blood.
Most normal dogs and cats have a urine pH of 5.5 to 7.0; however, some normal pets may have higher or lower values.
From this, it looks like human and pet urine fall into the same pH ranges.
I remember that there was also a mention of the crystals being in a very unusual place in the kidney tubules as well...I wonder if this is happening to these babies as well..it is sounding like the same thing is happening...
http://jvdi.org/cgi/content/full/19/5/525
Renal lesions present in both outbreaks were characteristic, consisting of distal renal tubular dilation and necrosis with unique intratubular melamine/cyanuric acid crystals. The involvement of distal tubular segments in MARF is unusual, as most nephrotoxins exert their toxic effects on proximal tubules.15 The polarizable melamine/cyanuric acid crystals present in MARF might be misidentified as oxalate crystals, leading to the erroneous diagnosis of oxalate nephrosis. However, the dense striated nature and distal tubular location of melamine/cyanuric acid crystals readily distinguishes them from oxalate crystals, which are more transparent in appearance and are present within proximal tubules.
another interesting article..abstract is free...article is 15.00... ;)
http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/abs/10.2460/ajvr.69.9.1217
Objective—To determine whether renal crystals can be experimentally induced in animals fed melamine or the related triazine compound cyanuric acid, separately or in combination, and to compare experimentally induced crystals with those from a cat with triazine-related renal failure.
Animals—75 fish (21 tilapia, 24 rainbow trout, 15 channel catfish, and 15 Atlantic salmon), 4 pigs, and 1 cat that was euthanatized because of renal failure.
Procedures—Fish and pigs were fed a target dosage of melamine (400 mg/kg), cyanuric acid (400 mg/kg), or melamine and cyanuric acid (400 mg of each compound/kg) daily for 3 days and were euthanatized 1, 3, 6, 10, or 14 days after administration ceased. Fresh, frozen, and formalin-fixed kidneys were examined for crystals. Edible tissues were collected for residue analysis. Crystals were examined for composition via Raman spectroscopy and hydrophilic-interaction liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry.
Results—All animals fed the combination of melamine and cyanuric acid developed goldbrown renal crystals arranged in radial spheres (spherulites), similar to those detected in the cat. Spectral analyses of crystals from the cat, pigs, and fish were consistent with melamine-cyanurate complex crystals. Melamine and cyanuric acid residues were identified in edible tissues of fish.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Although melamine and cyanuric acid appeared to have low toxicity when administered separately, they induced extensive renal crystal formation when administered together. The subsequent renal failure may be similar to acute uric acid nephropathy in humans, in which crystal spherulites obstruct renal tubules.
Just got off the phone with Nestle. Not to worry, the sodium caseinate (a milk derivative) in Coffee-mate comes from Australia :o.
They couldn't tell me if Coffee-mate is tested for melamine.
5CatMom
=^..^=
http://www.nbr.co.nz:80/article/pm-defends-embassy-criticises-fonterra-baby-milk-scandal-35519
PM defends embassy, criticises Fonterra in baby milk scandal
Whoo-hoo, the PM of New Zealand is criticizing Fonterra -- Big whoo. Anyone involved in the pet food
recalls of 2007 knows just how much critical headlines in a newspaper is in fixing this food adulteration
problem.
This truly is history repeating itself for the second time in two years. We have been down the road of
contacting manufacturers, who hide behind proprietary business information, and sweep the entire problem
under the rug, including making sure the consumer complaints get compiled no where for the public to see.
Letting manufacturers know the consumer is aware of the problem and will most likely boycott any company
or its products using melamine ingredients from any source is important, but not enough if 2007 is any
example.
Are we sure, CatMom5, that the caseinate from Australia is 100 percent Australian origin? Fonterra has business
relationships in Australia, also, and may supply milk powders and caseinates there from other countries.
Nestle "couldn't tell you" may very well translate into no testing is done? After all, Fonterra's initial claim is that
melamine was below its radar screen even while having Chinese business partners, as I believe Nestle does.
I was just listening to a news summary on NPR and the following statement was made:
"No Chinese milk products are sold in the US."
Somehow, I have trouble believing that. NPR did not give a source for the statement.
http://www.thesundaily.com/article.cfm?id=25931
The Sun Malaysia September 22, 2008
Ban on all confectionery and dairy products from China
"Amid widespread fears over the China milk scare which has now spilled over to other countries, the Health Ministry today assured consumers that Malaysia does not import milk and infant formula from China. However, the ban on imports is now extended to all confectionery and dairy products from China as a precaution.
"It said Malaysia, however, imported milk products from China which were produced with milk supplies from Australia and New Zealand, a practice demanded by the VSD due to the risk of food and mouth disease among cattle in China. However, as a precautionary measure, even these imports are prohibited.
"Based on the latest information from the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore, that the "White Rabbit Creamy Candy" imported from China has been found to containe melamine, the ministry has also decided to widen the import restriction on confectionery that contains milk, chocolate milk and white chocolate, and other foods that contain milk from China.
"Nestlé Malaysia said in a statement the milk powder used as raw material or ingredient in all Nestlé milk powders in Malaysia, including Nan, Lactogen, Neslac, Nespray Everyday and Nestlé Omega Plus and dairy-based products such as Milo, Nestlé ice cream and Nestlé yoghurt products, were sourced from Australia, New Zealand, Europe or the USA".
But the question is--what might be made with Chinese milk products that IS sold in the US?
Said a few days ago on another thread that at both Christmas and Easter time, I saw chocolate novelty items like Santas and bunnies which were made in China for a US-based company who formerly made all of their products in the US.
It's none of the major makers such as Hershey, Nestle, etc.--this company seems to be a lot smaller than that. I remember looking at them and when seeing the MIC in VERY small print, putting them back on the shelf and getting something else.
Remember Cereal Byproducts? They sell milk products and have five different US offices to meet your needs. http://www.cerealbyproducts.com/UI/General/wfDynamicContentB.aspx?cid=7#milk
Not that I'm suspicious or anything, but they sold Chinese RPC to PFC's. According to Homeland Security rules, the food industry needs to know one step forward and one step back. One step back would be Cereal Byproducts. Where do they get their ingredients?
5catmom last night while at the grocery store I read the ingredients on the coffee-mate and it has soybean oil in it. Soy is 89% genetically modified so if you feel safe using those type of creamers... Organic half and half would be safer than the powdered stuff or use organic milk in place of half and half. organicconsumers.org has a whole section on GMO or genetically modified food which is quite informative for those who want to see if their food contains any GMO'd frankenfood things.
Quote from: Arlo on September 22, 2008, 10:54:40 AM
Remember Cereal Byproducts? They sell milk products and have five different US offices to meet your needs. http://www.cerealbyproducts.com/UI/General/wfDynamicContentB.aspx?cid=7#milk
Not that I'm suspicious or anything, but they sold Chinese RPC to PFC's. According to Homeland Security rules, the food industry needs to know one step forward and one step back. One step back would be Cereal Byproducts. Where do they get their ingredients?
In the "rice protein concentrate" dealings, we know they were a middleman, having bought the "rpc" from Wilbur-Ellis and then selling it on to the pet food companies. No idea if they do any direct importation of anything they sell or not.
QuoteIn the "rice protein concentrate" dealings, we know they were a middleman, having bought the "rpc" from Wilbur-Ellis and then selling it on to the pet food companies. No idea if they do any direct importation of anything they sell or not.
It sounds like there could be more than one middleman, before the food companies. I wonder if they really know where all their ingredients come from. Unfortunately, price seems to be number one for the food companies, as we've all found out the hard way.
I recently went on a brief dairy-free diet and I can say without much exaggeration that there is some form of dairy in just about every pre-made food. Any pizza, snack cracker or frozen dinner containing cheese for example - once I started reading labels for milk or milk derivatives, I found very little I could buy. The idea that the FDA seems to be selling: that the US food supply is safe from this melamine dairy problem - seems all but impossible for me to believe. I think it's far more likely that we're eating mela-dairy now, have been eating it for awhile but because of the "dilution factor", we haven't been dropping like flies. It wasn't until the practice of adding melamine to dairy products entered the realm of baby formula that you had a consumer base w/no dilution factor. Thus, they were exposed because babies started exhibiting symptoms of the poisoning.
ETA: I'm a vegetarian so I should have mentioned that's why I had such a hard time finding any pre-made foods that did not contain dairy. Anything containing meat was excluded from my shopping list.
According to this, Sanlu was involved in the last tainted baby formula crisis in 2004:
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/china/tainted-milk-four-years-ago-4573.html
Epoch Times September 22, 2008
Tainted Milk Powder Banned Four Years Ago
"In an incident four years ago, following the "Big Head Baby" media report in Fuyang City, Anhui Province, Sanlu's powdered milk had been blacklisted as inferior.
"Shortly after, Sanlu was removed from the blacklist, by the communist regime's food administration, and reinstated.
"Many people in Fuyang, knowing that Sanlu powdered milk had quality problems, suspected the company of manipulating the local and central government officials and using the Chinese state media in efforts to restore its reputation.
"A December 7, 2004 reprint of state-run Xinhua news by China Pharmaceutical News headline reading: 'Sanlu Powdered Milk: Turn Crisis into an Advantage' provided a clue that the group was aware the powdered milk had been tainted.
"On January 16, 2004, Zhang Guangkui of Yongzhuang Village, Luzhai Town, Linquan County, Fuyang City, Anhui Province complained that the Sanlu infant powdered milk formula that he bought was tainted.
"On April 22, the front page of local Fuyang newpaper Yingzhou Evening News printed a list of tainted powdered milk brands resulting from the spot check. Sanlu infant milk formula was 32nd on the list.
"On the same day, Sanlu Group deputy general manager Zhang Zhenling and other high level staff members hurried to Fuyang City to negotiate with the local government. A statement said: " ... a mistake was made by related workers" and Fuyang City apologized.
"A few days after April 22, 2004, markets all over the country were compelled to remove and seal Sanlu's powdered milk.
"Sanlu's sales fell, its losses exceeded tens of millions RMB (around US$10 million).
"On April 26, the Ministry of Public Health, State Administration for Industry and Commerce, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) issued an emergency notice requesting local law-enforcing departments to allow normal sales of Sanlu powdered milk.
"On the first working day after the "May 1" seven-day-long holidays that year, AQSIQ announced that as a result of a spot check, 30 companies producing powdered milk had been declared as safe.
"Sanlu was the first one on the list.
"According to a Xinhua News report in 2004, on April 27, Sanlu and several dozen dairy enterprises conducted good faith symposiums in several cities. The theme was 'Resisting Killer Powdered Milk'.
"They jointly released the first 'Dairy Business Good Faith Pledge' in the country, firmly promising not to produce or sell inferior quality dairy products.
"Within one day, Sanlu had notified 93 media nationwide, and 19 media removed Sanlu powdered milk from their blacklist reports.
"On April 28, 2004, organized by Specific Association for Child Food, Chinese Society for Food Science and Technology, Sanlu and nine food security trusts donated 4,985 boxes of infant powdered milk to Fuyang City in an experimental bid for commercial enterprises.
"After these events, in many business strategy documents and articles, Sanlu was used as model for managing crisis successfully.
"In September 2008, when poisonous Sanlu powdered milk was first exposed, Sanlu vigorously denied any contamination in the powdered milk and attempted to redeem itself by citing conclusions given by the authoritative quality examination departments.
"According to Tencent QQ financial channel report on September 11, Sanlu Group media department indicated;
""Sanlu is a brand product of powdered milk, the production is strictly in accordance with national standards and the product is qualified. Currently, there is no evidence indicating illness caused by Sanlu powdered milk."
"Since the incident came to light last week, the Sanlu Group has continued to gloss over it and deny involvement, while passing the blame onto dairy farmers.
"As pressure increases domestically and internationally, the communist regime's officials, at all levels, have ducked for cover saying that Sanlu knew the facts all along but failed to file a report."
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSPEK11155120080922?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
By Chris Buckley
BEIJING (Reuters) - The number of Chinese infants sick in hospital after drinking tainted milk formula doubled to nearly 13,000 and the country's top quality regulator resigned on Monday in the latest blight on the "made-in-China" brand.
Four deaths have been blamed on the toxic milk powder, which causes kidney stones and agonizing complications, and a string of Asian countries have banned or recalled Chinese milk products.
The official Xinhua news agency said in a brief statement that the country's quality chief, Li Changjiang, had quit in light of the case. "Li was the highest ranking official brought down so far by the dairy product contamination scandal," it said.
The Communist Party chief of Shijiazhuang, home to the Sanlu Group which is at the centre of the scandal, has also been fired, Xinhua said, the latest official to lose their job for mishandling the incident.
The government has blamed local officials for delays in reporting problems with the milk powder, and an investigation has found that Sanlu began receiving customer complaints about its milk powder as long ago as last December, Xinhua said.
"Sanlu did not report (the problem) either to the Shijiazhuang government or related authorities and did not take remedial action, causing the incident to expand even further," it said, citing the results of an official probe.
The Health Ministry said the number of children hospitalized due to the milk powder contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine rose from a previously announced total of 6,244 -- which included many who had left hospital -- to 12,892, including 104 who were in a serious condition.
More than 1,500 had already left hospital and nearly 40,000 with milder symptoms "received clinical treatment and advice" before going home. The ministry did not explain the sharp ris
So in 2004 according to Mensux article Sanlu lost $10 million and then did it proceed to dilute the milk to stretch it out so it could sell more and ramp up the protein level with MELAMINE and now there are over 50,000 innocent babies sickened, some still in the hospital and 4 dead just so it could make back the $10 million it lost from the first go round of tainted milk products?
Why would it not surprise anyone that is just about the money and how many times that cash register rings - the public health (too bad if you get sick or drop dead, even your pets) - we don't care, we are greedy, selfish, unfeeling, stone cold hearted businessmen IMO.
Quote from: catbird on September 22, 2008, 10:23:21 AM
I was just listening to a news summary on NPR and the following statement was made:
"No Chinese milk products are sold in the US."
Somehow, I have trouble believing that. NPR did not give a source for the statement.
Catbird, I heard the same thing and was wondering about the research. When I was looking over the last few days, I found that the US is a major exporter of dairy products along with Oceana and EU and Argentina, I believe. But there were articles about milk protein concentrate being imported as industrial products to get around inspection:
http://www.dfamilk.com/newsroom/issues/a8.html (Perhaps this was made illegal--I haven't found the answer yet.)
The
primary exporters of MPC to the U.S. are the
European Union, New Zealand, Australia and Canada. Imported milk proteins consist primarily of ultrafiltered concentrates, and also casein. "When the existing trade agreements regulating market access for dairy imports were reached in 1994, milk protein concentrate wasn't technologically a concern to the U.S. dairy sector.
http://lists.iatp.org/listarchive/archive.cfm?id=53492
and from Hillary Clinton--not sure if the "loophole" was closed:
http://clinton.senate.gov/news/2002/11/2002B26B10.html
And here is another article about grocers selling illegal milk foreign products:
http://www.oag.state.ny.us/media_center/2004/jun/jun3a_04.html
Last spring, Spitzer's office began investigating the sale of illegal foreign milk products in New York State. It was quickly discovered that many small grocery and specialty stores located across the state that sell ethnic foods were illegally selling milk, butter, cheese, yogurt and other dairy products imported from France, Russia, Poland, Israel and other nations. None of the stores had the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets permit required by state law to sell these products. The lack of a permit means the products had not been inspected for purity and safety by state officials. In addition, many items did not have expiration dates or consumer labels that list the contents in English, as required by state law.
Today's announcement brings the total number of retail stores that Spitzer has cited for selling illegal foreign milk products to 32 and the total number of distributors who have agreed to stop carrying these products to three.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
I wonder what laws multinationals must follow, too.
I'm more than a little tired of the Blame Game in China as well as here. What ever happened to responsibility and accountability?
Sanlu is blaming the dairy farmers just as the blame was shifted here and there with the pet food recalls. These poisons kill. Anyone who handled the products in whatever state they are in, raw or whole, whether produced inside or outside the country, is responsible for testing the products every step of the way. And, milk, grain, and vegetable products that must meet certain protein levels should immediately be tested for any and all chemicals that will falsely boost protein levels. The companies know this and just refuse to test, hoping that whatever levels of contamination are in there go under the radar.
I want to know what Fonterra of New Zealand (43% stake in Sanlu China) is saying and how its reputation is affected.
Dose anyone know what the connection is between Fonterra and Nestle Pet Foods?
http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACT/2005/42.html
2005
http://www.smh.com.au/news/Business/Bonlac-bid-just-start-for-Fonterra/2005/06/07/1118123838263.html
2001
http://www.nestle.com/MediaCenter/PressReleases/AllPressReleases/FonterraDairyAllianceAmericas-30Aug01.htm
September 22, 2008, Associated Press
Timeline of China's tainted milk powder scandal
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5joi2sgFfZeHnug8iBioRZpD9j1BgD93C0AN00
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aAsRnsRhFd.0&refer=asia
China Mengniu Dairy Boosts Milk Tests, Faces `Critical Moment'
By Kelvin Wong Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- China Mengniu Dairy Co., the country's largest producer of liquid milk, said it's boosting quality standards and facing a ``critical moment'' after tainted Chinese-produced milk sickened almost 53,000 children. ...
... ``The board wishes to sincerely apologize for the incident and any inconvenience caused to the public,'' Mengniu said in the statement. ``The board and the management believe that this critical moment for both the industry and the group has to be managed in a proactive manner.''
The company also pledged to pay compensation double the statutory amount due under Chinese law to anyone diagnosed as becoming ill as a result of consuming tainted goods within the next five years. ...
Product Recall
Mengniu has recalled the products linked to melamine, all of which were only for distribution and sale within China, according to the statement. The tainted goods represent ``a small percentage'' of Mengniu's range, it added.
How long can food manufacturers, who are basically getting away with premeditated murder, be allowed to skate? Penalties that fit
the seriousness of the crime need to be enacted in every country.
Some inconvenient truths are accumulating here:
China has a population of 1.3 billion people. Do I think 53,000 babies and infants is an accurate number? No, I don't, any more than 16 or 17
dogs and cats was in the pet food recalls of 2007.
How many babies and infants will suffer and/or die from chronic renal failure? Unknown, but more than is being reported under government news
management.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10532551&pnum=0
Fonterra's first statement issued on September 11 - more than a month after it had confirmed inside knowledge that the baby formula was contaminated - began, "as a 43 per cent investor in San Lu, Fonterra has been advised that San Lu is managing a quality issue related to its products."
Its September 14 statement went deeper: "From the day we were advised of the product contamination issue in August, Fonterra called for a full public recall of all affected product and we have continued to push for this all along."
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0923/p01s01-woap.html
What China's tainted milk may not bring: lawsuits
The government is giving families free care but may ban legal action over contaminated formula, which has affected more than 50,000 babies
The laws that govern multinationals who commit crimes and global trade in food and pharmaceuticals have yet to be written, and consumer safety needs them written now.
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on September 22, 2008, 04:18:15 PM
September 22, 2008, Associated Press
Timeline of China's tainted milk powder scandal
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5joi2sgFfZeHnug8iBioRZpD9j1BgD93C0AN00
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aAsRnsRhFd.0&refer=asia
China Mengniu Dairy Boosts Milk Tests, Faces `Critical Moment'
By Kelvin Wong Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- China Mengniu Dairy Co., the country's largest producer of liquid milk, said it's boosting quality standards and facing a ``critical moment'' after tainted Chinese-produced milk sickened almost 53,000 children. ...
... ``The board wishes to sincerely apologize for the incident and any inconvenience caused to the public,''
"inconvenience" I just love the use of that word to describe the death and illness of thousands of babies!
NOT :(
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKT12657320080922?sp=true
FACTBOX - Who's affected by China's milk scandal, and why?
Mon Sep 22, 2008 9:47am EDT
-- Its most common form, melamine resin, a mix of melamine and formaldehyde, is used in the manufacture of formica, floor tiles, whiteboards and kitchenware.
WHY ADD MELAMINE TO MILK POWDER?
-- Melamine is rich in nitrogen, and relatively cheap. Adding it to milk makes watered-down milk's protein level appear higher. Standard quality tests estimate protein levels by measuring nitrogen content.
WHICH COUNTRIES ARE AFFECTED?
-- Bangladesh, Brunei, Burundi, China, Gabon, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam have all either pulled products off shelves, banned China dairy imports, or stepped up their tests.
An Inconvenience - well hopefully this SanLu IMO will lose 10 times the amount of the $10 million from 2004 when this first was detected. Maybe then they will know just as it is here DO No Harm to our Children. And here we take that a step further with Do No Harm To Our Pets. Children and pets are off limits so wish more would wise up to that fact that we here just will not except business as usual and let anyone continue to harm children or pets.
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on September 22, 2008, 05:14:48 PM
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0923/p01s01-woap.html
What China's tainted milk may not bring: lawsuits
The government is giving families free care but may ban legal action over contaminated formula, which has affected more than 50,000 babies
The laws that govern multinationals who commit crimes and global trade in food and pharmaceuticals have yet to be written, and consumer safety needs them written now.
Our legal system isn't much better - Nancy Nord, Nancy Cook, Andrew V., etc - PFI. The money controls the legal system and the enforcement. Lawyers that would write a settlement like Menu Foods.... no words can express the disgust. Thousands of pets have no justice and no solution for the damage done to the surviving pets.
Over a year later & many of us have no closure and have as much pain & grief as last year... and here we are watching the same thing happen to babies
History repeats itself unless we learn our lessons about food safety
It seems the US government has not learned a lot either by design or lack of effort. But our
best shot at seeing the scope of the problem is here if accurate results are published:
http://www.iol.co.za:80/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=126&art_id=vn20080923054410922C863328
Japan has asked 90 000 companies to check if imports had been contaminated with melamine. The Marudai Food Company has withdrawn buns made with milk from Yili, while the Nissin group has recalled products with Chinese dairy ingredients.
http://ca.reuters.com:80/article/domesticNews/idCATRE48M2ZG20080923
Food processors have also been told to alert the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to any domestic products that were made using milk or milk-derived ingredients such as powders from China, officials said.
Health Canada has also warned makers of natural health products using milk ingredients from China about potential for melamine contamination, officials said on Monday.
http://news.bbc.co.uk:80/2/hi/asia-pacific/7631265.stm
Four children in Hong Kong have now been diagnosed with kidney stones after drinking milk from the mainland.
http://www.guardian.co.uk:80/world/2008/sep/23/china.milk.scandal
Q&A: China's contaminated milk scandal
Why has the problem emerged now?
The highly-respected business magazine Caijing argues that business reforms are the key. From the late 1980s, dairy companies - led by Sanlu - began hiving off production to individual farmers and creating milk collection centres. But in 2006, the industry hit a crisis as feed costs rose while increased competition led to lower prices. The introduction of price controls in January this year may have been the final straw.
The lower prices may have encouraged farmers to tamper with their product to ensure that companies accepted it. But decreasing supply may also have made some collection centres or companies more willing to accept substandard milk.
Another theory is that the problem could have emerged because of efforts to improve safety in the wake of another baby powder scandal. At least 12 babies died of malnutrition in Anhui in 2004 after drinking fake formula. That may have encouraged a greater focus on nutrition levels in milk - unwittingly creating an incentive to add melamine to boost apparent protein levels.
According to police, melamine was being sold to milk suppliers at least as early as February last year, but it is not clear when the practice began
Lesson for the US: In every country where conditions of economic hardship exist, and demands for food product from domestic and global trade exceed supply, safety monitoring needs to be dramatically increased on food suppliers at all levels.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24388799-12335,00.html
EU to assess tainted milk risk. From correspondents in Annecy | September 23, 2008
THE EU Commission today asked the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to "urgently assess possible public health risks" of China's tainted milk scandal to consumers.
"There is no question of having milk products from China in the EU because we have banned all imports some years ago," EU health commissioner Androulla Vassiliou said on the margins of a meeting of European farm ministers in Annecy, eastern France.
"But in case they have used some milk for the production of biscuits or other products, we have asked EFSA to give us an opinion, whether this... can have any effect on the health of the people."
The findings are expected to be available on Thursday or Friday, said EFSA director-general Catherine Geslain-Laneelle.
Quote from: Carol on September 22, 2008, 09:18:22 AM
To make Netle/Carnation easy for you...here is the link I sent my email to and then I called the carnation number on the bottom as I did not want to wait the 3-5 days...
http://www.verybestbaking.com/general/contactus.aspx
I got this email response today...
September 23, 2008
Dear Ms. Vxxxxxxxx,
Thank you for contacting Nestlé. We welcome questions and comments from our consumers.
We do not source any ingredients from China for our U.S. Carnation products including NFDM and Evaporated Milk. The current recall is an isolated issue with China products.
We appreciate your interest in our products and hope you'll visit our website often for latest information on Nestlé products and promotions.
Sincerely,
Tara Williams
Consumer Response Representative
Ref: N16142378
NFDM is non-fat dry milk I am assuming...
Carol, was the question you asked specific enough to eliminate the Real logo possibility, sourced
officially in the US, but possibly 49 percent Chinese ingredients?
http://www.innovatewithdairy.com/NR/rdonlyres/62E49B3F-C58B-481B-A7C0-CBB82C78EC8D/0/DMI5550RealSeal_Jan11_v2.pdf
The REAL® Seal logo may be used on core U.S. dairy
products that meet federal standards of identity. It
may also be displayed on manufactured products
using at least 51% U.S. dairy products or ingredients
that meet certification requirements.
Consumers look for the REAL® Seal to find authentic
dairy foods and ingredients that they expect to taste
better than dairy substitutes
This logo definition just begs the question where are the other 49 percent of ingredients from in my mind.
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on September 23, 2008, 11:36:36 AM
Carol, was the question you asked specific enough to eliminate the Real logo possibility, sourced
officially in the US, but possibly 49 percent Chinese ingredients?
http://www.innovatewithdairy.com/NR/rdonlyres/62E49B3F-C58B-481B-A7C0-CBB82C78EC8D/0/DMI5550RealSeal_Jan11_v2.pdf
The REAL® Seal logo may be used on core U.S. dairy
products that meet federal standards of identity. It
may also be displayed on manufactured products
using at least 51% U.S. dairy products or ingredients
that meet certification requirements.
Consumers look for the REAL® Seal to find authentic
dairy foods and ingredients that they expect to taste
better than dairy substitutes
I asked whether they source any ingredients from China in the products here in the US...I sent it prior to the news about Nestle product in China testing positive...
Carol, you have to hope "any" means any portion of it. Wish we could all be sure. Nestle was sure about its products in
China before the Hong Kong announcement.
http://www.mysinchew.com/node/16560?tid=14
Singapore: Tainted Milk Scare Goes Beyond China
Foreign Tainted Dairy Products From China 2008-09-23 12:10
In Singapore, the agri-food and veterinary authority (AVA) is taking no chances: Sunday night, it made it clear that it was suspending the import and sale of any product containing milk from China.
Besides milk and milk products such as ice cream and yogurt, confectionery items such as chocolate, biscuits, sweets and anything that could contain milk from China came under its latest advisory.
The Straits Times found on Saturday (20 Sept) that a 7-Eleven outlet in Braddell had pulled a list of products from its shelves. The list included Snickers bars, M&Ms, Nabisco Chicken In A Biskit, Dove chocolate bars, Mentos yogurt balls, Oreo wafer sticks, and Want Want Take One Baby Bites.
For consumers, reading labels seems advised: A check by The Straits Times last night found that the Snickers and Dove chocolates sold at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Toa Payoh were made in the United States, but those same chocolate brands sold at a neighbouring minimart were labelled 'Product of China'.
The attendant at the minimart said he had not been told anything about chocolates from China, but the shop had stopped selling White Rabbit sweets and Dutch Lady milk last Friday (19 Sept).
FairPrice, the biggest supermarket chain in Singapore, said it will be removing confectioneries made with China milk from their outlets from Monday (22 Sept).
Food science and technology lecturer Dr Leong Lai Peng from the National University of Singapore suggested that consumers buy only food that may contain milk from countries that are major producers of milk, such as Australia.
Avoiding cheap products is also another way. "With cheap products, there is a chance it is made with milk from a country that sells milk cheaply, such as China," she said.
Bans and recalls
SINGAPORE: Banned all dairy imports from China on Friday. Yesterday, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority said confectionery such as chocolate, biscuits and sweets were also to be recalled.
MALAYSIA: Announced bans on milk products from China though it currently does not import Chinese dairy items.
BRUNEI: Took similar action as Malaysia though not an importer.
HONG KONG: Biggest grocery chains, PARKnSHOP and Wellcome, pulled all liquid milk by China's Mengniu from shelves on Friday. Products made by Yili Industrial Group recalled a day earlier.
TAIWAN: Consumer watchdog tracked down where 70 per cent of milk products from China's Sanlu had gone.
JAPAN: Marudai Food recalled five products imported from Yili, a major Chinese dairy firm. Nissin Foods recalled some possibly tainted products from Hong Kong.
SOUTH KOREA: Testing products made with powdered milk from China.
EUROPEAN UNION: Demanded answers from China on slippages in safety checks leading to the scandal.
NEW ZEALAND: Testing dairy products sold in Asian supermarkets for melamine.
UNITED STATES: Food and Drug Administration widened inspections at ports of entry to shipments of food ingredients from Asia that are derived from milk. Warned consumers not to buy milk products from China online. (By TESSA WONG And LIAW WY-CIN/ The Straits Times/ ANN)
Are "biscuits" what we call crackers and cookies in the US???
Just found this on a Canadian Government web site for recalled products
What next?
CONSUMER ADVISORY – CERTAIN MR. BROWN 3-IN-1 INSTANT COFFEE PRODUCTS FROM TAIWAN MAY CONTAIN MELAMINE
OTTAWA, September 22, 2008 – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Thai Indochine Trading Inc. are advising people not to consume the Mr. Brown 3-in-1 instant coffee products described below. The CFIA was notified by the importer that these products may contain melamine.
The affected products, sold in 450 g packages containing 30 X 15 g bags, have been distributed in British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba.
Melamine is a chemical compound used in a number of commercial and industrial applications. Canada does not allow its use as a food ingredient.
The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall. This recall is a part of the Government of Canada's ongoing investigation into milk and milk-derived products sourced in/from China that may have been distributed in Canada.
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/newcom/2008/20080922be.shtml
Thanks, billyD. And for the link to Canadian recalls page. I don't know what's next. That's the problem.
Still wondering exactly what "biscuits" means in terms of US consummables.
Cookies.........Canadians and the British refer to cookies as "biscuits"
Just wonderful, Dove chocolate and cookies. Nabisco Chicken In A Biskit made me think crackers, too.
Sorry 3cat.
MIL was a Brit and it took me forever to figure out what the hell the old bat (no offense db) wanted when she kept asking for "biscuits".
This is really pissing me off..........Nothing worse than messing with my cookies.
Even worse than that...........a new potential lethal combination............COOKIES AND MILK
Dear Lord..........
You guys are so wonderful in finding out new and more food that melamine is put into. Now we need to know just how many years ago this started and is the protein level faked in just how many products that are on the store shelves? How many american companies with plants all over are buying this melamine combination to boost the protein level and watering down their food to stretch it to make more money IMO? Besides human food here how much and what kinds of pet food is the melamine in also. I'm sure all of us need an answer to this now.
I went back looking at Wikipedia
QuoteThere is at least one report of inexpensively priced rice protein concentrate (feed grade) containing non-protein nitrogen being marketed for use in non-ruminants dating back to 2005 . In a news item on its website, Jiangyin Hetai Industrial Co., Ltd. warned its customers of low-priced "PSEUDO rice protein" for sale in the market by another unnamed supplier, noting that the contaminant could be detected by analyzing the isoelectric point.[64] It is not clear from that report whether the contaminant in that case was melamine or some other non-protein nitrogen source or whether any contaminated rice protein concentrate made it into the food supply at that time.
On Apr 18, an ad was posted on the trading website Alibaba.com selling "Esb protein powder" in Xuzhou Anying's name.[65][66] The product is said to be protein in nature and suitable for livestock and poultry feed, yet claims a crude protein content of 160-300%. It also mentions in passing the product makes use of "NPN" which is an acronym for non-protein nitrogen. Similar ads were placed on other websites, some dated as early as Oct 31 2005.[67] Products with similar descriptions were also sold as "EM bacterium active protein forage" by Shandong Binzhou Xinpeng Biosciences Company [68] and "HP protein powder" by Shandong Jinan Together Biologic Technology Development Company. [69]
April 2005 is when that guy said the melamine milk started isn't it? Or is this the wrong area?
Melamine in instant coffee? Boosting the protein content in coffee or just adding to the weight? Or is this a coffee beverage blend of some sort?
The Mr. Brown 3-in-1 Instant Coffee is also being recalled in Guam.
http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200880923026
I hope the FDA gets off of its backside. The poisoned milk powder has been making babies sick for months.
Looking for "Product of China" Snickers, saw some interesting names on the labels in
the candybar section, Masterfoods and our "old friend" Mars. Went to a very small
independent Asian market.
Any manufacturer who does not immediately come forward and recall even remotely
suspicious products with any percentage of Chinese milk ingredients under any fudged labelling
logo system hidden by Product of the US this week is going to be permanently banned in
terms of its entire product line in this consumer's house.
FDA could certainly remove some of the anxiety if the public knew what was being inspected
and cleared, or found adulterated. Food manufacturers could, too, by reporting testing
results to the public as even a token gesture toward food safety.
Melamine as a weight booster product stretcher is a horrifying thought, purringfur, in addition
to protein content faking. Jeez ... it can be dyed any color needed.
What I'm thinking of here are the dollar stores. I've been in there and seen brand name items such as Pears soap, but not made in England or the US, as you'd expect. It's Pears soap, all right, but when you read the box fine print, you discover it's been made in Asia.
We saw the same thing with the counterfeit toothpaste--some were brand names, but when reading the box or tube, you learned it was Made in China.
Likely spots, menusux, absolutely, as well as private label store brands that are price controlled.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/24/world/asia/24milk.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
China Says Milk Cover-Up Started Last Year
By DAVID BARBOZA
Published: September 23, 2008
SHANGHAI — One of China's biggest dairy producers received consumer complaints about its baby milk formula as early as December 2007 — much earlier than previously thought and 10 months before the producer ordered a nationwide recall because of concerns that the formula had been adulterated with a toxic industrial chemical, state media said Tuesday.
There just aren't any limits to the ethical and moral lows here, are there?
I couldn't post a comment on my last post as I was truly speechless....so sad..I knew David Barboza was working on this...he was so involved in last year's recall with our 4 legged babies... :'(....
This is beyond belief. Words escape me at this time. Greed and profit has poisoned and killed infants and animals ~ innocents who cannot take care of themselves. And for what? It makes me sick to my stomach!
With the problem with the milk going back to 2005 would that mean that pet food mfrs. were also buying this melamine cocktail mix and putting it into our pets food IMO??? And in 2006 someone got really greedy and upped the ingredients and turned this toxin into a deadly killer when combined with other chemicals so the pet food would show adequate protein levels and was really starting to damage the kidneys of our beloved babies - the cumulative factor. And by the time the ramped up stuff was put in the pet food did our pets have enough accumulated in their systems that this just pushed so many over the edge to the point of no return?
This whole thing just disgusts me. Always about greed and that cash register ringing up more and more. When are we going to say enough is enough and not continue to ring those registers IMO???
Now this melaland producer is killing its own children without a care in the world - just gonna pay you off for your 'inconvenience'. Gawd how can these people sleep at night???? >:(
I believe you have it right, JJ. Garbage food provided for our pets that killed immediately and more slowly with
chronic renal disease. Poison infant formula provided to the trusting parents with low incomes among the Chinese people, and
their so innocent babies. Eleven countries ban Chinese milk products. The EU banned all Chinese dairy products several years
ago based on what their food safety authorities saw. Our President and our two Senators who want to be President stand
deaf, dumb, and mute and do nothing. There's a real growing outrage out here, Washington. The handwriting is on the wall
across a lot of the world as to what you need to do.
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/pomfretschina/2008/09/behind_chinas_milk_scandal_par.html
Washington Post September 23, 2008
Why You Might Want to Be a Little Worried About China's Bad Milk
http://www.hhs.gov/news/facts/foodfeed.html
The US-China Agreement
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL34080.pdf
Food & Agricultural Imports From China 7/17/2007
OK, menusux, Bush has spoken through HHS, FDA, and USDA with his usual pro-business self-policing policy, which does not
seem to be working . Does this mean we are stuck with this policy forever? Nope. Even Bush could introduce legislation to
protect the US consumer from tainted milk products I believe.
Some possible disinformation is pointed out in this article from Canada:
http://www.bizchina-update.com/content/view/1371/1/
Meanwhile, consumer panic appears to be spreading across China. Last night, BizChinaUpdate received a circular SMS message from an unknown sender saying schoolchildren are being given advice to avoid: "M&Ms, Snickers, Mento's Yoghurt Bottle, Dove Chocolate, Oreo Cookies, Dutchlady Sterilised Milk, Wall's All Natural Mango, Mini Poppers Ice Cream, Magnum bars, Moo Sandwich ice cream and Mini Cornetto.' The message finished: "If you have any of these products in your house, don't eat."
Now I don't know if cookies and milk are tainted or not. Milk may be; cookies, maybe not.
3cat the cookies might not be tainted with melamine but majority of things now contain SOY and thats 89% franken modified so I do not eat any more candy unless its organic or does not contain soy. Most of the candy and/or cookies I do have are from Poland as they seem to not contain soy.
But should any of the candy mentioned end up containing melamine they will try to get it into you one way or the other - that cumulative effect from the combo of things you eat daily. Gotta get people sick - doctors need to practice on someone IMO.
http://blogs.consumerreports.org:80/safety/2008/09/chinese-formula.html
September 23, 2008
More children sickened in China as dairy crisis widens
Has "Made in China" become a warning label? Who can protect American consumers from the unscrupulous foreign business practices that imperil our health and safety? Our government watchdog agencies must be better equipped to stop unsafe imports from crossing our borders. The FDA inspects only about one percent of our food imports and the CPSC has staff at only a handful of our more than 300 ports of entry. That's not good enough for consumers
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/safety/2007/06/tainted_animal_.html
June 06, 2007
Tainted animal feed: Why the government's approach isn't working
The pet-food experience encompasses about every concern we've ever raised about the inadequacies of our government's approach to
safeguarding our food supply: globalization, import surveillance, ingredient and product traceability, animal-feed quality, truth-in-labeling,
and recall authority and disclosure. Here's a brief on some of them.
Will infanticide and trying to prevent something similar from happening on US shores be enough to at last convince the politicians in
Washington, D.C., to give up misplaced faith in the food industry's ability to police itself and the false premise that China is anywhere close to solving its own food safety problems? No country should have to go through the heartbreaking and devastating situation in which China finds itself. Give consumers the minimum protection of clearly labeling the origin of all ingredients in food products for sale in the US. Take action now to prevent imminent food supply safety threats from crossing the US borders.
Now they've figured out what pet owners figured out...the dilution theory/risk assessments allow too much melamine/cyanuric acid in animal feeds, pet foods, human foods & livestock animals.
"Citing other studies, Daniel Chan, nephrology professor at the University of Hong Kong, said: "Results from the investigations that followed the pet food incident in 2007 suggested the level of contamination in our food chain was low and thus unlikely to cause significant adverse effect in humans."
Cap on melamine
Hong Kong placed a cap on melamine in food on Tuesday, restricting it to no more than 2.5 milligrams per kilogram. Melamine found in food for children under 3 and pregnant and lactating mothers should be no higher than 1 mg per kg."
Obviously, reality trumps the guessing by the FDA.
So, 1ppm?
Midwest Labs tests pet foods for alot of pet food companies with the MDL of 10ppm. Right now, where does that leave the state of affairs regarding pet foods. The FDA standards are now really endangering our pets & humans and it is reality not something they can continue to ignore.
The only way they'll find melamine/cyanuric acid in pet foods is to use a lab that doesn't follow the FDA protocols for testing cos it's set too high.
So that makes the slide with early biomarkers very important, IMO>
I figured as soon as some in China mentioned that the milk powder had only been available domestically that we'd soon find out that wasn't true and that there were lots of products in multiple countries that contain the milk powder and melamine contaminant(s). Did I read something about CA might be present too? I haven't re-located the CA item.
And some 53,000 babies later... It is now in multiple countries... And in multiple products...
Australia, New Zealand
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D93D11I80&show_article=1&catnum=0
Canada
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=cp_x092304A.xml&show_article=1
Hong Kong
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D93B4CSG0&show_article=1
Singapore
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D939RNM81&show_article=1
Philippines
http://www.breitbart.com/image.php?id=app-068454e8-1a7a-4258-8e17-bdd07f63d1e9&show_article=1
Taiwan
http://www.breitbart.com/image.php?id=app-2769e7c9-f2ce-4a65-8a61-260408b54aa0&show_article=1
Economic impacts
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f7011664-846f-11dd-adc7-0000779fd18c.html
What a surprise.
I figured we'd first see it in macaroni and cheese boxes. But cookies and candy doesn't surprise me. Now, were any of those exported here? Apparently, the FDA expects we will. At least they are checking.
FDA checks our products
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE48M9EN20080923?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews&rpc=22&sp=true
I continue to be amazed when officials are so myopic as to only consider checking infant milk powder and not the hundreds of likely products that milk powder is used to create. Like creamer, chocolate flavorings, ice creams, candies, cookies, pastries, etc.
And Starbucks in China pulls their milk...
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSSP21493420080919?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews&rpc=22&sp=true
How widespread was this problem? 20 percent of the milk companies there...
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSPEK27908420080916?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews&rpc=22&sp=true
And, this milk powder has been used in manufacturing for around 9 months in China, if the report is correct that complaints began surfacing in 2007. As I recall, only about half of the tons and tons of poisoned powder has been traced and sealed.
In all those months, are we supposed to believe that U.S. products manufactured in China or milk derivatives sourced as individual ingredients from China did NOT go into making foods for us and that those foods have not been on grocery shelves? I don't buy it. Eventually, we'll probably hear that the milk protein concentrate in the yogurt covered raisins or the powdered milk in the cream cheese coffee cake or (fill in the blank) was such a small percent of the product's total weight, that due to the DILUTION FACTOR, there is no risk to humans.
Remember how we were called "hysterical" during the pet food recalls? We said the poisons were in the human food supply as well, and in April 2007, we hysterical crackpot nut cases were proven correct with the melahogs, melachickens, and mela farm-raised fish that were supposed to be destroyed and later were released for sale to consumers due to the DILUTION FACTOR.
I'm so glad I'm a nut case! ;D The pet food poisonings and never-ending slue of recalls that ensued was my wake-up call. I'm always looking for ways to protect my family. As of March 2007, I've given up hope that the government will protect consumers over big business and free trade, and my faith that corporations are trying to provide safe, highly nutritious products for consumers has completely eroded into realizing that profits for stockholders is all that governs big business.
Pardon me while I dehydrate apple and tomato slices and put away the salsa I canned.
Maybe some of our world class researchers, and/or folks with a medical background can take a look at kidney disease in the US.
It would be interesting to know if kidney disease is increasing or decreasing. If increasing, could this be related to melamine or other contaminants in our food supply?
http://www.usrds.org/atlas.htm
5CatMom
=^..^=
Supposedly, the FDA told the CDC to track kidney issues.
We know they're high in companion animals. I wonder if there are any more recent reviews by Banfield on that...
Hopefully if that urine test for biomarkers gets out & put into use, we'll have a better idea of what happens/is happening to companion animals and humans...
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/kidbladd.htm
Kidney foundations might also offer up some information.
Right now, there's news that melamine has been found in White Rabbit candies just about everywhere they have been tested. The interesting story about the candy stems from when formaldehyde was found in them last year in the Philippines, who banned them at the time:
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-suspected-chinese-officials-say-baby-formula-tied-to-kidney-stones-t6256.0.html;msg87903;topicseen#msg87903
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/09/24/ap5464489.html
Forbes/Associated Press September 24, 2008
Tesco withdraws Chinese candies amid milk scare
"British supermarket chain Tesco said Wednesday that it had withdrawn a brand of Chinese candies from its shelves amid the poison milk scandal that has killed four Chinese babies and sickened more than 50,000 others.
"Tesco said in a statement it has no evidence that the White Rabbit Creamy Candies were tainted, but they were taken off the shelves on Tuesday as a precautionary measure."
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/24/asia/AS-New-Zealand-China-Contaminated-Sweets.php
International Herald Tribune/AP September 24, 2008
NZ finds high melamine levels in Chinese sweets
"New Zealand's Food Safety Authority has found the industrial chemical melamine in imported Chinese White Rabbit Creamy Candies and warned Wednesday that people should not eat them.
""This product contains sufficiently high levels of melamine which may, in some individuals, cause health problems such as kidney stones," deputy chief executive Sandra Daly said in a statement on the agency's Web site. "The levels we have found in these products are unacceptable.""
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20080924-162688/Chinas-White-Rabbit-candy-banned-in-Hong-Kong
Inquirer.net September 24, 2008
China's White Rabbit candy banned in Hong Kong
""A Chinese snack has been pulled from Hong Kong shelves after health authorities said Wednesday it contained dangerous levels of the chemical at the center of a toxic milk scandal in China.
"White Rabbit Creamy Candies, made by Shanghai-based Bright Food Group, contained more than six times the legal limit allowed of the industrial chemical melamine, the Centre for Food Safety said in a statement.
""We have already informed the trade upon announcing the test results... and asked them to stop selling the products concerned. The importer has recalled the affected products," a spokesman said, according to the statement.
"The candies were the only one of 67 food and drink products that tested positive for dangerous levels of melamine in the latest batch of tests, the statement said.
"Authorities in Singapore said late Sunday they also found the potentially deadly chemical in White Rabbit Creamy Candy."
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/national/national/general/shops-warned-about-white-rabbit-lollies/1282102.aspx
Canberra Times (Australia) September 24, 2008
Shops warned about White Rabbit lollies
"THE NSW Food Authority is calling on wholesalers and retailers to remove White Rabbit Creamy Candies milk-based lollies from shops after testing revealed the product contained the chemical responsible for putting thousands of Chinese children in hospital.
"Tests carried out in New Zealand on the lollies had found sufficiently high levels of the artificial protein enhancer melamine to cause serious health problems such as kidney stones if large quantities are eaten. Results from Australian tests on the lollies are not due until next week.
"A Food Standards spokeswoman, Lydia Buchtmann, said the quantity of melamine found was 180 parts per million, enough to cause health problems if consumed in large quantities but "not from just a few lollies".
"'A couple is fine - it's the cumulative effect that could cause problems," she said. "
These candies are sold in the US--have seen people selling them on eBay at one point. And again, you have to wonder if the tests done last year had included a melamine one, whether that would have been found along with the formaldehyde, which can be used to liquify melamine.
The FDA's worst risk assessment nightmares regarding melamine exposure following the pet food recalls of 2007 have come true in my opinion:
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/melamra2.html
Interim Melamine and Analogues Safety/Risk Assessment
Peer Review Report June 7, 2007
Several reviewers provided suggestions for FDA to consider in future revisions of the S/RA. These additional suggestions include the following:
There may be other data sources from studies of similar compounds pertinent for consideration; for example, one reviewer suggested that we consider studies that were conducted to evaluate the toxicity and metabolism of "triazine" pesticide compounds.
Multiple sources of exposure should be considered, as there could be an additive effect. For example, one reviewer suggested that there may be exposure to melamine and its analogues from plastic products.
Although one reviewer stated that "there is no evidence of bioaccumulation," other reviewers suggested that a scenario focused on possible chronic toxicity from longer duration exposure should be considered.
There should be some consideration of possible formation of other (more toxic) compounds such as might be created during heating.
Finally, there was a consensus among the peer reviewers additional research is needed. The reviewers identified several areas for future investigation, including:
Determine the concentration and crystallization of melamine compounds (MCs) in urine of different species, including possible co-crystallization (e.g., melamine and cyanuric acid) at lower concentrations due to hydrogen bonding effects between the MCs in enhancing crystallization and the effect of liquid and salt ingestion on the concentration of MCs in urine.
Method development, such as more sensitive assays to detect low levels of MCs in tissues.
Toxicological studies with different species, including the examination of co-toxicity from exposures to multiple MCs to determine whether there are other additive or synergistic effects.
Studies to better understand melamine pharmacokinetics including the effects of dehydration, common medications (diuretics) and others that alter renal excretion.
Determine whether heating MCs forms new compounds in foods with greater toxicity than the parent compounds.
Conduct longer term studies to determine potential toxic effects, including liver, reproductive or endocrine dysfunction.
Determine whether biomarkers can be identified for predicting renal failure secondary to exposure to MCs.
Several of these suggested research studies may provide more extensive and accurate data that could be used to reduce the uncertainties in future safety assessments of MCs. However, to some extent the long term testing that this suggested research would entail would need to be justified by evidence of chronic exposure, and we are unaware of such evidence at this point.
Are the babies of China dying in 2008 now enough evidence for you, FDA/CVM/AAFCO/CFSAN, enough to force reassessment of the long term effects of melamine exposure, and enough to force the US government to act NOW to protect US consumers and our families?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/3074986/Chinese-ordered-cover-up-of-tainted-milk-scandal.html
Telegraph.co.uk September 24, 2008
Chinese ordered cover-up of tainted milk scandal
"Chinese authorities ordered a cover-up of a tainted milk scandal that has poisoned tens of thousands of babies because they feared social unrest if the news was made public, The Daily Telegraph has learned.
"Senior officials gave the order to Sanlu, the firm whose poisoned milk powder is said to be responsible for at least four deaths and illness in almost 53,000 infants.
"It was passed on during three meetings at which the company told officials in the city of Shijiazhuang, where the company is based, of the extent of the crisis.
"Present were local representatives of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), China's national product safety watchdog.
"AQSIQ had already carried complaints on its website from a doctor concerned about the numbers of children who had drunk Sanlu suffering from kidney stones.
"Yet despite Sanlu's warnings that its baby formula was contaminated with the chemical melamine, no recall notice was issued to consumers.
"The central government had issued orders to suppress "bad news", including about health scares, during the period of the Olympic Games, which were due to start the same week.
""But the authorities also said they were concerned about the effect on "social stability", according to a source briefed by those present. "Social instability" is a catch-all phrase used by the Chinese government for public protest.
"The details of the meetings are the first confirmation that the cover-up was deliberate policy and not bureaucratic inertia.
"After finally being exposed, the scandal spread to other major Chinese firms and liquid milk. Supermarket shelves have been cleared of products made from Chinese milk from Taiwan to East Africa, while Tesco yesterday said it was recalling a Chinese-made sweet, White Rabbit, from stores in Britain.
"The details also raise new questions for Fonterra, the New Zealand company which has a 43 per cent stake in Sanlu and three of seven directors on the board, and which had representatives in the meetings.
"Andrew Ferrier, its chief executive, said when the scandal broke that it would have been "irresponsible" not to work "within the guidelines" set by the Chinese authorities.
"Fonterra's experience is a dramatic warning of the dangers faced by western firms doing business in China.
'The company, the world's biggest trader of dairy products and best known in Britain for Anchor butter, wrote off £75 million, two-thirds of the value of its £107-million investment in Sanlu.
""Sanlu has been damaged very badly by this tragedy," Mr Ferrier said. "The brand cannot be reconstructed."
"Fonterra says that despite complaints to Sanlu about children suffering kidney stones as far back as December it knew nothing was wrong until it was informed by its partners on August 2.
"The three meetings followed, but a Fonterra executive also mentioned the crisis to a New Zealand diplomat at a drinks party on August 14, and provided an official account at a meeting on August 22, two days before the Olympics ended. The New Zealand ambassador asked for more details before passing on a report to Wellington on August 29.
"The whistle was finally blown by the New Zealand government on September 9.
"In all, it took six weeks between Fonterra discovering the contamination and a recall being issued.
"Paul French, director of Access Asia, a Shanghai-based consumer consultancy, said too many Western executives in China believed advice in business books that they must avoid making their local partners "lose face" at all costs.
"But in an internal report to staff, Mr Ferrier defended the decision to "work within the system", saying that ultimately it succeeded in bringing about a recall."
So you see AQSIQ, turns a blind eye if what it's told not to see is in the best interests of the State.
Given the FDA's refusal to react with a zero tolerance policy to the gravity of this situation in China and the
silence of our political representatives, I'd say the complete lack of a moral compass and any meaningful
standards exists in the US, other countries, and global corporations, not unlike AQSIQ.
Now is a really good time to remind the reporters that covered the pet food recall about China
and how reality has trumped the guessing games of our Food Safety programs..
we're behind the 8 ball and our program looks like a 3rd world nation based on the responses in China once it broke.
And, China said they were told their levels were "low" based on the 2007 pet food recall.... wonder who told them that? >:( In the paragraph after that. Hong Kong set 1ppm/2.5max. The line below, said it should be banned. If you check the initial test .6 to 900 something and look at the 900ppm is safe note from our government.. you can fill in the blanks as to whose bad science helped sicken/kill those babies.
Case in point US Scientists v Chinese:
http://cc.msnscache.com/cache.aspx?q=how+to+boost+protein+with+non+protein+nitrogen&d=73879780132869&mkt=en-US&setlang=en-US&w=f51a331b,f1aabf06
"Thus, if the value 4,000 ppm was presumed to be the lethal dose in rodents, the FDA has determined that 40 ppm is the safe upper limit (SUL) in pet and people food. This level is far below toxic levels. Even 900 ppm is still well below toxic levels."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10533201&pnum=0
Testing by China's State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine found the melamine content in San Lu's milk powder sample to be 2563mg a kilogram, far higher than others, which ranged from 0.09mg to 619mg a kilo, said the official Xinhua News Agency.
"But while there is enough melamine in the other milk powder to deceive, the level found in San Lu's milk powder is enough to kill," he said.
The points neither addressed: long term health consequences v health consequences of short term exposures; the health status, age, size of victims.
"Citing other studies, Daniel Chan, nephrology professor at the University of Hong Kong, said: "Results from the investigations that followed the pet food incident in 2007 suggested the level of contamination in our food chain was low and thus unlikely to cause significant adverse effect in humans."
They found out their sources were WRONG (NSS) and reality was in their faces and so:
Cap on melamine: Hong Kong placed a cap on melamine in food on Tuesday, restricting it to no more than 2.5 milligrams per kilogram. Melamine found in food for children under 3 and pregnant and lactating mothers should be no higher than 1 mg per kg."
Quote from: menusux on September 24, 2008, 11:18:42 AM
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/3074986/Chinese-ordered-cover-up-of-tainted-milk-scandal.html
Telegraph.co.uk September 24, 2008
Chinese ordered cover-up of tainted milk scandal
"Chinese authorities ordered a cover-up of a tainted milk scandal that has poisoned tens of thousands of babies because they feared social unrest if the news was made public, The Daily Telegraph has learned.
"Senior officials gave the order to Sanlu, the firm whose poisoned milk powder is said to be responsible for at least four deaths and illness in almost 53,000 infants.
"It was passed on during three meetings at which the company told officials in the city of Shijiazhuang, where the company is based, of the extent of the crisis.
"AQSIQ had already carried complaints on its website from a doctor concerned about the numbers of children who had drunk Sanlu suffering from kidney stones.
"Yet despite Sanlu's warnings that its baby formula was contaminated with the chemical melamine, no recall notice was issued to consumers.
"The central government had issued orders to suppress "bad news", including about health scares, during the period of the Olympic Games, which were due to start the same week.[/b]
""But the authorities also said they were concerned about the effect on "social stability", according to a source briefed by those present.
"The details of the meetings are the first confirmation that the cover-up was deliberate policy and not bureaucratic inertia. Deliberate policy which means it was no accident.
"After finally being exposed, the scandal spread to other major Chinese firms and liquid milk.
"The details also raise new questions for Fonterra, the New Zealand company which has a 43 per cent stake in Sanlu and three of seven directors on the board, and which had representatives in the meetings. This company with the stake in the adulterated one has reps in the meeting and still nothing was done???
"Andrew Ferrier, its chief executive, said when the scandal broke that it would have been "irresponsible" not to work "within the guidelines" set by the Chinese authorities.
"Fonterra's experience is a dramatic warning of the dangers faced by western firms doing business in China. Dangers of the firms doing business - what that they would lose all respect and profitability if anyone found out?
'The company, the world's biggest trader of dairy products and best known in Britain for Anchor butter, wrote off £75 million, two-thirds of the value of its £107-million investment in Sanlu. Might not be a big trader anymore since its being exposed along with the persons responsible for covering this up IMO.
""Sanlu has been damaged very badly by this tragedy," Mr Ferrier said. "The brand cannot be reconstructed." Someone else will pick up the slack and continue with this until they are caught too IMO as it happens over and over and over with so many things being adulterated IMO.
"Fonterra says that despite complaints to Sanlu about children suffering kidney stones as far back as December it knew nothing was wrong until it was informed by its partners on August 2. THIS GOES BACK TO DECEMBER OF 2007 and they knew nothing until AUGUST 2008? Give us a break please, who you trying to buffalo now? DECEMBER 2007 - so that meant that children/babies, etc. were consuming melamine for 9 months before anything was done and it took another country to blow the whistle IMO.
"The three meetings followed, but a Fonterra executive also mentioned the crisis to a New Zealand diplomat at a drinks party on August 14, and provided an official account at a meeting on August 22, two days before the Olympics ended. The New Zealand ambassador asked for more details before passing on a report to Wellington on August 29.
"The whistle was finally blown by the New Zealand government on September 9.
"In all, it took six weeks between Fonterra discovering the contamination and a recall being issued. Six weeks - it should have been 9 months ago when first discovered in DECEMBER 2007.
"Paul French, director of Access Asia, a Shanghai-based consumer consultancy, said too many Western executives in China believed advice in business books that they must avoid making their local partners "lose face" at all costs.
"But in an internal report to staff, Mr Ferrier defended the decision to "work within the system", saying that ultimately it succeeded in bringing about a recall." WORK WITHIN THE SYSTEM WHILE INNOCENT ONES DROP DEAD AND ARE SICKENED BY THE THOUSANDS AND HOW MANY WILL HAVE PERMANENT DAMAGE AND REQUIRE NEW KIDNEYS. Who is going to pay for all that misery and suffering? How can any company with a conscience (oh excuse me, no conscience here at all IMO) do this and sleep at night and look themselves in the mirror every day?
So you see AQSIQ, turns a blind eye if what it's told not to see is in the best interests of the State.
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/09/24/whiterabbit.html
Canadian Food Inspection Agency officials have not issued a warning or recall for the candy, but stressed that they are inspecting all milk-based products imported from China.
"We have contacted over 100 importers who bring in these products," spokesperson Marc Richard said Wednesday. "Samples are going through our labs."
"We can't discuss individual investigations until there are results. Once there is something to announce, we'll announce it."
Where are you, FDA? Parts per million detection levels of 2007 are not low enough. Don't tell consumers three months from now
that you inspected using levels of only 10 parts per million. It won't work a second time. Your 2007 risk assessment models were likely
wrong. Where are statements by von Eschenbach, Leavitt, and Sundloff?
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4705190a11.html
Stuff.co.nz September 25, 2008
Rush to find extent of NZ melamine contamination
"Food safety officials are scrambling to determine the extent to which New Zealand-made foods have been contaminated with the toxic chemical melamine which has poisoned thousands of Chinese babies.
"At least one New Zealand manufacturer has admitted producing food products contaminated with melamine.
""A New Zealand company undertaking precautionary testing has. . . found a minute amount of melamine in one of its highly processed products," the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) said last night.
"One potential contamination pathway NZFSA is expected to check is whether the melamine is a residue from pesticide sprays.
"Chan King-ming, an associate professor of biochemistry at a Chinese university, told the New Scientist magazine yesterday that cyromazine, a derivative of melamine, has been widely used in China as a pesticide.
"In New Zealand, cyromazine has been used in a pesticide called Veterzine, and in June, the NZFSA published a list of contaminant levels it will allow in animal products, and specified a maximum permissible level of cyromazine and melamine in 0.3mg/kg in sheepmeats, and 0.15mg/kg in poultry and eggs.
"According to Prof Chan, cyromazine is absorbed into plants as melamine and has spread through the food chain in animal feeds.
""It is not just in milk products, but also in farm products and animal feed, fish diet," he said.
"Associate professor in applied biology and chemical technology at Hong Kong Polytechnic University Peter Yu said that though it was known melamine caused kidney stones and problems in the kidney, there could also be other ill effects in the longterm.
""These are ingredients that shouldn't be in food," he said.
"NZFSA said the un-named manufacturer who found melamine in the NZ-made product claimed that similar levels are being found in the same product produced in other countries. NZFSA did not specify the food, but downplayed the significance of the find for perceptions of NZ food safety.
"It suggested that the low levels of melamine reported could be a "coincidental consequence" of the manufacturing process.
"Low levels of melamine from a range of sources were " not unexpected" in foods because they could come from leaching from plastic involved in processing or packaging, or an unintended outcome of the manufacturing process.
""At these low levels, it does not present any health risk for consumers," said the agency, which admitted on Tuesday that it does not actually have an acceptable level of contamination for New Zealand foods.
"NZFSA has said its officials are waiting on a European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) scientific opinion on risks to human health associated with melamine in products that may have a low level of contamination.
"There is a generally accepted "tolerable daily intake" of melamine in food in the EU (0.5mg for each kg of body weight daily) and in the US (0.63mg/kg of body weight/day).
"But the NZFSA's principal adviser on toxicology, John Reeve, said that while the agency is aware of tolerable daily intake levels set by the EFSA and the US Food and Drug Agency (FDA) it had not acceptable daily intake for New Zealand."
So--the level of melamine considered "acceptable" is lower in the EU than in the US. >:(
Does this mean, Menusux, that any level of melamine is acceptable by just about all countries now? People better start checking the halloween candy to make sure it doesn't contain things they wouldn't give to a child now before it all floods the market-especially exactly what country its from and who made it IMO.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2008/09/25/2003424188
Taipei Times September 25, 2008
Chinese official claims milk scandal now 'under control'
"China said yesterday its tainted milk scandal had been brought under control and recently tested liquid milk samples showed no traces of the toxic chemical melamine, as US and European consumer safety officials urged Beijing to better enforce product safety standards.
""There is no problem," Xiang Yuzhang, the national quality watchdog's chief inspection official, told reporters in Beijing.
""It has been brought under control, more or less. There are no more problems in the market. As far as I know, there will be no more bad news," Xiang said.
"China's quality control agency said on its Web site that 235 samples of carton milk and drinking yogurt produced since Sept. 14 and sold across the country had shown no signs of melamine.
"But China could face an uphill struggle to convince its own people and those abroad that it has the situation in hand, as fears grow that compromised ingredients may have contaminated other Chinese-made products such as cookies and chocolate bars.
"Australia issued fresh warnings yesterday for China and nearby nations in the wake of the scandal, advising its citizens overseas to avoid all Chinese-made milk products, unless companies have confirmed their goods are free from contamination.
"Milk powder adulterated with melamine has sickened about 54,000 Chinese babies and is blamed for the deaths of four infants.
"Speaking in Shanghai, where US and European officials were attending seminars on product safety, acting US Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairwoman Nancy Nord said China's troubles with contaminated milk highlight the need for better enforcement of product safety standards in manufacturing.
""The melamine situation just underscores the message that we are trying to deliver, and that is you have to know what's coming into your factory and what's going out of your factory," she said.
""One can always do more. We've seen reasonable progress in China, but there's a long way to go," she said.
"Speaking at the UN in New York, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said his government would use the crisis as a chance to overhaul safety controls.
"China would "strengthen institutional development, and take seriously supervision and inspections in every link of production, truly ensuring the interests of consumers," Xinhua news agency quoted Wen as saying.
""We want to make sure that our products and our food will not only meet the domestic and international standards, but also meet the specific requirements of the import countries," he said.
"Meanwhile, Sanlu will not recover from the damage it has suffered, its New Zealand partner said yesterday. Beijing has taken control of Sanlu, 43 percent owned by New Zealand's Fonterra Cooperative, and shut down its operations, Fonterra chief executive Andrew Ferrier said at a briefing."
What you've been telling manufacturers is just that--talk; there's no law to make this mandatory.
Every time there's a problem with a product Made in China, we hear the same promises--heard them through the Pet Food tragedy, heard them through the toxic toothpaste, and now the same old song is being played for us again--give us another chance.
In baseball, there's a three strike rule--three strikes and you're out and it's on to the next batter. >:(
JJ--I belive each country sets its own "acceptable" levels for melamine--since the EU is a union, they would be using this agreed-on standard in all EU nations.
so, should this thread be sent to our reps in the house and senate that have been holding the FDA hearings? Maybe they can hold some hearings on this now to make sure the FDA is doing enough and some of the big multi-corps are testing their ingredients and performing trackbacks now before this explodes here. Wasn't there a pet food problem in China before it hit here? We need to know where all ingredients are from, and that they have been tested so we know the levels of toxins we are dealing with.
Kidney ailment cases in RP may rise due to China milk
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/09/24/08/kidney-ailment-cases-rp-may-rise-due-china-milk
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 09/24/2008 3:42 PM
A medical expert fears that the food safety scandal involving contaminated milk from China could get worse since the effects on humans who have taken melamine-contaminated milk are not immediately visible.
In a telephone interview with ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC), Dr. Wenceslao Kiat, a toxicologist at the St. Luke's Medical Center, said "the biggest problem here is...if you've taken any milk product that contains melamine, you don't see the effect overnight."
Kiat said babies are the most susceptible to falling ill from contaminated milk.
"The primary food of babies is milk. They drink a lot of milk , they drink a lot of water. So we expect the most vulnerable population are babies," Kiat said.
However, he said the effects of drinking melamine-contaminated milk cannot be seen overnight. "That's why I think it's long term."
Sigh. You never caught anybody in the US last year mentioning anything long term with our pets or that some wouldn't show signs immediately (except the pet owners)... guess that's how they got Americans to eat the Melachicken, Melafish & Melapork the US government fed them...
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=&id=ad87ba94-b538-4549-bce2-cd725685c0b4&&Headline=FSSA+wants+Chinese+dairy+products+banned&strParent=strParentID
Food safety body wants Chinese dairy products banned Indo-Asian News Service
New Delhi, September 23, 2008
India's Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSA) has sought a three month ban on import of dairy products from China, where nearly 53,000 children have fallen ill after consuming milk powder contaminated by the industrial chemical melamine.
From Bill Mahler's blog:
http://www.marlerblog.com/2008/09/articles/lawyer-oped/live-blogging-at-the-china-international-food-safety-and-quality-conference/
Posted on September 23, 2008 by Food Poisoning Lawyer
Like the cause of food safety problems in the US, my strong suspicion is that milk suppliers find themselves squeezed between the farmers asking for more money and the processors who demand that prices be held down. That squeeze gives suppliers incentives to tamper with the raw milk - adding ingredients like melamine - a relatively cheap binding agent used in plastics and as a flame retardant, is rich in nitrogen, fooling widely used tests that check for protein. When mixed with formaldehyde, it dissolves in water. When mixed with milk and fed to babies, well, you see the result.
I know this is not a scientific source, but certainly this focused food safety lawyer has better access to relevant scientific data than most.
From Taiwan:
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2008/09/25/2003424186
DOH eases regulations on melamine
MELAMINE MESS: A two-year old girl from Taichung County, who had been living in China, was found to have calcification in a kidney after having consumed contaminated milk powder
By Shelley Huang And Shih Hsiu-chuan STAFF REPORTERS Thursday, Sep 25, 2008, Page 1
The Department of Health (DOH) said last night that the highest permissible concentration of melamime in raw materials and processed foods is to be 2.5 parts per million (ppm), rather than zero ppm as it had announced on Tuesday.
Because of this easing of standards malt extract and creamer manufactured by Union Chemical Industrial Co, Ltd and creamer manufactured by Festsun Enterprise Co Ltd, originally declared unsafe by the DOH on Tuesday, are now considered fit for consumption because their concentration is lower than 2.5ppm.
The new standard was the result of a meeting between the DOH, Bureau of Food and Drug Analysis and Food Industry Research and Development Institute. The use of 2.5ppm as a standard mirrors that used in Hong Kong.
However, for products meant to for consumption by infants, such as baby formula, the standard is set at 1ppm. ...
Meanwhile, Dr Liu Feng-ching (???) at Jenai Hospital in Dali Township (??), Taichung County, said yesterday that a two-year-old baby girl whose family has been living in China has been given melamine-contaminated milk powder for more than a year.
The toddler's father took her to the hospital on Monday for a checkup and doctors found she had calcification in her left kidney and blood in her urine, Liu said. Liu said that the father told her that the baby had not consumed Sanlu brand baby formula, but another brand that had been listed by China as one of 21 brands found to have been contaminated with melamine. Local health authorities reported the case to the DOH yesterday.
Business as usual allowing melamine in the food. WTF?????
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinajournal/2008/09/25/ripples-from-chinas-tainted-milk-scandal/?mod=googlenews_wsj
September 25, 2008, 5:18 am
Ripples from China's Tainted Milk Scandal
Finally, it's not just humans affected, apparently. Citing local media, Reuters reports two gorillas had been diagnosed with crystallization in their urine, an early sign of kidney stones. The gorillas, both from Hangzhou Wildlife World in eastern Zhejiang province, had been fed with milk powder made by Sanlu.
DUH!!! This is so maddening.. makes you really aware how precious little attention was paid by people to the pet food recall..
Early reminder: Trick or Treat Candies (not a reminder in the article, but one we've all mentioned to be alert about in Halloween treats...)
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=7d4f9341-0346-4d90-aaca-8df6f00025fd
Testing on the candies, packaged in 454-gram bags with an expiration date of Nov. 20, 2009, showed melamine levels of 16 parts per million. Under Chinese regulations, the legal limit for melamine in creamy candies is 2.5 parts per million
From menusux's post #415:
"The central government had issued orders to suppress "bad news", including about health scares, during the period of the Olympic Games, which were due to start the same week. "
Just as we said, it was a deliberate cover up so people wouldn't hear more bad news about China making MORE poisoned food before the Olympics. Certainly, more people globally would have boycotted if they'd heard that babies were poisoned and dying. Who would travel there to take a chance on getting poisoned or would want to patronize a country with a government and businesses with such ethics?
Yes, THIS is the country that was awarded hosting privileges for the 2008 Olympics, a country that knew for months it was poisoning and even killing its babies; and from top-down government orders, it refused to recall these products while its citizens and people in other countries were consuming this poison -- all to grab more money from the world and put on a false face of being a world leader. Well, maybe in the poisoning arena it's the world leader, but not much else that I can see.
A poster on a different forum stated that Sanlu was being a "patriot" to China for not recalling the milk until after the Olympics and waiting to go down until after the games. How do you think Sanlu will be rewarded for being a patriot? Forget about a few dead and tens of thousands of poisoned babies, just do what's best for China as a whole??? THIS is the mentality we are dealing with.
Do you think China cares if it ships out a poisonous fish variety instead of the correct one? That it loads our children's toys with lead paint? That is puts antifreeze in toothpaste? That it puts high levels of formaldehyde in clothing? That it poisoned our pets? They knowingly killed babies, poisoned thousands of others, and kept it quiet!
With blatant disregard for human life from the Chinese central government, any company outside of China doing business there is BEGGING, just BEGGING, for a heap of poison in its products. And, it's only a matter of time. And, you won't find out a thing. A factory will just happen to be razed in the middle of the night, a few low-level workers will be rounded up, and your reputation will be shot. Oh, and you might just have some lawsuits coming your way for killing people! Do you want to be known as a killer?
Wasn't the string of recalls in 2007 enough for companies to "get it"?
See what CHEAP can get you? Pony up, companies. Pay some workers in YOUR own country a decent wage and make your products at home.
CNN's news crawl is reporting that melamine contamination spreads worldwide as contaminated chocolate has been found in Macau.
5CatMom
=^..^=
I posted a comment this am..maybe we all should...might just grab someone's attention...to continue the story...before it goes away and is forgotten until the next horror... >:(
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/safety/2008/09/chinese-formula.html?resultPageIndex=1&resultIndex=2&searchTerm=melamine
South Africa joins the nations who are either banning or detaining foods which may contain Chinese dairy products:
http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=850745
The Times (SA) September 25, 2008
SA detains Chinese milk goods
"The health department detained all Chinese products containing milk, on suspicion that it was contaminated.
""The department today issued a directive requesting all the country's environmental health practitioners in the municipalities and metros to detain any products of Chinese origin that may contain milk or dairy products," said spokesman Fidel Hadebe in a statement.
"This comes in the wake of possible contamination with melamine in certain products including infant formula, candies or sweets [white rabbits] and biscuits.
"Hadebe said the verification of such contamination could be done by looking at the ingredient label for any indication of words such as "milk", "dairy", "whey", "lactose" and "casein".
"Hadebe said the department had also verified with the agriculture department that no permits for primary dairy products were issued for Chinese imports since 2005.
""This does not however include processed products with dairy products," Hadebe said.
"He said according to the legislation melamine was not allowed into food products and therefore no levels of melamine were permitted."
Interesting to see that South Africa has a "zero tolerance" of melamine in food products, while most other nations have placed limits on the amount which can be found in food before it's considered contaminated.
I read on the news this morning ABC they had it scrolling at the bottom, that the "upper class" in China
have the privilege of eating all organic foods. And to hell with the "little people"????
That just infuriates me, >:(
Sadly, that is most likely true in the US at this point in time including at the WH.
3 milk products sold in Macao confirmed melamine-contaminated :
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/25/content_10112361.htm
The three products are Lotte Koala Biscuit (net weight 50 gram),Nestle's baby formula NESLAC Gold Growing Up 1+ Tin (net content 900 gram) and the Mengniu Breakfast Milk (net volume 900 gram), according to a press statement from the Special Administration Region's Health Bureau (SSM), which said it tested a total of 35 various milk products sold in the local market in a single batch.
The Lotte biscuit was found to be containing the highest volume of melamine, at 24 milligram per kilogram, the Mengniu Breakfast Milk at 2.35 milligram per kilogram, and the Nestle baby formula at less than 1 milligram per kilogram, which meets the safety standard of the neighboring regions, according to the statement.
From menusux's post #433:
""This does not however include processed products with dairy products," Hadebe said.
The packaged processed items are going to take a lot of time to track down from the time this poison was brewed, shipped around the world, and first put on the store shelves 10 months ago.
Is the U.S. doing any tracking of processed foods of which milk or one of its derivatives is an ingredient? Have they checked the pre-packaged mac & cheese, coffee creamer, bakery items, yogurt, protein drinks, energy bars, etc.?
I just posted in another thread about the Chinese elite eating only organic and said that you can bet, knowing the horrors of our food supply that the FDA and USDA workers (and high up government officials) and their families are eating only organic foods. There are probably government-sanctioned farms and ranches that supply only to the gov't. for all I know.
People, please cook from scratch as much as possible. The more "finished" a product is, the more fear for contamination. Try collaborating with a like-minded neighbor or friend and do some meal sharing cooking. You make the main dish for both families, and the neighbor can make the sides and dessert for both families.
We've been eating this poisoned, adulterated food for years. Well, no more!
Has anyone gone to the doctor's office for urine and blood tests lately? Wasn't the CDC told during the mela-meat fiasco to watch for spikes in human kidney disease? Does anyone have that link? I thought it was during a press release or a hearing...
http://www.prweek.com/uk/home/article/848984/nestle-says-its-products-safe/
PRWeek September 25, 2008
Nestlé says its products are safe
""Supermarket chains in Hong Kong started recalling Nestlé products after
a local newspaper, the Chinese-language Apple Daily, said it found traces of melamine in Nestlé pure milk.
"That result was apparently confirmed by tests undertaken by the Hong Kong government. A spokesman for the government's Centre for Food Safety said: 'Based on the low level detected, normal consumption will not pose a major health risk. However, it is not advisable for small children to consume the product.'
"Nestlé's press team responded quickly, issuing two statements in as many days to reassure global consumers its products were safe.
"The first statement read: '
Nestlé is confident that none of its products in China is made from milk adulterated with melamine. Over the past weeks, the Chinese authorities have carried out widespread tests and included Nestlé in a list of companies or brands where no melamine was found in the respective products.'
"The second statement reaffirmed the company's view that
all its milk products in China and Hong Kong were 'absolutely safe'."
Quote from: menusux on September 21, 2008, 09:55:20 AM
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aWAQoXBKj5Nk&refer=home
Bloomberg.com September 21, 2008
Nestle `Confident' It Isn't Using Contaminated Milk
"Nestle SA, the world's largest food company, said it is "confident'' its dairy products aren't made from milk tainted with melamine, following a scandal with contaminated milk in China.
"A sample of milk for catering use tested in Hong Kong was found to contain only traces of the chemical, well below the amount considered harmful by international standards, Nestle spokesman Robin Tickle said today in a telephone interview.
""This is not made from milk adulterated with melamine,'' Tickle said. "These are very minute traces.''
Since when does this qualify as not being aduterated? Milk doesn't contain melamine by nature. >:(
The story at the first link was written 6 hours ago, BTW... :-X
More unsettling news in light of the Nestle spin and shuffle:
http://www.foodingredientsfirst.com/home/viewnews.rails?Id=18261&pageNo=1&isHome=True
Food Ingredients First (Netherlands) September 25, 2008
"Speculation has been rife for years that Cadbury, which is now demerged from its beverage business would try to merge with Hershey in order to boost its US presence, but Nestle may be beating Cadbury to it now.
"Rumours continue to circulate that Nestlé has been in talks with US confectionery company Hershey to acquire a stake in its business. Hershey is the largest North American manufacturer of chocolate and sugar confectionery with revenues of nearly $5 billion.
"Nestle may buy a 25 percent stake and an option to acquire the remaining 75 percent in two years. Hershey has reportedly been working with investment bank JP Morgan on a transaction and Nestlé has been lined as the potential buyer, according to market sources."
Wonder if that's still on now that despite their claims, melamine has been found more than once in the products they claimed to be 100% free of it--and then tried sweeping the minute traces under their corporate rug--see Ms. Tickle's statement above.
For advice on minimizing your long term cumulative exposure to melamine through use of plastic containers, see:
http://medicine-experience.com/2008/09/plastic-and-paper/
The gist of it seems to be use only plastic containers labeled "for microwave use" Dishwasher safe apparently is
not enough. Trays for microwave meals are meant to be used only once; after you heat the food, toss the tray.
Could be important for lowering the "bioaccumulation" effects of melamine exposure that no one has
studied except our pets and the Chinese babies.
I contacted a company that sells melamine test kits. The kit is relatively inexpensive, and the method doesn't sound real complicated, but requires some (basic?) lab equipment.
Maybe we should purchase a kit and test some food samples.
If anyone has knowledge of lab testing, access to a lab, and would like to participate in food testing, please PM me.
Sorry, if this is off topic, but I didn't know where to post.
5CatMom
=^..^=
Quote from: 5CatMom on September 25, 2008, 10:45:10 AM
I contacted a company that sells melamine test kits. The kit is relatively inexpensive, and the method doesn't sound real complicated, but requires some (basic?) lab equipment.
Maybe we should purchase a kit and test some food samples.
If anyone has knowledge of lab testing, access to a lab, and would like to participate in food testing, please PM me.
Sorry, if this is off topic, but I didn't know where to post.
5CatMom
=^..^=
Could you crosspost it in the testing section, as well?
http://itchmoforums.com/pet-food-testing-b71.0/
Will do. Thanks.
5CatMom
=^..^=
5cat, you've been on itchmo forever, and I trust you. Maybe some of us can PayPal you some money or send concealed cash to you to help defray costs and testing supplies. I'm sure others would chip in as well. As with the pet food testing, the consumers are probably going to have to be the ones to pay for the testing and then post the results to the media if we want wide-spread coverage. Hopefully, there will be no melamine to be found.
Are there more details about the melamine test? I read the other linked thread and didn't really see anything else -- am in a hurry, so maybe I missed it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/world/asia/26melamine.html?ref=world
New York Times September 2, 2008
China's Milk Scandal Now Seen as Risk in Europe
"European Union regulators on Thursday ordered rigorous testing of imports containing at least 15 percent milk powder after concluding that tainted milk powder from China may well be circulating in Europe and putting children at risk.
"The action, announced by the European Food Safety Agency and the European Commission, significantly expands the potential geographic reach of a milk adulteration scandal in China to now include a range of foods sold around the world. The Europeans said cookies, toffees and chocolates are the major concerns.
"While countries throughout Asia have already pulled Chinese dairy products from supermarket shelves as a precaution, it is now clear that the danger could go beyond milk itself. In 2007, the European Union imported from China about 19,500 tons of confectionary products, such as pastry, cake and biscuits and about 1,250 tons of chocolate and other food preparations containing cocoa.
""Children who consume both such biscuits and chocolate could potentially exceed the TDI by up to more than three times," the European Food Safety Agency said Thursday, referring to the maximum daily intake of melamine the agency regards as safe. Levels above that could result in kidney stones, said Ian Palombi, a spokesman for the agency, in a telephone interview.
"In Brussels, the European Commission was trying to assess the extent of the risk. "The problem is with the composite food products, which can be imported, even if they contain milk powder from China," said Nina Papadoulaki, a spokeswoman. She said that the commission did not know how many companies selling snacks in Europe were manufacturing in China or buying ingredients there.
"In the United States, some consumer groups called for stricter regulation as well. "It is now clear that China has exported dairy products like powdered milk and milk protein products around the globe and we know that some of them came to the United States, " said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch. "It is time for the FDA to take this issue seriously and stop the import of dairy products from China until this situation is under control."
"The United States this year has imported 2 million pounds of a milk protein called casein and other powdered milk proteins that are used as ingredients in many processed foods, according to FDA figures. This includes 293,000 pounds that were imported in July, when some Chinese authorities were aware of the contamination of dairy products with melamine.
"The Food and Drug Administration did not immediately return calls for comment."
Quote from: purringfur on September 25, 2008, 11:25:18 AM
5cat, you've been on itchmo forever, and I trust you. Maybe some of us can PayPal you some money or send concealed cash to you to help defray costs and testing supplies. I'm sure others would chip in as well. As with the pet food testing, the consumers are probably going to have to be the ones to pay for the testing and then post the results to the media if we want wide-spread coverage. Hopefully, there will be no melamine to be found.
Are there more details about the melamine test? I read the other linked thread and didn't really see anything else -- am in a hurry, so maybe I missed it.
Purringfur,
Thanks very much. I started a new thread on this, so as to keep this one on topic.
http://itchmoforums.com/pet-food-testing/melamine-test-kit-available-t6377.0.html;msg88793;topicseen#msg88793
5CatMom
=^..^
=
What is there about unknown levels of melamine exposure in food products widely
distributed throughout the world that the U.S. government does not understand
at this point? Is the FDA, the Congress, and our President waiting for U.S. babies to
break the Chinese record of illness and/or death related to melamine consumption?
Even Cambodia is not that stupid. Or is it that our government is too devoted to the
profit agendas of multinational food corporations to be concerned about ordinary
American families and their food safety?
Here's what WHO has to say:
"What are the health effects of melamine consumptions in humans?
While there are no direct human studies on the effect of melamine data from animal studies can be used to predict adverse health effects. Melamine alone causes bladder stones in animal tests. When combined with cyanuric acid, which may also be present in melamine powder, melamine can form crystals that can give rise to kidney stones.
These small crystals can also block the small tubes in the kidney potentially stopping the production of urine, causing kidney failure and, in some cases, death. Melamine has also been shown to have carcinogenic effects in animals in certain circumstances, but there is insufficient evidence to make a judgment on carcinogenic risk in humans."
http://www.who.int/csr/media/faq/QAmelamine/en/index.html
5CatMom
=^..^=
Ya'd think that some interpretation of long term melamine exposure health effects can be drawn
from what's happend to the innocent Chinese babies somewhere in the neighborhood of about
18 months (December of 2007) or perhaps even longer. Of course, that says nothing about
what may be happening to children or adults with weakened immune systems or even healthy
immune systems. But wouldn't you think the US government would want to stop the source at least
until it can be thoroughly investigated since the 2007 pet food recall risk models FDA developed
for melamine may not be long term enough or thorough enough? Pet food recalls in March 2007; FDA risk models
published in June 2007. Europe and lots of other countries seem to think so. I'm just so frustrated that the
US government seems not to be acknowledging the potential threat for the second time in two years and
acting on behalf of consumer safety first.
Right now politics is our biggest problem. NIH Director resigned, too. There will be a merry go round of seats next year. I wonder how long before any of them get around to the business of protecting the American people.. ooops, sorry.. that never ever seems to happen does it? The grants have dried up for science too, so they're going private sector, I'm sure.
It's a tie between politics and food industry lobbying money ... oops. Maybe it's the same thing.
Once in a while, when consumers are really outraged, like lead paint on toys, something gets done.
I'm outraged. Hope lots of others are, too.
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=748346
eTaiwan News September 26, 2008
Taiwan reports 5 new melamine victims
Number of cases of children with kidney stones is growing
"Amid confusion over the government's overnight loosening of safety standards for melamine-tainted food stuffs, hospitals yesterday reported a growing number of cases of children who might have contracted kidney stones by eating contaminated products. After a two-year-old girl showing a hardening kidney was found in Taichung County on Wednesday, several similar cases surfaced yesterday.
"In Ilan County, the local campus of the Yangming University Hospital said four cases of kidney stones had been discovered, but drinking water and stopping the consumption of contaminated products would likely be enough to cure the patients.
"Two children, a one-year-old boy and a three-year-old girl who had drunk a little-known brand of milk product their mother had brought from Hong Kong for a year were the first two cases, the hospital said. The other two were a mother from China and her three-year-old daughter. The mother had been consuming Chinese milk for years, and had also regularly brought the same brand home for her daughter, the hospital said.
"A 30-year-old woman from Yunlin County who said she drank two to four bags of instant coffee a day showed symptoms of hardening kidneys, doctors at the local campus of National Taiwan University Hospital said.
"Islandwide, doctors found 11 people with kidney stones, though none of the cases can as yet be directly linked to the consumption of tainted dairy products, the Department of Health said."
Two adult cases reported in addition to children.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/09/25/white-rock-candy.html
CBC September 25, 2008
Canada recalls White Rabbit candies over melamine concerns
"Canadians should not eat, distribute or sell White Rabbit brand candy, a popular Chinese confection that may be tainted with melamine, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned Thursday.
"Health officials in Hong Kong and Singapore said they have found trace amounts of melamine, an industrial chemical used to make plastics and fertilizer, in some of the candy.
"The Canadian alert advised importers and distributors to voluntarily recall the products, and retailers to remove it from their shelves. There have been no reports of illness linked to the product in Canada, where melamine is not allowed as a food ingredient.
"In addition to White Rabbit candies, the agency has already singled out Mr. Brown 3-in-1 Instant Coffee and Nissin Cha Cha desserts for possibly being been made with tainted milk products.
"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said White Rabbit candy has been added to its list of products being inspected at ports of entry, but that no melamine-tainted goods from China of any sort have turned up. Nonetheless, some grocers in the U.S. started removing the popular candies from their shelves."
Quotebut that no melamine-tainted goods from China of any sort have turned up.
Unfortunately we won't know until the reported number of kidney problems arise, which could be months down the road.
We were foolish to believe that this was going to end last year, and that it wasn't going to end up in people food. WAIT A MINUTE, we were the ones that have been telling them this all along. :-\ they just refused to listen.
db :-\
The White Rabbit candies are available online from any number of Asian foods vendors, even listed with Amazon. Today, just as an experiment, I placed an online order with a couple of these (went through the shopping cart process, etc., just didn't finalize with "place order" at the end to pay for it, but canceled it instead.) I did not get any out-of-stock messages, warnings, "not presently available," anything. I could have bought as many bags of melacandy as I wanted.
So innocent people can go on eating melamine. It's out of control. There are absolutely no safeguards.
Dear God, it's like a horrible nightmare, only we won't wake up from this one. It's real . . .
Ah, come on, folks. In 2007 it was just a few (because the FDA refused to count them) off-the-chart pet owners
crying what happened here about some dumb animals that escaped the government's attention.
Now in 2008 it's just a bunch of poor farmers trying to save a buck in China and their peasant babies. The numbers involved
no doubt being diminished by the Chinese government.
I hope all the legislators and bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., choke on their next mouthful of prime cut beef, that
no one else can any longer afford, because the melamine is in that muscle tissue, too -- oops, sorry, forgot to say
I suspect.
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-use-rampant-in-china-feed-business-t6380.0.html;topicseen
Reuters September 25, 2008
Melamine use "rampant" in China feed business
The world's most tragic human field test of the dangers of melamine exposure is occurring right in front of your eyes.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz:80/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10534315
San Lu milk powder has lethal bacteria
The Gansu Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision in northwest China issued an emergency notice saying San Lu's formulas for older babies contained enterobacter sakazakii as well as melamine, the Lanzhou Morning Post reported.
Described as lethal, enterobacter sakazakii can cause meningitis or severe gut infections and is recognised by the World Health Organisation as a key pathogen that leads to infant mortality
The newspaper said it was not yet known how or when the bacteria entered the San Lu formula, but there had been no reports of sickness or deaths. ...
Melamine has been found in at least two food items here, but the New Zealand Food Safety Authority says there will not be an import ban of dairy products from China. It also said there would be no recall of White Rabbit Creamy Candy, which it tested and found to contain "unacceptable levels" of melamine.
South Korea yesterday joined more than a dozen countries that have banned the import of all products containing Chinese powdered milk after discovering the chemical in some snacks, and the decision not to do the same here has been slammed by the Consumer NZ and Green Party.
I'm so [edited] pissed! We KNEW this was going to happen. But it's going to take American babies dying before Washington MIGHT wake up. I get sympathetic kidney pains just reading this poo poo. This needs to stop NOW.
I'll be rattling my congress critters cages tomorrow big time. I can no longer protest boycott because I don't buy this poo poo anymore, but I will try and recruit more to boycott. Heh, it's prob a good thing I don't live in DC. You would be catching me on "Breaking News" if I did.
***************************************
What the HELL is NZ thinking?!!!!
NZ is thinking biggest corporation in the country profits, I believe, and global trade agreements, not
unlike the US and the FDA maybe?
Well, I sure hope their health care system is better than ours. Still going to cost them (us) a pretty penny in the long run. Gawd, this makes me insanely crazy mad.
I'm making a new t-shirt:
"No, I'm not your [edited] lab rat!"
NZ really blows my mind.
These are the folks who bring you the lamb that's the best and the purest in the world.
These are the folks who banned ethoxyquin laden paprika
Now I'm starting to question whether I want any NZ Lamb..................or anything from there for that matter >:(
What about all the pet food that NZ makes? Since they think nothing of their own people eating that candy or drinking any powdered stuff with melamine - how can they even care about pet food then? Maybe they even buy IMO on the cheap animal feed from China and get cut a deal on the price too. Gawd this insanity is never going to stop - how many have to die before anything is done? Have we not had enough beloved pets now gone and how many more babies in other countries are near death that we do not know about?
Largest Seattle area Asian grocer relying on international news reports to decide what to pull.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008201583_taintedmilk25m.html
China's milk scandal has Seattle-area stores pulling candy, drinks
By Susan Kelleher
Seattle Times consumer-affairs reporter
As the scope of China's tainted-milk scandal widened this week, Asian grocery stores in Seattle's International District and on the Eastside began pulling cases of candies and drinks off their shelves as a precaution against selling products contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine.
Without clear orders from federal authorities, area grocers were left largely to fend for themselves in deciding which products might pose a risk to customers. The chemical melamine was found in numerous Chinese exports — from candy to yogurt to rice balls — and traced to nearly two dozen dairies. In China, the contaminated milk has sickened more than 50,000 people and caused the deaths of four infants.
Uwajimaya, which operates stores in Seattle and Bellevue, relied on news reports from Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and China to determine which products to pull, said Jason Nakaya, the chain's central grocery manager.
The latest products to come off the shelves are the popular White Rabbit Creamy Candies and a host of beverages that tested positive for melamine in other countries.
"We pulled White Rabbit candies, all powdered coffees and teas, and several drinks," Nakaya said. "We're being significantly more proactive than our suppliers are. Our name is more at risk than our suppliers', and, more important, we don't want anyone to get hurt."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration added the White Rabbit candies to its list of products being inspected at ports of entry after tests by other governments showed high levels of melamine. But so far the agency said its checks have not turned up any goods from China that contained the chemical.
Nonetheless, local markets are removing popular candies and other products as employees learn about the possible contamination from their customers and the media.
A quick phone survey Wednesday of five merchants in Seattle's International District showed varying responses to the scandal.
Ping Niu of Hoven Foods Co. said she removed White Rabbit candies from the shelves this week after reading newspaper reports about high levels of melamine in the candy, while an employee at Dong Hing Market said she removed the candy after a customer told her the product was made with tainted milk.
Mui Cun, a cashier at Rising Produce, said a representative from the FDA came to the store last week to obtain samples of powdered creamer and condensed milk for testing. She said the store hasn't carried the White Rabbit candies for about three months, and there were no other products she knew of that had been pulled.
Suppliers trying to cut costs are believed to have added melamine to watered-down milk as a thickener. More than a dozen countries have banned or recalled Chinese products containing milk.
Health experts say ingesting a small amount of the chemical poses no danger, but melamine can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure. Infants are particularly vulnerable.
Tests done by authorities in New Zealand and Hong Kong found high levels of the chemical in the White Rabbit candies.
The dairy at the center of the scandal is Sanlu Group Co. An investigation into the contamination found that Sanlu received complaints about its infant formula as early as December 2007 and covered up the problem for months, state media reported earlier this week.
The Chinese government has taken control of Sanlu, which is 43 percent owned by New Zealand's Fonterra Cooperative, and shut down its operations.
Material from The Associated Press is included in this report. Susan Kelleher: skelleher@seattletimes.com; 206-464-2508.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Now in Japanese cookies and Taiwan Pizza Hut
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008197980_apaschinataintedmilk.html
China milk scandal hits Japan firm, Taiwan victims
By ANITA CHANG
Associated Press Writer
BEIJING - China's tainted milk scandal continues to expand beyond its borders as three Taiwanese children and a mother are sick with kidney stones, a Japanese confectioner's cookies are found to be contaminated and the European Union joins other countries in banning imports of baby food containing Chinese milk.
Liu Yi-lien, health chief of the Ilan County government in eastern Taiwan, says the two 3-year-old girls and a one-year-old boy all have been traveling frequently between Taiwan and China with their parents. One of the children's mothers also has kidney stones.
If a link is established between these kidney problems and melamine-tainted milk, they would be the first such cases diagnosed outside of China or its territories of Hong Kong and Macau since the contaminated milk scandal erupted this month.
However, the infants may have been consuming formula purchased in China, not Taiwan.
Liu said they all consumed Chinese milk, but that more tests were need to establish a link to their kidney stones.
Four children in China have died from consuming the products contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine and more than 50,000 have been sickened.
Five other children have become ill as a result of using melamine-tainted products in the Chinese territories of Hong Kong and Macau.
Meanwhile, Koala's March cookies made by Lotte China Foods Co., a Tokyo conglomerate, were found to be contaminated with the toxic chemical melamine. The Japanese confectioner exports cookies to the Chinese territory of Macau
Macau's government said late Thursday that they had found levels of melamine 24 times the safety limit in the cookies.
An official at Lotte (China) Investment Co. Ltd. in Shanghai said Friday that previous inspections had not shown any problems.
"The range of the inspections covered all the products sold domestically, including the Bear chocolate-filled cookies mentioned in the report. The outcome was all fine," said Guo Hongming, a legal assistant in the Lotte Shanghai's corporate planning department.
"But now that it tested positive in Macau, we find it necessary to do the inspections all over again." she said.
Hong Kong supermarkets also removed the popular Japanese brand of chocolate-filled cookies from shelves Friday.
Hundreds of international food companies have set up operations in China in recent years, exposing them to the country's notorious product safety problems.
The food safety crisis in China started with melamine-tainted infant formula. It has since spread to other milk products and has triggered recalls and bans on Chinese food goods around the world.
The European Union banned imports of baby food containing Chinese milk Thursday as a toxic chemical that was illegally added to China's dairy supplies turned up in candy and other Chinese-made goods that were quickly pulled from stores worldwide.
The 27-nation EU adds to the growing list of countries that have banned or recalled Chinese dairy products because of the contamination. In addition to the ban, the European Commission called for more checks on other Chinese food imports.
All European Union imports of products containing more than 15 percent of milk powder will have to be tested under the new rules due to come into force Friday.
Food safety experts in the EU, which imports about 21,500 tons of Chinese confectionary products, said there is only a limited risk in Europe from the food imports. But the European Commission says it is acting as a precaution in the face of the growing health scare.
The maker of one of China's most popular candies said Friday it had halted production because of suspected melamine contamination. White Rabbit brand creamy candies have already been pulled from shelves around Asia and in Britain.
"It's a tragedy for the Chinese food industry and a big lesson for us as it ruined the time-honored brand," Ge Junjie, a vice president Bright Foods (Group) Co. Ltd., was quoted as saying by the Shanghai Daily.
Bright Foods' subsidiary Guangshengyuan produces White Rabbit.
Ge was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua News Agency that the company was waiting for test results from the Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau.
"We decided to halt all sales of White Rabbit candy, although the test results have not yet come out," Ge said.
Concern about White Rabbit candies has also spread to South America, where Surinamese health authorities ordered food markets to stop selling it as a precautionary measure.
"Up to this point, we have no indication that these candies are tainted but we did not want to take any chances," said Lesley Resida, director of public health, describing Suriname's decision as a precautionary measure.
White Rabbit candies are widely available in Suriname, where people of Chinese heritage make up roughly 8 percent of the population.
In Taiwan, where there have been huge concerns about the safety of milk and related products imported from China, Pizza Hut said Friday it had suspended supplying cheese powder found to be contaminated by melamine.
Wu Yu-ping, an official of Pizza Hut's Taiwan branch, said the tainted cheese was supplied by Taiwan's Kaiyuan Company, but its source is not known.
On Thursday, the European Union banned imports of baby food containing Chinese milk. The move by the 27-nation EU adds to the growing list of countries that have banned or recalled Chinese dairy products because of the contamination.
Health experts say ingesting a small amount of melamine poses no danger, but in larger doses, the chemical - used to make plastics and fertilizer - can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure. Infants are particularly vulnerable.
Outside Shanghai, three zoo babies were found to have developed kidney stones after being nursed with tainted milk powder for more than a year. A lion cub and two baby orangutans were sickened after drinking infant formula made by the Sanlu Group Co., said Zhang Xu, a veterinarian with the Hangzhou Zhangxu Animal Hospital.
---
Annie Huang in Hong Kong also contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
well this is making front page Yahoo...yeah...it is still in the news...and they even note breaking news and to check back...so maybe this will stay in the headline (I hope)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080926/ap_on_re_as/as_china_tainted_milk
By ANITA CHANG, Associated Press Writer
20 minutes ago
BEIJING - The Hong Kong government says it has found traces of melamine in baby cereals and crackers made in China in an expanding scandal over Chinese milk and other food products tainted with the industrial chemical.
In China, authorities said Friday that a Taiwanese mother and three young children with kidney stones may have been poisoned by Chinese milk products tainted with melamine, and two Japanese confectioners' products were also found to be contaminated.
Hong Kong's government said the contaminated baby vegetable formula cereal are made by Heinz. It also says melamine was found in the steamed potato wasabi crackers produced by Silang House. Both were made in China, it said.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
Did I read above in this thread that New Zealand FOUND melamine in the White Rabbit candy and is NOT recalling it? I can't find the article now.
It's a shame that owners of Asian stores here get no direction from our regulatory agencies and have to listen to foreign news and customers to attempt to decipher what items to pull from shelves. At least some are trying to protect people here if these products are contaminated, although there are no specific dictates for store owners on what or if to pull products. They have to be applauded for that.
Thank you for the breaking news story, Carol. I'm afraid this poison made its way around the world months ago, and now everyone is back tracking to chase these potentially toxic products down -- same as the pet food last year.
Since our "food" is not made with whole identifiable ingredients any more, but with derivatives, powders, concentrates, proteins, etc., the melamine could be in about any package a consumer picks up. So much for the DILUTION THEORY...
I'm waiting on the "Saturation Theory"...!! >:(
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gBdAKWmXS3RH6aqMHSr2kguZMfWQ
AFP September 26, 2008
China pulls top candy off shelves as milk scandal deepens
"China's toxic milk scandal escalated Friday as one of the country's best-known candy brands was pulled off the shelves and more nations around the world imposed curbs on Chinese imports.
"The makers of White Rabbit -- a hugely popular candy presented to US president Richard Nixon on his landmark 1972 trip -- announced it was halting domestic sales after its products were found to contain melamine.
""White Rabbit producer Guanshengyuan had previously recalled exports after Singapore authorities said they had tested positive for melamine, a chemical which is normally used to make plastic, a spokesman said.
""We've recalled white Rabbit Candy for export overseas, and we are temporarily halting domestic sales," said the spokesman, who declined to be named."
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE48P1BZ20080926
Reuters September 26, 2008
Shanghai fears grow in China milk powder scandal
"Up to five percent of young infants in Shanghai could have kidney stones after drinking tainted milk formula, local media reported on Friday, as publicity surrounding the scandal is muted by China's manned space mission.
""A recent citywide health check of children under three years old showed about five percent were diagnosed with symptoms of possible kidney stones after being fed contaminated powdered milk," the China Daily reported.
"The paper did not give an estimate of the number of children who might be affected."
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01889.html
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 26, 2008
FDA Updates Health Information Advisory on Melamine Contamination
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is alerting consumers that seven Mr. Brown instant coffee and milk tea products manufactured in China are being recalled by the King Car Food Industrial Co. Ltd. due to possible contamination with melamine. The products, manufactured by China's Shandong Duqing Inc., are:
Mr. Brown Mandheling Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown Arabica Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown Blue Mountain Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown Caramel Macchiato Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown French Vanilla Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown Mandhling Blend instant Coffee (2-in-1)
Mr. Brown Milk Tea (3-in-1)
The FDA recommends that consumers not consume any of the above Mr. Brown instant coffee and milk tea products. The FDA also recommends that retailers and foodservice operators remove the products from sale or service.
As of September 25, 2008, the FDA testing of milk based products imported into the United States from China has not found melamine contamination.
The FDA is working with regulatory agencies in other countries. The New Zealand Food Safety Authority reports that its testing of White Rabbit Creamy Candies has shown melamine contamination at high levels. In light of the widespread contamination of milk and milk-based products in China and the New Zealand Food Safety Authority's finding, the FDA recommends that consumers not eat White Rabbit Creamy Candy and that retailers and foodservice operations remove the product from sale or service.
To date, the FDA is not aware of any illnesses in the United States stemming from consumption of either White Rabbit Creamy Candy or the Mr. Brown instant coffee and milk tea products.
Individuals who have experienced any health problems after consuming either White Rabbit Creamy Candy or any of the identified Mr. Brown coffee and tea products are advised to contact their health care professional.
Background
On September 12, 2008, in light of reports from China of melamine contaminated infant formula, the FDA issued a Health Information Advisory to assure the American public that there is no known threat of contamination in infant formula manufactured by companies that have met the requirements to sell such products in the United States. That advisory also warned members of Chinese communities in the United States that infant formula manufactured in China, possibly available for purchase at Asian markets, could pose a risk to infants.
The FDA had contacted the companies who manufacture infant formula for distribution in the United States and received, from the companies, information that they are not importing formula or sourcing milk-based materials from China.
At the same time, the FDA—in conjunction with state and local officials—began a nation-wide investigation to check Asian markets for Chinese manufactured infant formula that may have been brought into the United States. In particular, this effort focused on areas of the country with large Chinese communities, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and New York. To date, investigators have visited more than 1,400 retail markets and have not found Chinese infant formula present on shelves in these markets.
The FDA also advises consumers not to purchase infant formula manufactured in China from Internet sites or from other sources.
The FDA has taken, and will continue to take, proactive measures to help ensure the safety of the American food supply. In conjunction with state and local officials, the FDA will continue to check Asian markets for food items that are imported from China and that could contain a significant amount of milk or milk proteins. In addition, the FDA has broadened its domestic and import sampling and testing of milk-derived ingredients and finished food products containing milk, such as candies, desserts, and beverages that could contain these ingredients from Chinese sources. Milk-derived ingredients include whole milk powder, non-fat milk powder, whey powder, lactose powder, and casein.
In addition to state and local governments, the FDA is working in close cooperation with Customs and Border Protection within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, other federal agencies, and foreign governments.
Glad to see that the FDA has finally decided to do something on this. Now, they need to get busy and do more!
I hope the manufacturers/importers will issue an official recall on the products in response to this.
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2628572020080926
Reuters September 26, 2008
Heinz recalls batch of baby food in Hong Kong
"H.J. Heinz Co recalled a batch of baby food in Hong Kong due to trace levels of melamine, an industrial chemical linked to a growing health scare in China, the packaged food maker said on Friday.
"Heinz, the world's largest ketchup maker, said it was recalling one batch, or 270 cases, of only one variety of baby food as a precautionary measure.
""No other Heinz products are affected and Heinz wishes to assure consumers of the safety of its products," the company said in a statement.
"The company said it had found trace levels of melamine -- 1.6 milligrams per kilogram -- in the batch compared with much higher levels -- 2500 milligrams per kilogram -- found in adulterated milk formula products in China.
"Heinz's recalled product was made in China for distribution in China only, a company spokesman said.
"The product being recalled is the Heinz Intelligence Many Many Vegetable Cereal, with the product bar code 6901642888480."
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking_news_detail.asp?id=6829&icid=2&d_str=20080926
The Standard-Hong Kong September 26, 2008
China toxic milk victims jump by 10,000
"Chinese provinces have reported nearly 10,000 additional cases of children who have developed kidney illnesses after drinking toxic milk formula in recent days, local media reported.
"The problem was confirmed to have spread to neighboring Japan, when Marudai Food Co said melamine had been found in some of its recalled products made with Chinese milk, including "Cream Panda'' buns, which appeal to children."
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jL7mHkJcSHVOLlejms7eQS2xXDiwD93EDL980
Associated Press September 26, 2008
China tainted food scandal expands
"The Hong Kong government says it has found traces of melamine in baby cereals and crackers made in China in an expanding scandal over Chinese milk and other food products tainted with the industrial chemical.
"In China, authorities said Friday that a Taiwanese mother and three young children with kidney stones may have been poisoned by Chinese milk products tainted with melamine, and two Japanese confectioners' products were also found to be contaminated.
"Hong Kong's government said the contaminated baby vegetable formula cereal are made by Heinz. It also says melamine was found in the steamed potato wasabi crackers produced by Silang House. Both were made in China, it said."
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE.
http://www.flex-news-food.com/pages/19385/China/heinz-mars-kraft-lotte-pizza-hut---latest-companies-named-asian-melamine-scare-spreads.html
FlexNews-France September 26, 2008
Heinz, Mars, Kraft, Lotte, Pizza Hut - Latest Companies Named as Asian Melamine Scare Spreads
"Over the past 24 hours, more leading food producers and brands have been named as more and more suspected melamine contaminations have been reported.
Hong Kong
"Hong Kong officials have said that they have found traces of melamine in baby cereals and crackers manufactured by Heinz as well as in steamed potato wasabi crackers produced by Silang House.
"In response Heinz has recalled one batch of a baby food containing trace levels of 1.6mg/kg of melamine.
""This contrasts to levels of 2500mg/kg found in adulterated milk formula products in China. After extensive testing, all other Heinz varieties were found to be melamine free. This recall is being initiated in conjunction with the Hong Kong authorities", Heinz said in a statement.
""No other Heinz products are affected and Heinz wishes to assure consumers of the safety of its products".
"Hong Kong supermarkets ParknShop and Wellcome also removed the popular biscuit brand Koala Cookies, produced by Lotte, from shelves after tests showed some contained large amounts of melamine.
Taiwan
"Meanwhile, Pizza Hut in Taiwan has pulled grated cheese from its outlets also after melamine discovery.
"The company said the grated cheese contained 30 times the permitted level of the chemical, at 76 ppm.
I"t estimated that about 130 kg have already been distributed by the143 Pizza Hut outlets in Taiwan.
"Pick Food & Machinery Corporation, which makes the product, reportedly said thatt the creamer came from a Malaysian company and the cheese from New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra. However, the company is waiting for tests results that will determine which ingredients were contaminated.
Indonesia
"In Indonesia, the government ordered food retailers to pull 28 products from their shelves because they may contain tainted Chinese milk.
"The list is understood to include products such as Oreo cookies and M&M chocolate candies.
"In response, PT Mars Foods Indonesia Friday, the maker of M&M chocolate candies for Indonesia, said it is confident that its China-made products sold in the country do not contain the industrial chemical melamine.
"A company spokesperson reportedly said that Mars China does not source any milk powder or other ingredients for any of its products from any company found to have sold melamine-contaminated dairy products.
Philippines
"In the Philippines, meanwhile, authorities are checking Chinese flour for melamine as the country is fearing a possible contamination of the chemical in bread, noodles and cakes, which are popular products in the Philippines.
Japan
"In Japan, Marudai Food said it had found melamine in one of its products, after earlier issuing a recall as a precaution.
The company recalled more than 300,000 buns and other products last week fearing contamination.
Vietnam
"Meanwhile, Vinamilk, the country's leading dairy processor, distanced itself from suspicion after announcing that melamine had not been found in its product samples."
cross posting from Melamine in Milk Science Blog:
http://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/melamine-in-milk.html
Quote
Jay said,
September 26, 2008 at 4:01 pm
http://www.inchem.org/documents/sids/sids/108781.pdf
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/melamra.html (discussing animal feed imported from China which was contaminated with melamine)
Excerpt from the SIDS report:
4.3 Initial Assessment for Human Health
Sufficient data on the exposure and the effects are available to perform an initial risk assessment of melamine.
The lowest No-Observed Effect Level (NOEL) from the different toxicity studies is 63 mg.kg-1.d-1. The NOEL for the carcinogenicity study was higher (ca. 126 mg.kg-1.d-1), a threshold for bladder stones and therefore for tumours at 126 mg.kg-1.d-1 is likely to exist so that the margin of safety for the critical property "carcinogenicity" is even higher by a factor of 2 than that calculated in the next sections from the general toxicity of melamine.
4.3.1 Occupational risk
Inhalation and dermal contact of dust are considered to be the main routes of intake of melamine.
OECD SIDS MELAMINE
130 UNEP Publications
The NOEL of 63 mg.kg-1.d-1 is 210 times higher than the estimated overall human exposure (EHE)of 0.3 mg.kg-1.d-1 (see section 4.1.2). A margin of safety (MOS) = NOEL/EHE is calculated:
MOSworker = 210.
MOSworker,carcinogenicity = 420.
Other possible effects, i.e. irritation to the skin and eye, sensitisation, mutagenicity and
teratogenicity do not present a relevant risk.
It is concluded that workers are of low risk.
4.3.2 Consumer risk
An overall human exposure of 0.01 mg.kg-1.d-1 , see section 4.1.3 was estimated.
MOSconsumer = 6000.
MOSconsumer,carcinogenicity = 12000.
Other possible effects, i.e. irritation to the skin and eye, sensitisation, mutagenicity and
teratogenicity do not present a relevant risk.
It is concluded that consumers are of low risk.
————-
If 2565 ppm (=mg/kg) was found in milk (as entered by eugene on Sept. 20), then a 5% solution (128 ppm) made up to 240 mL, and fed daily to a 7 kg child, still gives exposure of 4. 39 mg/kg-day. This is about tenfold less than the No Observed Effect Concentration of 63 mg/kg-day cited above.
2565 x 0.05 x 0.24 / 7
Add this to the fact that circulating levels of anything given to an infant are likely to remain higher because for the first few months, since the excretory system of a baby isn't efficient, and you have a scenario for repeated-dose toxicity.
Anyone who has mentioned LD50 being low for melamine should understand that acute toxicity is not at all the same as repeated-dose toxicity. An LD50 is a acute, one-time high dose, followed by 14 days of observation. This is not applicable here. The melamine was administered in repeated doses, and the amount required to cause an effect is lower when there is chronic or subchronic exposure. The LD50 cannot be converted to a value that reflects per diem toxicity. That is why the NOEL for melamine is 63 mg/kg-day, but the LD50 is ca. 3000 mg/kg.
David Bradley said,
September 26, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Thanks for the data Jay
> Anyone who has mentioned LD50 being low for melamine should understand that acute toxicity > is not at all the same as repeated-dose toxicity. An LD50 is a acute, one-time high dose, followed > by 14 days of observation.
This is exactly what I was getting at in an earlier post. Acute exposure is irrelevant when compared to chronic low dose exposure.
Can anyone find any source of information at what level, bottom of the scale, that our FDA that
can't find the melamine in anything is testing down to?
As a word of personal caution, based only on the speculation that its product Cha Cha Desert has
been recalled in many countries, I would mention for your consideration that Nissan Food Products
of Japan, a highly respected manufacturer, also makes Top Ramen products, and therefore you
may wish to consider that one of their products indicates Chinese contaminated ingredients
from milk powders and may wish to exercise caution with regard to its possible vegetable protein sources.
http://www.nissinfoods.com/company/about.php
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7012390177
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/japanese-firms-drop-china-suppliers/story.aspx?guid=%7BE3E343D5-4067-4386-A5F0-FFA42E776637%7D&dist=msr_2
Quote"Hong Kong's government said the contaminated baby vegetable formula cereal are made by Heinz. It also says melamine was found in the steamed potato wasabi crackers produced by Silang House. Both were made in China, it said."
I wonder if the FDA is checking these crackers and such. This is something that is widely available here. I can even get it at the health food store in the big bins as a mix on it's own or in trail snack mixes. Then there's the little bowls at restaurants . . .
I wonder if the FDA is aware of how many products contain protein concentrates? Remember, canned broth had wheat gluten in it . . . .
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20080926-163126/BFAD-names-54-Chinese-milk-products-for-testing
By Edson C. Tandoc Jr. Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 20:20:00 09/26/2008
MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE) The Bureau of Food and Drugs on Friday finally released a partial list of 54 milk and milk-based products from China which it said would be subject to testing, a day after it issued an order temporarily banning such products coming from the Chinese mainland.
The list also included products which the BFAD said were manufactured outside China but possibly had milk ingredients sourced from China.
The following is the partial list of milk and other milk products collected by BFAD for testing for the presence of Melamine as of Sept. 26, 2008:
1. Anchor Lite Milk (product of Fonterra?)
2. Anchor Warm Frootmilk Drink Mango Magic
3. Anchor Wam Frootmilk Orange Chill
4. Anchor Wam Frootmilk Strawberry Spin
5. Anlene Milk
6. Anmum Materna 180g
7. Anmum Materna Chocolate
8. Dutch Lady Pure Milk
9. Farmland Skim Milk
10. Greenfood Yili Pure Milk
11. Jinwei Drink
12. Jollycow Pure Fresh Milk
13. Jollycow Slender Lowfat Milk
14. KLIM Instant Full Cream Milk Powder (1.8 kg)
15. M&M Chocolate brown 40 gm
16. Meiji Hokkaido Azuki (red bean ice cream)
17. Meiji Ujikintoki (red bean and green tea frozen confection)
18. Mengniu Original Drink Milk
19. Mengniu Pure Milk
20. Milk Chocolate Bars/China
21. Milk Chocolate Candies/China
22. Milkboy repacked
23. Monmilk Breakfast Milk Walnut Milk Beverage
24. Monmilk High Calcium Low Fat Milk
25. Monmilk High Calcium Milk
26. Monmilk Milk Deluxe Pure Milk
27. Monmilk Pure Milk
28. Monmilk Suan Suan Ru Sour Milk Beverage (Mango Flavor)
29. Natural Choice Milk Ice Bar
30. Nespray
31. Nestlé Carnation Calcium Plus Non Fat Milk Powder (1.6 kg)
32. Nestlé Chocolate flavor Ice Cream Cone
33. Nestlé Dairy Farm Pure Milk
34. Nestlé Vanilla Flavor Ice Cream Cone
35. Nutri-Express Milk
36. Nutri-Express 15 Nutritional elements (blue, red and orange label and cap)
37. Nutri-Express Milk Green Apple
38. Prime Roast cereals 28g
39. Pura Fresh Milk
40. Snickers brown 59gm
41. Strawberry Sorbet
42. Trappist Dairy Low Fat yogurt drink
43. Vita Fresh Milk
44. Wahaha Orange
45. Wahaha Yellow
46. Want Want MIlk Drink
47. Yili High Calcium 250ml
48. Yill HIgh Calcium Milk 1L
49. Yili High Calcium Low fat milk Beverage
50. Yili Lowfat Milk 1L
51. Yili Milk
52. Yili Puremilk 250ml
53. Yili Puremilk 1L
54. Yinlu Milk Peanut
3 cat--Anchor is a Fonterra brand--read something the other day that mentioned Anchor butter is a UK Fonterra brand.
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/china/korea-melamine-imported-china-4811.html
Epoch Times September 26, 2008
Korea Finds Melamine in Snacks Imported From China
"China's tainted milk products have spread to Korea. The Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) said September 24, that it had found melamine in two domestically-distributed snack foods imported from China.
"According to a report by South Korea's Yonhap News Agency on September 25, Misarang Custard, a snack made by Jianianhua International Company in China's Tianjin on an OEM deal with South Korea's Haitai Confectionery and Foods Company, tested positive for 137 parts per million of melamine. Milk Rusk, another snack made in Hong Kong, tested positive for 7 parts per million of melamine.
"The detection of more than 100 parts per million of melamine means that consumers can ingest large quantities of melamine from dairy-based processed foods, in addition to from milk or powdered milk. Initially, China's powdered milk tested positive at several dozen parts per million and up to several hundred parts per million of melamine.
"However, Haitai Confectionery and Foods Company said they were puzzled by the test results, because their product that tested positive by the KFDA was made with raw materials provided by a Chinese dairy company which is not among the 22 dairy companies producing tainted baby formula as announced by Chinese authority.
"The test results indicated that melamine could exist in products from other dairy companies that are not on the 22 dairy companies list.
"The KFDA announced that it will conduct tests on 4,600 tons of 615 kinds of snacks and chocolates containing milk ingredients imported from China."
So from these results, there seem to be more than the 22 dairies on the list whose products are contaminated with melamine.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/26/asia/AS-Japan-Tainted-Milk.php
Japan ups food import inspection amid milk scareThe Associated PressPublished: September 26, 2008
TOKYO: A major Japanese food manufacturer has found traces of an industrial chemical in some of its products that were made in China, as a food safety scare centered on tainted milk continued to spread, health officials said Friday.
The news came as Japan added food products from 12 Asian countries and territories with a record of importing milk products from China to a watch list for special inspections.
The ministry said earlier Friday that it had suspended imports of milk and milk products from China, and had singled out products from 12 other countries and territories for close inspection. The move was meant to prevent tainted products from entering the country, ministry official Yoshiya Nishimura said.
Powdered milk contaminated with melamine has been blamed in the illnesses of some 54,000 children and the deaths of four infants in China.
The countries and territories targeted for close scrutiny — South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Singapore, Myanmar, Taiwan and Hong Kong — have imported milk and milk products from China, though they have now suspended the imports or taken other safety measures, Nishimura said.
The ministry will pay special attention to imported milk, butter and cheese, as well as processed foods using dairy ingredients such as cookies, candies, dairy products and other foods, Nishimura said.
Friday, September 26: So now we have geometric growth. Japan has added 12 - 11 countries to its watch list saying it believes they all import
Chinese ingredients. Anchor milk is a Fonterra brand from NZ (thank you, menusux) So now the US needs to start inspecting possible products from China, these 12 - 11 countries/territories, New Zealand, and Japan. I hope the FDA is compiling this ever growing list. P.S. - I don't know why Singapore is listed twice.
Consumer Group Calls for U.S. Ban on Chinese Milk Products
Food & Water Watch Demands FDA Close Borders Until Situation is Under Control
http://tinyurl.com/5ysv8x
"It is now clear that China has exported dairy products like powdered milk and milk protein products around the globe and we know that some of them came to the United States, " said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Watch.
"According to USDA figures, this year the United States has imported 2 million pounds of a milk protein called casein and other powdered milk proteins that are used as ingredients in many processed foods. This includes 293,000 pounds that were imported in July, when some Chinese authorities were aware of the contamination of dairy products with melamine.
Sign petition online here:
http://tinyurl.com/3j2eq9
what about the foods that are already processed with this and other poo poo?! Let's just ban imports from China (and a couple other places) until they can inspect everything coming in from those countries. And not at the expense of other inspections. I think it's quite clear that China doesn't give a crap if it poison's the whole world.
Many thanks to everyone who's staying on top of this.
What's posted here just makes me sick.
5CatMom
=^..^=
In view of the mounting evidence that Chinese milk powders entered the global village trade supply after these
adulterations began in December 2007, and the fact that there is no adequate traceability food ingredient system
in place around the globe, it does seem rather absurd for the FDA to continue to maintain, given its limited ability
to do food inspections and testing, that because the few inspections it can do are not finding melamine, for whatever
reasons, none of this affects multiple finished food products in the US. That just doesn't seem to make common
sense. I mean about 97 percent of the food imports are not inspected. It's time for the FDA to reset its chromatographs
and admit it may not know.
Cross-posted from Sandi K, again on a Friday, after 5 o'clock:
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/white-rabbit-candy-from-us-being-recalled-melamine-t6390.0.html
QFCO, Inc. Recalls White Rabbit Candy Because of Possible Health Risk in US
The White Rabbit Creamy Candy is sold in 8 or 16 oz packages. All other flavors of White Rabbit Candy, including Assorted (Chocolate, Coconut, and Coffee), Red Bean, Coffee, Co5n, Lychee, Mango and Strawberry are sold in 7 oz. packages. All packaging has a logo of a white rabbit on the front with the words "White Rabbit".
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/china/chinese-communist-party-china-melamine-dairy-4806.html
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has released misleading information about the safety of melamine, the poison responsible for contaminated milk and deaths of infants in China.
Investigations into CCP-run news Web sites by The Epoch Times have revealed statements claiming that milk containing melamine is safe to drink.
To me this is so evil and morally repugnant that I'm speechless.
The FDA's same old knee-jerk reaction "we have no evidence ..." is soooooo tiresome. Maybe they should do some testing instead of asking importers if products are safe.
If other countries are finding melamine, the FDA should be finding it too.
5CatMom
=^..^=
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=130896
"Because of the threat of additional contamination he ordered FDA officials on high alert and banned the import of the category of toffee candies for the time being. Testing of toffee samples in the market is being done to determine whether it can be safely consumed.
As for the infant formula milk powders that are available in Thailand's markets, the FDA chief said he was confident that the products were free of melamine as most of the products were produced from raw materials imported from New Zealand and European countries.
However, dairy product for adults -- including yogurt -- may use milk powder from China, but less than 10 per cent, he said, which could pose minimal risk."
Who the heck is FDA Secretary-General Chatree Banchuen?
5CatMom
=^..^=
According to a fast google, FDA Secretary-General Chatree Banchuen is a high and soon to be retired
official in Thailand's Food and Drug Administration.
How insane is the US to have as its third largest trading partner a country whose government lies to its citizens
and advises them to continue using products that have sicked and killed their infants and children? Heaven help
the Chinese people. Sorry, I'm still stuck on the news spin report about the Chinese Communist Party.
Have been looking forward to getting my new glasses, because small print is hard to read. I'm into labels if it isn't something like a fruit or veggie, and even then I hope to know where it was grown. Never mind the labels. I am getting to the point of not wanting to eat anything that isn't fresh right from the source. Look on the bright side...perhaps I will lose weight!
This "thing" w/ China and all the sickened babies, probably adults, too, but they (or we ourselves) just don't know it yet is abhorrent. Coming right on the heels of the same issues that existed in dog and cat food last year it is totally un%^&*ing believable. Think of all the products in even our most common grocery stores that might look quite remote from being tainted but possibly are not. Think how long this may have been going on before the word began leaking out. Parents in remote areas of China are hardly in the habit of running to a pediatrician or immedicate care clinic as most families do here in the US at the first sign of trouble.
Also, it brings us right back around to the question we asked before. What will they do w/ the products if and when they are pulled from the shelves? I think I might know the answer to that. Uh-oh.
straybaby I surely hope your words don't come back to haunt us all one day - I think its quite clear that China doesn't give a crap if it poison's the whole world -
Reading this thread reminded me to check the FDA OASIS refusal report for August - another sure fire appetite suppressant for those of us who crave night nibbles! Canada tried to send us 130 shipments of cucumbers with pesticide and Mexico attempted to send 290 shipments of fresh basil laced with salmonella, but the real eye opener was under "US" - two rejects attributed to Land O Lakes out of PA. Milk spray whole powder - "poisonous" and milk powder - "bacteria." Nice that they caught it at the port, but sure doesn't explain where else it went!
http://cherryhill.injuryboard.com/toxic-substances/melamine-making-the-fda-crack-down-on-food-at-us-ports.aspx?googleid=247964
"To help put banning regulations in place and keep tainted products out of the US food supply, the FDA has proposed a rule to put an end a practice called "port shopping." "
LOL, proposed a rule? >:( We'll all be dead from this cwrap by the time the FDA gets off their butts.
The following article mentions baking mixes. We need to be careful with all prepared foodstuffs, IMHO.
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-closer29-2008sep29,0,7989735.story
As always, the Marler blog has some good info, too:
http://www.marlerblog.com/
Voice of America reports that WHO learned about the tainted milk on September 11th:
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-09-26-voa45.cfm
5CatMom
=^..^=
Remember, 5cat, you can't find what you don't look for!!
>:( >:( >:(
So right, Catmom.
When those melimine dip sticks are available (in about 8 weeks), there'll be lots of testing going on ;D.
Just hope that they will be available to consumers, and affordable.
5CatMom
=^..^=
5CatMom - it wouldn't surprise me if the FDA comes out and says they don't work. CPSC said that about the lead testing kits that painters have been using successfully for years.
Arlo,
That's exactly what I expect to hear. Either that, or the FDA finds a way to make the sale of them illegal.
PS Did you see my thread about the test kits that are available? Know anyone who could perform the tests?
http://itchmoforums.com/pet-food-testing/melamine-test-kit-available-t6377.0.html;msg88936#msg88936
5CatMom
=^..^=
I really want to buy them as soon as they come out. I have space on my credit card reserved for pet emergencies. If the sale ends up restricted, maybe I can buy them on my personal card, but list all the school info. Yes, I know that's deception, but if it takes that to buy them, I will deceive.
Arlo,
There is a test kit already available. It costs $600, and requires some basic lab equipment. Several folks have offered to chip in on the purchase of the kit, but we need someone with access to a lab.
Do you know of anyone who has access to a lab, and who would be willing to run the test?
AgraQuant® Melamine ELISA Test Kit
http://www.romerlabs.com/pdts_kits.html
LOL, that sounds like strategy - not deception!
5CatMom
=^..^=
I want to check with the company to find out what instrumentation they support for the test kit. Usually, the package insert list instructions for several different systems they did studies on. I do have some contacts. Lab students get placed at local hospitals, vet tech students at local clinics, even the school has an older system. I'll ask the company to e-mail me a PDF of the supporting documentation and see where I can go from there.
Oh, Arlo! Yes, please do that.
There's a distributor in Union, MO. They will email the method to you. I won't post it 'cause it was part of a confidential email, but it's very straightforward, I believe.
5CatMom
=^..^=
Thank you, 5CatMom. Will check it out. Most of the vet tech/lab tech students are young women. They certainly care about the children and the animals. Many have both. I will have to go through the student center to keep this as a voluntary project, and separate from the school, but I think I'll get some volunteers.
(I don't see the above as gender bias. Both those occupations are 98+% female.)
;D ;D ;D
Thanks, Arlo.
5CatMom
=^..^=
I would love to add this to the chemistry curriculum as part of food science, but that probably wouldn't happen until next year. I would like to get something going a little more quickly.
Anyway, thanks, 5CatMom! Great idea you came up with! ;D
;D
Dear Arlo,
Thank you, too.
5CatMom
=^..^=
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/123486/HK-finds-melamine-in-Chinese-made-milk-tablets
GMAN News (Philippines) September 27, 2008
HK finds melamine in Chinese-made milk tablets
"Hong Kong authorities say Chinese-made milk tablets have been found to contain traces of the industrial chemical melamine.
"The Center for Food Safety said late Saturday that milk tablets produced by Inner Mongolia Li Cheng Industrial Ltd. in China were tainted with the chemical."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/26/AR2008092603451.html
Washington Post September 28, 2008
Beyond the milk scare, a frightening silence.
This blog post by a leading Chinese intellectual illustrates how much the scandal has dismayed many of her countrymen.
From Bill Mahler, food poisoning lawyer (thanks, 5CatMom):
http://www.marlerblog.com/
With over 50,000 sickened, the companies responsible for selling this crap would face civil settlements and verdicts in the 100's of millions of dollars if this product hits a country with a functioning judicial system. If they knowingly sold contaminated product and covered it up, the companies could face punitive damages into the billions. Unless Chinese companies clean up thier act, they are clearly going to loose market share and require a hell of a lot of insurance
What do you mean if it hits a country with a functioning judicial system, Mr. Mahler? :
http://www.canada.com:80/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=eb509f31-c911-4feb-b965-75b539a24a27
Reliable labels?
Surprisingly, 'Made in Canada' can also mean 'includes food sourced from other countries,' but consumers won't find the country of
origin on the label even after law changes at the end of this year
Joanne Lee-Young, Vancouver Sun Published: Saturday, September 27, 2008
That "Made in Canada" label that is supposed to put you at ease about what you eat or feed your family can easily mask imported ingredients. In fact, as long as the value added to a product in Canada is more than 51 per cent, it can be declared "Made in Canada."
Or, as Mel Fruitman, vice-president of the Consumers' Association of Canada, puts it: "If you take 10 cents of apple juice from China and put it in an 11-cent can in Canada, you can label it 'Made in Canada.'"
New federal legislation that takes effect at the end of the year will require that such a label would have to state "Made in Canada with imported ingredients."
But, despite a rash of China-related safety concerns in the past year, from dog food to baby food, the new law will not require naming the countries of origin of imported ingredients.
Given that "Made in the USA" or "Product of the USA" pretty generally means the same thing (see the Real logo discussion earlier in this thread), I do believe it's here.
Very early in this thread, a poster (purringfur, Reply 317, page 22) suggested that we start trying to list "silent recalls" by US manufacturers. I may have found two. So I'm starting a separate thread to list only milk product foods or foods that contain dry milk powders that you've noticed sudden shortages of. Will be back in a minute to cross-post link ... Neither the FDA or US multinational manufacturers are being very forthcoming here. Instead of waiting for delayed announcements and all the evidence to be consumed, as most of us did in the 2007 pet food recalls, let's all list sudden shortages of suspicious products and attempt to save samples and evidence of purchase NOW.
Cross-posting Canadian and US product shortage thread:
http://itchmoforums.com/off-topic-no-politics/chinese-baby-formula-milk-possible-us-products-being-silently-recalled-t6393.0.html;new
September 27, 2008 Two more food samples tested positive for melamine in Hong Kong:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/27/content_10120098.htm
5CatMom
=^..^=
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4708639a11.html
Stuff.co.nz/Sunday Star Times September 28, 2008
Leaked memo alleges poisoned babies scandal 'cover-up'
"
Dairy company Sanlu allegedly cut a $640,000 deal to cover up negative reports about poisoned babies more than a week after Fonterra was alerted to the melamine contamination crisis, according to a leaked memo.
"Carried on Chinese weblogs, the memo, purportedly from Sanlu's PR company, notes growing numbers of damaging references to the company, which is 43% owned by Fonterra, in connection to infant kidney failures, and lays out strategies for addressing the issue. These included silencing victims, and paying off Baidu, China's largest internet search engine, to remove negative references from its web searches.
"The memo recommended Sanlu "do anything to pacify victims, and accept all they want to keep them silent for at least two years".
"The memo also said a "PR protection" deal had been negotiated with Baidu, in which Sanlu agreed to buy $640,000 of advertising with the search engine, in return for having negative stories blocked from search results."The memo is dated August 11, nine days after Fonterra was alerted to contamination of Sanlu's popular infant formula with melamine, a chemical used in the manufacture of plastics and glue.
Fonterra says it pushed for a public recall as soon as it learned of the issue, but this was blocked by the board and local authorities, who opted to recall the product without alerting consumers. Fonterra believed local authorities had reported the matter to central authorities in Beijing, according to chief executive Andrew Ferrier, who said last week he was "shocked" by reports this had not happened until New Zealand embassy staff intervened on September 9.
"Fonterra spokesman Graeme McMillan said the New Zealand dairy giant knew nothing of any public relations strategies devised to cover up the scandal. "It was never discussed at the Sanlu board or with any of the Fonterra related staff interacting with Sanlu," he said. "The board were totally unaware of it."
"Fonterra - whose ties to Sanlu extended to a handful of technicians and three directors, only one of whom spoke Mandarin - has been criticised for a lack of oversight of its $200m investment in the disgraced company, which allowed it to remain oblivious to the contamination issue for so long. Sanlu began receiving complaints from the parents of sick children in December, but did not begin testing its products until June; Fonterra learned of the problem only in August.
"
The memo first appeared on September 12, allegedly leaked by a Sanlu staff member. Chinese news reports quote Baidu as denying any agreement with Sanlu as described in the memo.
"Beijing media reports say Sanlu may be sold to a competitor and the parent company, of which Fonterra owns 43%, forced into bankruptcy. Fonterra chief financial officer Guy Cowan dismissed the reports as speculation.
"
In another development yesterday, there are reports lactoferrin has also been contaminated with melamine. Only three New Zealand dairy companies produce lactoferrin - a milk protein used in sports drinks, infant formula and capsules."The Food Safety Authority has ruled out deliberate adulteration, and says the contamination did not present any health risk."
We have links to some of the allegations here:
Quote from: menusux on September 19, 2008, 11:03:31 AM
These are a couple of interesting links from China, written in English. They deal with what appears to be a Chinese internet search engine/portal, Baidu, and a letter said to have been sent to Sanlu by a public relations firm, Teller. It's said that the letter offers to "manage" negative Sanlu Baidu search engine results for a price.
http://www.chinasmack.com/stories/kidney-stone-gate-baidu-denies-censoring-search-results/
http://www.chinasmack.com/stories/kidney-stone-gate-fake-baby-milk-powder-sanlu-baidu/
This link also deals with that but when you scroll down further, you will see translated reports made to the Chinese government about adulteration happening in a Sanlu milk collection center before the recall.
"Chinese netizens quickly discovered that...
"Someone complained to the government before, but nothing was done:
"[English Translation AQSIQ screen capture]
"Food Production Supervision Department Message Reply
"Relevant Department? [Food Production Supervision Department]
Inquiry Number? [20080707-2946-26530]
Reply Date? [2008-07-16]
"Q. Qinghe in Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province, we have a Sanlu milk collection point. Our boss is named Wei Dehua, and the milk he acquires from the milk farmers are all made at home with plant and animal fat, protein powder, maltose dextrin, and other fake ingredients. If not, it would not be enough to meet his milk target/quota. Then he adds some fake milk before sending it to Xuzhou City, Jiangsu province Sanlu for enormous profits. As a nationally famous brand, Sanlu actually sources this kind of milk without regard for consumers' health. This year is the Olympic year, if our foreign friends drink this kind of milk and problems appear, this will cause adverse effects for our country. Hopefully, our country's relevant departments can take care of this so it will not be like the fake milk powder incident that happened a few years ago. Sanlu is a big brand, how can it accept this kind of milk. Do not tell me there is no inspection department to inspect this?
"A. With regards to your question, we have transferred this matter to the the Jiangsu Provincial Quality Supervision Bureau for investigation, handling, and will also track the results of the investigation and handling."
Some of the replies to these blog posts contain some rough language, so click these links with that knowledge.
The Washington Post has as part of the story at this link, a claim from the Chinese internet search engine, Baidu, mentioned above that they were OFFERED a large payment from a certain giant milk producer to delete negative reports about the company--Baidu says it refused--
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/18/AR2008091803914.html?hpid=moreheadlines
Public Anger Over Milk Scandal Forces China's Hand
Washington Post September 19, 2008
"China's largest Internet search engine, Baidu, said that in the interest of "revealing the whole truth to all," it had rebuffed a half-million-dollar "public relations" payment from one of the mostly state-owned milk powder producers that had asked the online site to delete negative reports about it."
Posted 7 hours ago, this article show's who has banned/recalled what.
http://www.forbes.com/reuters/feeds/reuters/2008/09/27/2008-09-27T123805Z_01_B162168_RTRIDST_0_CHINA-MILK-RECALLS-FACTBOX.html
5CatMom
=^..^=
I would sure love to know what these products are and who imports them for what:
http://news.alibaba.com/article/detail/china/100008568-1-us-official-warns-china-learn.html
U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials have said there are no infant formulas on the U.S. market with Chinese ingredients. The U.S. does, however, import thousands of tons of dairy products from China.
Just on Friday, the FDA announced that some Chinese instant coffee and tea beverages that contain dairy ingredients and are sold in North America may be contaminated with melamine and are being recalled by the manufacturer.
The U.S. imported 4,162 tons of Chinese dairy products last year and 1,750 tons in the first seven months of 2008, according to data maintained by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said Friday that all Chinese food imports should be suspect because of the melamine contaminations.
Behind the Milk Scare, A Frightening Silence
Sunday, September 28, 2008; Page B05
However, my humanity has been hurt. The damage is immeasurable. Trapped in this kind of silence and not able to do anything about it, I feel bad about myself. I almost feel that I've become a pile of [dung], or a slave who only knows work but not how to speak. I chat and joke with people around me, but I am not able to talk about the biggest bewilderment on my mind.
To speak, or not to speak, this is the question. This is a question that is hard for our judgment. But what we've lost is the ability to make basic moral judgment.
-- Cui Weiping
Cui Weiping teaches at the Beijing Film Academy. This blog post was translated by theChina Digital Times
Cross-posted:
http://itchmoforums.com/off-topic-no-politics/editorials-chinas-milk-crisis-t6333.0.html;new
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/26/AR2008092603451.html
The US needs the government to show it still has basic moral judgement. There is no way to trace where these Chinese melamine contaminated milk
products have gone. Take no manufacturer's word as to the source of its ingredients, for none are trustworthy. Act decisively to ban the direct
source of adulteration and begin as fast as possible to test everything that may sicken or kill babies, infants, and all other American consumers.
3cats, from your article:
"What could I do after I heard something like this? Where could I go to report the problem? I can't think of any official in this vast country who would patiently listen to me and try to address the problem. Most officials would probably regard me as insane if I went to talk to them."
I had the same feeling calling politicians, FDA, USDA, and food manufacturers during the pet food poisoning, and now again. Still, they respond as though we are over-reacting or drawing some insane, tangential conclusion. You ask some customer service rep at Kraft where they get their milk protein concentrate and they are taken aback that you want to know. It's their proprietary secret, you have no right to that information. You're just feeding it to your kids, afterall....Trust them to abide by FDA standards, etc, when we know the real rate of import inspections. So then you ask the government where it all goes? Confidential? Call your Congress person--the person who answers the phone doesn't know what you are talking about--they'll make a note of it. So, you follow up with an email, does anyone even read it among all of the others? And all along, you have the sneaking suspicion that even if they know, they will try to hide it as long as they can get away with it.
That's why I think we have to do the testing ourselves.
And this from the article as well:
"Is there a devil who lives in our hearts and sneers at our actions all the time? His mission is to deprive us of the ability to respond, to smother our enthusiasm, and to paralyze our will to take action. I am caught in the same situation as my imaginary, impassive official. Both of us are controlled by a curse and have lost the ability to take appropriate action . . . "
QuoteStill, they respond as though we are over-reacting or drawing some insane, tangential conclusion.
DMS
Don't you know by now that we are all a bunch of over the top, lunatic fringe, crazy people.
Who by the way predicted this happening last year, when we saw what was happening and knew it was just a matter of time until the melamine made its way into the human food chain.
db
QuoteRep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said Friday that all Chinese food imports should be suspect because of the melamine contaminations.
Glad to see she's on top of this, and I agree with her.
I have my two children of the heart and three grandchildren, one of whom is severly compromised
by a birth defect and will be one year old on December 17. I am also a citizen of the US, not subject
to the control of the Chinese Communist Party. And I don't give a tinker's #@%& about the effects
of a ban on food imports from China on manufacturer's profits or free trade agreements in comparison
to the present threat to my famiy's health. There have already been three victims at my house of the 2007
recalls. It's just that unambiguous for me. China has a problem which the US cannot fix, but the US
government can stop it from coming into our country.
Quote from: menusux on September 27, 2008, 01:07:58 PM
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4708639a11.html
"In another development yesterday, there are reports lactoferrin has also been contaminated with melamine. Only three New Zealand dairy companies produce lactoferrin - a milk protein used in sports drinks, infant formula and capsules.
"The Food Safety Authority has ruled out deliberate adulteration, and says the contamination did not present any health risk."
So, how do they figure? How else was the lactoferrin contaminated?
I guess they are looking at cryomazine degradation or packaging leachate.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominionpost/4706140a6479.html
"but food safety officials have declined to name the product or its manufacturer."
Quotewhich no one has ever studied long term
that is the point, no one has but will they now??
or will this be the SOS, don't worry be happy
db
Sorry, db, I yanked my post about no one studying the long term effects of accumulated melamine
consumption because I'm starting to just rant and be unproductive. So I'm going take a break
and leave the posting to others who aren't just furious about this for a bit and can contribute
to the discussion with a cooler head.
3cat
take a break if you need one, but I personally don't believe you are ranting. You have posted links and have been quite level headed.
see you later
db
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on September 27, 2008, 05:12:28 PM
Sorry, db, I yanked my post about no one studying the long term effects of accumulated melamine
consumption because I'm starting to just rant and be unproductive. So I'm going take a break
and leave the posting to others who aren't just furious about this for a bit and can contribute
to the discussion with a cooler head.
I think you have reason to be furious. And you are definitely not alone in that feeling. I bet most of the world is beyond belief at this point.
Yes most of the average citizens in the world are furious,but are any of our goverments listening ? And if they are,do they care ? You can't get any lower than poisoning and killing babies. If thats not enough to ban all Chinese imports and force co's to stop using the "its proprietory" excuse,nothing ever will be.
http://itchmoforums.com/pet-food-testing/information-about-ways-to-test-for-melamine-t6399.0.html;msg89160#msg89160
Cross posting this from the PF Testing area--article has information about the testing methods for melamine.
3cat, your posts don't sound like out of control, repetitive rants at all but rather good information. I feel your same outrage. I look at locally made product labels and see "milk solids" and other ingredients that should come from our many somewhat local dairies...but do they and will I ever find where certain ingredients originated? Not in most cases and perhaps none as far as who to trust, anyway.
What still continues to surprise is the number of people around me who know nothing of melamine contamination in products in the US. They think it has all stayed in China! ???
Reading Wilkipedia I see the following:
"By early 2006, melamine production in mainland China is reported to be in "serious surplus".[49] In April 2007, DSM's melamine industry update painted a grave global picture.[50] Between 2002 and 2007, while the global melamine price remained stable, a steep increase in the price of urea (feedstock for melamine) has reduced the profitability of melamine manufacturing. Currently, China is the world's largest exporter of melamine, while its domestic consumption still grows by 10% per year. However, reduced profit has already caused other joint melamine ventures to be postponed there."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melamine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melamine)
So serious surplus in 2006 = bury melamine in animal feeds by late 2006 thru 2007 and by 2008 move to human foods?
Thinking since we have free trade and all, we need to find clever way to package our dog poo and litter box dumpings, put fancy label on this and bury it in products to sell to China? I wish! However, it is the Chinese businesses and government that is to blame and not the average citizens themselves. They are as much the victim as we are and moreso in some cases.
There is an election coming up. People we will return to Washington or send for their first term need to respond to our questions and requests for a safe food supply. This should be the very time they will listen and respond if ever there is one.
3cat your definetly not alone in your outrage at what is happening. The lack of response from any agencies here to enact stronger laws to ban adulterated foodstuffs from any country at once make it seem like we think its perfectly fine to do this but like db said this would come back in another form since they couldn't dump it into the pet food any longer.
Always appreciate your posts so please take your break but don't make it too long of a one, take care.
Sorry to leave the impression I was quitting. I'm not. Just had to join Offy in running around the
room screaming and banging my head against the wall until I could calm down. To quit would
place us in the same position as all the Chinese victims who can't speak because of their
government, and we have to keep speaking on behalf of the Chinese children and children
everywhere in the global trade village.
This is not good news from the Phillipines, the only government so far willing to be transparent and
name names:
http://www.gmanews.tv:80/story/123486/4-milk-brands-delisted-BFAD-says-products-not-from-China
4 milk brands delisted; BFAD says products not from China
09/27/2008 | 09:26 PM
MANILA, Philippines - Four milk brands were removed Saturday from the list of milk products that would be subjected to laboratory tests
by the Bureau of Food and Drugs after the agency learned that the dairy products did not come from China.
Fonterra, the company that supplies Anchor Lite Milk, Anlene Milk Low Fat, Anmum Materna and Anmum Materna Chocolate in the Philippines, clarified to BFAD that its products were made in New Zealand.
The company was a former part owner of China's San Lu Group, the company that produced the melamine-contaminated milk.
"[So we] clarified [the matter] with BFAD today (Saturday) and [we] provided evidence that Anchor, Anlene, Anmum all came from New Zealand," said Alan Fitzmmon, regional director of Fonterra.
Leticia Barbara Gutierrez, head of BFAD, said that the agency reviewed Fonterra's evidence.
"Then we found out they were manufactured in New Zealand, so we have to delete them from the list," she said.
The Philippines has banned all milk imports from China as a precaution against the spread of melamine-contaminated baby formula that has sickened more than 53,000 Chinese, mostly infants.
Last Tuesday, Gutierrez said that a temporary ban on importation, distribution and sale of infant formula and milk products has been imposed. She said her office has no record of baby formula imports from China, but advises consumers not to buy infant milk that may have entered the countryfrom China illegally.
Officials nationwide have been urged to investigate whether baby formula and milk products made in China may have been smuggled into the country.
BFAD on Friday released the names of more than 50 milk brands and milk-based products that would be tested for possible melamine contamination.
In a radio interview, Gutierrez said the list that they have come out so far is still partial.
She said some more brands will be named in the next few days.
In another development, Hong Kong authorities said Chinese-made milk tablets have been found to contain traces of the industrial chemical melamine.The Center for Food Safety said late Saturday that milk tablets produced by Inner Mongolia Li Cheng Industrial Ltd. in China were tainted with the chemical.
The center also found melamine in three Chinese-made cookie samples produced by Japan's Lotte China Foods Co.
On Thursday, Macau's Health Bureau also found that melamine in the Koala's March brand cookies made by Lotte was 24 times the safe limit. - GMANews.TV with a report from AP
So Fonterra New Zealand pressures a sovereign government into not testing its products with most likely cherry-picked test results
that manufacturers are so good at producing when they have to to our US FDA and food safety authorities around the entire world, instead of governments everywhere doing what they should do, which is testing products randomly off the grocery shelf that citizens actually consume no matter where the product is manufactured or by whom. There is no international ingredients tracing system
in place that can tell any country in the world where all this melamine contaminated product has gone. No ethical food manufacturer
anywhere in the entire world would be afraid to have its products tested independently by international food safety authorities of
all nations if it wasn't worried that its products just might fail these melamine tests.
QuoteShe said her office has no record of baby formula imports from China, but advises consumers not to buy infant milk that may have entered the country from China illegally.
Officials nationwide have been urged to investigate whether baby formula and milk products made in China may have been smuggled into the country.
What about the ingredients?
Saturday, September 27, 2008:
Reply 509, page 34, 5CatMom (thank you)
Corrected Forbes address. Sorry, left the "l" off "html":
http://www.forbes.com/reuters/feeds/reuters/2008/09/27/2008-09-27T123805Z_01_B162168_RTRIDST_0_CHINA-MILK-RECALLS-FACTBOX.html
IMPORT BANS:
* BANGLADESH: -- Three Chinese powdered milk brands, Sanlu, Suncare and Yashili, banned. Melamine tests to be introduced on
all milk powder imports at Bangladeshi seaports.
* BENIN: -- Bans powered milk products from China.
* BHUTAN: -- Bhutan has banned Chinese milk imports, ranging from chocolates, sweets and cakes to milk tablets.
* BRUNEI: -- All Chinese milk products banned by Health Ministry, even though Brunei does not directly import dairy products from China.
* BURUNDI: -- Banned import, sale of Chinese milk products.
* COLOMBIA: -- Banned import of China-made powdered milk.
* CAMEROON: -- Suspends import and sale of fresh and powdered milk from China.
* EUROPEAN UNION: --
The 27-nation bloc banned baby food containing Chinese milk.
* FRANCE: -- Banned all food items containing Chinese milk as precautionary move.
* GABON: -- Introduced ban at same time as Burundi.
* GHANA: -- Food and Drug Board suspended imports of all milk and milk-based products made in China.
* INDIA: -- Banned import of milk and milk products from China for three months.
* INDONESIA: -- Banned imports of China dairy products.
* IVORY COAST: -- Banned imports of milk products from China.
* MALAYSIA: -- Banned all Chinese milk imports, as well as chocolates, sweets and other foods containing milk.
* MALDIVES: -- Banned Chinese milk products to protect its population of 300,000.
* NEPAL: -- Banned all China milk and milk-based food products as a precautionary measure.
* PAPUA NEW GUINEA: -- Banned China-made milk products.
* PHILIPPINES: -- Banned import and sale of milk products from China, pending investigation of possible contamination.
* SINGAPORE: -- Banned the import and sale of milk products from China on Sept 19 after finding melamine in two China-made
products -- "Dutch Lady" strawberry flavoured milk, and "Yili Brand" dairy fruit bar yoghurt flavoured ice confection.
White Rabbit Creamy Candy pulled from shelves after being found to be contaminated with melamine.
* SOUTH KOREA: -- Banned China-made foods containing powdered milk after imported biscuits test positive for melamine.
* SURINAME: -- Banned milk and dairy products from China, is stepping up inspections on food imported from Southeast Asia.
* TAIWAN: -- All China-made dairy products banned, a milk testing station set up for consumers in Taipei.
* TANZANIA: -- Suspended all China dairy imports, and seized 34 tonnes of China-made milk powder.
* TOGO: -- Suspended import, distribution and sale of all Chinese-origin milk products.
* VIETNAM: -- Banned China milk products. Health officials warned such products may have been sold in remote areas
in the impoverished central region.
51 nations where consumer food safety appears to come first pending further investigation and food safety controls
Edited to add on Monday, September 29, 2008: *MYANMAR and *LAOS (see reply 556, page 38)
Edited to add on Wednesday, October 1, 2008: *UGANDA (see Reply 619, page 41)
Got an email this morning from a friend in Taiwan. She says the situation is much worse than what is being reported.
Apparently, a food company in Japan, and another in Korea was using tainted milk. I'll try to find a news link for what my friend says.
5CatMom
=^..^=
Keep all info flowing in, 5Cat! 3Cat's list was excellent. I went to the Forbes link and evidently they'd moved the story already. Will go back and do a search on Forbes.
I'd like to see more about what USA is doing as far as insuring safety of products on shelves and what is being imported now, where ingredients in our packaged food comes from. We occasionally indulge in sorbet, very occasionally, but it contains questionable ingredients. Packaged cereals. Yogurt. Cottage cheese. Had EggBeater omlets just Friday. Wondered if that was wise. Ate tiny piece of friend's daughter's 16th birthday cake. Chocolate. Chocolate icing. Served in restaurant. Getting where I look cross-eyed at everything we're eating! Then there's Jake-the-Pup. He likes various flavors of Darford biscuits. They've been safe, so far, but now with latest news have to give fresh look at some of the things still common in our household.
Apologies if these have been posted earlier. I did search the thread for WHO and EFSA:
http://www.who.int/foodsafety/fs_management/Melamine.pdf
World Health Organization
Melamine and Cyanuric acid:
Toxicity, Preliminary Risk Assessment and Guidance on Levels in Food
25 September 2008
In 2007 there was a large outbreak of renal failure in cats and dogs in the USA associated with ingestion of pet food found to contain melamine and cyanuric acid. The melamine was added deliberately to one of the ingredients. Melamine alone is of low toxicity, however experimental studies have shown that combination with cyanuric acid leads to crystal formation and subsequent kidney toxicity. It is not known whether the cyanuric acid was also added deliberately or whether it was a by-product of the melamine preparation added. Analysis of the contaminated ingredient (gluten) responsible for this outbreak revealed the following triazine compounds: melamine 8.4%, cyanuric acid 5.3%, ammelide 2.3%, ammeline 1.7%, ureidomelamine and methylmelamine both <1% (Dobson et al 2008) ...
This preliminary guidance is proposed as a first pragmatic approach until more data become available that allow a more detailed assessment. It has to be noted that currently there are large uncertainties involved in the assessment which preclude a more detailed guidance and emphasize the need for more data ...
Outside the current food safety incident consumer exposure to melamine is considered to be low. Besides low levels of residues as consequence of cyromazine metabolism it may occur through the extraction of melamine from compression moulds by acidic foods, such as lemon or orange juice or curdled milk, at high temperature. Taking into account these sources the estimated oral uptake of melamine is around 0.007 mg melamine/kg body weight/day (OECD 1998). ...
Considering a TDI of 0.5 mg/kg body weight, this would lead for a 50kg person to a tolerable amount of 25 mg melamine per day. Assuming this person would drink one litre of milk per day, this would indicate that the TDI would be reached at a level of 25 mg melamine per litre of milk. This level then would be considered as the 'level of concern'.
Considering a 5kg infant, the tolerable amount of melamine would be 2.5 mg per day. This amount would be reached when consuming 750 ml liquid (or reconstituted) formula contaminated at a level around 3.3 mg/l (ppm). ...
For comparison, the Sanlu product incriminated in the cases in China was contaminated at a level of over 2500 mg/kg powder, corresponding to approximately 350 ppm in reconstituted product (assuming a 7-fold reconstitution factor). It has to be noted that this approach has a large uncertainty. For melamine toxicity species differences in toxicokinetics have been reported and insufficient information is available regarding specific sensitivity of infants.
http://www.who.int/foodsafety/fs_management/infosan_events/en/index.html
Clinical description
The following symptoms have been observed in infants affected by the melamine-contaminated infant formula in China:
Unexplained crying in infants, especially when urinating, possible vomiting
Macroscopic or microscopic haematuria
Acute obstructive renal failure: oliguria or anuria
Stones discharged while passing urine. For example, a baby boy with urethral obstruction with stones normally has dysuria
High blood pressure, edema, painful when knocked on kidney area
Clinical treatment
Immediately stop using melamine-contaminated infant formula milk powder.
Medical treatment: use infusion and urine alkalinization to dispel the stones. Correct the water, electrolyte and acid-base imbalance. Closely monitor routine urine tests, blood biochemistry, renal functions, ultrasound findings (with particular attention to the renal pelvis, ureter expansion, and the change of the stones in shape and location). If the stones are loose and sand-like, they are very likely to be passed out with urine.
Treatment of complicated acute renal failure: priority should be given to the treatment of life-threatening complications such as hyperkalemia. Measures include the administration of sodium bicarbonate and insulin. If possible, blood dialysis and peritoneal dialysis can be used early. Surgical measures can be taken to remove the obstruction if necessary.
Surgical treatment: if medical treatment is not effective, and hydrocele and kidney damage present, or blood dialysis and peritoneal dialysis are not available in case of renal failure, surgical methods can be considered to remove the obstruction. Stones can be removed by different methods including cystoscope retrograde intubation into the ureter, percutaneous kidney drainage, surgical removal and percutaneous kidney stone removal. Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripter (ESWL) is greatly limited in its application, because the stones are loose and mainly composed of urate, and the patients are infants.
Follow-up Once the urinary obstruction is relieved, and the general condition and renal function and urination are back to normal, the children can be discharged.
Key issues to follow-up
Urine routine tests; ultrasound of urinary system; renal function tests; IVP (intravenous pyelogram) if necessary.
http://www.efsa.eu.int/EFSA/efsa_locale-1178620753812_1211902098495.htm
Statement of EFSA on risks for public health due to the presences of melamine in infant milk and other milk products in China
Question number: EFSA-Q-2008-695
Adopted date: 24/09/2008
http://www.brunei-online.com:80/sunday/news/sep28h4.htm
September 28, 2008
China list gets longer
By Azaraimy HH
The Ministry of Health has updated the list of tainted milk products from China that the public should be wary of.
The 18 new additions to the banned list are: Malted Soya Bean Milk, Toffee Mix (Mixed Fruit), Assorted Chocolate, Disney Chocolate, Peanuts Nougats, Crispy Centre Filled Chocolate, Baby Bites, White Rabbit, Party Animals (Banana Milk Flavoured Biscuits), Party Animals (Coconut Flavoured Biscutis), White Chocolate OREO Wafer Sticks, Milk Peanuts Protein Drink, Party Animals Choco Dip Biscuits, Prets, Choco Chip Cookies, Yili Pure Milk and Vita Soy.
Yikes, VitaSoy is a soy milk sold in the US - would they be adding melamine to soy milk, or is this a different company? Wonder if the US branch uses China ingredients?
http://www.vitasoy-usa.com/
"Vitasoy USA Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vitasoy International Holdings Limited of Hong Kong, a world leader in soy products for more than 65 years."
3Cat,
Thanks for doing the work to make up that list ;D.
I only posted the link.
5CatMom
=^..^=
The itchmo forums site just went down for me today briefly, Sunday, September 28, 08 1:10 pm PST. I backed up this
thread in print form. Please others do the same.
This whole rotten house of food cards keeps expanding and growing. I personally think delays in acting are purposeful to
allow time for evidence to be consumed. I believe we all might be offending the powers that be again. So very glad to know
you, fellow mutineers ::)
So, 3cats, from your list of countries banning Chinese milk products, I notice the US is missing. Have we banned such products or are we only stepping up our 1% of inspections as I read earlier in the thread?
In the US, White Rabbit Candy is being "voluntarily" belatedly recalled. And maybe some of the Mr. Brown coffee drinks
that Canada has pulled off the shelf.
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/fda-updates-health-information-advisory-on-melamine-contamination-t6387.0.html
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/white-rabbit-candy-from-us-being-recalled-melamine-t6390.0.html
If the FDA doesn't get the lead out (couldn't resist), this Halloween may be really spooky. Otherwise the government seems to
hear-no, see-no, find-no melamine for whatever reasons.
Sep 28 02:51 AM US/Eastern
Indonesia says melamine found in 12 China-made food items
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D93FIKKO0&show_article=1
"Among the products are Oreo stick wafers, M&Ms Peanut Chocolate Candies, Snickers Biscuits and Guozhen Formula Milk, as well as White Rabbit creamy candies."
5CatMom
=^..^=
5CatMom, look at the Indonesian levels here: the melamine concentration in the 12 products was between 8.51 milligrams per kilogram and 945.86 mg per kg
From DMS on page 35:
The U.S. imported 4,162 tons of Chinese dairy products last year and 1,750 tons in the first seven months of 2008
Tell me where these dairy products went, FDA, and that you have tested every product.
3cat, you are on a roll. :) Great list! Looks like a good one to send to the FDA, USDA, senators, etc. Oh, and TV stations. It's possible, after seeing the expansion of the list of countries instituting bans and the growing list of products, that some news reporter might be assigned to it??
It seems to me that gov't officials in all countries would be smart to monitor food companies and their purchases, if someone that sells food purchases melamine, shouldnt that send a red flag and whoever sells the melamine should be required to report who they are selling their product to on a daily basis. You can understand a plastic making company purchasing melamine but not a milk company. Or is this done so under the radar that it would be impossible to catch? And if melamine was being so closely watched, would they then find some other toxic protein substitution? :-\
ETA: Sorry if this has been brought up before, I have to admit this milk thing has caused a slight shutdown in my brain for some reason, its just so much and so darn frustrating that gov't officials turn a blind eye to all of it.
My American fuse has grown short. This Washington Post story was written in
May 2007, but could well have been in Septemer 2008:
http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/editor/2008/09/baby-formula-an.html?mbid=rss_epilog
Baby Formula: Another Food Risk From China
by Michael Y. Park on 09/22/08 at 10:36 AM
This 2007 Washington Post story, in the wake of a massive pet-food recall also involving melamine, places the blame on the inextricably close economies of the U.S. and China, the near monopoly the Chinese have on several key food ingredients, and the American business world's desire to get at the huge Chinese market
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/19/AR2007051901273.html
Tainted Chinese Imports Common
In Four Months, FDA Refused 298 Shipments
By Rick Weiss Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 20, 2007; A01
(read it and weep)
After eight straight years of kowtowing to China, is there no one left in Washington, D.C., except Representative DeLauro, who Friday
made a statement on the China baby milk scandal --
http://delauro.house.gov/release.cfm?id=1391
-- who will to stand up to the business wh#&%# and draw a line in the sand that says killing infants and children is where Chinese imports stop?
What a ghastly karmic joke may be in progress here, which could end with the avian flu epidemic starting in the heartland of America courtesy
of Chinese food imports in the worst case scenario.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10534813
NZ Herald September 29, 2008
Melamine scare sees NZ firm suspend exports
"One of the world's biggest exporters of hugely expensive dairy protein lactoferrin has suspended exports in order to clarify how it was contaminated by melamine.
"Morrinsville-based Tatua Cooperative Dairy Company Ltd said today it expected dairy exporters were in future likely to test for melamine contamination before releasing product for sale.
"China this month shut down production at dairy company San Lu after its baby formula was found contaminated with melamine, leading to the deaths of four infants.
"Tatua's board will meet tomorrow, and is expected to discuss the contamination.
"A Chinese customer told Tatua's agent two weeks ago that melamine had been detected in its product in China.
"Further tests were done in both in China and New Zealand, and results on September 22 and 23 confirmed contamination at less than four parts per million.
"The New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA), inspected the factory on September 24.
"Tatua chief executive Paul McGilvary told NZPA today the company's own investigation detected no melamine in its raw milk.
""With the NZFSA we've now mounted a traceback project," he said.
"The NZFSA has no legal maximum residue level (MRL) for melamine in milk, even though in June it published MRLs for melamine at 0.3mg/kg in sheepmeats, and 0.15mg/kg in poultry and eggs.
"The traceback was expected to canvass whether the melamine was introduced to the raw milk, either by farmers using insecticides containing cyromazine, an insecticide which breaks down to melamine in mammals and plants, or feeding dairy cows cheap imported feeds such as palm kernel contaminated with cyromazine or its metabolite, melamine.
"The investigation has serious implications for dairy exporters, despite the other two manufacturers of lactoferrin, Fonterra and Westland, saying their products were not contaminated.
"Though the NZFSA, and major multinational food companies including Nestle and Heinz have argued that melamine contamination does not pose a health risk, the Chinese dairy scandal involving Fonterra's joint venture Sanlu has triggered consumer sensitivities to any melamine contamination in foods.
"Lactoferrin sells for about $500,000 a tonne and is used in baby formulas and "nutriceutical" dairy-based drinks for its claimed ability to boost the immune system.
"Tatua's factory at Tatuanui near Morrinsville processes 10,000 tonnes of raw milk to extract just one tonne of the protein.
"Mr McGilvary said the traceback could take months.
"One problem the company was grappling with was that global markets had been sensitised to melamine contamination, and consumer perceptions were important even where contamination levels were so low they did not present a health risk, he said.
""There's quite a lot of sensitivity around melamine even at low levels," said Mr McGilvary, who suggested there were questions around the accuracy of detection tests at low levels of contamination.
""With the levels that we've found, you're on the limits of your ability to reliably test it," he said.
"He could not account for why the two other NZ manufacturers of lactoferrin had not reported contamination, but said Tatua was not testing for melamine before in-market testing in China showed it."
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on September 28, 2008, 01:43:53 PM
The itchmo forums site just went down for me today briefly, Sunday, September 28, 08 1:10 pm PST. I backed up this
thread in print form. Please others do the same.
This whole rotten house of food cards keeps expanding and growing. I personally think delays in acting are purposeful to
allow time for evidence to be consumed. I believe we all might be offending the powers that be again. So very glad to know
you, fellow mutineers ::)
3cat yes agree time for all the evidence to disappear as its eaten or drank.
And your other post with the 51 nations on it - noticed we were not one of them so guess its look the other way and when its discovered - cry - who ME??!!!/we didn't know nothin', nada, zip, zilch.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/27/content_10120324.htm
LANZHOU, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists on Saturday said they have developed a reagent that could find out melamine, a hazardous chemical blamed for milk contamination, fast and at low cost.
A dose of the reagent will find out melamine within 20 minutes at a cost of 20 yuan (2.9 U.S. dollars), compared with a week and 2,000 yuan by the traditional way that requires professionals using liquid chromatography, according to three professors with the College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering of Lanzhou University in northwest China.
The university has set up a task team todevelop the reagent at the request of the Gansu provincial government.
Maybe China needs to train the FDA & the FDA scientists.
Quote from: Offy on September 29, 2008, 03:35:34 AM
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/27/content_10120324.htm
LANZHOU, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists on Saturday said they have developed a reagent that could find out melamine, a hazardous chemical blamed for milk contamination, fast and at low cost.
A dose of the reagent will find out melamine within 20 minutes at a cost of 20 yuan (2.9 U.S. dollars), compared with a week and 2,000 yuan by the traditional way that requires professionals using liquid chromatography, according to three professors with the College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering of Lanzhou University in northwest China.
The university has set up a task team todevelop the reagent at the request of the Gansu provincial government.
Maybe China needs to train the FDA & the FDA scientists.
huh, maybe they talked to this teen...
http://itchmoforums.com/news-recall-related/teenager-develops-way-to-detect-melamine-and-cyanuric-acid-t4935.0.html;msg65214#msg65214
http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/1571166/milk_scandal_shows_holes_in_chinas_system_early_warnings_muffled/
Milk Scandal Shows Holes in China's System Early Warnings Muffled and Ignored
Posted on: Monday, 29 September 2008, 06:00 CDT
By Jim Yardley and David Barboza
Christie at PC makes reference to this link..
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/28/85823/9791
I couldn't get the link she posted to work...
http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2008/09/28/fda-fiddles-while-melamine-threat-grows/#comment-354741
UK is recalling some Cadbury products.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/sep/29/cadburyschweppes.china
"...The British chocolate maker Cadbury today said it was recalling 11 product ranges from sale in China as the country's tainted milk scandal continued to grow....The recalled products – which include eclairs and Dairy Milk – were manufactured in the Chinese capital Beijing and sold in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. One product was also exported to Australia."
Quote from: Carol on September 29, 2008, 04:41:32 AM
Christie at PC makes reference to this link..
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/28/85823/9791
I couldn't get the link she posted to work...
http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2008/09/28/fda-fiddles-while-melamine-threat-grows/#comment-354741
Carol,
This one should work.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/28/85823/9791/589/612680
http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Local%20News&p=54&type=2&sec=2&aid=2008092917
Phil Star September 29, 2008
3 Metro Manila hospitals may have used melamine
"Three hospitals in Metro Manila may have used the toxic substance melamine from China that could have sickened children aged five and below, a health official revealed today.
"Dr. Eric Tayag, chief of the National Epidemiology Center under the Department of Health, however refused to identify the hospitals concerned when asked by Congress reporters after the hearing of the DOH's P33 billion budget for 2009.
"A report pursuant to the directive of Health Secretary Francisco Duque to monitor cases of renal stones revealed that these medical facilities may have used the toxic substance in China-made milk products, which may have affected not only children but the elderly.
"The DOH order was for all hospitals nationwide to provide the government agency with cases of kidney stones from January to August this year to help the DOH find out which hospitals may have been using products tainted with melamine."
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=ac9xczYdefB8&refer=asia
Bloomberg.com September 29, 2008
Chinese Police Detain 22 in Melamine-Sales Network
"Police in the northern Chinese province of Hebei detained 22 people in a network allegedly connected to the tainting of milk with the chemical melamine, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
"The network produced melamine in underground factories and sold to breeding farms and milk-purchasing stations, Xinhua reported, citing unidentified police officers. Authorities conducted raids on 41 pastures, farms and milk stations in Hebei's capital Shijiazhuang and seized 223 kilograms (492 pounds) of melamine, the report said.
"Nineteen of the detained were managers of pastures, breeding farms or milk stations, and arrest warrants had been issued for 13 of those held, Xinhua said. The report didn't say when the raids took place."
492 pounds of melamine - I'm impressed. I don't know how much gets added to each gallon of milk but I would think only a tiny amount.
"It has been suggested that other contaminants may be urea and aminopterin, but I have not seen any official note on that anywhere."
There's the "A" word, again.
http://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/melamine-scandal-widens.html
PS Some good comments are on that site. Is that our Offy?
5CatMom
=^..^=
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/29/candy.milk.ap/index.html
I just heard on CNN that 125 lawyers in China volunteered to help the parents of affected children. These lawyers are being called in to the Chinese version of the Justice Department and being threatened with "consequences" if they don't stop. >:(
From Robert's CNN link above:
Myanmar added its name to the list on Monday, saying dairy items from China would be barred from entering its military-ruled country. The Philippines warned exporters they would be locked out of its market if they did not fully disclose the origins of their products. Watch how far the scandal has spread »
"Of course it's always good to have evidence rather than just speculate, but we will have to shift the burden of proof to them because our duty is to protect public health," Philippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said in laying out the new regulations.
Cadbury, the British candy maker, said in a statement issued by its Singapore office Monday that tests had "cast doubt on the integrity of a range of our products manufactured in China."
U.S. companies Kraft Foods Inc. and Mars Inc. said they would adhere to a recall order of Chinese-made Oreo wafers, M&Ms and Snickers in Indonesia, but said they wanted to conduct their own tests with outside experts.
So far only a local agency has checked the products for melamine, but the levels found were considered very high.
Hong Kong supermarket chain PARKnSHOP also pulled its Chinese-made Oreo, M&M and Snickers products as a precaution, spokeswoman Pinky Chan said.
Add Myanmar and Laos to the list of nations banning Chinese milk products, bringing the total to 53 countries/territories:
VIENTIANE, LAOS: Laos has temporary stopped the importation of milk products from China after some of the milk products being sold in Vientiane were found tainted with the industrial chemical melamine.
The Lao Ministry of Public Health has asked provincial healthcare offices in border provinces and airport staff to temporarily halt the import of milk-flavoured toffees, milk and milk powder from China where four children have died and thousands more sickened from drinking melamine-tainted milk.
Ministry officials are checking markets in Vientiane after many Asian countries found products containing Chinese-sourced milk on shop shelves.
The ministry also warned the public not to buy milk-flavoured candies, milk or milk powder manufactured by the Mengnui Dairy Group and the Yili Industrial Company of China , as they may be tainted with the chemical melamine.
http://www.mindanaotimes.com.ph/column.php?id=3912
The current Chinese Baby Milk Scandal is unfortunate, to say the least. What makes it unforgivable is that in less than a decade, there has been a stream of scandals involving poisoned food and other items manufactured in and exported from China. The community of nations should be doing something about this, and soon.
Just a reminder now that some Cadbury products have been recalled. Dollar stores often have brand-name items, but when you read the labels carefully, you find that yes, the product WAS made by the brand name in question, but it was made by that company in Asia.
Summarizing the US FDA's inadequate response thus far (thanks, Carol):
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/28/85823/9791
Even now, the FDA is looking only at products that could contain milk-derived ingredients from "Chinese sources." That leaves Americans vulnerable to products produced in other countries that may have used Chinese ingredients without declaring them; and there are a mind-boggling number of food products containing "whole milk powder, non-fat milk powder, whey powder, lactose powder, and casein." [FDA says it is "working with regulatory agencies in other countries;" but, not all can be trusted to be rigorous, as the China experience demonstrates.]
China problem shows US authorities were negligent in assessing melamine threat
FDA never has, to my knowledge, tested for melamine contamination of US-produced milk although domestic contamination, directly or indirectly, through contaminated feed, is within the realm of possibility. But, doing that would constitute an admission that FDA (and FSIS) failed to adequately assess the risk of melamine and its analogues.
In 2007, representatives of FDA, FSIS, CDC, EPA and other agencies hastily concocted (over a single weekend) an "interim" risk assessment based on calculations, and concluded that melamine posed no significant risk to humans. There is no indication that the agencies ever revisited the "interim" assessment, which looked only at eggs, pork and poultry [and farmed fish]. There is no evidence that they ever prepared a more rigorous assessment, based on actual testing and observation, of those and other food products, particularly foods consumed in large quantity by children and other vulnerable populations. That, normally, is what experts recommend. Instead, having quelled the public furor - and saved US food companies from possible lawsuits - the food safety 'regulators' let the subject quietly drop.
And distributing further the blame for US food safety authorities to the USDA and the possibility of degradation of pesticides into
melamine in food (cyromazine has been used in a pesticide called Veterzine):
http://americanaffairs.suite101.com:80/article.cfm/pesticidetesting_program_killed_by_usda
Pesticide-Testing Program Killed by USDA
Industry and Universities Doing Research Protest Shutdown
© Martha R. Gore Sep 28, 2008
Pesticide testing on fruits, vegetables and field crops by the USDA to set safe levels of chemicals in agriculture has been shut down
Not enough for this consumer. I want to know that independent food safety authorities around the
world have tested food imports and certified them melamine and its analogs free. Manufacturers, in their haste for the
cheapest available ingredient to make the biggest profit, have now produced two major melamine die-offs
in two years, 2007(pets) and now 2008(babies). The manufacturers who chose to use dangeous ingredients from China
should be forced everywhere to add independent testing by international food safety authorities worldwide for their
demonstrated lack of concern paid for by those food manufacturers and ingredient importers through user fees.
Until this situation can be studied and controlled, the direct source of deadly aduteration, China, needs to be excluded
as a trading partner.
Nissin Foods is a huge food manufacturer in Japan.
http://bitstop.com.ph:80/archive/2008/09/29/10103.aspx
Monde Nissin Statement on Melamine Issue
Posted on Monday, September 29, 2008 5:13 PM
Monde Nissin is a webhosting client of Bitstop Network Service. Here is their statement about the melamine scare hitting the Philippines:
In light of the recent issue concerning melamine, please be assured that all milk ingredients used in the production of our goods (noodles, biscuits, Dutch Mill) are sourced from Thailand, New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the USA. We do not source any milk products from China.
For our reference, attached are letters certifying that all milk ingredients for noodles and biscuits (both MNC and MMY), imported products from Thailand, and Dutch Mill do not come from the said country.
Rest assured that all our products are safe for consumption. You may also fwd this email to your family, friends, agencies and partners to reassure them of the safety of our products. Thanks very much.
Gen C. Aquino
Monde Nissin Corporation
Direct Line: (02) 754.8137
Fax No: (02) 812.3392
Email: gen.aquino@mondenissin.com
From South Korea on September 29, 2008:
http://english.donga.com:80/srv/service.php3?bicode=040000&biid=2008092946218
More food imports containing melamine are expected to be detected since the Korea Food and Drug Administration plans to test all food products containing imported dairy products.
The food watchdog will also see if isolated soy protein widely used in processed food products such as fish balls and frozen dumplings contains melamine.
In a meeting held at party headquarters, the party and the Health, Welfare and Family Affairs Ministry agreed on a food-labeling system that requires indicating on the packaging whether a product was manufactured overseas through an original equipment manufacturer agreement for both finished and intermediary food products.
Under the system, all imported food products must have the country of origin on their packaging next to the name of the product at half the size of the name.
The class-action lawsuit system for food products will also be reintroduced after being scrapped at the end of the 17th National Assembly, and a warning system for harmful foods will be launched. At the same time, food manufacturers will be shut down for a second violation of food laws, and the government will increase the examination rate for imported goods from 20 percent to 30 percent.
Melamine was discovered in the snacks "Misarang Coconut" and "Misarang Custard." "Misarang Coconut" recorded the highest melamine contamination rate of 271.4 parts per million among those tested. Manufacturer Haitai Confectionary has ordered a complete recall and disposal of the product.
The food watchdog will also ban the distribution and sales of all imported products testing negative for melamine until the entire stock is confirmed safe.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/29/business/NA-US-Candymakers-Melamine-Scare.php
International Herald Tribune September 29, 2008
Hershey, Mars say their candy safe from melamine
""American candy companies Mars and Hershey say their candy is safe to eat after Cadbury discovered the industrial chemical melamine in some of its Chinese-made chocolates.
"The Hershey Co. said Monday it has never purchased milk ingredients, including powdered milk, from China.
"Mars North America said in a statement that its operations in China do not get any ingredients from companies found to be selling melamine-contaminated dairy products. It says the Chinese food-safety agency tested samples of Mars China's milk powder suppliers and found them to be free of melamine."
Note that Hershey's response is a direct one--we have never purchased Chinese ingredients, while Mars' is anything but. It says that it never purchased from any dairy on the present melamine list; that list may not include all dairies with contamination issues. Mars continues to say that Chinese tests found no melamine--but doesn't address the testing of other countries who have tested these products. And it tells us in North America absolutely nothing about whether Mars has purchased Chinese ingredients for use in its North American made products or not. >:(
Who's Mars parent company? Weren't they also involved in the PFR?
QuoteIt says the Chinese food-safety agency tested samples of Mars China's milk powder suppliers and found them to be free of melamine.
I'd like to know when this testing was done. If it was recent, well, I don't know if I would trust that. If they (Mars) have been testing the products as they buy them, well that would be better.
How about all companies post all their China bought ingredients on their sites. Hershey may not have bought China milk products, but they didn't say they don't buy any China products.
Quote from: straybaby on September 29, 2008, 10:40:38 AM
Who's Mars parent company? Weren't they also involved in the PFR?
http://www.masterfoodsnews.com/index.asp
Mars Inc. is the parent company:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars,_Incorporated
They also are known as Masterfoods in addition to the other business names on the wikipedia article.
For pet foods--Mars/Masterfoods owns Pedigree--2004 MARF Asian contamination and current salmonella recalls:
http://www.petcare.mars.com/
Red Flannel--2007 salmonella and 2008 recall
http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/marspetfood082707.html
Krasdale--2007 salmonella recall at link above
http://www.mars.com/global/global+brands/Petcare/Royal+Canin.htm
Royal Canin--contaminated "rice protein concentrate" 2007 recall in US:
http://www.mars.com/global/global+brands/Petcare/Royal+Canin.htm
2007 contaminated corn gluten recall in South Africa:
http://www.citizen.co.za/index/article.aspx?pDesc=36732,1,22
http://www.nutroproducts.com/press5-1-07mars.shtml
May 2007--Mars buys Nutro
Mars also makes some Ol' Roy and Special Kitty dry foods for Wal-Mart--you'll see some listed in the current salmonella recalls.
In case we don't already have this--confirmation that melamine was found in some Cadbury products:
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hKFbP2-Kv1BNMIBMeXkYdK0VRROw
AFP September 29, 2008
Cadbury finds melamine in recalled food: spokesman
"British sweet maker Cadbury found traces of the industrial chemical melamine in Chinese-made products recalled in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia, a spokesman for the company said Monday.
"The chemical was found in tests carried out following the recall of products made at its Beijing plant, in the latest fallout from the toxic milk scandal which has killed four Chinese infants and made 53,000 others there ill.
""The tests have shown there were traces of melamine," said Tony Bilsborough, a spokesman at the firm's headquarters in Birmingham. He gave no more details and referred questions to the sweet maker's Singapore office."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/sep/29/sciencenews
Guardian.co.uk September 29, 2008
British agency orders ports to inspect imports for contaminated milk
All imported food arriving at British ports and airports via China will be tested for melamine in what officials say will be a vast operation
"British ports will begin inspecting air freight and shipments of imported food from tomorrow in a major food safety operation triggered by the contaminated milk scandal in China.
"The Food Standards Agency put more than 80 ports and airports on alert yesterday and ordered health officials to intercept and test any food products arriving via China that contain more than 15% milk, including cakes, chocolate, biscuits, bread and protein drinks.
"The action followed moves by the European Food Standards Agency last week to prevent dairy products contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine entering member states. Baby formula contaminated with melamine has killed at least four children in China and made tens of thousands ill, leading to widespread bans on imports to 12 countries.
"Europe, meanwhile, had already banned all imports of animal products, including baby formula, from China several years ago. The latest safeguards are designed to intercept other products called "composites" that also contain milk or milk powder in lower quantities.
"Officials at the Food Standards Agency met with importers yesterday to agree a list of foods that port health authorities must check consignments for. Any product with more than 15% milk content must be tested for melamine, along with foods where the milk content cannot be established.
"Importers who have food on route to Britain from China, Singapore and Hong Kong were asked to submit paperwork to help ports establish which products need testing. Legal documents giving ports the power to conduct the inspections and tests were drawn up last night.
"Impounded food must be sent for independent testing at laboratories such as the government contractor, the LGC in Teddington near London. Food that tests positive for more than 2.5mg of melamine per kilo will be reported and destroyed. The Food Standards Agency said all costs for the operation would be borne by companies whose products were sent for testing.
"Last night, chief port health officials said the scale of the operation could be vast, particularly at key ports in London, Southampton and Felixstowe.
""Food products tend to come in mixed packages, so if we have to start unpacking containers, it could become a very big job. There's also a lot of food labelling that doesn't give percentages of ingredients," said one port authority official.
"Tests for melamine usually take one to two days, but delays could run into weeks if lab build-up backlogs of food that requires testing.
"At the weekend, the World Health Organisation said the devastating impact of the contamination in China had been "aggravated" by officials failing to report the problem quickly enough.
"Melamine was added to baby formula to bulk it up, but in some cases reached levels 100 times higher than a baby can tolerate. The chemical, used to make plastics and foams, can cause bladder and kidney stones when ingested."
They have a great plan--where's ours? >:(
http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=57189
The Daily Star Bangladesh September 29, 2008
Lab test confirms melamine presence
"Traces of melamine have been found in the Chinese baby formula Yashili 2 that was earlier found available in markets in some parts of the country.
"Plasma Plus, the private testing laboratory, yesterday confirmed this in its report to the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institute (BSTI).
"The government is also taking steps to amend the breast milk substitute regulation of marketing ordinance-1984 in order to take sterner action against those who are importing unregulated milk powder that pose a threat to public health.
"The testing laboratory found melamine in Yashili 2 milk powder's 8008 batch.
"Director General of BSTI Azmal Hossain told The Daily Star, "The presence of harmful melamine in Yashili 2 milk formula has been found according to the report by Plasma Plus. The amount of melamine present is 72.77 milligram per kg of milk"
"He said that BSTI, the Department of Chemistry of Dhaka University and Plasma Plus are scheduled to test melamine in different baby milk products following media reports of thousands of children being affected in China.
'"As the government testing laboratories are yet to confirm the presence of melamine in the milk, we cannot take any legal actions against the importers or the companies selling the milk," he said.
"The commerce secretary also said that they have asked the Chittagong Customs House to provide complete information on when and what quantity of Yashili 2 brand was brought into the country.
"The Institute of Public Health and Nutrition (IPHN) authorities also said that it would be possible to take legal actions against the importers of Yashili 2 after the tests are confirmed.
"The Chinese baby milk products Yashili 1, Yashili 2 and Sweet baby 2 had been sold in country's market without having any registration of the IPHN.
"The government will also form a taskforce involving high ups from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Commerce, Institute of Public Health and Nutrition (IPHN) and Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) to determine the what future steps need to be taken in the light of the situation that has emerged.
"The taskforce will also recommendation on taking punitive actions against the importers, dealers and wholesalers involved in importing the contaminated milk from China.
"The adviser also informed the press that so far no child in the country has been found affected by consuming the powdered milk, but the government's efforts continue to find out if anyone has been affected by it.
"He also said that the government has imposed ban on sale three brands of powdered milk of as those may pose a threat to public health.
"Shawkat Ali said he has instructed all the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) of the country to strengthen the vigilance of mobile courts to seize the banned powdered milk from local markets.
"The government took action against sale of the imported Chinese milk after the international media reported that melamine had been found in milk powder being sold by some companies in China. Over 62,000 children have already fallen sick in China after consuming this milk."
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411749/2129780
TVNZ New Zealand September 30, 2008
Cadbury recalls China chocolates
"British confectionery group Cadbury has recalled a line of its chocolates from Australian supermarket shelves in the latest fallout from China's toxic milk scandal.
"Retailers across Australia have been told to pull bags of Cadbury eclairs from their shelves.
"The chocolate eclairs are Cadbury's only China-made product imported into Australia.
"A year ago Cadbury was fined more than $2.5 million for selling unsafe chocolates in Britain and Ireland during a salmonella health scare."
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08273/916052-100.stm
Post-Gazette-Pittsburgh September 29, 2008
Heinz halts Chinese milk purchases over melamine concerns
"Pittsburgh's H.J. Heinz Co. is moving to protect its products from concerns raised by problems with contaminated milk in China. The company has decided to stop buying milk from sources in that country.
"In order to reassure consumers about the safety of Heinz products, Heinz has made the strategic decision to switch our milk supply in China and Hong Kong to non-Chinese sources and we are testing all dairy ingredients for melamine prior to use in our factories," said spokesman Michael Mullen.
"Last week, Heinz recalled 270 cases of a variety of baby food sold in Hong Kong that had trace amounts of melamine, a chemical blamed for making thousands sick in China. The company said no other products were affected."
here's a link I cross-posted under pet food recall news...appropriate here too..
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200809u/tainted-milk
No one knows where all Chinese exports of melamine contaminated milk powder products went because there is
no transparent international food export traceability system in place. In addition to China itself, there are conduits through
multinational corporations like Fonterra New Zealand, one-third of the international dairy industry, or direct imports from
other countries in the Asia Pacific area, including Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Thailand, India that could theoretically have supplied major food companies in the US, Kraft, General Mills, and Mars, with Chinese product. Then there is also the silence of major US food manufacturers themselves as to the supplier sources of their ingredients, if indeed these manufacturers even know the supplier sources further back than who they bought from. The US FDA is only directing some of its limited response efforts at obvious Chinese supplied products. There is also a huge grey market smuggling area which needs to be addressed by more than a few visits to Asian markets in a limited number of US cities.
I join the chorus of US consumers demanding to know where is the US FDA response adequate to deal with the enormity of the possible
contamination here?
The Brits seem to have come up with one horrendous huge but feasible solution: If it's "got milk," it needs government testing; and let
the cost chips fall on those who have earned it, manufacturers and suppliers.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_TAINTED_MILK?SITE=VABRM&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
hmm. sound familiar??? problems with positive test results due to "methodology"...aminopterin, acetaminophen, etc
In the United States, Hershey's spokesman Kirk Saville said the Cadbury distributor "has never purchased milk, including powdered milk, from China," and that he was "positive" no Hershey's suppliers receive milk products from the country.
Indonesia's Food and Drug Monitoring Agency said tests last week found melamine in a dozen products distributed nationwide, including M&Ms, Snickers bars and Oreo wafers.
Manufacturers Kraft and Mars questioned the findings.
"We don't use any milk ingredients from China in any Oreo products, no matter where they are made or sold," said Kraft spokeswoman Claire Regan.
Tod Gimbel, Kraft's director of corporate affairs for the Asia Pacific, said the company "was trying to understand what methodology was used" in Indonesia's testing.
Mars, in a statement on its Web site, called the Indonesian results "completely inconsistent" with test findings from other government and independent labs in Asia and Europe.
"The vastly different results give Mars significant reason to question the validity of the Indonesian laboratory results," the company said.
So far, only a local agency has checked the products for melamine, but the levels found were considered very high.
No level of melamine deliberately added to a food product is legal in the United States, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
But the agency said it is conducting a health risk assessment to try to determine if there is a minimal amount that would be acceptable in cases where the chemical finds its way into a product through some other means. For example, melamine could be present in the meat or milk of an animal that was fed tainted feed or it could find its way into food processed in a factory.
All the more reason for the mutineers here to get busy with independent testing...
Lie or misrepresent, deny, delay, smear, and plant disinformation in the media were all tactics seen in
the 2007 pet food recalls.
Amen.
5CatMom
=^..^=
I wonder if these companies even know their supply chain more than one level up? This poisoned junk is passed from one middleman to the next and the next and the next.
We're hearing the same hackneyed phrases and denials as with the pet food recalls. Do all these companies hire the same crisis management firms?
With the tanked economy foremost in the news, there is little coverage of the milk products scandal, except for crawlers, that I know of.
Quote from: purringfur on September 29, 2008, 05:13:45 PM
I wonder if these companies even know their supply chain more than one level up? This poisoned junk is passed from one middleman to the next and the next and the next.
I was wondering the same thing. We all watched the chain and lack of knowledge during the PFR. And don't forget, they didn't always know what was in the finished product as some factories *improvised* with ingredients.
How are they ever going to do proper COOL? I know for beef they were talking a scan system and it would all be computerized from birth to shelf. I just don't see how they could keep track of some of these ingredients the way they do business.
"No level of melamine deliberately added to a food product is legal in the United States, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
But the agency said it is conducting a health risk assessment to try to determine if there is a minimal amount that would be acceptable in cases where the chemical finds its way into a product through some other means. For example, melamine could be present in the meat or milk of an animal that was fed tainted feed or it could find its way into food processed in a factory."
THERE MUST BE NO ACCEPTABLE LEVELS OF MELAMINE IN ANY FOOD ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD...........ESPECIALLY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
I have kidney stones. I always assumed it was from the desert Southwest hard water. I can tell you the pain
in an adult is exquisite. I wonder now as to the cause. Maybe in my sixth decade, I can give new meaning to
rock and roll plastic style.
That would be almost funny if this all wasn't so tragic for babies and pets and the human community. :-\ >:(
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on September 29, 2008, 06:46:58 PM
I have kidney stones. I always assumed it was from the desert Southwest hard water. I can tell you the pain
in an adult is exquisite. I wonder now as to the cause. Maybe in my sixth decade, I can give new meaning to
rock and roll.
That would be funny if this all wasn't so tragic for babies and pets and the human community. :-\ >:(
3cat
You raise an interesting point. The guy that works right behind me just had an attack of stones, 28 years old. Always eating snack things, who knows.
I am sure the CDC doesn't keep track of this, or maybe they do and just don't tell us if kidney stones are on the rise.
db
As a fellow kidney stone sufferer, I have done a great deal of reading on the topic, believe me. Kidney stones have been on steady increase in the US for the past 30 years.
Until just this moment, it never occurred to me before, but could my two little surviving cats still
be going through this, or did they just after exposure to the contaminated food? Oh, I hope not ...
3cat, I think if they were in that kind of pain, you would know it. I doubt they are.
Now, no, catbird. But when I think of the first, Doozie, I know so. And other looks
in the eyes that say "help me," now I know. Not anything I wish for any parent any where.
Quote from: mainecoonpeg on September 29, 2008, 05:31:42 PM
"No level of melamine deliberately added to a food product is legal in the United States, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
But the agency said it is conducting a health risk assessment to try to determine if there is a minimal amount that would be acceptable in cases where the chemical finds its way into a product through some other means. For example, melamine could be present in the meat or milk of an animal that was fed tainted feed or it could find its way into food processed in a factory."
THERE MUST BE NO ACCEPTABLE LEVELS OF MELAMINE IN ANY FOOD ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD...........ESPECIALLY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
I thought they already had allowable levels that they set last year when they reaized they were feeding melamine feed? First it was none allowed, and then about a week later they suddenly had that stupid Risk Assessment (Assumption).
straybaby what you said then - melamine laced feed is being fed to the livestock anyway? Then no matter if you avoided products with whey, casein, milk powder etc in them-once you continue to eat meat from animals fed melamine feed your body would be in the cumulative state building up kidney producing stones ?
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/30/asia/AS-SKorea-Tainted-Milk.php
International Herald Tribune|Associated Press
September 30, 2008
SKorea finds more Chinese-made tainted food items
"Two more Chinese-made food products — including Ritz crackers — were found to contain high levels of melamine, South Korean investigators said Tuesday.
"The chemical was found in Nabisco's Ritz cracker cheese sandwiches and in rice crackers made by Danyang Day Bright Co., the Korea Food and Drug Administration said.
"The maker of Nabisco Ritz crackers, Northfield, Illinois-based Kraft Foods Inc., did not immediately return messages left seeking comment."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122278326555990197.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Wall Street Journal September 30, 2008
Food Giants Scrutinize Chinese Suppliers
"he Chinese milk-safety scandal exposes one of the pitfalls of a key strategy of the world's big multinational food companies: relying on local suppliers in emerging markets.
"On Tuesday, Anglo-Dutch consumer goods company Unilever NV recalled four batches of Lipton Milk Tea in Hong Kong and Macau, which were found to contain the industrial chemical melamine, a company spokesperson said.
"A day earlier, H.J. Heinz Co. said it would stop using milk from China in the baby food it sells on the mainland and in Hong Kong. Nestlé SA, the world's biggest food company by sales, said it is examining its procedures for buying milk in China, where it relies on a network of individual farmers.
"The problem shows how big food companies can struggle to impose food-safety standards on suppliers in the developing markets they increasingly rely on for sales growth. The companies can test their own factories and then later find problems with ingredients introduced earlier in their supply chains. Some, like Kraft Foods Inc., are seeking to address that challenge by conducting quality checks on local suppliers. Mars Inc., meanwhile, says it safeguards its products by using Chinese suppliers who own their entire production chains.
"Cadbury's experience shows that a company can test its own operations, and still run into problems with its suppliers. Cadbury has employees or external experts in all its factories to test chocolates for dangerous microbes and contaminants, a spokesman says. The employees aren't responsible to the local factory manager, and instead report to the compliance division, which includes Cadbury's auditors.
But for its ingredients, Cadbury relies on suppliers to have their own tests, a spokesman in London said Monday. "Nobody can look for everything," he added.
"In China, Cadbury's dairy suppliers had been cleared in the recent spate of government testing, but it decided to do further tests of its Chinese products. Some of those items came back positive for traces of melamine, said Trish Fields, a spokeswoman for Cadbury Asia Pacific, though she declined to say which ones. The source of the contamination wasn't known.
"Nestlé says it does 70 different quality tests on its milk products, but only began looking for melamine on Sept. 14, soon after the milk scandal became public. The Swiss food giant recalled one product in Hong Kong, on orders from the local government, that had trace amounts of melamine. It is reviewing how it buys milk in China, said Nestlé spokesman Robin Tickle.
"Part of the confusion appears to be that different tests produce different results. Over the weekend, Indonesia's Ministry of Health said its tests had found melamine in 12 types of products sold there, including M&M's and Snickers candy bars made by Mars. Mars questioned the findings, saying the Indonesian results don't match tests by other Asian governments that have cleared its products. Indonesian officials didn't respond to requests for comment Monday.
"Not all Western food companies operating in China buy ingredients locally. France's Danone SA buys milk in Australia and New Zealand for its Chinese baby products, according to a spokeswoman, a situation that could help sales if the scandal spreads.
"In Indonesia, meanwhile, the government also said it had found melamine in Oreo wafer sticks made by Kraft. Kraft spokeswoman Claire Regan said that while the Oreo wafer sticks sold in Indonesia are made in China, they don't contain any Chinese dairy ingredients.
"Other governments -- Malaysia, Korea and Thailand -- have tested Oreo wafer sticks, and they had negative results" for melamine, she said. Kraft says it is trying to work with the Indonesian government to understand how its findings differed from that of other governments."
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=3&art_id=nw20080930151554193C777909&set_id=
IOL.co.za (South Africa) September 30, 2008
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=3&art_id=nw20080930151554193C777909&set_id=
Melamine found in two more Chinese products
"Singapore - The industrial chemical at the centre of a growing toxic milk scandal has been found in two more food products from China, authorities in Singapore said on Tuesday.
"The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) said it has found melamine in strawberry-flavoured New Sshma Ows Mallow Dippers, and Silang House of Steamed Potato potato and tomato cracker."
http://www.thesundaily.com/article.cfm?id=26181
The Sun (Taiwan) September 30, 2008
Tainted- Milk: Taiwan demands apology and compensation from China.
"Taiwan today demanded an apology and possible compensation from China over imported milk tainted with the chemical melamine.
""I hereby make a formal request to demand China apologise to Taiwan," Premier Liu Chao-hsuan told parliament.
""Departments concerned will have calculate the damages caused within a week. Once the damages are confirmed, we will help seek compensation from China," he said.
"Meanwhile, Thailand's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has found traces of melamine in 20 tons of milk powder imported from China, where at least four children have died from excessive melamine intake, media reports said Tuesday.
"The chemical was found in samples of milk powder taken from Dutch Mill Company's warehouse, but the FDA has yet to issue a warning on the product until further tests are made to determine the level of melamine, the Bangkok Post newspaper said.
"Besides distributing powder milk to Thailand, Dutch Mill also exports its products to Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam."
http://scienceblogs.com/terrasig/2008/09/melamine_and_cyanuric_acid_rev.php
this talks about "where's the cyanuric acid"?
http://scienceblogs.com/moleculeoftheday/2008/09/cyanuric_acid_the_flip_side_of.php
We in the United States have the privilege of speaking our minds on behalf of Chinese babies and consumers across the world.
Here's a Chinese baby milk tainted food news summary for Tuesday, September 30, 2008:
From New Zealand:
http://www.scoop.co.nz:80/stories/PA0809/S00669.htm
Chinese trade deal means more food safety concerns
Tuesday, 30 September 2008, 3:11 pm
Press Release: Green Party
Chinese trade deal means more food safety concerns: Greens
Food safety concerns can only grow with the start of New Zealand's preferential trade deal with China tomorrow, says the Green Party.
Green Party MP Sue Kedgley says the official start of our trade agreement with China, on October 1, could also signal an increase in unsafe food products.
"Consumers have the most to lose from this controversial trade agreement," Ms Kedgley says.
"Serious concerns have been raised about the safety of food products from China, in light of the infant baby formula debacle and concerns over melamine contamination of White Rabbit sweets and other milk products.
"The advent of the preferential trade agreement with China has the potential to raise more food safety fears and further undermine consumer confidence in Chinese goods."
Fast tracking provisions of imported goods at the New Zealand border that are part of the trade agreement (requiring most goods to be released within 48 hours of arrival at our border) could easily lead to further contamination of our food supply, Ms Kedgley says.
"It's clear that contaminated food is able to slip through our borders and enter the food chain, as it did in the case of the White Rabbit sweets and the recent illegal genetically engineered rice from China, and I am worried that the fast track provisions could make it even easier.
"Given China's poor food quality standards, I believe we need much more testing of imported food at the border, not fast tracking procedures.
Ms Kedgley notes that while many other countries were quick to ban imports of suspect Chinese goods containing dairy products, the New Zealand Food Safety Authority has yet to officially recall contaminated products such as the melamine contaminated sweets.
From Thailand:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/300908_News/30Sep2008_news01.php
Tuesday September 30, 2008
FDA says milk powder tainted
Melamine in samples, firm says products safe
APIRADEE TREERUTKUARKUL AND PITSINEE JITPLEECHEEP
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has found melamine in 20 tonnes of milk powder imported from China by Dutch Mill Co,
but the firm has assured consumers its products are safe.
The chemical was found in samples taken from the company's warehouse in Nakhon Pathom province, FDA deputy secretary-general
Narangsan Peerakit said yesterday.
The food watchdog did not issue a health warning and will test the milk powder again, he said. The results would be available tomorrow.
Dutch Mill managing director Thirayuth Chaisawangwong said the company was keeping the 20 tonnes of tainted milk powder in storage.
Mr Thirayuth, who has 35 years of experience in food technology, said product quality is the firm's priority concern because Dutch Mill
products sell in Thailand and nine other countries, including Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh and China.
European Union standards allow an intake of 0.5 milligrammes of melamine per kilo of body weight per day. Consumers would need to
drink more than 1,000 litres of milk a day to be in danger.
The EU standard is the same as that used by the FDA, said Deputy Public Health Minister Wicharn Meenchainant.
The FDA confirmed M&M chocolate candies and Lotte koala-shaped chocolate biscuits imported from China are safe for consumption.
Last week the agency asked local retailers to temporarily pull from shelves 11 types of biscuits and snacks which contained milk
ingredients from China.
This followed the growing scandal over food safety since 22 milk suppliers in China were found to have added melamine to falsely
boost protein readings for substandard milk.
The FDA's off-the-shelf list comprised M&M chocolates, Lotte koala biscuits, Oreo wafer sticks, Dove milk chocolate, Snickers caramel
peanut bars and nougat, Mentos yoghurt candies and Mao Huad coffee and oatmeal crackers.
The FDA will issue certificates to the distributors before making the snacks available to consumers again.
The FDA expects to be able to release its test results for other products on the off-the-shelf list next week.
Retailers alarmed by the toxic milk reports from China have taken tens of thousands of food products to the FDA for melamine testing.
FDA secretary-general Chatree Bancheun said the FDA would collect more samples of powdered milk used as a key ingredient in production of instant milk beverages for testing.
Dr Chatree said consumers should not be too alarmed by the milk contamination reports.
From the USofA:
http://www.marketwatch.com:80/news/story/fda-funding-increase-tough-budget/story.aspx?guid=%7B25157769-1112-4FD1-93B1-E74A4A5A117A%7D&dist=hppr
FDA Funding Will Increase in Tough Budget Year
Continuing Resolution Reflects House/Senate/Administration Concerns for FDA in FY 2009
Last update: 3:46 p.m. EDT Sept. 29, 2008
WASHINGTON, Sep 29, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Alliance for a Stronger FDA today applauded Congressional actions to assure
increased funding for FDA in fiscal year 2009. Under the Continuing Resolution (CR), FDA will be able to spend at a higher rate in FY 2009
than it did in the current fiscal year. The CR was passed by the House last Wednesday and by the Senate on Saturday.
http://www.azcentral.com:80/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2008/09/30/20080930B1-talker0930.html
From the Arizona Republic newspaper, September 30, 2008|
Valley market pulls Chinese candy from shelves
Lee Lee Oriental Supermarket in Peoria and Chandler has removed White Rabbit brand candy from its shelves.
Testing by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority showed high levels of melamine contamination in White Rabbit Creamy Candies, according to the FDA. As of Thursday, FDA testing of milk-based Chinese imports has found no such contamination.
http://www.theatlantic.com:80/doc/200809u/tainted-milk
Back to The Jungle, by Corby Kummer
For U.S. readers the most upsetting condemnation is saved for the FDA. In the pet food scandal—as in all the recent contaminated-food disease outbreaks—the agency has acted slowly and failed to say when and how it received its first warnings (shades of the Chinese government). As critics continually point out, deregulation-minded, industry-boosting [edited] administrations have left both the FDA and the USDA far too weak and underfunded to conduct the kind of studies on human toxicity that could allow them to act quickly and decisively. A new administration must recognize the fact that the food-tainting scandals, as much as the economic crisis, are the result of predictably unreliable "voluntary" industry self-regulation that—in this case literally—leaves the foxes guarding the henhouse.
http://blogs.dogster.com:80/vet_blog_information_advice/melamine-in-chocolate-points-to-link-between-human-and-animal-health/
09/29/08 Melamine in Chocolate Points to Link Between Human and Animal Health
Dr. Eric Barchas, DVM
At this time the extent and severity of the chocolate contamination are not known. But this incident does a great deal to prove that animal and human food safety are interlinked. ... more
From Myanmar:
http://www.irrawaddy.org:80/highlight.php?art_id=14346
Burma's State Media Still Mum on Tainted Milk Powder
By MIN LWIN Tuesday, September 30, 2008
The Burmese military government has still failed to take strong action to protect the public following the revelation of tainted powdered milk products imported from China, according to sources in Rangoon.
"Most families are still using the cheap Chinese-made unsafe milk powder," a Rangoon resident said. "The government hasn't publicized to avoid use of China-imported milk powder in state-run newspapers."
From China, news the government is suppressing information about the contaminated milk scandal (what a surprise)
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20080918/tap-china-food-safety-child-8d4ea94.html
China arrests 27 in tainted milk scandal: state media
AFP - Wednesday, October 1BEIJING (AFP) - - Police in northern China have arrested 27 people in their probe into tainted milk that has sickened 53,000 children and soiled China's reputation abroad, state media reported Tuesday.
The 27 are among 36 detained since authorities in Hebei province began investigating Sanlu Group, the company at the centre of the scandal, earlier this month.
The investigation followed the discovery that the industrial chemical melamine, which is normally used to make plastics, had been added to Sanlu powdered milk.
The Xinhua news agency had reported 22 detentions by Monday, and said those arrested were involved in a network that made and sold melamine and added it to milk.
Four children so far have died after drinking milk tainted with melamine, which can make watered-down milk appear richer in protein.
According to police investigations in Hebei, where Sanlu is headquartered, melamine was produced at underground plants and sold to breeding farms and milk purchasing stations, the China Daily reported Tuesday.
The report said Chinese officials, learning that the purchasing stations were among the key links in how the contaminated milk spread, have begun a national campaign to overhaul the system.
A total of 31 provinces have set up special task forces to supervise the purchasing centres and implement more standardised practices, according to the newspaper.
Milk purchasing centres only began operating in recent years, and the government has not yet set up a specific department to supervise them, it said, explaining how the illegal practices could occur.
The newspaper cited the agriculture ministry as saying melamine was most probably mixed with milk at the stations.
"We will resolutely put an end to the practice of adding melamine to fresh milk," Agriculture Minister Sun Zhengcai said in an interview with the People's Daily, which was posted on the paper's website.
"We will carefully monitor the production, sale and processing of fresh milk," Sun was quoted as saying.
Chinese officials have struggled in recent days to contain the fallout from the scandal as a growing range of China-made products have been pulled off shelves across the world.
South Korea's food watchdog said Tuesday that two more snacks imported from China were contaminated with the toxic chemical melamine, bringing the number of tainted brands discovered locally to six.
The products are Ritz Cracker Sandwiches Cheese, produced by Nabisco Food Suzhou Co, and Savory Rice Crackers from Danyang Day Bright Foods Co, said the Korea Food and Drug Administration.
Traces of melamine were previously detected in "Misarang Custard" and "Misarang Coconut" cakes, which were manufactured in China and sold by South Korea's Haitai Confectionery and Food Co.
The two other brands are Milk Rusk biscuits and Vegetable Creamer.
The South Korean agency has been inspecting 428 brands of imported food. It has completed checks on 186 items and found six contaminated with the chemical.
All six brands have been recalled, it said.
British sweet maker Cadbury said Monday it had found traces of melamine in chocolates made at its Beijing factory, and ordered a recall of those products in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia.
The 11 brands recalled include Cadbury Eclairs and bulk packets of Dairy Milk chocolate, the company said earlier.
Indonesia's food supervisory agency said over the weekend that it discovered some 16 Chinese-made diary products contained melamine, adding that all those products -- including well-known brands such as Snickers and M&M's chocolates -- would be immediately destroyed.
Mars said it was "extremely surprised" by that decision, insisting other tests had cleared its products of contamination.
More than a dozen Asian and African countries, plus the 27-member European Union, have taken steps to ban or limit consumption of products containing Chinese dairy.
The crisis is among the most serious in a litany of product-safety scandals emerging from China's chaotic and corrupt manufacturing industries in recent years, emerging as the nation has grown into a global trading power.
Besides the toll in mainland China, five children in Hong Kong, one in Macau, and four people in Taiwan have reportedly developed kidney stones after consuming tainted Chinese products.
From the United Kingdom:
The BBC has a map of all the countries affected. Despite recalls and products warned about, the USA is not on it:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7641317.stm#melamine
http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/news/uknews/3107694/China-tainted-milk-scandal-Heinz-and-Mars-drawn-in.html
China tainted milk scandal: Heinz and Mars drawn in
Food and sweet giants Heinz and Mars have been drawn into China's tainted milk crisis, following Cadbury which was forced to withdraw 11 brands of chocolate from the Far East market.
By Richard Spencer in Beijing
Heinz said it would stop using Chinese milk in its food processing operations in mainland China and Hong Kong after a batch of baby food was found to be contaminated with melamine.
Food giant Unilever has also said it is recalling Lipton-brand milk tea in Hong Kong after traces of melamine were found. ...
Brilliant of New Zealand to fast track imports for release within 48 hours, faster than testing can be done. Gives me even less
confidence in New Zealand food safety.
Brilliant of Myanmar not to inform the public that cheap Chinese baby formula may be harmful or deadly to the country's children and let babies continue to consume it.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-09-30-voa51.cfm
VOA September 30, 2008
Cookies With Melamine Found in Netherlands
"Officials in the Netherlands say two types of Chinese-made cookies have been found with elevated levels of the industrial chemical melamine.
"The Dutch Food Safety Authority said Tuesday the chestnut and chocolate flavored cookies from the "Koala" brand are now off the market because of their melamine concentration."
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/story.html?id=3ee0970f-9945-44cd-897f-d4072d20514d
Regina Leader Post (CA) September 30, 2008
"The chestnut and chocolate flavoured biscuits of the Chinese Koala brand were found to contain a concentration of melamine higher than the allowed 2.5 milligrams per kilogram."
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/story.html?id=3ee0970f-9945-44cd-897f-d4072d20514d
Also according to the Netherlands article from Canada:
The VWA has recently tested 47 Chinese-produced products sold in the Netherlands.
Tests revealed the two types of Koala biscuits had a melamine content of four milligrams and five milligrams per kilogram respectively. The confiscated biscuits will be destroyed.
What is that? About 4.2 percent of what's been tested in the Netherlands that came out positive for too high a level of melamine? Knowing Dutch
precision, I hope no major food manufacturer tries to news spin Dutch test results, as they're trying to do in Indonesia and the Phillipines.
New mantra for world food safety authorities: If it's "Got Milk?", it needs government testing.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i1PW8Su6EECm-m22gV1dABkLdHJQD93H726O0
Associated Press September 30, 2008
Hong Kong says Cadbury melamine levels acceptable
"Hong Kong authorities said Tuesday the amount of melamine found in two samples of chocolate made at British candy maker Cadbury's Beijing factory was legally acceptable for human consumption, a day after the company recalled 11 items sold in parts of Asia and the Pacific.
"Hong Kong's Center for Food Safety said it tested six Cadbury chocolate samples, including two made at Cadbury's Beijing plant, and found them to contain less than 2.5 parts per million legally considered acceptable here. It did not say whether it was testing the other nine products being recalled.
"The Food and Drug Administration has said that no level of melamine deliberately added to a food product is legal in the United States.
"Cadbury said the Hong Kong test results did not change their decision to recall the products from the Beijing plant.
""It was tested as satisfactory but we are still withdrawing it," said Simon Taylor, head of corporate relations and communications at Cadbury. "That makes no change from what Cadbury announced on Monday."
"On Tuesday, China's President Hu Jintao made his strongest public comments yet regarding the scandal
""We need to ensure that all products on the market are up to standard, so that consumers don't have to worry," Hu said during a tour of dairy farms broadcast on China Central Television's evening news."
I agree with the US FDA that NO deliberately added melamine is acceptable; the solution to consumer worry is that no edible products are imported from China.
What is it with all these countries back peddling??
I wonder what happened between last week and this week to have them change their collective minds??
It really is quite simple, melamine should not be in food, period.
NO LEVEL IS acceptable, the effects are cumulative, even the FDA is now admitting to that
db
I wonder about that too. Suddenly these certain amounts are "safe." Not so, IMO. Do the Chinese hold the real ownership in all these corporations? This feels eerily familiar to some events during last year's pet food crisis.
QuoteDo the Chinese hold the real ownership in all these corporations?
Catbird
I don't believe that they own them as much as the leverage they have over many countries, such as our own. I think the Chinese have wisely invested in the debt of many nations and can leverage that over them.
Agreed, no level is acceptable.
db
Binzhou Futian and its various aliases and Xuzhou Anying made the same statements on AliBaba and websites like this about their "wheat gluten", "rice protein concentrate" and corn gluten.
They are all exporting to the US--they're not telling anyone exactly the quality of what they're exporting to the US, but they apparently feel that says it all.
The Peidi group, AKA Pingyang Pet Leather, has the same glowing praise of itself--that they export Dingo, and the like. What they don't tell the world is that they have been on the detain without physical examination for salmonella since 2001 with FDA and that they were the source of melamine contaminated bird and small animal foods and treats which Eight In One attempted to import and were confiscated by the FDA more than once.
http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Research/LUC/ChinaFood/data/pop/pop_7.htm
92.7 million of the Chinese people are children, aged 0 to 4 (estimated 2010)
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html
8%
note: 21.5 million rural population live below the official "absolute poverty" line (approximately $90 per year); and
an additional 35.5 million rural population above that but below the official "low income" line (approximately $125 per year) (2006 est)
Reply 12, page 1 of this thread:
"San Lu, which is based in Hebei province, is China's biggest milk-powder producer and one of the 'big six' Chinese dairies that control
over half of China's fresh milk market."
.08 (Chinese children living in poverty CIA Factbook) x 92.7 million (Chinese children ages 0 to 4) = 7,360,000 Chinese children living at or below poverty level
Anyone besides me doubt the accuracy of the Chinese government report of 53,000 to 55,000 children affected here?
The food industry spinmeisters and the Chinese Communist Party seem to be filling the media with disinformation this week maybe?
I agree that there is something missing from the official numbers, 3cat. I'd guess that part of the reason is that many of the children in poverty just don't see a doctor. And the spin-meisters use that to their advantage. The real numbers of affected children would probably be staggering, if we knew them.
It's IMO similar to what was seen with our pets in 2007--certain numbers reported, and through Pet Connection's count we know that at least 4000 died, but the actual numbers of those affected were probably much higher. Many people may not have taken affected animals to a vet, and they recovered or died, but weren't counted.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e677c69c-8f34-11dd-946c-0000779fd18c.html
FT.com October 1, 2008
"Unilever said it would stop using Chinese milk powder for some products after it found melamine, an industrial chemical that has made thousands of Chinese children sick, in batches of Lipton-branded tea powders exported to Hong Kong. It recalled four batches of milk powder.
"The recalls have forced food companies to test their own products for signs of contamination, rather than rely on food safety checks from local authorities, and more carefully assess their suppliers. Most multinational food companies buy ingredients locally.
"Unilever, which had imported milk powder for use in its tea sachets from New Zealand and Europe until May, when it switched to Chinese suppliers, is switching back to imported powders.
"Unilever could not comment on whether imported powders would be used for the ice cream it makes and sells in China. It does not use Chinese milk powder in the ice cream it exports from China, but it does use local powder in the ice cream it sells in China."
So it looks like what we are seeing here is a VERY similar situation to how the contaminated "wheat gluten" and "rice protein concentrate" were used for pet food--nobody checked anything on their own, but relied on what they were told.
None of the US pet food manufacturers knew who the original suppliers were either, any more than these
multinational food companies look beyond the middleman who supplies them because there are no international
food ingredient traceability systems in place and it's too costly to safety test proteins for melamine. That's why each
country and every government needs to test food imports from everywhere now until controls are put in place and
every food manufacturer is testing from field to fork in the global food supply. How many times is the same devastating
mistake going to be allowed? The pet food recalls provided the road map. These hundreds of thousands of babies
possibly are the current victims being run over. And China, always China, has brought on each immediate crisis.
That has got to be blocked until changed beyond a doubt. It just doesn't get any clearer it seems to me.
So what's everyone doing for Halloween candy? The ones with milk are out at my house because I'm not hearing from
my government or seeing manufacturer tests.
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on September 30, 2008, 07:13:25 PM
So what's everyone doing for Halloween candy?
Nothing. No more Halloween in our household as of last year.
Bought some skittles & twizzlers in snack sizes. Keeping an eye out for snack size pretzels or chips on sale. Thought about juice boxes,but most juice concentrates come from our favorite country.
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on September 30, 2008, 06:31:14 PM
http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Research/LUC/ChinaFood/data/pop/pop_7.htm
92.7 million of the Chinese people are children, aged 0 to 4 (estimated 2010)
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html
8%
note: 21.5 million rural population live below the official "absolute poverty" line (approximately $90 per year); and
an additional 35.5 million rural population above that but below the official "low income" line (approximately $125 per year) (2006 est)
Reply 12, page 1 of this thread:
"San Lu, which is based in Hebei province, is China's biggest milk-powder producer and one of the 'big six' Chinese dairies that control
over half of China's fresh milk market."
.08 (Chinese children living in poverty CIA Factbook) x 92.7 million (Chinese children ages 0 to 4) = 7,360,000 Chinese children living at or below poverty level
Anyone besides me doubt the accuracy of the Chinese government report of 53,000 to 55,000 children affected here?
The food industry spinmeisters and the Chinese Communist Party seem to be filling the media with disinformation this week maybe?
Thx for those figures. 92.7 million drank this milk across the - wonder like 3cat how many actually dropped dead and just how high the figure is of children who are in agonizing pain from the stones and no one knows about it. Well they hid the info while the Olympics were taking place.....
an article that is good to see...
http://www.emaxhealth.com/2/75/25101/boston-consumers-should-avoid-milk-products-china.html
Boston Consumers Should Avoid Milk Products From China
Officials from the Boston Public Health Commission and Massachusetts Department of Public Health today advised consumers to avoid milk or milk products from China because of the possible presence of melamine, until laboratory testing is completed to determine whether the products are harmful.
Dr. Anita Barry, director of the Commission's Communicable Disease Control Division, said public health authorities were not of aware of any infants, children, or adults in Boston becoming ill as a result of consuming adulterated milk products from China, and said the warning was "precautionary."
"We think it's prudent that consumers stop using those products until we know more," she said.
Investigations to date in China have revealed the presence of melamine in 22 milk or milk products manufactured in China. Milk and milk products are components of many consumer food and beverage products manufactured in China, such as instant coffee containing a creamer, tea with powdered milk, instant packaged breakfast cereal (3 in 1), candy, and other products.
At least 52,857 infants in China have become sick with kidney stones or kidney failure associated with the consumption of infant formula containing melamine. There have been at least four deaths, and 12,892 people have been hospitalized.
Several countries outside the United States have expanded their investigation of the presence of melamine to include food and beverage items other than infant formula.
Countries including Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, and New Zealand have initiated testing and recall of some milk or milk containing products suspected of containing melamine. The presence of melamine in candy (Creamy White Rabbit) has been confirmed in at least one of these countries.
The Public Health Commission and Boston Inspectional Services, as well as state and other local health officials, have not found any implicated infant formula in retail stores in Boston or any other municipality across the state.
State officials are working closely with Boston and other local public health officials to conduct surveillance in areas where these products are more likely to be sold.
The Boston Public Health Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health are working to identify and test consumer products that may contain contaminated milk. Food testing results are not expected to be available for several days.
Dr. Barry said that although no illnesses have been reported in Boston, consumers should examine product labels and avoid milk and milk products from China until more information becomes available.
and one not so good >:(
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE48T0L920081001
China milk scandal firm asked for cover-up help
Wed Oct 1, 2008 7:12am EDT
BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese company at the center of the scare over tainted milk powder had asked for government help to cover up the extent of the problem, state media said on Wednesday in the newest development in the widening scandal.
In Communist Party newspaper the People's Daily, Shijiazhuang city government spokesman Wang Jianguo said they had been asked by the Sanlu Group for help in "managing" the media response to the case when first told of the issue on August 2, six days before the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing.
China's latest food safety problem, involving the addition of the industrial chemical melamine to milk to cheat in quality tests, has caused public outrage and put the spotlight back on deficiencies in industry oversight and weak regulatory bodies.
China has already said the city government in Shijiazhuang, home to the Sanlu Group whose contaminated milk sparked a recall now spread worldwide, sat on a report from the company about the tainting for more than a month, while Beijing hosted the Olympic Games.
"Please can the government increase control and coordination of the media, to create a good environment for the recall of the company's problem products," the People's Daily cited the letter from Sanlu as saying.
"This is to avoid whipping up the issue and creating a negative influence in society," it added.
This week, Reporters Without Borders said Beijing had ordered news of the scandal hushed up ahead of the Olympics.
"Several Chinese journalists have said that it is becoming more and more obvious that the authorities in July prevented an investigation into the toxic milk coming out so as not to tarnish China's image before the Olympics," it said in a statement.
Thousands of children fell ill after drinking the milk, and four died. But the rush of people taking their children to hospital for check-ups appears to be slowing, Xinhua news agency said.
"The work involved with offering free check-ups has turned from an emergency situation to normal," it quoted Wen Honghai, Shijiazhuang's top health official, as saying.
Countries around the world have banned Chinese dairy imports, or ordered them to be taken off shelves, as it became clear yoghurt and other products were also affected.
Scores of foreign companies have been forced to recall products made with Chinese dairy ingredients, or to reassure customers their goods are safe.
China has a poor record when it comes to ignoring or glossing over bad news. In 2003, it initially tried to cover up the spread of the respiratory disease SARS.
But Wang, who did not say whether the government complied with the media control request, defended the actions of his colleagues, who he said did send a team at once to probe Sanlu and to look for those suspected of adulterating the milk.
"Yet it was not until September 9 that it was reported to the Hebei provincial government," the newspaper said, referring to the province where Shijiazhuang is situated.
Beijing has already fired several Shijiazhuang officials, including the city's Communist Party chief, for the attempted cover-up.
Wang said the city government had not considered the consequences of their actions.
"We mistakenly thought that taking necessary measures and raising product quality could mitigate the effect and reduce losses," he said.
"The bungling of the best opportunity to report up the handling of the issue caused much harm to people's safety, and seriously affected the image of the Party and the government," Wang added.
He also expressed "deep guilt and pain" for the scandal.
(Editing by Valerie Lee)
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on September 30, 2008, 07:13:25 PM
None of the US pet food manufacturers knew who the original suppliers were either, any more than these
multinational food companies look beyond the middleman who supplies them because there are no international
food ingredient traceability systems in place and it's too costly to safety test proteins for melamine. That's why each
country and every government needs to test food imports from everywhere now until controls are put in place and
every food manufacturer is testing from field to fork in the global food supply. How many times is the same devastating
mistake going to be allowed? The pet food recalls provided the road map. These hundreds of thousands of babies
possibly are the current victims being run over. And China, always China, has brought on each immediate crisis.
That has got to be blocked until changed beyond a doubt. It just doesn't get any clearer it seems to me.
So what's everyone doing for Halloween candy? The ones with milk are out at my house because I'm not hearing from
my government or seeing manufacturer tests.
I wonder if our government and manufacturers, like the Chinese government and manufacturers who kept this quiet until after the Olympics were over, would try to keep a US contamination of candy quiet until after Halloween so our big multi-nationals don't lose big holiday business. Why aren't we hearing any test results? Would they do that to our children, too?
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i1PW8Su6EECm-m22gV1dABkLdHJQD93HLH580
Associated Press October 1, 2008
A dozen more Chinese dairy companies accused
"More than a dozen additional Chinese dairy companies were named as violators after new tests on their milk powder products, further broadening a scandal affecting products ranging from baby formula to chocolate, authorities said.
"The contamination has been blamed for the deaths of four children and kidney ailments among 54,000 others. More than 13,000 children have been hospitalized and 27 people arrested in connection with the tainting. An additional 31 batches of Chinese milk powder were found tainted with the industrial chemical melamine, according to data seen on the food safety administration's Web site Wednesday. Out of the 20 companies on the list, 15 have not been named in previous tests.
"The new batches being tested were mostly milk powder products for adults, ranging from full fat milk powder to milk powder said to be high in calcium and zinc. A previous round of testing, results of which were posted on Sept. 16, found melamine in 69 infant milk powder batches.
"The new figure brings to at least 100 the number of tested batches of milk powder found to contain melamine. Dozens of brands sold by more than a score of dairy firms, including some of China's biggest names, have been among those tested.
"Tests have also found melamine in 24 batches of liquid milk produced by three of the country's best known dairy firms.
"It was a national holiday in China and product safety officials could not be reached for comment.
"The Web site quoted the State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine as saying it had tested 265 batches produced by 154 different companies prior to Sept. 14. China has a total of 290 companies making powdered milk, the administration said."
Update:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/01/asia/milk.php
International Herald Tribune|Associated Press October 1, 2008
"Melamine has been found in milk powder from 15 more Chinese dairies, the authorities said Wednesday, and Hong Kong's food safety agency said its tests had found melamine in a Japanese-brand cheesecake that is made in China.
"And according to data on the Chinese food safety administration's Web site, 31 new batches of Chinese milk powder were found tainted with melamine. Of the 20 companies on the list, 15 have not been named in previous tests.
"In the most recent tests, nine of the batches containing melamine were produced by Sanlu, the company at the center of the scandal."
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/01/asia/AS-Hong-Kong-Tainted-Milk.php
International Herald Tribune|Associated Press
HK finds melamine in Chinese-made cheesecake
"Hong Kong's food safety agency has found the industrial chemical melamine in a Japanese brand's Chinese-made cheesecake, it said Wednesday.
"The chemical was found in a sample of Lotte Cream Cheese Cake manufactured by Japan's Lotte China Foods Co. Ltd. in mainland China, the Centre for Food Safety said in a statement.
"It is the second time the Hong Kong authorities have detected the chemical, which is used to make plastics and fertilizers, in Lotte's products. Last week, the agency and its counterparts in Macau separately found high level of melamine in the company's popular Koala's March chocolate and strawberry cream cookies.
"Calls to Lotte China Foods' office in Beijing went unanswered Wednesday as China is celebrating its National Day with a weeklong holiday.
"The center said the amount of melamine in Lotte's cheesecake exceeded the city's legal limit by 0.9 parts per million. Hong Kong set the safe level at 2.5 ppm.
""Based on the level detected, the public is advised to stop consuming the product concerned," a spokesman said in the statement."
This morning I read this at PC and having been wondering why we are hearing melamine and melamine alone in this milk catastrophe and not cyanuric acid as that was what we were told last year was responsible for the kidney issues...but this might just answer my questions of where is the CA?? Using the scrap from melamine production....
??? >:(
http://www.petconnection.com/blog/2008/09/28/fda-fiddles-while-melamine-threat-grows/#comment-355322
Everyone seems to keep forgetting about the cyanuric acid. Quoting again from Marion Nestle's book "Pet Food Politics: The Chihuahua in the Coal Mine", page 69:
"Melamine is an industrial chemical which, when mixed with formaldehyde, forms polymers that can be made into hard plastic dinnerware. This process generates wastewater containing melamine AND ITS BYPRODUCTS (emphasis mine), one of which is a related chemical, cyanuric acid. To clean the wastewater and allow it to be recycled, these compounds are reconstituted into 'scrap' containing a mix of melamine, cyanuric acid, and other melamine by-products. Because the constituent chemicals contain nitrogen,melamine SCRAP (emphasis mine again) can be used for fertilizer or for other nitrogen-requiring purposes, legal or not".
Here's the thing - people keep talking about this adulteration as if the scam artists are going out and buying nice, purified melamine powder to fraudulently mix into their wheat gluten and milk products and so on. But they're not. They're bottom-feeding money-hungry con-men who are doing whatever they can to put in as little and get out as much as they possibly can. And they're not buying melamine. They're buying melamine SCRAP. Which - as we see in the quote above - is also going to contain cyanuric acid. From page 87 of Nestle's book (following a great deal of explanatory text):
"Mixed with cyanuric acid, a dose of melamine well below the level considered safe can cause kidney damage".
In fact - the *combination* of cyanuric acid and melamine started causing problems with kidney function at something like a factor of TEN lower than when either chemical (in carefully controlled laboratory studies) was consumed alone. A lot of us who were tracking all of this in "real time" as it happened last year already knew this, but it bears repeating.
The part that I think people either forget or really haven't stopped to consider is that the stuff that the crooks are illegally putting into the food supply did NOT come from "carefully controlled laboratory studies". They're buying cheap salvaged melamine SCRAP, which - according the the description above - WILL also contain cyanuric acid and that therefore - according to all the studies cited in Nestle's book (several of which she had to go to paper records for because they're not on the Internet) WILL be roughly TEN TIMES as toxic as if they were adding melamine (which is all anyone seems to be talking about) alone.
Let's not forget the ugly plot twist of last year's saga. Chances are that what we're seeing here is not a pure adulteration by melamine, but rather, a contamination with cyanuric acid-containing melamine SCRAP. And we know how awful that can be.
Comment by The OTHER Pat — September 30, 2008 @ 8:52 pm
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jL7mHkJcSHVOLlejms7eQS2xXDiwD93HGSG00
Associated Press October 1, 2008
New tests find melamine in 31 Chinese milk brands
"An official news organization is reporting that the industrial chemical melamine has been found in another 31 brands of Chinese milk powder.
"The results indicate an expansion in the scandal that has sparked product recalls in China and a host of other countries that received Chinese food exports from infant formula to chocolate.
"Results of earlier tests had showed widespread melamine contamination among infant formula, later spreading to fresh milk and other types of dried milk and milk products."
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/recarapp/2008/20080930e.shtml
Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalls Lotte brand Koala's March filled cookies.
Ok, if they're going to do this "safe levels" bull poo poo, where are the tests to back it up? And when are they going to start listing it on the labels?! If one country says .5miligrams per kilo of body weight, then the amounts need to be on the labels so we can calculate our intake, right? It's not like they are adding this crap in equal amounts. Some of the tainted products have high levels. We also need to know how long it stays in our bodies. We may need to take a day or 2 off from eating melamine so we don't max out. Hopefully they'll give us pointers on how to prepare meals for a family/friends where the body weights at the dinner table can really vary . . . .
Can someone, who's in Bart Stupak's district, contact his office and tell him what's going on with these so called "safe levels" of melamine?
This is outrageous.
5CatMom
=^..^=
I've just plain reached the point of I cannot believe the utter horror of this tragedy and its effects worldwide.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008:
From India:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/International_Business/China_covered_up_milk_scare_to_protect_Olympics_critics_/articleshow/3547369.cms
China covered up milk scare to protect Olympics: critics 1 Oct, 2008, 0848 hrs
"The government's gag order on the media has the effect of shielding those responsible for the tainted milk from accountability," Chinese Human Rights Defenders, a network of domestic and foreign rights activists, said in an emailed report.
It cited several instances of reporting by Chinese media censored or banned by authorities. The instances could not be confirmed. The Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists last week also criticised China for "escalated restrictions" on reporting on the scandal
From Uganda:
http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/business/UNBS_takes_action_on_Chinese_milk_imports_72399.shtml
UNBS takes action on Chinese milk imports Dorothy Nakaweesi Kampala
Uganda National Bureau of Standards has blacklisted all milk imports that could contain Chinese dairy derivatives as a safe guard. And also all these products will be restricted to a mandatory laboratory testing to determine the absence of melamine.
In Africa, Uganda becomes the fourth country to ban Chinese milk and products containing milk. Tanzania, Gabon and Burundi are the other countries, which have banned these products.
Uganda's ban brings to 54 nations worldwide those taking action against Chinese milk product imports ...
From Malaysia:
http://thestar.com.my/columnists/story.asp?col=midweek&file=/2008/10/1/columnists/midweek/20081001081901&sec=Midweek
Wednesday October 1, 2008
Roller-coaster image of China also of its own doing
Meanwhile, problems with contaminated pet food returned with a vengeance, blowing up in Beijing's face with hazardous fallout in Taiwan and Japan.
Contaminated baby milk powder, discovered only last month, has so far killed four babies and sickened more than 50,000 others.
Pet food contamination was found in March last year when melamine as "protein falsifier" was added to food for cats and dogs. This was besides the rat poison aminopterin also found in pet food.
Today's controversy over contaminated milk enlarges the earlier problem. When the lives of infants are sacrificed by the unscrupulous in indecent, immoral and unlawful profiteering, the problem is clearly larger than is acknowledged.
Even China's leading dairy companies are implicated: Mengniu Dairy Group Co, Yili Industrial Group Co, Sanlu Group Co and Bright Dairy. Thus leading Western companies like Cadbury and Starbucks using Chinese dairy ingredients have had to suspend their China supplies.
Necessary action by Chinese officials has seemed slow and limited. As in the first stages of SARS in early 2003, the official response has initially been denial or damage control, PR and measured remedial action. This week CNN reported that Chinese lawyers volunteering to represent parents of stricken children had been warned off by officials.
How can a country that had successfully staged a dazzling Olympics, the most spectacular ever seen, also produce poisoned baby food? Answer: the Olympics is not only a staged show, but also for only a brief period and required no sustained best practices.
Even more inevitable than China's entry as a major player in the global marketplace is that players must observe some minimum safety standards. International trade is more important than any player in it, however significant and promising, with the health of this trade pivoting on the health of consumers.
From the USA:
http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2008/09/30/melamine-food-china-oped-cz_rm_1001meredith.html
Made In China Robyn Meredith 10.01.08, 12:00 AM ET
But when the Chinese government fails to protect children, Chinese people can turn from patient victims to aggressive protesters. During the summer's earthquake, many shoddily built government schools collapsed even as buildings next to them stayed standing. The government offered parents whose children had been killed by these "tofu buildings" hush money to placate them, and many parents were outraged. The loss of a child -- especially given China's one-child policy -- brought parents into the streets, a rare sight in a place where such an activity can get you thrown in jail. Now Chinese regulators have again allowed harm to come to China's children.
Neither rising incomes nor nationalistic pride in winning Olympic gold medals or sending men into space--as China did last week--can compensate.
http://www.latimes.com:80/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-melamine1-2008oct01,0,2825129.story
China's food failures
Chinese disregard for product safety makes it crucial for shoppers to know where food comes from.
Given the rapid succession of toxic Chinese products within the last 18 months -- toys containing lead, contaminated versions of the blood-thinner heparin linked to at least 149 deaths in the United States, poison toothpaste and seafood with dangerous levels of antibiotics -- China has run out of excuses, assurances and defenses. As a giant exporter of food and other products, its attitude toward consumer safety is a disgrace and a global health threat.
From Canada:
http://canadianpress.google.com:80/article/ALeqM5iHRfV7DThUQZ66OQX41LzKmbsCfg
CFIA recalls cookies because of tainted milk scandal in China
OTTAWA — The Canadian Food Inspection Agency recall of Chinese products linked to the tainted milk scandal in China continued Tuesday. The CFIA is warning people not to consume Lotte brand Koala's March filled cookies which may contain melamine. The affected products may have been distributed nationally
US consumers waiting for the beleaguered FDA to act on behalf of the fed up American people can turn from patient victims to aggressive protesters, too.
Okay, so I have been unsuccessfully looking for the ingeredients in the steamed potato crackers and came across this:
QuoteMeanwhile, supermarket chain Giant has said that it has pulled two items that are not made in China, but which contain China dairy ingredients.
They are Pei Tian Cream Biscuit from Taiwan and Mosn Mosn Grape Juice ??? ??? from Thailand.
Cold Storage has also pulled Swanson Chicken Broth, which is made in Hong Kong.
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/World/Story/STIStory_284646.html
since when did grape juice contain dairy ingredients?! And here's the ingredients for the chicken broth:
Chicken Stock, Chicken Flavor (Maltodextrin, Water, Dextrose, Salt, Chicken Flavor [Chicken Stock, Salt, Enzymes], Autolyzed Yeast Extract, Onion Powder, Chicken Fat, Modified Food Starch, Ascorbic Acid, Sugar, Rosemary Extract), Salt, Dextrose, Spice Extract
"Modified Food Starch", thickening agent made with milk or vegetable derivatives?
Bart Stupak is from the upper peninsula of Michigan and I'm not thinking that there are too many "yuppers" here, but I could be wrong. The interesting thing is that he is not very well supported by his party machine here ~ maybe too much integrity?
More to add to the list today, sorry if this was posted already. So now products are being found in Canada. Now its Cookies!!!
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/recarapp/2008/20080930e.shtml
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on October 01, 2008, 09:26:58 AM
"Modified Food Starch", thickening agent made with milk or vegetable derivatives?
Found this:
Quote
What is modified food starch? I have a wheat allergy and don't know if I should avoid foods that have it listed on the label.
Modified food starch is a starch that has been treated physically or chemically to modify one or more of its physical or chemical properties. The 'starch' could be from corn, wheat, potato, rice or tapioca--it depends on the manufacturer. By definition, modified food starch must contain less than .5% protein, but, it's up to the manufacturer to abide by that regulation, and there could be an exception.
You are smart to read food labels. That is the best way to tell which ingredients are found in processed foods. However, to be even safer, always check with the manufacturer about specific ingredients that could pose a health risk.
Sources: National Starch and Chemical; www.foodstarch.com
Food Allergy Network: 1-800-929-4040; http://www.foodallergy.org/index.html
http://missourifamilies.org/quick/nutritionqa/nutqa54.htm
Repeat post, but cannot be repeated too often:
Saturday, September 27, 2008:
Reply 509, page 34, 5CatMom (thank you)
Corrected Forbes address. Sorry, left the "l" off "html":
Quotehttp://www.forbes.com/reuters/feeds/reuters/2008/09/27/2008-09-27T123805Z_01_B162168_RTRIDST_0_CHINA-MILK-RECALLS-FACTBOX.html
IMPORT BANS:
* BANGLADESH: -- Three Chinese powdered milk brands, Sanlu, Suncare and Yashili, banned. Melamine tests to be introduced on
all milk powder imports at Bangladeshi seaports.
* BENIN: -- Bans powered milk products from China.
* BHUTAN: -- Bhutan has banned Chinese milk imports, ranging from chocolates, sweets and cakes to milk tablets.
* BRUNEI: -- All Chinese milk products banned by Health Ministry, even though Brunei does not directly import dairy products from China.
* BURUNDI: -- Banned import, sale of Chinese milk products.
* COLOMBIA: -- Banned import of China-made powdered milk.
* CAMEROON: -- Suspends import and sale of fresh and powdered milk from China.
* EUROPEAN UNION: -- The 27-nation bloc banned baby food containing Chinese milk.
* FRANCE: -- Banned all food items containing Chinese milk as precautionary move.
* GABON: -- Introduced ban at same time as Burundi.
* GHANA: -- Food and Drug Board suspended imports of all milk and milk-based products made in China.
* INDIA: -- Banned import of milk and milk products from China for three months.
* INDONESIA: -- Banned imports of China dairy products.
* IVORY COAST: -- Banned imports of milk products from China.
* MALAYSIA: -- Banned all Chinese milk imports, as well as chocolates, sweets and other foods containing milk.
* MALDIVES: -- Banned Chinese milk products to protect its population of 300,000.
* NEPAL: -- Banned all China milk and milk-based food products as a precautionary measure.
* PAPUA NEW GUINEA: -- Banned China-made milk products.
* PHILIPPINES: -- Banned import and sale of milk products from China, pending investigation of possible contamination.
* SINGAPORE: -- Banned the import and sale of milk products from China on Sept 19 after finding melamine in two China-made
products -- "Dutch Lady" strawberry flavoured milk, and "Yili Brand" dairy fruit bar yoghurt flavoured ice confection.
White Rabbit Creamy Candy pulled from shelves after being found to be contaminated with melamine.
* SOUTH KOREA: -- Banned China-made foods containing powdered milk after imported biscuits test positive for melamine.
* SURINAME: -- Banned milk and dairy products from China, is stepping up inspections on food imported from Southeast Asia.
* TAIWAN: -- All China-made dairy products banned, a milk testing station set up for consumers in Taipei.
* TANZANIA: -- Suspended all China dairy imports, and seized 34 tonnes of China-made milk powder.
* TOGO: -- Suspended import, distribution and sale of all Chinese-origin milk products.
* VIETNAM: -- Banned China milk products. Health officials warned such products may have been sold in remote areas
in the impoverished central region.
Edited to add on Monday, September 29, 2008: *MYANMAR and *LAOS (see reply 556, page 38)
Edited to add on Wednesday, October 1, 2008: *UGANDA (see Reply 619, page 42)
51 54 nations where consumer food safety appears to come first pending further investigation and food safety controls
Edited to add on Friday, October 3, 2008: *URAGUAY
To the overwhelmed US FDA and US Congress: Keep repeating "If it's 'Got Milk?', it needs government testing" until it sinks into the
bureaucratic morass. The American consumer does not want this happening for the second time in the United States."
"China has run out of excuses, assurances and defenses. As a giant exporter of food and other products, its attitude toward consumer safety is a disgrace and a global health threat."
did these get mentioned?
Puffed Rice Rolls - Butter Corn Flavour
Puffed Rice Rolls- Cheese Flavour
http://74.125.45.104/search?q=cache:DeQBFrrS2UQJ:www.ava.gov.sg/NR/rdonlyres/541AE049-0F81-4452-859D-B43237D4AA58/22029/CONSUMERADVISORYUPDATEONPRODUCTSDETECTEDTOCONTAINM.pdf+steamed+potato+crackers&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us&client=firefox-a
the ingredient in the potato crackers is whole milk powder
Keep posting those links to recalls in other countries, everyone! Hopefully the FDA will see them and pay attention. And you are helping anyone who reads here to know which products could have a problem, even if they haven't been recalled here.
Reminder!
Check your pet food ingredients. Couple of random searches and I've found skim milk powder and dried cheese powder. If you don't know an ingredient, google it. I checked one calcium ingredient because I tend to think calcium in relation to milk . . .
Flip flops from Taiwan:
http://www.taipeitimes.com:80/News/editorials/archives/2008/10/02/2003424763
EDITORIAL: Eat at your own risk
Thursday, Oct 02, 2008, Page 8
The Department of Health (DOH) announced yesterday it would use the liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) method to test for melamine in raw materials used for making creamer, milk powder and baby formula and conduct random checks on 20 percent of all finished versions of these products from high-risk countries.
The DOH deserves credit for employing this method to test for the toxic substance as experts say the LC-MS-MS method is capable of detecting melamine at levels as low as 1 part per billion (ppb) — a much more stringent level than 1 or 2.5 parts per million (ppm) that were previously considered
decided last Tuesday that all vegetable-based protein products must be pulled from store shelves until they could be tested for melamine.
However, less than 12 hours later, the government flip-flopped and said that only selected China-made products needed to be pulled. Furthermore, it eased the standard of acceptable melamine content, adopting the 2.5ppm standard used in Hong Kong.
After coming under fire for its 2.5ppm statement, the DOH changed its mind again, employing the stringent LC-MS-MS method to test for melamine — but only on raw materials for creamer, milk powder and baby formula.
After so many 180-degree turns, the public is understandably confused about what products are safe ...
Second, there was no word about testing other types of finished products. Chinese-made products have already been banned, but products in other countries using Chinese materials have not. That means cookies, candies, soup powder and other products that have been recalled in countries around the globe would remain on store shelves — untested — in Taiwan.
From a Google search for LC-MS-MS melamine:
"[PDF] LC/MS/MS Screen for the Presence of Melamine in swine and poultry ... File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
Reference: LC-MS/MS Method for the Analysis of Melamine in Porcine Meat Tissue. (Not for Publication), California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory ...
www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/FERN_CHE_0003.pdf - Similar pages
by B EQUIPMENT - Related articles - All 7 versions"
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/FERN_CHE_0003.pdf
http://www.fda.gov/cvm/FY2007AnnualReport.htm#PROTECTING%20THE%20HEALTH%20OF%20COMPANION
http://www.aurora-borealis.nl/FINAL%20Melamine_AppNote.pdf
Overview
Recent issues with the determination of Melamine and Cyanuric Acid in
wheat gluten imported from China and the subsequent animal deaths and recall
of millions of pet food products have highlighted the need for both food
manufacturers and regulatory agencies to utilize fast and accurate analytical
techniques to proactively ensure product safety.1
A fast and sensitive LC/MS/MS method was developed for the analysis
of Melamine and Cyanuric Acid utilizing a simple extraction, with a run time of 10
minutes, and with limits of quantitation of Melamine and Cyanuric Acid below
1ug/kg. In addition the method provides an extra degree of confirmation through
the use of Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) ratios
So the US government can't say detection methodologies down to parts per billion don't exist already. The FDA/USDA helped develop them...
Quote from: straybaby on October 01, 2008, 11:03:43 AM
Reminder!
Check your pet food ingredients. Couple of random searches and I've found skim milk powder and dried cheese powder. If you don't know an ingredient, google it. I checked one calcium ingredient because I tend to think calcium in relation to milk . . .
I checked with Fromm, who use cheese in some dry pet foods, and they said that all of it comes from here in WI, where they make it.
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3684398,00.html
Deutsche Welle (Germany) October 1, 2008
Melamine-Tainted Chinese Candies Found in Germany
"A German state consumer protection ministry says Chinese candies tainted with the industrial chemical melamine have been found for sale in an Asian foods store in the southern state of Baden Wuerttemberg.
"A ministry spokesman in the southern German state of Baden Wuerttemberg confirmed on Wednesday, Oct 1 that Chinese-made "White Rabbit" candies, imported through the Netherlands, were tainted with melamine in an escalating toxic milk scandal that has sickened more than 50,000 and killed four babies in China and sparked alarm in a host of countries.
"Both the Chinese producer and the Dutch importer have begun recalling the products."
Quote from: catmom5 on October 01, 2008, 09:35:19 AM
Bart Stupak is from the upper peninsula of Michigan and I'm not thinking that there are too many "yuppers" here, but I could be wrong. The interesting thing is that he is not very well supported by his party machine here ~ maybe too much integrity?
I called Bart's office in Washington (202/225-4735), and told them we are monitoring the melamine recalls worldwide. Have noticed that although the US imports un-inspected food ingredients from China, there've been no recalls of US foods. This doesn't sound logical.
Also, we noticed food officials seem to be satisfied with "acceptable limits" and "allowable limits" for melamine.
5CatMom
=^..^
=
Thank you, 5CatMom. Emails seem to be buried. I hope this gentleman contacts Representative DeLauro. An emergency
temporary ban to bail out our children is needed perhaps more than bailing out Wall Street.
3Cat,
The person I spoke with said that Bart's not done with the FDA :o.
5CatMom
=^..^=
The FDA is conspicuously absent in what it's doing/not doing in this ever-widening Chinese milk product poisoning.
Is the FDA too busy testing the thousands and thousands of products in the U.S. that use milk or milk products from China to let American consumers know if the food is safe? Is the "dilution factor" in play already so there's no need to test?
Will it take private citizens sending products to labs?
3cat, very nice job on the list of 54 countries that have taken some action against the poisoned milk/milk products to protect their citizens. Thanks for updating it.
What about Senator Dick Durbin? I kind of liked his style of questioning during the hearings... ;D ;D
Quote from: 5CatMom on October 01, 2008, 01:21:50 PM
3Cat,
The person I spoke with said that Bart's not done with the FDA :o.
5CatMom
=^..^=
lol!~ and neither are we! ;)
Quote from: purringfur on October 01, 2008, 01:33:41 PM
What about Senator Dick Durbin? I kind of liked his style of questioning during the hearings... ;D ;D
We should flood the Durbin's senate committee (along with our own senators) with calls tomorrow as they will be done with their billion dollar bailout baby.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gW3afBtSK-HCW_uMqqEC9V2iELGgD93HTEL00
Associated Press October 1, 2008
Candy with chemical in Chinese milk found in Conn
"A chemical blamed for sickening infants in China has been found in candy on American shelves.
"Connecticut consumer protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell Jr. said Wednesday that tests on White Rabbit Creamy Candy found melamine.
"The candy has been found in stores in Connecticut. It was imported from China and sold primarily at Asian markets.
"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended last week that consumers not eat White Rabbit candy and that retailers remove it. Queensway Foods Company Inc. of California distributed the candy and says it is recalling it."
What the heck?
http://www.icis.com/Articles/2007/11/30/9083219/asia-melamine-to-spike-in-q1-2008.html
Asia melamine to spike in Q1 2008
30 November 2007 03:31 [Source: ICIS news] By Helen Yan
SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Japanese melamine producers are targeting a 15-20% hike to $1,500/tonne CFR (cost and freight) Asia for first quarter contracts in 2008 from the last three months this year amid short supply, a weak dollar and rising urea feedstock costs, producers and traders said on Thursday.
Delays in new melamine projects and plant closures in Europe and Asia amounting to more than 200,000 tonnes being taken out of the global melamine market in the past year have fuelled the recent price upswing, they added. ...
In China, several Chinese melamine plants including Fujian Petrochemical Group's Sanming Chemical and Shandong Haihua Kuixing Chemical had to shut down their facilities due to rising environmental concerns in China.
Poor margins in recent years also saw several plants in Europe and Asia shutting down their plants.
Europe's largest melamine producer, Agrolinz Melamine International (AMI), shut down its 50,000 tonne/year Castellanza plant in Italy in March this year.
In Asia, Mitsubishi Chemical closed down its 35,000 tonne/year melamine plant in Kashima in March while Samsung Fine Chemicals shut its 35,000 tonne/year plant in Ulsan, South Korea last year.
Another factor which contributed to the soaring prices was the reduction in the export tax rebate implemented by the Chinese authorities earlier this year in July.
In a bid to address the ballooning trade surplus with the West, the Chinese government slashed the export tax subsidies for a whole range of chemicals, including melamine.
The melamine export tax rebate was cut from 13% to 5%, prompting several Chinese melamine producers to withdraw exports and focus on the domestic market instead.
Chinese government cuts melamine export subsidy; ends up in domestic baby formula and animal feed and other Chinese food products for export?
Quote from: menusux on October 01, 2008, 01:43:25 PM
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gW3afBtSK-HCW_uMqqEC9V2iELGgD93HTEL00
Associated Press October 1, 2008
Candy with chemical in Chinese milk found in Conn
Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection
White Rabbit Creamy Candy
"This says "tests by the Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station Laboratory have determined that the product does contain melamine."
http://www.ct.gov/dcp/lib/dcp/pdf/2008_press_releases/whiterabbit2.pdf
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10535081
Japanese dairy company asks hard questions
Wednesday Oct 01, 2008 By Lincoln Tan
Regulatory authorities were scrambling to set up melamine limits for dairy products, including 2.5 parts per million in Hong Kong and McGilvary understood the US was using 10 parts and China was thinking about five parts.
This might explain why the US is not finding melamine in places other countries are if 10 parts per million is the US standard.
There shouldn't be ANY FREAKING MELAMINE IN DAIRY! or any other food for that matter. They are pretty much feeding us unregulated, and at times, scrap melamine. Have they tested how melamine reacts in the body with the toxic plastic containers and baby bottles chemicals? In fact, have they done ANY long term melamine studies?! OF COURSE THEY HAVEN'T!! Anyone who was following the live blogging last year saw how it went from zero amounts were acceptable, to that piece of crap risk assessment not long after.
Melamine is NOT a food ingredient. Melamine is PLATE material. How [edited] hard is it for our government to get this?!
3cat, you are HOT in finding these articles! You're on a roll. Thank you! (Well, I'm having one head explosion after another, so maybe thank you isn't quite the right phrase!) ;D
Huh? The U.S. was thinking 10 parts and even China was thinking 5 parts? It's like saying, "Send us ALL your poison!" We're asking for it! How about ZERO ppm?
Just saw your post, straybaby... Yeah, plate material and for Mr. Clean Magic Eraser cleaning sponges.
I've never been this angry and spending so much time looking because I feel my US government is not speaking and letting
us know what it is doing to protect our children. But everything posted here has to be read skeptically, since people
concerned with this situation are being left to speculate and hunt across the world wide web for information. I'm only
pretty sure the melamine risk assessment models from the 2007 pet food recalls are not adequate or long enough when
dealing with infants and babies. Also pretty sure China is not telling the truth with regards to numbers of children affected
seriously. And very sure I need my government to act decisively to protect first, then study and improve, and I'm not
seeing it so far.
Menusux: You may want to consider changing the name of this topic since the melamine is no longer suspected. If you change it to something like Melamine Contamination Found in Chinese/China Baby Formula and Other Foods Globally, the search engines will pick it up and people searching can find this topic on Itchmo then.
Received an email alert from the CFIA website: not on the CFIA site itself yet but found this copy:
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Canadian-Food-Inspection-Agency-905979.html
"The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Dai Jung Distributing are advising people not to consume the OK OK Kaiser pretzels described below. These products are being recalled due to a positive test result for melamine conducted by the CFIA."
Interesting thing I noticed here - it states melamine found in testing done by CFIA. Previous alerts did not explicitly state they had actually found any in their own testing; they seemed more like follow-ons to recalls initiated by other authorities.
Australia Food Standards Agency site:
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/newsroom/factsheets/factsheets2008/updateonmelamineinfo4050.cfm
Australian food safety agencies continue to actively investigate and respond to melamine contamination of some products containing dairy ingredients made in China and elsewhere. Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is coordinating action among Federal, State and Territory food agencies ...
More than 50 products have been tested so far. Test results to date have not detected the presence of melamine in any of these products, except for White Rabbit lollies. As well, some industry associations are alerting regulatory bodies to information from their members on the sources of ingredients they use. The Confectionery Manufacturers of Australasia has published a list of products and manufacturers which have stated their products do not use Chinese dairy ingredients contaminated with melamine:
see the confectionery list at http://www.candy.net.au/consumer-information.asp?pgID=644
I found this on Dick Durbin's website:
http://durbin.senate.gov/showRelease.cfm?releaseId=303894
Durbin, DeLauro Press FDA on Contaminated Milk Investigation
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – United States Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday, asking for assurances that the FDA is proactively doing all it can to protect consumers from contaminated milk products from China.
"We are writing in response to the recent reports of milk products from China contaminated with melamine, the same industrial chemical involved in a series of pet food recalls in 2007. A number of safety issues have emerged in recent years with respect to Chinese imports, such as pet food, seafood, and toothpaste. This latest incident not only demonstrates that significant work remains for China to reform its food safety system, but raises serious questions about the FDA's ability to protect consumers and our food supply from hazardous products that originate overseas," Durbin and DeLauro wrote.
More than 54,000 have been sickened and 13,000 hospitalized in China in recent weeks as a result of melamine-tainted infant formula produced by Chinese dairy companies. The World Health Organization has said that a delay in reporting the contamination contributed to the magnitude of the incident. Authorities in both China and the US are investigating if other milk-based products are at risk of contamination.
On September 12, the FDA issued an advisory stating there was no known threat of contamination in infant formula being sold in the U.S. On September 26, the FDA updated its advisory to alert customers to a possible contamination Mr. Brown instant coffee and milk tea products. FDA is currently testing other milk-based products imported from China to ensure that the melamine contamination has not spread to the US. No contaminated products or illnesses resulting from these products have been confirmed in the US.
Durbin and DeLauro are seeking information on the status of ongoing investigations and future plans for banning or recalling certain Chinese imports due to contamination.
A copy of the letter can be found below:
September 29, 2008
Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D.
Commissioner
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857
Dear Dr. von Eschenbach:
We are writing in response to the recent reports of milk products from China contaminated with melamine, the same industrial chemical involved in a series of pet food recalls in 2007. A number of safety issues have emerged in recent years with respect to Chinese imports, such as pet food, seafood, and toothpaste. This latest incident not only demonstrates that significant work remains for China to reform its food safety system, but raises serious questions about the FDA's ability to protect consumers and our food supply from hazardous products that originate overseas.
To date, infant formula tainted with melamine has sickened 54,000, hospitalized 13,000, and caused the deaths of four infants in China. Concerns over contamination have spread beyond infant formula to include processed foods that may contain milk-based ingredients produced in China. In response, dozens of countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa have begun testing or banning Chinese imports containing dairy ingredients or recalling such products from off the shelves.
According to the World Health Organization, delays in reporting, including a deliberate failure to report, contributed to the magnitude of the incident. News agencies report that Sanlu Group, one of 22 Chinese dairy companies producing tainted milk, received complaints as early as last December and became aware of a contamination in June. But the company failed to notify the government until early August, and more than a month passed before an official investigation was launched.
On September 12, the FDA issued a Health Information Advisory to inform the American public that there is no known threat of contamination in infant formula manufactured by companies that have met the requirements to sell such products in the United States. On September 26, the FDA updated its advisory to alert customers to a possible contamination in Mr. Brown instant coffee and milk tea products. It is our understanding that the FDA is also testing milk-based products imported from China for melamine contamination, including dairy-based candies and desserts.
We appreciate the steps the FDA has taken to respond to this latest incident. Yet, we are seeking assurances that the FDA is proactively doing everything in its power to protect the public health now, before contaminated products put consumers at risk. As such, we ask that you answer the following questions:
1. What is the status of the current investigation?
2. Please provide a detailed timeline from when the FDA first learned about a potential contamination through the present that also details the actions taken in response.
3. How many dairy products, or products containing dairy ingredients, were received by the U.S. from China in 2006, 2007, and 2008?
4. How many of these imports were inspected by the FDA?
5. Were any of these refused import? For what reasons? Did these concerns suggest a systemic risk?
6. Does the FDA plan on banning certain Chinese imports or issuing recalls in response to the contamination?
7. What changes in current law or funding levels are needed so that the FDA can best protect the public and the food supply from tainted imports?
8. Please provide a status update on the implementation of the December 11, 2007 memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the United States and China with respect to food safety.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. We ask that you provide a response within 20 days.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator
Rosa L. DeLauro
United States Representative
Good find, kittylyda. You go, Durbin and DeLauro!
Although I wish they had given them far less than 20 days to respond.
I know, I was disappointed to see that they gave them 20 days also. But I'm glad Dick Durbin is still involved in the food safety issue.
Quote from: shadowmice on October 01, 2008, 04:58:55 PM
Received an email alert from the CFIA website: not on the CFIA site itself yet but found this copy:
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Canadian-Food-Inspection-Agency-905979.html
"The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Dai Jung Distributing are advising people not to consume the OK OK Kaiser pretzels described below. These products are being recalled due to a positive test result for melamine conducted by the CFIA."
Interesting thing I noticed here - it states melamine found in testing done by CFIA. Previous alerts did not explicitly state they had actually found any in their own testing; they seemed more like follow-ons to recalls initiated by other authorities.
http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/510075
The Star-Canada October 1, 2008
"A popular Chinese pretzel snack is being recalled after testing positive for melamine.
"The Canadian Food Inspection agency (CFIA) is warning consumers not to eat chocolate or strawberry-flavoured pretzels being sold under the OK OK brand. The items are being sold across Ontario and are imported by Scarborough distributor Dai Jung.
"The CFIA will continue monitoring as Dai Jung conducts a voluntary recall.
"The products are labelled:
Kaiser Strawberry Dressing Pretzel
UPC 4 710757 036608
Approx. 40 g
Kaiser Choco Dressing Pretzel
UPC 4 710757 036301
50 g
There are no lot codes associated with the products"
Can't remember if this was posted:
http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2008/09/29/daily13.html
Heinz to stop using Chinese milk in its products
New Mexico Business Weekly
H.J. Heinz Co. will stop using milk from China in its products, the company announced Monday.
The decision comes amid concerns about melamine contamination.
"In order to reassure consumers about the safety of Heinz products, Heinz has made the strategic decision to switch our milk supply in China and Hong Kong to non-Chinese sources," the company said in a statement. "We are testing all dairy ingredients for melamine prior to use in our factories."
Last week, Heinz recalled 270 cases of baby cereal in Hong Kong after testing found trace levels of melamine.
Question number 3 from Durbin and DeLauro to the FDA gets my attention: 2006, 2007, and 2008. I also think they must ask for mandatory independent testing and confirmation of results for any US products already on the market that may contain imported dairy ingredients. This is crucial to knowing where we stand. I want further clarification as to what the contaminants in the rejected imports, past and present, listed only as containing deleterious and poisonous substances are. And I would like to see levels of contamination such as we are getting from Asian countries in their news reports. Why does the FDA keep that specific info a secret anyway? We, the people, have a right to know, IMO, especially considering the rate of inspection. This information belongs to us, not the manufacturers who may be feeding it to us.
That said, I'm glad they are moving in on the issue. I will write to thank them. And to ask for more info.
DMS I agree we need testing of products here that contain imported dairy ingredients. Also would like to see a list of companies that import dairy ingredients with testing done as of today, 10/1/08, and posted showing their product is free from melamine and cynauric acid also.
Definitely, who is importing! I have the right to know where my food is coming from and if it is contaminated! This has to be one of the most basic human rights!
kittylyda, great post. First hopeful news since this all came up!
I am confused, though, on Question 6:
Does the FDA plan on banning certain Chinese imports or issuing recalls in response to the contamination?
I didn't think the FDA had the power to ban imports or issue mandatory recalls. Wouldn't that be Congress' department?
FDA can ban, I guess, though OASIS refusals for poisonous and adulterated findings.
3cat--
As the law stands right now, the only food product FDA has the legal ability to recall is baby formula. All else must be recalled by those who make or import the items.
FDA can refuse to permit contaminated items to enter the US via OASIS, but banning anything has to come from our lawmakers.
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE4910UK20081002
Reuters October 1, 2008
South Korea finds melamine in New Zealand product
"South Korean authorities have found trace amounts of melamine in milk products imported from New Zealand that were used in baby formula and banned their import, its food safety agency said Thursday.
"The Korea Food and Drug Administration said in a statement that the product, lactoferrin, was produced by Tatua Cooperative Diary Company of New Zealand. South Korea was banning all other products made by the company pending further tests, it said.
"No trace of the chemical has been found in 19 baby formula products tested, presumably because the additive makes up less than 0.1 percent of the final product, the agency said.
"No comment was immediately available from Tauta, which on Monday had suspended exports of lactoferrin because of the melamine find. The company was also checking where its product had been exported to and trying to trace the source of the melamine contamination.
""There's quite a lot of sensitivity around melamine even at low levels," chief executive Paul McGilvary told the NZ Press Association at the time.
"He said the New Zealand Food Safety Authority had found fewer than four parts per million of melamine in the Tatua product, and found there was no contamination of the company's milk supply."
Not sure if we listed this before or not:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aRE5dGGNISbg&refer=japan
Bloomberg.com October 2, 2008
"Kanematsu Corp., a Japanese trading company, recalled Chinese-made egg tarts yesterday found to contain melamine, an industrial chemical linked to the deaths of four infants in China.
"Tests found 1.4 parts per million of the industrial chemical in the tarts, the Tokyo-based company said in a press release yesterday. Kanematsu said there had been no reports of illness."
Oasis Refusals
Land O Lakes
Carlisle, PA 17013-9270 NYK-DO 112-1871843-8/1/1
09CGT16 MILK SPRAY WHOLE POWDER
04-AUG-2008 POISONOUS
Land O Lakes
Carlisle, PA 17013-9270 NYK-DO 112-1920683-9/1/1
09EGH16 MILK POWDER
04-AUG-2008 BACTERIA
No Menusux just another food to add to the ever increasing list of foods that are full of melamine. A question - is all of their food made with this plastic/pesticide MELAMINE and/or cynauric acid? Will all the food be recalled due to contamination? Is any of it safe at all? Should people be careful before purchasing anything made or imported from there just in case? Would labels be needed/required from any company here that imports their food products for sale to americans to be labeled with country of origin - not country of ownership? How worried and concerned should people be about all food imported from other countries? How far spread into how many products is the contamination? Is it in all the food and animals?
http://www.nowpublic.com/health/recalled-melamine-milk-products-list-ongoing
Recalled Melamine Milk Products (List Ongoing)
by Terri Potratz | October 1, 2008 at 06:01
We are still waiting for the WHO or some other health organization to release a comprehensive list of all recalled products tainted with melamine, but until then here is an updated list compiled from various sources on the internet. Products will be added and removed here as updates occur.
Please keep in mind that mass confusion persists around this issue; many companies are protesting the findings of government testing, while others are finding melamine in products that were previously approved by some governments. Even products that don't use dairy have been recalled - the melamine scandal includes other related ingredients such as whole milk powder, non-fat milk powder, whey powder, lactose powder, and casein.
BAIRONG GRAPE CREAM CRACKERS 116634
DOVE H/NUT ALM & RAISIN CHOC 61737
DOVE HAZELNUT CHOC 61739
DOVE MILK CHOCOLATE 61740
DREYERS CHOC CAKE ICE CREAM 153969
DREYERS COOKIE & CREAM ICE CREAM 14283
DREYERS MINT CHIP ICE CREAM 106486
DREYERS ROCKY ROAD ICE CREAM 14281
DREYERS STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM 165294
DREYERS TOAST ALMOND ICE CREAM 106487
DREYERS VANILLA ICE CREAM 14282
DUTCH LADY STER M LF BANANA 151226
DUTCH LADY STER M LF BANANA 739019
DUTCH LADY STER M LF HNYDEW 151230
DUTCH LADY STER M LF HNYDEW 166490
DUTCH LADY STER MILK PLAIN 739008
DUTCH LADY STER MK LF CHOC 151228
DUTCH LADY STER MK LF CHOC 739009
DUTCH LADY STER MK LF PLAIN 151227
DUTCH LADY STER MK LF SBERRY 151229
DUTCH LADY STER MK LF SBERRY 739018
FIRST CHOICE CALCIUM S ONION CRACKERS 112010
FIRST CHOICE CALCIUM SALTINE CRACKERS 102043
FIRST CHOICE CALCIUM SEAWEED CRACKERS 112011
FIRST CHOICE CALCIUM SESAME CRACKERS 102042
GINBIS ANIMAL BISCUIT 236531
GINBIS PARTY ANIMAL BUTTER BISC 136143
GINBIS PARTY ANIMAL CNUT 136145
GINBIS PARTY ANIMAL SEAWEED BIS 136144
KOALA COCOA BISCUIT 136492
KRAFT OREO W/STICK WH CHOC 18S 154881
KRAFT OREO W/STICK WH CHOC 5S 154882
KRAFT OREO WAFER STICKS 18S 103967
KRAFT OREO WAFER STICKS 5S 123926
LOTTE KOALA COCOA FUNPACK 56764
M&M CHOC CANDIES PEANUT% 550106
M&M CHOC CANDIES PLAIN% 550105
M&M CHOC CANDIES-PEANUTS 550099
M&M CHOC CANDIES-PLAIN 550098
M&M CHOCOLATE PEANUT 550107
M&M CHOCOLATE PLAIN 550108
M&M FUNSIZE MILK 163864
M&M FUNSIZE PEANUT 163865
M&M's
Magnum ice cream
MEIJI CHESTNUT & REDBEAN 106129
MEIJI FAMILY PACK-GREEN TEA 144101
MEIJI UJIKINTOKI 2978 455016
MEIJI UMAKABO CHOCOLATE 455017
MENTOS BOTTLE YOGHURT 145161
MENTOS BOTTLE YOGHURT PROMO PK 12526
MONMILK BREAKFAST MILK MALT 135156
MONMILK BREAKFAST MILK MALT 6S 135154
MONMILK BREAKFAST MILK WALNUT 135157
MONMILK BREAKFAST MILK WALNUT 6S 135155
MONMILK CHOCOLATE MILK 6S 135472
MONMILK COFFEE MILK 6S 135473
MONMILK HI CAL LOW FAT 154697
MONMILK HI CAL LOW FAT MILK 143949
MONMILK HI CAL LOW FAT MILK 6S 143952
MONMILK HI CAL MILK 143948
MONMILK HI CAL MILK 6S 143951
MONMILK MILK DELUXE 12S 154696
MONMILK PURE MILK 143947
MONMILK PURE MILK 154698
MONMILK PURE MILK 6S 143950
Moosandwich ice cream
NABISCO IN A BISKIT CHICKEN 153702
NESTLE MILK & BERRY STARS CRL 153852
NESTLE NES D/STICK MINI VANILLA 105115
NESTLE NES DISTICK MINI CHOCO 105116
NO FRILLS WAFER BLUEBERRY 154712
NO FRILLS WAFER CHOCOLATE 154713
NO FRILLS WAFER PEANUT 154714
Oreo Wafer Sticks
ORION FRESH PIE 240767
ORION TIRAMISU 152948
PEI TIAN CREAM BISCUIT 115554
RABBIT MILK SWEET 38055
SILANG NATURAL OAT CRACKER 142256
SNICKERS CANDIES FUNSIZE 550103
SNICKERS PEANUT CHOCOLATE% 550102
SNICKERS SNACKSIZE BARS PNUT 5 163863
TAKE ONE BABY BITE CARROT 163319
TAKE ONE BABY BITE CK VG 116159
TAKE ONE BABY BITES 24S 64602
VITASOY CHOCOLATE MILK 60409
VITASOY MELON SOYA MILK 235906
VITASOY Q SOYA MILK 60408
WANT WANT MILK CANDY 105504
WANTWANT FLAVOURED MILK '021726
YILI HI CAL LO FAT MILK 1L 155081
YILI HI CAL LO FAT MILK 6S 155084
YILI HI CAL MILK 1L 155080
YILI HI CAL MILK 6S 155083
YILI PURE MILK 1L 155079
YILI PURE MILK 6S 155082
YOUCAN MASTERBEAN MULTIPACK 134139
YOUCAN PASSION MULTIPACK 134140
YOUCAN SILK SLICED AND PASSION STRAWBERRY 134137
YOUCAN STRAWBERRY MULTIPACK 134138
YOUCAN TRADITIONAL SESAME MULTIPACK 134141
YOUCAN UNUSUAL MULTIPACK 134136
Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety Test Results by date:
http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/whatsnew/whatsnew_fstr/whatsnew_fstr_Test_results_of_dairy_product_samples.html
Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety Unsatisfactory Results of Testing of Melamine:
http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/whatsnew/whatsnew_fstr/files/melamine_20081001/List%20of%20food%20samples%20Unsat%20%20FC%20&%20MILK%20%20for%20uploading_01.10.2008.pdf
Thx for the updated list 3cat. This link also will be updating as more food is recalled. Gosh the list has grown from just about 3 days ago. That Dreyers sounds so similar to Breyers ice cream sold in the US.
Dreyers is also a US brand of ice cream in the Southwest. I don't know that it's the same, however.
These are the only master lists I can find so far. I wish WHO would aggregate them, too, with testing country
and melamine amounts claimed to be found, like the Hong Kong Centre listings.
Is this posted here anyhwere??? :o
http://www.who.int/foodsafety/fs_management/Melamine.pdf
World Health Organization
Melamine and Cyanuric acid:
Toxicity, Preliminary Risk Assessment and Guidance on Levels in Food
25 September 2008
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i1PW8Su6EECm-m22gV1dABkLdHJQD93IAIJ80
Associated Press October 2, 2008
Taiwan says melamine found in Nestle milk powders
"Tests in Taiwan have found small amounts of the industrial chemical melamine in milk powders produced in China by the European food giant Nestle, and those products are being withdrawn, Taiwan's health minister said Thursday.
"The announcement came a day after a dairy at the heart of the tainted milk scandal in China was targeted in a lawsuit by the parents of a toddler who developed kidney stones after drinking infant formula with melamine, an attorney said.
"Taiwan Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan said milk powders that Nestle produced in Heilongjiang Province in northeastern China were found to contain between 0.3 and 0.85 parts per million of melamine.
""Such minor doses of melamine will not affect people's health ... but we will take them off shelves according to our recommended procedures," he said.
"Liang Chia-jui, a Nestle spokesman in Taipei, said the company will agree to the recall. Nestle has taken out half-page newspaper advertisements to assure Taiwanese consumers of the safety of its milk products over the past two weeks.
"Yeh said Taiwan will confer with food safety experts from the United States, Japan, Europe and the World Health Organization to decide on whether to permit milk products containing traces of the chemical.
""We need to have a rational discussion on the matter because it also affects other countries," he said.
"Liang said melamine was never added to any Nestle milk products as an additive, pointing out that food experts maintain that traces of the chemical are widely found in the food chain. He insisted the milk powders produced in Heilongjiang are safe.
http://www.flex-news-food.com/pages/19485/Belgium/Chemical/China/Food-Safety/belgium-high-levels-melamine-found-chinese-white-rabbit-sweets.html
Flex News October 2, 2008
Belgium: High levels of Melamine Found in Chinese 'White Rabbit' Sweets
"Belgium has become the latest country to find China-made sweets contaminated with high levels of melamine.
"AFSCA, the Belgian Food Safety Agency, confirmed it had detected levels of the industrial chemical amounting to 11.24 parts per million (ppm) - more than four times above the legal limit of 2.5ppm - in a sample of White Rabbit candy."
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/02/europe/EU-Austria-Melamine-Milkshake.php
International Herald Tribune|Associated Press Otober 2, 2008
Melamine found in restaurant milkshake in Austria
"A nonthreatening amount of melamine has been found in a milkshake at a Chinese restaurant in southern Austria, the Health Ministry said Thursday.
"Austrian authorities inspecting random samples found a small amount of the substance in a milkshake at a restaurant in Graz.
"The milkshake had not been sold to a customers, and no one was sickened by it, the ministry said. It came from a Chinese store in Vienna and is off the market."
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/10/02/08/independent-lab-confirms-eight-products-contaminated-melamine
ABS-CBN News (Philippines) October 2, 2008
Independent lab confirms eight products contaminated with melamine
"An independent testing center has found out that eight food products, including a popular brand of processed meat and an iced drink sold by a popular coffee shop, have tested positive for melamine contamination.
"ABS-CBN News on Thursday obtained exclusively the test results from the independent laboratory Progressive Laboratories (Qualibet Testing Center) in Quezon City, which tested 14 China-made products for possible melamine contamination.
"Out of 14 products tested, eight were positive for melamine.
"The testing center has no authority to release the brand names of the products tainted with melamine. It, however, said that these include two brands of milk candies, a brand of chocolate, a brand of milk powder for pregnant women and a brand of repacked coffee creamer used in restaurants.
"Also included in the list are two brands of processed meats -- one for a luncheon meat and another for corned beef.
"All of the products tested came from China.
"The laboratory said the results will be sent to the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) on Friday.
"Then China wanted to subsititute protein, so they used melamine," Progressive Laboratories owner Pinky Tobiano said.
"ABS-CBN News asked the laboratory to test the two meat products again. The results of the second test were similar to the first.
"This proves canned products also have melamine contamination... some of them, not all," Tobiano said while showing the test results to ABS-CBN News.
"Tobiano said the meats used in making the canned products possibly came from livestock that were given melamine-tainted feeds.
"Recently, samples of whey powder and skimmed milk replacer, which are mixed into livestock feed, also tested positive for melamine after these were seized from a supplier.
"A brand of iced coffee shake from a popular coffee chain also tested positive from melamine, based on more than a hundred tests by the laboratory.
"So when they arrive in the Philippines. And the milk that they source is from China. Though it may be repacked in the United States or in New Zealand, the raw materials are not from them," she added.
"The BFAD said it will not yet announce the names of the melamine-contaminated products tested by Progressive Laboratories, since the government did not commission the private laboratory."
So we see findings here of melamine in canned meat from China.
http://afp.google.com:80/article/ALeqM5gudwL9qxisD9tRW03dC3vyG0GtUQ
China halts dairy exports amid health scandal: Japanese official
9 hours ago
BEIJING (AFP) — China has vowed to halt dairy exports until it can eliminate the threat from tainted milk that has sickened thousands in China and led to product recalls worldwide, a Japanese official said Thursday.
The promise was made during a briefing by China for foreign diplomats from several countries in Beijing on Tuesday, the government official revealed to AFP.
"The point made there was that the Chinese government has handled the matter promptly and firmly and has taken measures to halt exports of dairy products, which will not be resumed until their safety is fully confirmed ...
The official's account of the briefing could not be immediately confirmed by AFP as Chinese government offices and many embassies were closed for a week-long holiday.
the Chinese government has handled the matter promptly and firmly -- under what standard of human decency? I don't want
my family's health depending on food adulterations being handled this way.
QuoteChina has vowed to halt dairy exports until it can eliminate the threat from tainted milk that has sickened thousands in China and led to product recalls worldwide, a Japanese official said Thursday.
Has "vowed" to halt them?! WTF?! They should have stopped immediately or at least when they realized it was widespread through their industry!
The report's not confirmed yet. So it may not be true at all.
Apparently not a matter important enough to interrupt a week long holiday.
But I would like to see too a special category and safety inspection treatment for all Chinese exports
imports, I guess would be better, especially food and drugs, paid for by the manufacturers and importers who
chose to use them in the good old US.
Quote from: menusux on October 02, 2008, 07:51:02 AM
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/10/02/08/independent-lab-confirms-eight-products-contaminated-melamine
ABS-CBN News (Philippines) October 2, 2008
Independent lab confirms eight products contaminated with melamine
"An independent testing center has found out that eight food products, including a popular brand of processed meat and an iced drink sold by a popular coffee shop, have tested positive for melamine contamination.
So we see findings here of melamine in canned meat from China.
I notice here that some meat is contaminated and it reminded me of a link I saw while researching lactoferrin, which was found to be contaminated in New Zealand. Not sure if it is related, but here it is:
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Industry/DMV-signs-agreement-with-US-meat-packers
Lactoferrin ingredients giant DMV International announced this week a joint venture agreement with US beef packing company Farmland National Beef Packing Company L.P.
From August 2nd Farmland National Beef Packing Company L.P and DMV USA will manufacture and market activated lactoferrin, a new food safety technology that protects consumers from harmful bacteria that may be found in meat.
The Farmland-DMV joint venture holds the worldwide exclusive rights to activated lactoferrin for use in food safety. Lactoferrin is a protein found in milk and has been shown to be important in infant nutrition, nutrient transport and support of the immune system. Activated lactoferrin is a formulation of lactoferrin that has been shown to provide fresh meat with an added level of protection from pathogenic bacteria, including E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella and Campylobacter, by preventing microbial attachment and inhibiting growth.
**************************************
And just as an aside, I will mention that some lactoferrin is genetically engineered.
October 2, 2008
""Taiwan Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan said milk powders that Nestle produced in Heilongjiang Province in northeastern China were found to contain between 0.3 and 0.85 parts per million of melamine.
We need to have a rational discussion on the matter because it also affects other countries," he said.""
Nestle says:
""Such minor doses of melamine will not affect people's health ... but we will take them off shelves according to our recommended procedures," he said.""
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/10/02/172768ssiataintedmilk_ap.html
5CatMom
= ^..^=
I think this is state #3...
http://www.ktka.com/news/2008/oct/02/tainted_candy_turns_topeka_store/
Tainted candy turns up in Topeka store
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=754031
eTaiwan News October 2, 2008
DOH bans six Nestle products in Taiwan
"The Department of Health banned six Nestle milk powders yesterday after tests found traces of the toxic chemical melamine.
The four powders sold under the Klim brand and two from Nestle itself were made in the Chinese province of Heilongjiang by Shuangcheng Nestle.
"Tests showed small amounts of melamine, ranging from 0.06 to 0.854 parts per million, the health department said.
"Later, the company held a news conference protesting the government's changing standards. The amounts of the chemical found were far lower than the level the European Union considered dangerous to health, said Nestle Taiwan spokesman Liang Chia-juei.
"Speaking in front of a banner reading "Klim is 100 percent safe," Liang said the company would lose an estimated NT$1 billion worldwide since the beginning of the scare until the year-end."
http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news-1/Chronic-Kidney-Disease-Growing-Globally-22854-1/
Chronic Kidney Disease Growing Globally - Taiwanese study published in The Lancet, June 2008
This study from Taiwan may have absolutely nothing to do with melamine consumption. If fact, it's likely
due to increased global obesity causing more diabetes, causing, in turn, chronic kidney disease and renal failure. But it
seems no one knows exactly the long term health effects of melamine consumption on humans. And consuming melamine
can't be a good thing for any individual who is unfortunate enough to already have diabetes and chronic kidney disease.
So because it's from Taiwan and published in 2008, I offer it for your consideration.
Melamine found in Russia:
"MOSCOW — Russian news agencies say food inspectors have found nearly two tons of Chinese dry milk believed to be contaminated with melamine.
Interfax reports that inspectors have found more than 1,000 items containing Chinese-dairy products around the country."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-10-03-china-contaminatedmilk_N.htm?csp=34
5CatMom
=^..^=
I think the FDA could learn a little here from how the Philippines is handling the poisoned milk products...
From 5cat's link just above:
"Philippine Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said the government's action was meant to protect the public and should not ruffle ties with China, one of the country's main trading partners."
and
"Conducting due diligence to protect the consumer is never an overreaction. We'd rather overreact than underreact because it's the health and safety of the consumers that are paramount," he said.
"The new regulations require exporters from such countries as Australia and New Zealand to disclose where their milk came from before shipping to the Philippines. If an exporter fails to make a full disclosure, officials will assume the product came from China and ban it, Duque said. [Emphasis mine.]
..................
And, so WHAT if China's feathers are ruffled! They shipped POISONED PRODUCTS around the world! China should be banned from the WTO for selling poisoned foods/products and killing people around the world. Isn't it a punishable crime to poison and kill people? The poisons were added DELIBERATELY!
POISON FOR PROFIT! Is that the Chinese manufacturers' motto?
Somebody needs to jerk a knot in Peter Ben Embarek and ask about melamine cyanurate, the MelaChicken, MelaPork, MelaFish. Or show him the door. I just lost respect for WHO cuz of this painful to read article:
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gYWTr1uigoGZVg0OL7SMP494ukdQ
Limits for melamine in food fixed only recently: WHO1 hour ago
GENEVA (AFP) — Many countries have only recently fixed limits for industrial chemical melamine in food products, a World Health Organisation expert said.
This is because the chemical was not considered a substance found in food before a scandal broke out in China where milk products were tainted with the substance, Peter Ben Embarek, WHO food safety expert told AFP late Thursday.
"To my knowledge, the EU, Hong Kong and New Zealand have only in recent weeks fixed a transitory limit of 2.5 milligrams per kilogramme for food products, with the limit lowered to 1 milligram per kg for food consumed by children," Embarek said.
He added that "melamine has nothing to do with the food chain and therefore no standard had been fixed on a global level.
"There are billions of chemical products that normally should not be found in food -- it is therefore impossible to fix a limit for all the chemicals. That's the case of melamine," he said.
IMHO the chinese government was able to get the WHO to follow the lead of our FDA ( Freakin dillution agency) to agree with the minimal allowable amounts of melamine. We must protect the chinese companys from financial losses.
When do the people get protection from this crap?
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24442887-12377,00.html
The Australian October 3, 2008
Another China milk product withdrawn
"A FOURTH product containing traces of melamine has been recalled in Australia, as the fallout from the Chinese poisoned milk scandal continues to reverberate around the globe.
"Kirin milk tea made in China has been withdrawn from sale after Australian tests revealed levels of melamine in products sold domestically.
""Consumers are advised not to consume Kirin milk tea made in China,'' Food Standards Australia New Zealand said today.
""Consumers should dispose of the product safely out of the reach of children.''
"The recall of the blended drink follows the withdrawal from sale of the milk-based sweet White Rabbit, Cadbury chocolate eclairs made in China and Lotte Koala Biscuits. "
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i1PW8Su6EECm-m22gV1dABkLdHJQD93J3N1O6
Associated Press October 3, 2008
Vietnam finds tainted products from China
"Vietnam's health ministry has discovered the industrial chemical melamine in 18 food products imported from China and three other countries and has ordered them recalled and destroyed, officials said Friday.
"Russian news agencies reported that food inspectors found nearly two tons of Chinese dry milk believed to be contaminated with melamine. And Philippines health officials found melamine in two of 30 milk products from China tested for the chemical.
"Australian food regulators recalled China-made Kirin Milk Tea after tests in found the drink contained melamine. It is the fourth product withdrawn from the country's stores in the wake of China's tainted milk scandal.
"Recent tests in Vietnam found melamine in dairy products and crackers imported from China, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, according to the Ministry of Health's Web site. It did not list all the brand names that tested positive for melamine, but among them were five different varieties of Yili milk, one of the brands found to be contaminated in China.
""We will intensify our inspections for melamine contamination to ensure the safety of consumers," said Nguyen Thi Khanh Tram, vice director of Vietnam's food safety administration.
"Most of the contaminated items were milk and dairy products from China, the ministry said.
"However, they also included crackers imported from Malaysia and Indonesia as well as a powdered dairy creamer imported from Thailand. It was not clear whether those products had been produced in those countries or simply shipped to Vietnam from warehouses there.
"Even before the test results were announced, retailers across Vietnam had begun removing tons of Chinese dairy products from their shelves and importers have been destroying them, Vietnamese media reported.
"Philippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque III identified the two tainted brands Friday as Mengniu and Yili, which have already been found to be contaminated in tests in China."
Quote from: yl on October 03, 2008, 08:38:35 AM
IMHO the chinese government was able to get the WHO to follow the lead of our FDA ( Freakin dillution agency) to agree with the minimal allowable amounts of melamine. We must protect the chinese companys from financial losses.
When do the people get protection from this crap?
On the noon news, they had a brief piece on this and how it wasn't harmful in the 'approved'. levels. I need to see if they story is up on the website because I wasn't totally tuned in when they started talking about it. Something tells me if the new talking point on the news is approved "harmless" levels, we won't be seeing much in the way of recalls or even which products contain melamine here.
In my opinion, here's a blog entry based on something first published in the Huffington Post, that
indicates to some degree why the FDA is not protecting consumers and why it's so important for
concerned consumers to keep each other informed of dangerous adulterated food products, including
these products being found containing melamine from China. There are individuals in the FDA who would
like to protect consumers, but until food safety reform occurs apparently can't:
http://theresma.spaces.live.com:80/blog/cns!80EE15D075B65A13!571.entry --
wow, link has changed since yesterday. sorry. Scroll down to two part series Warning, this agency's
recommendations may be hazardous to your health:
http://theresma.spaces.live.com/?_c11_BlogPart_BlogPart=blogview&_c=BlogPart&partqs=amonth%3d10%26ayear%3d2008
http://theresma.spaces.live.com:80/blog/cns!80EE15D075B65A13!571.entry (http://theresma.spaces.live.com:80/blog/cns!80EE15D075B65A13!571.entry)
3cat--
Here's the working link for that.
Thank you, menusux. The link changed since I saved it on this opinion piece.
http://www.economist.com:80/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12343910
Land of milk and money
Oct 3rd 2008
From Economist.com
... But something fishy seems to be going on here. For one thing, melamine is not all that easy to dissolve into milk. For another, there's been a worldwide shortage of melamine for some time now. Its price has shot up to more than $1,750 per tonne from $1,100 a few years ago.
So why use an expensive industrial chemical that's in short supply to dilute a dirt cheap product like milk? The answer can only be that either some flaw rendered the melamine industrially worthless, or it wasn't melamine at all. The first suggestion is scary enough; the second is even more ominous.
The only thing your correspondent can imagine that would render melamine industrially worthless is if it were reclaimed waste from the production process.
Industrially, melamine is usually made by heating urea in the presence of a catalyst. Because large amounts of ammonia and carbon dioxide are given off in the process, most modern plants now combine melamine production with urea production, which uses ammonia and carbon dioxide as feedstocks. As the two processes feed off one another, a combined plant is considerably more efficient than two separate ones.
But the final stage—washing the melamine and turning it into crystal form—produces lots of effluent that needs treating before releasing into the environment. The usual way to do that is to filter the waste water and pipe that away, and then dispose of the concentrated solids separately.
Those accumulated solids are around 70% melamine, with the rest being made up of various by-products, including our old friend cyanuric acid. As mentioned before, a mixture of melamine and cyanuric acid can be a nasty witches' brew, especially when ingested by infants.
But what if it's not melamine that's being used to spike China's diluted milk? Urea may be not as rich in nitrogen, but it's certainly a whole lot cheaper (around $650 per tonne). Sprayed into the milk at the temperature used to create a powdered product for baby food and confectionery, enough of the urea would be converted into melamine to show up in tests.
If that's the case, where does the urea come from? Is it really fertiliser—or something else cattle produce in prodigious quantities? Perhaps that's why the Chinese authorities are suddenly so keen to blame more hygienic melamine for all their woes.
3Cat,
Very disturbing article there. Basically, we have the FDA and others "approving" "safe" levels and no mention of CA.
I'm no scientist and not a very bright bulb. Is this saying two separate contaminations,
melamine residue waste and cow pee?
http://www.yle.fi/news/id103472.html
YLE News Finland October 3, 2008
Melamine Found in Sweets and Biscuits
"Small amounts of the toxic substance melamine have been found in sweets and biscuits on sale in Finland.
"According to The Finnish Food Safety Authority, melamine has been found in White Rabbit confectionery and in Koala biscuits. The products pose no health danger to the public but have been removed from the market."
And here we see them not thinking about other additives either.
What I take from the article is that the heat from the chocolate making process would convert the urea into detectable melamine. They were using urea to fake tests until it became common to test for it--then enter melamine. This is what was said at the time of the pet food crisis.
Old habits are hard to break if they continue to boost profit?
Anyone have links to urea testing limits?
One of the people making a comment on the link from 3cat - Land of Milk and Money - had this to say:
"High nitrogen chemicals can't be that cheap: Hasn't the price of fertilizer been climbing steadily? And for the PET FOOD POISONINGS, how would it make sense to contaminate something as cheap as pet food with an expensive chemical? However, cow waste products are another story.
I think this warrants an in-depth investigation from the Economist."
Quote from: menusux on October 03, 2008, 12:02:29 PM
http://www.yle.fi/news/id103472.html
And here we see them not thinking about other additives either.
What I take from the article is that the heat from the chocolate making process would convert the urea into detectable melamine. They were using urea to fake tests until it became common to test for it--then enter melamine. This is what was said at the time of the pet food crisis.
The article seems to ignore that formaldehyde is relatively cheap and that in the media interviews in China they've already alluded to using it to make melamine liquid so that they can add it to liquid milk. With Urea being really expensive in China and lessening production that way for melamine, they used cow/animal/human urine in the process.
The article seemed to imply that melamine was a "fluke" from processing. I don't agree. There's been way too much scrap melamine in animal feeds preceeding this MelaMilk scandal (re: The early 2007 reports from Thailand baby pigs and astronomical amounts of melamine/cyanuric acid in feed "mostly" from China.
Which by the way, implies another country may be doing it also.)I don't care if I'm right or wrong, and can't look much more foolish than the FDA ;D, but Bernard seems to have been right. High levels of Uric acid in the animals system from metabolizing high levels of nitrogen compounds (melamine, ammelide, ammeline) can replace the cyan
uric acid part of the equation...
All the things in gout are most likely going to be the long term consequences and a clue to caring for damaged animals.. but gout is human, is this what it looks like in animals dining on high levels of MARC?? pretty darn close is my bet.
Scrap melamine being used adds more toxic components to the whole picture. None of these observers seem to acknowledge the whole picture, or they don't want to scare people. Pet owners have already been scared for a very, very long time.
Quote
http://www.goutpal.com/hyperuricemia.html
Hyperuricemia
"Here, we'll look at general causes of excess uric acid or hyperuricemia. The causes are either excess uric acid production or insufficient uric acid excretion. They fall into 4 main groups: -
Metabolism
Increased breakdown of cells through illness, starvation, exertion and other factors.
Diet
Increased production of uric acid from direct breakdown of food. Likely to be a small part of the problem, but can tip the balance.
Enzymes
Xanthine oxidase, in the liver, drives the final stages of purine metabolism, converting xanthine and hypoxanthine into uric acid. Injury and certain nutrition deficiencies appear to trigger increased xanthine oxidase activity. This can lead to an increase in the percentage of purines that convert to uric acid.
Kidneys
This complicated organ both secretes uric acid from the blood and reabsorbs it. The net effect will be either an increase or decrease in uric acid in the blood. pH levels and hydration are significant factors that affect this. There are many others including general health, medications and heredity.
Quote
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/uric+acid
white, odorless, tasteless crystalline substance formed as a result of purine degradation in man, other primates, dalmatians, birds, snakes, and lizards. The last three groups of animals also channel all amino acid degradation into the formation of glycine, aspartic acid, and glutamine, which combine to form purines and finally uric acid; these so-called uricotelic organisms thus excrete uric acid as the major end-product of the metabolism of all nitrogen-containing compounds. Uric acid is a very weak organic acid that is barely soluble in water and insoluble in alcohol and ether. The urates are its salts. Uric acid is present in human urine only in extremely small amounts but constitutes a large part of the body waste matter of birds (see guano) and of reptiles. It collects sometimes in the human kidneys or bladder in calculi, or stones, and is responsible, when present in tissues or deposited upon bones in the form of urates, for gouty conditions (see gout). It occurs also in normal human blood. The pure acid is obtained from guano and other similar substances. Upon decomposition urea is obtained.
Quote from: Offy on October 03, 2008, 12:22:34 PM
All the things in gout are most likely going to be the long term consequences and a clue to caring for damaged animals.. but gout is human, is this what it looks like in animals dining on high levels of MARC?? pretty darn close is my bet.
Scrap melamine being used adds more toxic components to the whole picture. None of these observers seem to acknowledge the whole picture, or they don't want to scare people. Pet owners have already been scared for a very, very long time.
The description of gout symptoms stood out for me when I read at the link, because that is exactly what I saw in one of my cats (Phantom) after she ate food that was later recalled. A cat only 9 years old, moving stiffly like a very old arthritic cat, as if experiencing joint pain. None of what I have read before was ever able to account for Phantom's specific symptoms. I think this is a valid scenario, Offy.
A look back:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/05/business/worldbusiness/05fakes.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print&adxnnlx=1223060580-q3tezx1+d+iBIOoQq7vNuw (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/05/business/worldbusiness/05fakes.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print&adxnnlx=1223060580-q3tezx1+d+iBIOoQq7vNuw)
When Fakery Turns Fatal
New York Times June 5, 2007
"Chinese authorities said that
Binzhou Futian and a company in bordering Jiangsu province had intentionally doctored feed ingredients to generate bigger profits. Regulators in China called it an isolated incident.
"
But agricultural workers and experts in this region tell a different story. They say the practice of doctoring animal and fish feed with melamine and other ingredients is widespread in China. And Wudi, they say, has long been known as a center for such activity.
""Wudi became famous for fake fish powder almost 10 years ago," said Chen Baojiang, a professor of animal nutrition at the Agricultural University of Hebei. (Fish powder is used as a protein additive to animal feed, including fish feed.)
"All kinds of fillers have been used. At the beginning it was vegetable protein, then urea. Now it's feather powder."
"In small village workshops on the outskirts of Wudi, residents say hundreds of workers make animal feed doctored with fish scraps and cheap ingredients that are then packaged for sale to unsuspecting farmers and fish farms.
Much of the fish scrap comes from the nearby Bohai Bay area or imported from Peru and then blended with cheap fillers to bolster profits.
""About 90 percent of the fish powder on the market is fake," said Xue Min, who works at the Feed Research Institute, a division of the China Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing. "When it reaches the customer, he doesn't know how many kinds of filler have been added.""But recently, residents say more buyers have turned skeptical of Wudi's fish powder. And that has forced some local manufacturers to switch to vegetable protein and search for new buyers.
""Customers are now suspicious about fish powder," says Sun Hong Qiang, who operates a fish scrap supplier in Wudi. "Everyone knows there's some fake fish powder out there."
"To reach bigger customers, feed producers from Wudi recently began calling themselves "technology" companies that sell protein powder. And they are using online trading Web sites like Alibaba.com to sell their goods."But few companies here were as successful as
Binzhou Futian, which in 2006 won contracts to ship pet food ingredients to major suppliers in the United States and South Africa.
"The American and South African middlemen say that they found Binzhou Futian through online advertisements and commodity-trading Web sites. The companies did not bother to visit Binzhou's factories or to investigate its background or its export record.""I'm not sure of the introduction, but I think it was through Google search," said Leon Ekermans, a marketing director at
Bester Feed and Grain, a South African grain trader. "We were told by an intermediary that they were once a government company and made good feed.""Asked whether Bester had researched the supplier's record or visited China, Mr. Ekermans acknowledged that the answer was no.
"We tested samples," he said, "but it was very difficult to test for melamine.""For the record, the US company who dealt with Binzhou Futian was Wilbur-Ellis, who imported "rice protein concentrate" which FDA testing proved to be wheat flour. Wilbur-Ellis then sold some of the "rice protein concentrate to other middlemen, such as Cereal byproducts and Lortscher Agri.
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/wilburellis04_07.html
Wilbur-ellis recall-April 18, 2007
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/cerealbyproducts05_07.html
May 4, 2007--Cereal byproducts' recall
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/enforce/2007/ENF01027.html
FDA Enforcement Report October 24, 2007-Lortscher Agri recall info
Bester Feed and Grain in South Africa dealt with Binzhou Futian for corn gluten--one of the buyers was Royal Canin, SA.
This may be what prompted the Bester spokesperson to say that melamine testing was difficult:
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=125&art_id=vn20081002112915108C791681
IOL News (South Africa) October 2, 2008
SABS can't test for toxic melamine
"Two of South Africa's leading scientific and testing institutions are not able to test if melamine is contained in food imported from China.
"The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have announced that they are unable to test for the ingredient, which is used to falsely boost protein readings."
Quote from: menusux on September 19, 2008, 12:02:48 PM
A little more than a year ago, there was quite a scandal in the Philippines and other Asian nations about a Chinese-made milk candy called White Rabbit. Testing by the Philippines and Indonesia revealed some formaldehyde in the candy. The Philippines banned the Chinese candy totally, while Indonesia found only trace amounts, which were under the health risk guidelines.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/04/AR2007090402284_pf.html
Washington Post September 5, 2007
Seeing the need for some chemical like formaldehyde to dissolve melamine made me think about the candies because they have milk as an ingredient. Possible that the candy picked this up from any adulterated milk used to make them?
Quote from: catbird on October 03, 2008, 12:38:56 PM
Quote from: Offy on October 03, 2008, 12:22:34 PM
All the things in gout are most likely going to be the long term consequences and a clue to caring for damaged animals.. but gout is human, is this what it looks like in animals dining on high levels of MARC?? pretty darn close is my bet.
Scrap melamine being used adds more toxic components to the whole picture. None of these observers seem to acknowledge the whole picture, or they don't want to scare people. Pet owners have already been scared for a very, very long time.
The description of gout symptoms stood out for me when I read at the link, because that is exactly what I saw in one of my cats (Phantom) after she ate food that was later recalled. A cat only 9 years old, moving stiffly like a very old arthritic cat, as if experiencing joint pain. None of what I have read before was ever able to account for Phantom's specific symptoms. I think this is a valid scenario, Offy.
I'd also bet that is why supplements for joints/arthritis are part of most pet foods now, even for very young animals.
QuoteAll the things in gout are most likely going to be the long term consequences and a clue to caring for damaged animals.. but gout is human, is this what it looks like in animals dining on high levels of MARC?? pretty darn close is my bet.
several pages back (around 20?!) I mention some things about uric acid as Dalmatians have this problem. Owners avoid many of the same foods someone with gout would avoid. Purines and acidic levels are important when feeding a Dalmatian or someone with gout. Dalmatians are born this way to different degrees. Some never pass the crystal forming others become stone formers. Some become hard to control stone formers, others easier to control. Big problem with males (blockage, not pleasant), with both genders though, even if stone forming isn't a problem, you still have the crystal production which could cause issues with the bladder, liver, kidneys later in their life. So even though I have a female and blockage isn't so much an issue, I feed as if I could have a stone forming male. Also, frequent potty breaks to keep her "flushed".
Catbird, what you saw may have also been signs of pain from kidney issues. When my senior kitties (RIP) had ARF (bladder infections, etc) they also became cautious walkers and suddenly looked very old. Also weakened back-ends. But, I wouldn't rule out the arthritic possibility either. Lord only knows what toxic side effects are possible, especially since we don't know exactly what all the toxins are.
Quote from: menusux on October 03, 2008, 12:41:12 PM
IOL News (South Africa) October 2, 2008
SABS can't test for toxic melamine
"Two of South Africa's leading scientific and testing institutions are not able to test if melamine is contained in food imported from China.
"The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have announced that they are unable to test for the ingredient, which is used to falsely boost protein readings."
I don't understand this, why not?
I don't understand why either, but remembered that at the time of the South African pet food crisis, the food samples had to be sent overseas where it was finally confirmed that the toxin was melamine.
http://www.eurofins.fr/media/2099798/lipinski.pdf
Page 3--here you see a French Pet Food Company (Royal Canin), contact Eurofins on 12 April 2007, asking about ethylene glycol testing, and continue on to page 4, where they ask for a total tox screen, which includes screening for melamine.
Cross-posted from JustMe:
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/fda-melamine-recalladvisory-announcements-threadnonpet-food-t6406.0.html
http://www.fda.gov:80/oc/po/firmrecalls/tristar10_08.html
Tristar Food Wholesale Co Inc. Issues a Nationwide recall of Blue Cat Flavor Drink Because of Possible Health Risk
Contact: Tristar Food Wholesale Co Inc. (201) 938-2590
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- October 3, 2008 -- Tristar Food, Jersey City, NJ is initiating a nationwide recall of all of their 100 ml plastic bottle packages of Blue Cat Flavor Drink (Lanmao) because it may be contaminated with Melamine.
Product was distributed nationwide in Asian grocery stores.
The product comes in 100 ml plastic bottles package with a BESTBEFORE date. There are four (4) flavors (see below) printed in Chinese. All packaging has a logo of blue cat on the back of the bottle and the word "blue cat" (in Chinese) on the front.
Strawberry, with red strawberry picture on the bottle.
Sweet Orange, with orange picture on the bottle
Pineapple, with green pineapple picture on the bottle
Peach, with pink peach picture on the bottle
No illnesses associated with this product have been reported to date.
The recall was initiated after FDA testing discovered that product was found to contain Melamine
(Beat the Friday after 5:00 deadline)
Now we have the current FDA standards as of Oct. 3, 2008:
Cross-posted from SandiK:
http://itchmoforums.com/law-and-politics-about-pets/fda-issues-interim-safety-and-risk-assessment-of-melamine-and-melaminerelat-t6462.0.html;msg90412;topicseen#msg90412
Infant Formula
FDA is currently unable to establish
any level of melamine and melamine-related compounds in infant formula that does not raise public health concerns. In large part, this is because of gaps in our scientific knowledge about the toxicity of melamine and its analogues in infants, including:
the consequences of the continuous use of infant formulas as the sole source of nutrition;
the uncertainties associated with the possible presence and co-ingestion of more than one melamine analogue; and
for premature infants with immature kidney function, the possibility that they may be fed these formulas as the sole source of nutrition and thus on a body weight basis experience greater levels of intake for a longer time than is experienced by term infants.
There is too much uncertainty to set a level in infant formula and rule out any public health concern. However, it is important to understand that this does not mean that any exposure to any detectable level of melamine and melamine–related compounds in formula will result in harm to infants
Other Food Products
In food products other than infant formula, the FDA concludes that
levels of melamine and melamine-related compounds below 2.5 parts per million (ppm) do not raise concerns. This conclusion assumes a worst case exposure scenario in which 50% of the diet is contaminated at this level, and applies a 10-fold safety factor to the Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) to account for any uncertainties. The TDI is an estimate of the maximum amount of an agent to which an individual could be exposed on a daily basis over the course of a lifetime without an appreciable health risk.
Thank you, FDA, for re-examining risk assessment models from the 2007 pet food recalls. HOPE THE CVM READS THIS.
Zero tolerance in infant formula and pet food is needed after the recalls of 2007 and 2008
.
"the uncertainties associated with the possible presence and co-ingestion of more than one melamine analogue"
At least they acknowledge cyanuric acid, et. al.
Quote from: straybaby on October 03, 2008, 12:53:36 PM
QuoteAll the things in gout are most likely going to be the long term consequences and a clue to caring for damaged animals.. but gout is human, is this what it looks like in animals dining on high levels of MARC?? pretty darn close is my bet.
several pages back (around 20?!) I mention some things about uric acid as Dalmatians have this problem. Owners avoid many of the same foods someone with gout would avoid. Purines and acidic levels are important when feeding a Dalmatian or someone with gout. Dalmatians are born this way to different degrees. Some never pass the crystal forming others become stone formers. Some become hard to control stone formers, others easier to control. Big problem with males (blockage, not pleasant), with both genders though, even if stone forming isn't a problem, you still have the crystal production which could cause issues with the bladder, liver, kidneys later in their life. So even though I have a female and blockage isn't so much an issue, I feed as if I could have a stone forming male. Also, frequent potty breaks to keep her "flushed".
Catbird, what you saw may have also been signs of pain from kidney issues. When my senior kitties (RIP) had ARF (bladder infections, etc) they also became cautious walkers and suddenly looked very old. Also weakened back-ends. But, I wouldn't rule out the arthritic possibility either. Lord only knows what toxic side effects are possible, especially since we don't know exactly what all the toxins are.
Phantom spontaneously got better within about 3 days. I had an already-scheduled routine vet appointment for about 7-10 days after this was first observed, and decided that I would ask about the stiffness (which I thought was arthritis, since I had had an elderly cat with that) at the appointment. She got better before the appointment happened, and has never had anything similar in the approximately 2 years since. Nothing abnormal was found at the vet appointment, other than somewhat concentrated urine (not unusual for a cat who refuses to eat much wet food.) She remains in good health to this day, thankfully.
My guess is that she "flushed" it, whatever it was, during those few days.
Elevated uric acid levels can come from foods high in purines, such as liver, certain fish, red wine, etc. I've seen studies of rats having crystals that were a combination of melamine and uric acid. Also, those ads for enzyme cleaners for urine stains mention uric acid as the cause of the stain. So if uric acid is normally in urine, are we all, pets and humans, going to end up with kidney issues? What about dehydrated animals? Concentrated urine would mean higher levels of these chemicals. Of course, then the vets would say feed K/D with all the liver and the high purines.... I'm afraid we'll have a casualty rate like the 1918 flu epidemic, the way these regulators are handling this. Sorry if I've repeated what others have said; this whole thing is so upsetting. >:(
http://www.taipeitimes.com:80/News/world/archives/2008/10/04/2003424991
More countries ban China dairy
SPILLED MILK: Authorities in Manila, Hanoi and Montevideo have taken measures to ban food products from China believed to contain the toxic chemical melamine.
Saturday, Oct 04, 2008, Page 5
In South America,
Uruguay's public health ministry banned all dairy imports from China on Thursday, including baby formula.
Bringing to 55 the number of countries worldwide that put food safety first
.
From Reply 625, page 42 of this thread:
http://www.forbes.com/reuters/feeds/reuters/2008/09/27/2008-09-27T123805Z_01_B162168_RTRIDST_0_CHINA-MILK-RECALLS-FACTBOX.html
QuoteIMPORT BANS:
* BANGLADESH: -- Three Chinese powdered milk brands, Sanlu, Suncare and Yashili, banned. Melamine tests to be introduced on
all milk powder imports at Bangladeshi seaports.
* BENIN: -- Bans powered milk products from China.
* BHUTAN: -- Bhutan has banned Chinese milk imports, ranging from chocolates, sweets and cakes to milk tablets.
* BRUNEI: -- All Chinese milk products banned by Health Ministry, even though Brunei does not directly import dairy products from China.
* BURUNDI: -- Banned import, sale of Chinese milk products.
* COLOMBIA: -- Banned import of China-made powdered milk.
* CAMEROON: -- Suspends import and sale of fresh and powdered milk from China.
* EUROPEAN UNION: -- The 27-nation bloc banned baby food containing Chinese milk.
* FRANCE: -- Banned all food items containing Chinese milk as precautionary move.
* GABON: -- Introduced ban at same time as Burundi.
* GHANA: -- Food and Drug Board suspended imports of all milk and milk-based products made in China.
* INDIA: -- Banned import of milk and milk products from China for three months.
* INDONESIA: -- Banned imports of China dairy products.
* IVORY COAST: -- Banned imports of milk products from China.
* MALAYSIA: -- Banned all Chinese milk imports, as well as chocolates, sweets and other foods containing milk.
* MALDIVES: -- Banned Chinese milk products to protect its population of 300,000.
* NEPAL: -- Banned all China milk and milk-based food products as a precautionary measure.
* PAPUA NEW GUINEA: -- Banned China-made milk products.
* PHILIPPINES: -- Banned import and sale of milk products from China, pending investigation of possible contamination.
* SINGAPORE: -- Banned the import and sale of milk products from China on Sept 19 after finding melamine in two China-made
products -- "Dutch Lady" strawberry flavoured milk, and "Yili Brand" dairy fruit bar yoghurt flavoured ice confection.
White Rabbit Creamy Candy pulled from shelves after being found to be contaminated with melamine.
* SOUTH KOREA: -- Banned China-made foods containing powdered milk after imported biscuits test positive for melamine.
* SURINAME: -- Banned milk and dairy products from China, is stepping up inspections on food imported from Southeast Asia.
* TAIWAN: -- All China-made dairy products banned, a milk testing station set up for consumers in Taipei.
* TANZANIA: -- Suspended all China dairy imports, and seized 34 tonnes of China-made milk powder.
* TOGO: -- Suspended import, distribution and sale of all Chinese-origin milk products.
* VIETNAM: -- Banned China milk products. Health officials warned such products may have been sold in remote areas
in the impoverished central region.
Edited to add on Monday, September 29, 2008: *MYANMAR and *LAOS (see reply 556, page 38)
Edited to add on Wednesday, October 1, 2008: *UGANDA (see Reply 619, page 42)
51 54 nations where consumer food safety appears to come first pending further investigation and food safety controls
Edited to add on Friday, October 3, 2008: *URUGUAY
To the overwhelmed US FDA and US Congress: Keep repeating "If it's 'Got Milk?', it needs government testing" until it sinks into the
bureaucratic morass. The American consumer does not want this happening for the second time in the United States."
"China has run out of excuses, assurances and defenses. As a giant exporter of food and other products, its attitude toward consumer safety is a disgrace and a global health threat."
Quote from: Arlo on October 03, 2008, 03:17:40 PM
Elevated uric acid levels can come from foods high in purines, such as liver, certain fish, red wine, etc. I've seen studies of rats having crystals that were a combination of melamine and uric acid. Also, those ads for enzyme cleaners for urine stains mention uric acid as the cause of the stain. So if uric acid is normally in urine, are we all, pets and humans, going to end up with kidney issues? What about dehydrated animals? Concentrated urine would mean higher levels of these chemicals. Of course, then the vets would say feed K/D with all the liver and the high purines.... I'm afraid we'll have a casualty rate like the 1918 flu epidemic, the way these regulators are handling this. Sorry if I've repeated what others have said; this whole thing is so upsetting. >:(
Here's some links about Dalmatians and Purines:
http://home.att.net/~hattrick-dals/PreventingUrateStoneFormation.html
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=1683&S=0&EVetID=0
http://www.thedca.org/purines.html
http://www.thedca.org/fallacy.html
http://www.thedca.org/genlprev.html
http://www.dalmatians.us/feeding.htm
http://www.britishdalmatianclub.org.uk/health/index.php?action=urinary_stones
Quote from: Arlo on October 03, 2008, 03:17:40 PM
Elevated uric acid levels can come from foods high in purines, such as liver, certain fish, red wine, etc. I've seen studies of rats having crystals that were a combination of melamine and uric acid. Also, those ads for enzyme cleaners for urine stains mention uric acid as the cause of the stain. So if uric acid is normally in urine, are we all, pets and humans, going to end up with kidney issues? What about dehydrated animals? Concentrated urine would mean higher levels of these chemicals. Of course, then the vets would say feed K/D with all the liver and the high purines.... I'm afraid we'll have a casualty rate like the 1918 flu epidemic, the way these regulators are handling this. Sorry if I've repeated what others have said; this whole thing is so upsetting. >:(
Do you think that in the case of the babies in China, the nitrogen levels, amino acid levels had to be producing more uric acid? Cos other foods wouldn't have been at issue. They've not mentioned cyanuric acid. It brings it back to scrap melamine with other toxins and impacted by either/ nitrogen levels in the milk or amino acid levels in the milk or both, doesn't it?
ETA: Oh, and one more major factor. The nitrogen compounds in MARC have no nutritional value and the babies had to be starving/very malnourished and their internal systems going haywire using up fat & muscle, etc. to support their food needs.
http://www.reuters.com:80/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE4926W220081003
FACTBOX: No safe melamine level found for baby formula
Fri Oct 3, 2008 1:47pm EDT
(Reuters) - No amount of melamine is safe in baby formula, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday in an analysis after milk products from China were found to be contaminated. ...
OTHER FOOD PRODUCTS
-- Levels of melamine and related compounds below 2.5 parts per million "do not raise concerns."
Unable to determine safe melamine levels for babies and infants, upon what does the FDA base its conclusion that levels of
melamine for older children and adults "do not raise concerns" at levels of 2.5 parts per million?
What country has offered its babies and infants, older children, teenagers, citizens who are sick or immune system compromised,
elderly population up for study which has allowed the FDA to come to this conclusion regarding melamine risk assessment?
As far as I can tell, none but the unfortunate babies of China, and none would voluntarily become the subject of such a study
to "norm" scientific findings that I'm aware of. This new melamine risk assessment is not adequate either in view of the results
in China unless there's a whole lot of evidence the FDA has that it's not made anyone aware of. Zero tolerance of melamine and
its analogues in food is in the interests of US food consumers' safety at the current level of knowledge.
QuoteETA: Oh, and one more major factor. The nitrogen compounds in MARC have no nutritional value and the babies had to be starving/very malnourished and their internal systems going haywire using up fat & muscle, etc. to support their food needs.
This is what I was wondering during the PFR. How does this false protein in feed and food work? The feed animals obviously hit their weight from maximum product production (greed would prevent otherwise), but they can't be getting what they need, right? Or don't they live long enough for it to be an issue? And what is the value of their protein after slaughter?
At this point in time with the US governments failure to issue a total ban on melamine in foods - animal feed, pet food, human foods... I'm thinking the "mostly from China" statement in the Thailand 2007 report , means another country(ies) has industries that do the same..
The FDA & our government is truly making me think the US industries are also partners of this boost for profit scheme.
Since they protect industries and not consumers, the FDA/USDA and their science make the industries here look guilty as sin
Add in the fact that China is following their rulings and consulting them..not the bans of other countries, they're indicting the industries nd governments in both China and the US.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hS2ue9qfIBRTN8nQov-E3boHCxTQD93J82HO0
FDA: Tiny bit of melamine OK in most foods
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR – 3 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Tiny traces of melamine, the chemical that has set off a global food safety scare, are not harmful in most foods, except baby formula, government experts said Friday.
The Food and Drug Administration said Friday its safety experts have concluded that eating a minuscule amount of melamine — 2.5 parts per million — would not raise health concerns, even if a person ate food every day that was tainted with the chemical.
"It would be like if you had a million grains of sand and they were all white, and you had two or three that were black, that's kind of the magnitude," said Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's food safety program.
The FDA guideline is meant to help federal and state investigators checking for contaminated foods from China at ports of entry and in Asian community groceries around the country. "We are trying to identify products that have levels we are really concerned about, rather than trying to find the last molecule," said Sundlof.
For example, melamine levels in imported Chinese candies recalled last week in California were as high as 520 parts per million, about 200 times greater than the level set on Friday by the FDA for "tolerable" risk.
In China, melamine-tainted formula has sickened more than 54,000 children, mainly with kidney problems, and is being blamed for the deaths of at least four. The industrial chemical has also turned up in products sold across Asia, ranging from candies, to chocolates, to coffee drinks, all of which used dairy ingredients from China.
In the U.S., White Rabbit candies from China were recalled after authorities in California and Connecticut found melamine. And Friday, a New Jersey company announced it was recalling a yogurt-type drink from China, 'Blue Cat Flavor Drink,' after FDA testing found melamine.
No illnesses have been reported in the U.S., but authorities are checking for any telltale increase in reports of kidney problems.
The FDA says infant formula sold here is safe, because manufacturers do not use any ingredients from China. But officials expect more melamine recalls as they continue to test products in ethnic markets.
FDA officials stressed that the melamine risk assessment issued Friday does not mean U.S. authorities will condone foods deliberately spiked with the chemical.
The 2.5 parts-per-million standard is meant to address situations in which the chemical accidentally comes into contact with food. For example, plastic food processing equipment may have been made using melamine, and some of the chemical might find its way into food.
Infant formula sold to U.S. consumers must be completely free of melamine. "There is too much uncertainty to set a level in infant formula and rule out any public health concern," the FDA said.
In China, unscrupulous suppliers appear to have been adding melamine to make watered-down milk seem protein-rich in quality-control tests. That's because melamine is high in nitrogen, as is protein.
Melamine first came to the attention of U.S. consumers last year, when it touched off a massive pet food recall. Chinese suppliers of bulk pet food ingredients were found to have been adding the chemical to artificially boost the protein readings of their products. Thousands of pets here were sickened, and hundreds are believed to have died.
Melamine is harmful to the kidneys. It can cause kidney stones as the body tries to eliminate it, and in extreme cases, life-threatening kidney failure.
--------------------------------------------------------
I don't even know where to begin with this press release! They speak of the 2.5 parts-per-million standard being meant to address situations where melamine accidently came into contact with food? How often does that happen? Isn't it more likely that this 2.5 parts-per-million "standard" was meant to address situations where livestock or fish consumed melamine tainted feed that humans end up ingesting when those meats/fish end up on dinner tables? I don't understand why the FDA does not seem as concerned as the food saftey agencies from other countries. Shouldn't we be turning this stuff away at the borders?
Quote from: straybaby on October 03, 2008, 04:41:53 PM
QuoteETA: Oh, and one more major factor. The nitrogen compounds in MARC have no nutritional value and the babies had to be starving/very malnourished and their internal systems going haywire using up fat & muscle, etc. to support their food needs.
This is what I was wondering during the PFR. How does this false protein in feed and food work? The feed animals obviously hit their weight from maximum product production (greed would prevent otherwise), but they can't be getting what they need, right? Or don't they live long enough for it to be an issue? And what is the value of their protein after slaughter?
Straybaby, it is my understanding that ruminants can use NPN--although I think it is a bad idea from my holistic view.
http://agriculture.kzntl.gov.za/portal/AgricPublications/ProductionGuidelines/DairyinginKwaZuluNatal/RuminantDigestion/tabid/247/Default.aspx
Digestion of protein
Dietary protein, like dietary carbohydrates, is fermented by rumen microbes. The majority of true protein, and non-protein nitrogen (NPN), entering the rumen is broken down to ammonia, which bacteria require for synthesizing their own body protein. Ammonia is most efficiently incorporated into bacterial protein when the diet is rich in soluble carbohydrates, particularly starch. Ammonia, in excess of that used by the micro-organisms, is absorbed through the rumen wall into the blood, carried to the liver, and converted to urea, the greater part is excreted in the urine. Some urea is returned to the rumen via the saliva, and also directly through the rumen wall.
The undegraded true protein fraction, plus the microbial protein, passes from the rumen to the abomasum, where it is digested, and absorbed into the bloodstream through the walls of the small intestine.
----------------------------------------------
This explanation is even better, ADM tells us how and why:
http://www.admani.com/AllianceBeef/TechnicalEdge/Ruminant%20Feed%20Microbes.htm
Protein
Microbial fermentation has a large impact on the protein nutrition of the ruminant. Protein in feedstuffs fed to ruminants is usually described as ruminally degradable (or available) or undegradable (or bypass or escape). The undegradable portion passes through the rumen and into the lower tract "as is" where it is digested and used by the ruminant. The quality of the protein (amino acids profile) is important in these feeds because they directly impact the ruminant. A portion of the protein component (rumen degradable) of feedstuffs is broken down by microbes and incorporated into their own bodies. Microbes break down protein into amino acids, which are then split apart into ammonia and "carbon skeletons." Carbon skeletons are often utilized as energy, while nitrogen from ammonia is used by microbes to form amino acids and proteins for its own growth and reproduction.
Microbes can effectively utilize non-protein nitrogen sources (such as biuret and urea, which are ammonia sources) because they have the enzymes and other metabolic machinery to build amino acids and proteins from ammonia. The process of degrading and rebuilding proteins has positive and negative consequences for the ruminant. On the negative side, not all of the ammonia released from feedstuffs is captured by microbes. Ammonia can escape through the rumen wall into the blood stream, and eventually pass into the urine and voided. The amount of ammonia lost can be minimized by proper ration balancing (i.e. formulating rations based on microbe and ruminant needs, which will minimize the amount of excess ammonia). Another negative aspect is the potential for ammonia poisoning, which can occur when too much ammonia passes from the rumen into the blood stream. The potential for ammonia poisoning can be avoided with proper feed management and diet formulation. On the positive side, protein built by microbes for their own use is relatively high quality and provides solid protein nutrition to the ruminant when microbes pass into the small intestine. The added perk is that this high-quality microbial protein can be built from NPN sources. The ability of ruminants to effectively utilize NPN enables more cost-effective protein supplementation.
"It would be like if you had a million grains of sand and they were all white, and you had two or three that were black, that's kind of the magnitude," said Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's food safety program.
*************************************************
I think Sundlof has been out in the sun too long!!! His analogy is alarmingly oversimplified. And most consumers will not be any the wiser until the truth reaches them--or the kidney stones. The analogy doesn't take interactions into account or multiple sources. Or the fact that we are a nation of overeaters... Or how about the amount of food eaten by quickly growing children....or all of the uncertainty glaringly obvious in the FDA's Safety???? Assessment and delayed Peer Review.
Oh, and one more thing, it also fails to take into account that the FDA is not testing all of the imports or testing the "food" for sale in our grocery stores. Who, besides the Divine, can number the grains of sand without actually taking a sample and counting?
Thanks DMS! I forgot they had different guts than us! I tend to go on info overload and forget what I learned in the past {sigh}
Quote from Offy
QuoteDo you think that in the case of the babies in China, the nitrogen levels, amino acid levels had to be producing more uric acid? Cos other foods wouldn't have been at issue. They've not mentioned cyanuric acid.
I've been reading that increased consumption of fructose increases production of uric acid, and can cause kidney stones. http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/results.php?storyarticle=5586.
Mail campaign:
The Honorable Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D.
Commissioner
United States Food and Drug Administration
Parklawn Building/Mail Code: HF-1
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20856
Send Dr. von Eschenbach Halloween candy, packets of Pizza Hut cheese, non-dairy coffee creamer
with the words
"Trick or Chinese Treat" on the envelope
You know, kind of like the poop bags sent during the pet food recall of 2007 ;) - I'm just about fed up enough.
Quote from: straybaby on October 03, 2008, 05:18:33 PM
Thanks DMS! I forgot they had different guts than us! I tend to go on info overload and forget what I learned in the past {sigh}
I do, too. It would be nice if the FDA would do their own job and provide the people and animals with healthy, wholesome, uncontaminated food! And medicines that don't make us sicker or die.
Quote from: DMS on October 03, 2008, 05:16:59 PM
"It would be like if you had a million grains of sand and they were all white, and you had two or three that were black, that's kind of the magnitude," said Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's food safety program.
*************************************************
I think Sundlof has been out in the sun too long!!! His analogy is too overly simplistic. And most consumers will not be any the wiser until the truth reaches them--or the kidney stones.
It would be nice if he would continue on and say that all the black ones grow and reproduce in crystal form. Soon you have pebbles in your sand . . . . Also, at 10 fold, that's 25 grains of sand. In up to 50% of your daily intake. How's the math workin' for ya now? Oh, wait, that's assuming you haven't consumed any product that didn't get inspected in that whooping 1% and you didn't get 500+ pieces of sand, which turns into crystals which turns into pebbles.
Ya know, I getting pretty freaking angry right now. I know what a hundred stones looks like. The Dal I rescued had a bladder full. They gave me one tube and the other was sent out for testing . . . think peppercorns and a bit larger folks. And we all know kidney stones can get much larger. Is there a growth maximum on melamine stones?!
Just found this personal post from RP, which I conclude is the Republic of the Phillippines from the BFAD entry. This is an
Oct. 3 post from a mother there complete with pictures of her children. Nissin is a Japanese food manufacturer. Cause is
not clear here, but if it is tainted milk ingredients, I am now fed up:
http://gloriaresign.wordpress.com:80/2008/10/03/close-call/
I think Nissin has already been mentioned in this. I know some waffers and Oreos have. If she gets the tests back, I hope she posts the toxins/levels. Sounds like a pretty violent reaction.
Nissin manufactures Top Ramen, among other things.
Sounds very much like acute pet reactions to me, too.
They have a recall in Canada and pulled product in Hong Kong and then I came across this . .
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20080922p2a00m0na008000c.html
Quote
Japanese company rushes to recall pastries supplied by firm linked to China milk scare
A food catering company in Tokyo has announced that it supplied more than 300,000 pastries to over 3,000 facilities across the nation containing milk produced by a Chinese manufacturer whose products were contaminated with melamine.
Nissin Healthcare Food Service Co., Ltd. said on Sunday that it had supplied 3,054 facilities including hospitals and welfare institutions across the nation with 301,540 pastries called "Cream Panda," which the company bought from Marudai Food Co.
This is really maddening! I can hardly stand the frustration I feel and the freaking disbelief at what is allowed to go on! I really believe the only positive effect we can have on our end of the world here is to independently test the food at our grocers. Otherwise, we will never know the truth. And write those letters and make those phonecalls. But more than anything else, I want proof! I don't believe any of the so-called regulatory authorities and definitely do not trust industry to regulate itself. Those two are the greatest obfuscators (or substitute your own noun there) of our time--maybe of all time!
DMS, I just don't dare put it in print.
Quote from: DMS on October 03, 2008, 06:16:06 PM
But more than anything else, I want proof! I don't believe any of the so called regulatory authorities and definitely do not trust industry to regulate itself.
I posted a comment to the blog that 3Cat posted (it's in moderation, prob because of links) inviting the mother on over here and asked that she post her test results on her blog (and hopefully here) when she gets them back. It's pretty [edited] sad as an American, that I'm asking a woman in another country for test results because I don't "trust the info we are being spoon fed here". >:(
Here is an interesting snippet of information about melamine's solubility in water:
http://chem.vander-lingen.nl/info/item/September_2008/id/137
The journalists are very brief on the chemical details but trying to get some chemical background information is not that easy and certainly the scientific literature is not very helpfull (my library does not exactly subscribe to such journals as journal of food protection or journal of diary science). So with the combined power of search engines, wikipedia and some educated guesses this is a milk / melamine update.
The nitrogen content of milk is made up of casein protein and whey protein both of which give the nutritional value. Non-protein nitrogen sources are ammonia, urea, creatine, creatinine, uric acid, orotic acid, peptides, hippuric acid and several amino acids. A typical milk sample will contain 87% water, true protein (TP) 3% , crude protein (CP) 3.10% and casein 2.6% link. These figures are surprisingly stable regardless of cow brand or cow nationality.
The melamine contamination scandal concerns both regular milk and milk powder. One liquid milk sample was found to contain 8.4 milligrams of melamine per kg Link. With a crude protein content of 3.1% per kilogram milk, it is theoretically possible to disguise up to 40% dilution with an added 3 gram of melamine which is also the maximum solubility of melamine in water.
The melamine contamination scandal concerns both regular milk and milk powder. One liquid milk sample was found to contain 8.4 milligrams of melamine per kg (Link). With a standard nitrogen content of 8% per kilogram milk, it is theoretically possible to disguise up to 50% dilution with an added 60 gram of melamine.
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on October 03, 2008, 11:26:59 AM
http://www.economist.com:80/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12343910
Land of milk and money
Oct 3rd 2008
From Economist.com
So why use an expensive industrial chemical that's in short supply to dilute a dirt cheap product like milk? The answer can only be that either some flaw rendered the melamine industrially worthless, or it wasn't melamine at all. The first suggestion is scary enough; the second is even more ominous.
The only thing your correspondent can imagine that would render melamine industrially worthless is if it were reclaimed waste from the production process.
Industrially, melamine is usually made by heating urea in the presence of a catalyst. Because large amounts of ammonia and carbon dioxide are given off in the process, most modern plants now combine melamine production with urea production, which uses ammonia and carbon dioxide as feedstocks. As the two processes feed off one another, a combined plant is considerably more efficient than two separate ones.
But the final stage—washing the melamine and turning it into crystal form—produces lots of effluent that needs treating before releasing into the environment. The usual way to do that is to filter the waste water and pipe that away, and then dispose of the concentrated solids separately.
Those accumulated solids are around 70% melamine, with the rest being made up of various by-products, including our old friend cyanuric acid. As mentioned before, a mixture of melamine and cyanuric acid can be a nasty witches' brew, especially when ingested by infants.
"produces lots of effluent that needs treating {or to magically disappear} before releasing into the environment"
3cats, when I read this and saw similar descriptions online, I wondered if the large amounts of waste water might be part of the contamination. It might mix more readily with milk, etc. And it should be properly disposed of ;) properly. I'm not sure if this is what the author is suggesting as he goes on to imply urine, I believe. But the wastewater angle sticks out like a sore thumb to me.
Has anyone read a
definitive, official account of how the melamine was added to milk?
More bad news about uric acid and melamine; sorry if this is a repeat:
http://www.osha.gov/dts/chemicalsampling/data/CH_250440.html
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) carcinogenic classification: Group 3, Not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans [not enough/any data]
Potential symptoms: Irritation of eyes, skin, and mucous membranes; dermatitis; in animals: chronic inflammation of kidneys (female rats); ulceration of urinary bladder epithelium (mice), urolithiasis (rats and mice); bladder cancer (male rats). Health Effects: Irritation-Eye, Nose, Throat, Skin---Mild (HE16)
Affected organs: Kidneys, bladder, skin
Notes:
The main constituents of the stones in the urinary bladders of rats given melamine in the diet were reported to be unchanged melamine and uric acid in a 1:1 molar ratio.
-------------------------------------------------------
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/rtecs/osaae60.html
http://www.efluxmedia.com:80/news_Thailand_Initiates_Product_Tests_In_Melamine_Scandal_25759.html
Thailand Initiates Product Tests In Melamine Scandal
By Judy Hill 04:07, October 4th 2008
The Asian country is taking every measure of protection against the melamine spread in a number of milk-based products made in China.
While waiting for laboratory analysis, all the newly imported milk powder from China has been impounded by Thailand's Food and Drug Administration in ports all around the country.
FDA secretary-general Pipat Yingseri says that this is just a precautionary measure. "This doesn't mean that the items are contaminated," he states. "We just want to make sure that there will not be contamination before releasing it for sale to the public." ...
Thailand's legal limit is of 1 milligram of melamine per kilogram, which means that if a product contains less than that, it is considered nonthreatening to human health. The officials say that melamine may be found in such small amounts, due to accidental exposure in the making process, which is acceptable.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net:80/breakingnews/world/view/20081004-164588/Fourth-milk-brand-recalled-in-Australia
Fourth milk brand recalled in Australia
Agence France-Presse First Posted 11:50:00 10/04/2008
SYDNEY -- A fourth Chinese milk product has been withdrawn from sale in Australia over a contamination scare which has killed four children and sickened 53,000 in China.
Australian tests revealed levels of the industrial chemical melamine in Kirin milk tea, Food Standards Australia New Zealand said in a statement late Friday.
"Consumers are advised not to consume Kirin milk tea made in China," the organization said.
It was not immediately clear if the product was also sold in New Zealand. ...
In the Philippines, two China-made products, Greenfood Yili Fresh Milk and Mengniu Drink, tested positive for melamine in partial test results released Friday
October 4, 2008
News spin received in a Google Alert for FDA. Since the FDA can't tell you what level of melamine is "safe" for infants and
babies, has anyone in the mainstream media thought to ask the FDA how it determined 2.5 parts per million is a "safe" level for older
children, adults, and the elderly? Out of what long term exposure study hat did the FDA get this information? Remember 16 cats
and dogs from the pet food recalls of 2007? That turned out to be a tragic farce. Now it's suddenly endless repetition of 2.5 parts per million of melamine in the Chinese milk scandal of 2008??? Such study data does not exist I don't believe. And news spin is not going to make it stick with regard to babies and infants and other at-risk human beings no matter how often it's printed until the studies are published and the products are tested. And please don't accept any LDL50 (lethal dose limit) levels from studies on rats extrapolated to human beings. Pet owners already got suckered by that one in 2007. Not sure just who the "rats" are here, but 2.5 parts per million of melamine is more like an educated guess than a fact ...
In most foods, melamine traces won't harm, FDA says
Kansas City Star - MO,USA
And Friday, a New Jersey company announced it was recalling a yogurt-type drink from China, Blue Cat Flavor Drink, after FDA testing found melamine. ...
See all stories on this topic
FDA Rules How Much Melamine Is Too Much
U.S. News & World Report - Washington,DC,USA
In determining its risk assessment standards for melamine contamination, the FDA concluded that levels of the chemical less than 2.5 parts per million are ...
See all stories on this topic
FDA: Tiny bit of melamine OK in most foods
Forbes - NY,USA
The FDA guideline is meant to help federal and state investigators checking for contaminated foods from China at ports of entry and in Asian community ...
See all stories on this topic
FDA: Tiny bit of melamine OK in most food
The Associated Press
Separately, a New Jersey company announced a recall of Chinese-made yogurt drinks Friday after FDA testing found melamine. The Blue Cat Flavor Drink, ...
See all stories on this topic
FDA: Tiny bit of melamine in food usually OK
The Associated Press
"There is too much uncertainty to set a level in infant formula and rule out any public health concern," the FDA said. Melamine first came to the attention ...
See all stories on this topic
FDA: Tiny bit of melamine in food usually OK
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal regulators say eating a tiny bit of melamine is not harmful, except in baby formula. The Food and Drug Administration said Friday ...
See all stories on this topic
http://afp.google.com:80/article/ALeqM5gucWjV9gKuaL8c8YM2W9J_ERKL3A
More nations pull suspect products as China milk scandal spreads
1 hour ago October 4, 2008
SEOUL (AFP) — South Korea, Australia and Japan Saturday pulled melamine-contaminated sweets and drinks from supermarket shelves amid a widening scandal over Chinese milk products tainted with the toxic chemical.
Authorities in Seoul ordered Mars and Nestle to pull three products after melamine, which is usually used for making plastics, was detected in snacks made in China by the multinationals.
The industrial chemical had been found in M&M's milk chocolate snack and Snickers peanut Fun Size, both produced by Mars, and Kit Kat chocolate bars imported from Nestle Tianjin in China, Korea Food and Drug Administration said.
"Mars is recalling these products because it is legally obligated to do so following the announcement by the Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA)," Mars said in a statement.
Melamine has been blamed for making thousands of infants ill and killing four in mainland China after it tainted baby milk powder in one of the country's worst ever product safety scandals.
China is struggling to limit the damage to its food safety reputation as a growing number of countries have decided to suspend imports of Chinese milk products or withdraw them from sale over the scandal.
Mars said while it was complying with the South Korean request, the melamine levels detected were too small to pose a health risk, and called for a standard reporting limit of the industrial chemical across Asia.
"Minute traces of melamine are commonly found throughout the global food chain and melamine levels below 2.5 ppm are not deemed to indicate adulteration with melamine," it said. There was no immediate comment from Nestle Korea.
A KFDA official said South Korea does not allow any level of melamine in food. "No melamine in food is our standard," he told AFP ...
A Japanese importer, meanwhile, began recalling Chinese chocolates suspected of being contaminated with melamine.
The western Japanese city of Osaka said a test showed the chemical had been detected in "Chocolate Pillows" imported from China by Osaka-based NS International. While there had been no reports of health problems, the city ordered the importer to recall some 86,000 packages of the chocolates on the grounds that the company may have violated the food sanitation law.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i1PW8Su6EECm-m22gV1dABkLdHJQD93JKA080
Associated Press October 4, 2008
South Korea finds 4 more melamine-tainted products
"South Korea's food watchdog has ordered four more Chinese-made food products to be destroyed after they were found to contain the industrial chemical melamine.
"Melamine was found in Snickers Peanut Funsize and M&Ms chocolate milk made by Mars, as well as KitKat wafers made by Nestle and a biscuit manufactured by Lotte Confectionery Co., the Food and Drug Administration said in a statement Saturday.
"The test results raise the number of known melamine-tainted food products imported to South Korea from China to 10.
"The South Korean tests found 1.78 parts per million of melamine in Snickers bars, 2.38 parts per million in M&Ms, 2.89 parts per million for KitKats, and up to 3.36 parts per million in the Lotte biscuits.
"Lotte and Mars Korea said they were withdrawing their products. Comments from Nestle Korea were not immediately available."
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Saturday/Frontpage/20081004183300/Article/index_html
New Straits Times Malaysia October 4, 2008
HIGH ALERT: Malaysia on look-out for melamine-tainted greens imported from China
"THE Health Ministry is now on high alert over vegetables imported from China.
""We have learnt from Korea that they have detected a high level of melamine in vegetables they import from China," said Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai.
""We have launched a Level 4 check on all food products from China where we will take samples to ensure the products are safe for consumption before releasing it into the market," he told reporters after attending the Sabah MCA convention here today."
3Cat,
Are you keeping a list of the recalled products?
5CatMom
=^..^=
http://www.nhandan.com.vn/english/life/041008/life_95.htm
NhanDan Vietnam October 4, 2008
95 tonnes of melamine contaminated milk recalled
"The Hanoimilk company is asked to recall 95 tonnes of Chinese-imported melamine contaminated full cream milk powder, according to an official document by the Ministry of Public Health.
"Of which, 25 tonnes were sold to the Hanoi Asia Company. The remainder is sold to the Ho Chi Minh City Asia Company.
"According to the test result, the Hanoimilk's two batches of milk including Full Cream milk Powder Grade A imported from the Longcom enterprise Ltd and Blue Cow - Full Cream milk Powder Used for UHT milk imported from the Heilongjiang Quimei Biological technology company Ltd, were contaminated with melamine."
Who is Heilongjiang Quimei Biological technology company Ltd?
From an AliBaba-type internet trading site:
http://www.qimeishengwu.com/newEbiz1/EbizPortalFG/portal/html/enqyjj.html
"Heilongjiang Qimei Biological Science&Technology Company Ltd. is a modern enterprise group integrating animal husbandry, industry and commerce into a whole, with package services including production, processing, and sales, based on dairy processing industry, dominated by health food and with biological engineering technology at the core. The company now has a total asset of RMB 110 million, an annual sales income of RMB 100 million, tax and revenue RMB 20 million, and 860 employees.
"The company has two modern fine milk cow breeding research bases with the first-class national construction standard and two plants. One is a dairy production plant with an annual output of 5,000 tons of milk powder, and 6,000 tons of liquid milk. The other is a health food production plant which has passed the certification of GMP by SFDA, and produces dissolvent, capsule, oral liquid and tablet, With 23 sales companies and 150 health food franchised stores scattered in the large and medium-sized cities like Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Nanjing and Wuhan.
"Also, the company has its international trade company in shandong, SHANDONG EEJON INTERNATIONAL TRADING CO. LTD. The main business is developing the foreign trade issues. Our aim is making our products a good percentage in the world market.
"In 2006, Qimei brand was selected as one of the top 10 credible brands in the first round of China's health food products, and four kinds of products are voted as the most credible products. And "Qimei" has been recognized as the top brand of China's diabetic health food.
"Qimei reduced-glucose milk powder is the national patent product, the national key new product, and a project of the National Spark Program. Now, the company has five types of health products approved by the Ministry of Health, and has formed a sound product mix of 4 series and 40 varieties including health food, healthy food, infant formula milk, industrial milk powder.
"Qimei fine milk cow breeding bases can be divided into No.1 base and No.2 base. Located in the high-quality natural grassland belt of Songnen Plain in Qianping Village, Meilisi District, free of industrial pollution, it is an ideal grazing area with the first-class national construction standard. It now has 2,000 milk cows of the world top breeds, an annual output of 500 calves and 6,000 tons of high-quality fresh milk, which provide export products, health food, infant formula milk powder, etc.
"The dairy production plant is located in Ya'er'sai Town, Meilisi District, with convenient traffic and sound infrastructures. As a colony of the Tahur Nationality, it has a long tradition of grazing and rich fresh milk resources. The plant has two milk power production lines, and a liquid milk production line with a daily processing capacity of 140 tons of fresh milk, an annual output of 5,000 tons of milk powder, and 6,000 tons of liquid milk.
"The company has established 23 marketing branches in some large and medium-sized cities like Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Nanjing, Wuhan and Harbin, with 150 health food franchised stores and a professional marketing team of 650 members. Our products have entered hundreds upon hundreds of supermarkets, and we have established a long-term and stable diabetes membership group including 300,000 members."
This ring a bell with anyone? Binzhou Futian biological technology co Ltd and Xuzhou Anying biological technology co Ltd--on internet trading sites........... >:(
This ring a bell with anyone? Binzhou Futian biological technology co Ltd and Xuzhou Anying biological technology co Ltd--on internet trading sites...........
No surprise here.... >:(
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=755267
eTaiwan News October 4, 2008
China vegetable also contains melamine
"Alleged to China media, melamine was found in not only milk powder, milk dairy products and packaged food, vegetable, mushroom, celery and tomato also contain melamine.
"It was common in China when manufacturing the feed, the manufacturers may add melamine. Besides, it may contain other harmful chemical substances, like Sodium nitrite, which causes people to suffer cancer.
"Fortune in China also reported that the experts had investigated and found out melamine in agricultural products. Particularly, melamine exited in mushroom with 17 mg/kg.
"Fortune said, only 250 of 1500 substances, which were used to be additives, were eligible and got the international standard. It noted that the government did not manage and control over food safety."
I finally found a measurement of melamine from packaging... which I think the FDA tries to avoid specifically mentioning in the "tiny amount" scenario.
They said as "adulterant", intentionally added.
So doesn't that makes the 2.5ppm far more than they have addressed as melamine in packing having contact with foods ?
"Unintentionally added" - crops - uptake from fertilizers, gmos - the initial level of MARC
"Unintentionally added"- meats - in tissue, organ meats (eggs?)- the 2nd level of MARC
"Unintentionally added" - contact with packaging - the 3rd level of MARC
Quote
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081004.MELAMINE04/TPStory/National
"As a component of food packaging, very small traces can contaminate food and beverages. According to the World Health Organization, average daily uptake is about 0.007 milligrams per kilo of body weight."
Has anyone seen the average daily uptake from 1st & 2nd levels?
I am thinking that since ruminants are allowed NPN in feed, that the feed for non-ruminants is not being mentioned by the FDA due to the pigs, chickens, fish and not acknowledging animal feed for non-ruminants has/had melamine in it and that vitamins/supplements have also been adulterated.
If the FDA covered all those topics maybe there would be an understanding of precisely where/what sources they're allowing MARC in & coming up with exposures for the 2.5ppm (and 10fold) amount.
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=13395&geo=6&size=A
AsiaNews (Italy) October 4, 2008
Beijing, after milk, melamine in soy milk, too
"Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) - After poisoned powdered milk, there is a new alarm today over soy milk: the authorities of Guangzhou have ordered the recall of the product under the brand name Bingquan, because it could contain traces of melamine. This is another source of concern for Chinese consumers, who in recent weeks have used more soy products because they thought they were immune from the scandal."
Quote from: menusux on October 04, 2008, 04:26:14 AM
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Saturday/Frontpage/20081004183300/Article/index_html
New Straits Times Malaysia October 4, 2008
HIGH ALERT: Malaysia on look-out for melamine-tainted greens imported from China
"THE Health Ministry is now on high alert over vegetables imported from China.
""We have learnt from Korea that they have detected a high level of melamine in vegetables they import from China," said Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai.
""We have launched a Level 4 check on all food products from China where we will take samples to ensure the products are safe for consumption before releasing it into the market," he told reporters after attending the Sabah MCA convention here today."
What? Are they talking about fresh vegetables? If so, is this due to livestock waste and contaminated water run-off?
Sorry if this was already discussed, but there is a lot of information in this thread.
This is really getting scary! It sounds like every single food product over there is contaminated.
Which wouldn't be so scary if we had any way of knowing what food did come from there. I'm beginning to think COOL will never be enforced.
How in the world would melamine get into fresh vegetables? ??? ?
This gets scarier by the minute.
I think it is scary to wonder just how widely spread around the world this contamination is. If greens are contaminated--I wonder is it pesticide, fertilizer, seed coat metabolism? Background environmental pollution from plastic production? Genetic engineering related?--notice biotech is at the core of these companies. We need to know the route of contamination. So far, we still don't have that.
http://www.saynotogmos.org/ud2007/uapr07.php
On March 30, the FDA reported finding a widely used compound called melamine (formed by dehydration of urea and used in the manufacture of plastics, as a wood resin adhesive, and in slow-release urea fertilizer), in the suspect pet foods. The FDA claims the melamine was the cause of an as yet uncounted number of cat and dog poisonings and deaths.
The Associated Press cited the Environmental Protection Agency as having identified melamine as a contaminant and byproduct of several pesticides, including cryomazine. People began to question if there is also pesticide contamination of the wheat gluten. Is there a possibility of deliberate contamination, or is it the result of gross mismanagement and lack of effective food-safety and quality controls that accounts for levels of melamine reported to be as high as 6.6% by the FDA in samples of the wheat gluten?[the plant metabolizes the cryomazine into melamine and accumulates it]
A brief internet search quickly reveals that the widely used insect growth regulator cryomazine [used as a feed-through] is not only made from melamine, but it also breaks down into melamine after ingestion by an animal. [I believe it is used for fly control in livestock]
-----------------------------------------------
I am pretty sure it is used as a protective seedcoat and it is used to bind pills for humans. Along with lactose.
Edit: I will have to re search my info on the pill binder, I can't find it now and the kids want pancakes--with syrup and hold the melamine.
Quote from: catbird on October 04, 2008, 07:31:57 AM
How in the world would melamine get into fresh vegetables? ??? ?
This gets scarier by the minute.
Catbird
Probably cumulative from the pesticide/herbicide usage in China. Probably becomes embedded in the soil
and is drawn into the vegetables when they grow.
And again I say, stop importing food from China, period.
Until this all gets straightened out, probably never, stop importing food.
In another thread, it is now confirmed that they sat on this during the Olympics, they knew about the melamik on Aug 2, but deferred reporting it because of the Olympics.
So this is what we are dealing with
DB
5CatMom: No, I haven't been keeping a list of recalled products, dates, and countries. Just the
number of countries confirmed to have banned Chinese dairy imports in the interests of protecting
their citizens' health. Will see if I can do that and make a cumulative chart. Trouble is the news
spin has started on behalf of the food industry and the exact product information is getting scarce.
Now with the inclusion of probably contaminated vegetable products from pesticides, it should
spike (pun intended) out of all count.
Quote from: dingbat on October 04, 2008, 09:55:03 AM
Quote from: catbird on October 04, 2008, 07:31:57 AM
How in the world would melamine get into fresh vegetables? ??? ?
This gets scarier by the minute.
Catbird
Probably cumulative from the pesticide/herbicide usage in China. Probably becomes embedded in the soil
and is drawn into the vegetables when they grow.
Could they just flat out be using waste water from melamine production? Or perhaps in certain areas their water is just that contaminated. I remember so pretty nasty pictures of waste water going directly into their rivers during the PFR.
Quote from: DMS on October 03, 2008, 04:58:37 PM
Quote from: straybaby on October 03, 2008, 04:41:53 PM
QuoteETA: Oh, and one more major factor. The nitrogen compounds in MARC have no nutritional value and the babies had to be starving/very malnourished and their internal systems going haywire using up fat & muscle, etc. to support their food needs.
This is what I was wondering during the PFR. How does this false protein in feed and food work? The feed animals obviously hit their weight from maximum product production (greed would prevent otherwise), but they can't be getting what they need, right? Or don't they live long enough for it to be an issue? And what is the value of their protein after slaughter?
Straybaby, it is my understanding that ruminants can use NPN--although I think it is a bad idea from my holistic view.
http://agriculture.kzntl.gov.za/portal/AgricPublications/ProductionGuidelines/DairyinginKwaZuluNatal/RuminantDigestion/tabid/247/Default.aspx
Digestion of protein
Dietary protein, like dietary carbohydrates, is fermented by rumen microbes. The majority of true protein, and non-protein nitrogen (NPN), entering the rumen is broken down to ammonia, which bacteria require for synthesizing their own body protein. Ammonia is most efficiently incorporated into bacterial protein when the diet is rich in soluble carbohydrates, particularly starch. Ammonia, in excess of that used by the micro-organisms, is absorbed through the rumen wall into the blood, carried to the liver, and converted to urea, the greater part is excreted in the urine. Some urea is returned to the rumen via the saliva, and also directly through the rumen wall.
The undegraded true protein fraction, plus the microbial protein, passes from the rumen to the abomasum, where it is digested, and absorbed into the bloodstream through the walls of the small intestine.
----------------------------------------------
This explanation is even better, ADM tells us how and why:
http://www.admani.com/AllianceBeef/TechnicalEdge/Ruminant%20Feed%20Microbes.htm
Protein
Microbial fermentation has a large impact on the protein nutrition of the ruminant. Protein in feedstuffs fed to ruminants is usually described as ruminally degradable (or available) or undegradable (or bypass or escape). The undegradable portion passes through the rumen and into the lower tract "as is" where it is digested and used by the ruminant. The quality of the protein (amino acids profile) is important in these feeds because they directly impact the ruminant. A portion of the protein component (rumen degradable) of feedstuffs is broken down by microbes and incorporated into their own bodies. Microbes break down protein into amino acids, which are then split apart into ammonia and "carbon skeletons." Carbon skeletons are often utilized as energy, while nitrogen from ammonia is used by microbes to form amino acids and proteins for its own growth and reproduction.
Microbes can effectively utilize non-protein nitrogen sources (such as biuret and urea, which are ammonia sources) because they have the enzymes and other metabolic machinery to build amino acids and proteins from ammonia. The process of degrading and rebuilding proteins has positive and negative consequences for the ruminant. On the negative side, not all of the ammonia released from feedstuffs is captured by microbes. Ammonia can escape through the rumen wall into the blood stream, and eventually pass into the urine and voided. The amount of ammonia lost can be minimized by proper ration balancing (i.e. formulating rations based on microbe and ruminant needs, which will minimize the amount of excess ammonia). Another negative aspect is the potential for ammonia poisoning, which can occur when too much ammonia passes from the rumen into the blood stream. The potential for ammonia poisoning can be avoided with proper feed management and diet formulation. On the positive side, protein built by microbes for their own use is relatively high quality and provides solid protein nutrition to the ruminant when microbes pass into the small intestine. The added perk is that this high-quality microbial protein can be built from NPN sources. The ability of ruminants to effectively utilize NPN enables more cost-effective protein supplementation.
DMS the second link you have - well we have to consider the source on that now - Archer Daniels Midland - ADM - is involved in high frutcose corn syrup and in genetically modified things also. For them to state that the ruminant digests this NPN source is totally ridiculuos IMO, and stating it the negative impact is over production of ammonia which can kill the ruminant?
How do you balance something that they try to spin as good with the other side of the production by the body of the excess ammonia and it not killing the ruminant or the excess from the ruminants that remain alive not passing thru into other products made from the body of the ruminant or the liquid obtained from the ruminant (such as milk, etc) ???
http://www.theglobeandmail.com:80/servlet/story/LAC.20081004.MELAMINE04/TPStory/National
Melamine-laced pretzels found on store shelves after recall
Food agency to follow up with Toronto store; language barrier may be at issue
KATE HAMMER October 4, 2008
Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled the product, Kaiser OK OK pretzels in both chocolate and strawberry flavour, after test results that detected traces of the synthetic chemical, which though not safe for human consumption is sometimes used
CFIA tests on the strawberry-flavoured pretzels distributed in Ontario detected melamine levels of 3.1 parts per million, far below the 350 parts per million detected in the Sanlu products that made so many Chinese children ill, and the agency characterized the health risk associated with them as low.
CFIA tests on Mr. Brown 3-in-1 Instant Coffee products distributed in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba, however, revealed melamine levels three times as high as those that made the Chinese children ill, in a range of 900 to 1,100 parts per million, and the agency characterized the health risk associated with them as high.
Quoterevealed melamine levels three times as high as those that made the Chinese children ill
gee, maybe they'll give us beyond infant weight risk assumption on this. How many days can we eat this stuff before getting seriously ill? The speed of recalls being what they are and all here . . . .
at 105lbs, I'm damn glad I gave up processed food and only eat local/organic.
Quote from: straybaby on October 04, 2008, 10:24:31 AM
Quote from: dingbat on October 04, 2008, 09:55:03 AM
Quote from: catbird on October 04, 2008, 07:31:57 AM
How in the world would melamine get into fresh vegetables? ??? ?
This gets scarier by the minute.
Catbird
Probably cumulative from the pesticide/herbicide usage in China. Probably becomes embedded in the soil
and is drawn into the vegetables when they grow.
Could they just flat out be using waste water from melamine production? Or perhaps in certain areas their water is just that contaminated. I remember so pretty nasty pictures of waste water going directly into their rivers during the PFR.
I wonder, or if this might be the new industrial chemical magnifying up the food chain like DDT, PCB's and other examples from the past.
cross-posting opinion piece from the New York Times. Thank you, menusux:
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/chinas-dairy-farmers-say-they-are-victims-t6477.0.html;new
Quote from: JJ on October 04, 2008, 10:29:31 AM
DMS the second link you have - well we have to consider the source on that now - Archer Daniels Midland - ADM - is involved in high frutcose corn syrup and in genetically modified things also. For them to state that the ruminant digests this NPN source is totally ridiculuos IMO, and stating it the negative impact is over production of ammonia which can kill the ruminant?
How do you balance something that they try to spin as good with the other side of the production by the body of the excess ammonia and it not killing the ruminant or the excess from the ruminants that remain alive not passing thru into other products made from the body of the ruminant or the liquid obtained from the ruminant (such as milk, etc) ???
-----------------mangled quote above--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JJ, I agree completely, that's why I emphasized the source, but my ironic tone was probably lost to print. I think the last line of the quote sums it up best:
"The ability of ruminants to effectively utilize NPN enables
more cost-effective protein supplementation. "
In another thread, I think the one above it, shows how sewage sludge was tested as a NPN source. I think I am getting off-topic, at least I hope; and we have been over the industrial waste fed to livestock on other threads. Nauseatingly frightening. Good thing they adhere to FDA/USDA regulations.
More from Taiwan:
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=755400
eTaiwan News October 4, 2008
Taiwanese government vows to tighten vegetable inspections over safety concerns
"The Council of Agriculture (COA) will coordinate with the Department of Health (DOH) even more closely to prevent imports of any melamine-contaminated vegetable imports from China, the council said in a statement Saturday.
"The Cabinet-level council issued the statement amid Chinese media reports saying that some China-grown vegetables, such as lettuce, tomato, mushroom, potato and Java waterdropwort, have been found to contain excessive residues of melamine.
"Melamine, a nitrogen-rich chemical used to make plastics and fertilizers, is abused in China as a food additive as it masks low protein levels in milk diluted with water to lower costs.
"Melamine contamination of baby formula has been blamed for the deaths of at least four infants and kidney illnesses in more than 53,000 children in China.
"A shipment of 25 tons of milk powder imported into Taiwan from China earlier this year has also caused chaos in the local food market and led to the resign of Lin Fang-yue as DOH minister late last month.
"The COA statement stressed that none of the vegetables on the reported melamine-contaminated list have been imported into Taiwan.
"According to the statement, Taiwan imports about 50,000 tons of refrigerated vegetables from China annually, with radish, chili pepper and sweet pepper forming the bulk. In the first eight months of this year, vegetable imports from China slightly exceeded 29,000 tons.
"COA officials stressed that all foreign vegetables, including those from China, have to pass stringent pesticide residue tests before they enter Taiwan.
"Amid mounting concerns about safety of China-originating foodstuffs, the officials said the COA will coordinate with the Department of Health to intensify testing and inspection of vegetable imports from China.
"Moreover, the officials said the COA has formed a special task force to step up monitoring of animal feed imports from China in hopes of preventing any melamine-tainted products from entering Taiwan."
I wonder what those excessive residue levels in vegetables are. And if they are high enough, could that explain the contaminated glutens and other grain products? Will this information ever be presented in a comprehensive format so that we can accurately calculate how much melamine we may be eating? I have always felt there was something else that the FDA was hiding or just not pointing out or not telling the whole story.
What we have on the apparent origina of this is said to have originated in South Korea:
Quote from: menusux on October 04, 2008, 04:26:14 AM
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Saturday/Frontpage/20081004183300/Article/index_html
New Straits Times Malaysia October 4, 2008
HIGH ALERT: Malaysia on look-out for melamine-tainted greens imported from China
"THE Health Ministry is now on high alert over vegetables imported from China.
""We have learnt from Korea that they have detected a high level of melamine in vegetables they import from China," said Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai.
""We have launched a Level 4 check on all food products from China where we will take samples to ensure the products are safe for consumption before releasing it into the market," he told reporters after attending the Sabah MCA convention here today."
I believe that South Korea would issue something on this, since it's said they initially found it in imported Chinese produce.
Silly me thought that we don't import veggies from China.......I always check the cans of veggies & have never seen any from China. Fruit is another story......most of the cans of fruit I've looked at lately come from China, including some of the big brand names.
Yesterday I bought a case of small cans of mushrooms from a warehouse store. As I was following this thread & saw mushrooms mentioned, I went into the other room to double check.....I thought I checked but apparently I hadn't. MIC...... :-\ So we do have veggies coming in from China. This is getting so out of hand.
Will be bringing the whole case back & getting my money back......I know I've probably ingested enough melamine over the years without knowing it but I'd rather not push my luck..... :P
May be a little OT but somebody sent this to me & I wanted all of you to see it & hopefully sign the petition:
http://www.reformfda.org/Reform_FDA_Petition
Quote
We have learnt from Korea that they have detected a high level of melamine in vegetables they import from China," said Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai.
I wonder what a high level is and how long we can eat it? hello FDA, where are you?! Since you only "stepped up" inspections, you may want to do some more of your "assumptions" and let us know how long our bodies can handle these sneak attacks. Grains=Toxic, Dairy=Toxic, Veggies=Toxic, Seafood=Toxic, Household goods and toys=Toxic. Yeah, importing from China is a bangup idea alright!
JanC, frozen veggies from China can be found in most grocery stores including Whole Foods. Trader Joes quite Chinese ingredients in their brand and I think also single ingredient items like veggies. We need to start pressuring other grocery chains to do the same. We need to cut off the market like what happen with artificial hormones in milk. That was a war the consumer won. Let's win some more!
We know that melamine is used in fertilizer. If the crops were fertilized recently, the melamine/fertilizer may still be present.
And then there's the cyromazine/melamine connection. Cyromazine is used as a pesticide in some countries.
5CatMom
=^..^=
Quote from: JustMe on September 29, 2008, 03:00:43 PM
This is the final straw. >:(
Went grocery shopping today. I've got DH checking labels, too. Garlic powder in plastic bottles. Both the store brand and McCormick's said "Product of China".
Went to the frozen veggie section looking for organic. The store brand of organic veggies all said "Product of China". I'm glad they are putting that on the packages now, but I wonder how long we've been using these products, thinking we were buying American grown. Can't we even grow garlic here anymore. Guess I'll have to move to one of those towns that has garlic festivals.
I can skip some veggies, but do not mess with my garlic powder. >:( >:( >:(
End of rant
In light of crops in China being contaminated by melamine, I'm not so confident even about those grown in the US until I see some proof from testing. I don't think we can assume safety anymore. I would say definitely avoid Chinese as we have proof there, but we shouldn't get too comfortable with our own until we have proof. I'm sure cryomazine feed-through is used here. What about melamine seed coats, fertilizers, and related compounds as pesticides?
"MOTHER EARTH NEWS " Oct./Nov. 2008 issue has a very good article on aminopyralid and clopyralid . It appears some weed killers that pass through animals guts, stored in a compost pile. was then used on garden beds, killed the plants as the chemical had survived, beyond its half life!!!
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2008-10-01/Aminopyralid-Garden-Threat.aspx
Now I really wonder about Melamine and how long it survives .
This article is a very good article.
YL
From what I remember about melamine and it degrading over time, since it is organic it does degrade but usually sunlight is needed for that. I have found nothing about degrading and half life. I will see if I can find something on that.
OK, found something. Melamine in the body only lasts up to 3 hours before it is metabolized then the typical half life in a body would be 3 hours, however in the earth it takes years, half life is 3 years, so 3-6 before it would become 1/4. 6-12 for 1/8 etc.
So anything within 3 years of planting would most certainly be quite full strength. Oddly enough melamine left in sunlight degrades very quickly??
http://www.inchem.org/documents/sids/sids/108781.pdf
db
Think about the technique that was employed throughout the pet food recalls of 2007. Never compile all the complaints
clearly in one place for public disclosure. That was used by both the FDA regulators and the pet food companies. Deny every
accusation first. Insist consumers with complaints call the company individually so they won't be aware of each other
or the nature of their complaints. Provide the media with disinformation that minimizes the actual numbers involved regarding
victims and products. The same blasted technique is being used here on an international basis by both the Chinese government,
our government, and the multinationals involved. Mars, Nestle, Kraft, Fonterra, Unilever are already screaming foul, not true. The news
reports are fragmented and contradictory. There's even strong division on the issue of what is a safe level of melamine contamination, ranging from none by South Korea, to 1ppm, to 2.5 ppm, to 5 ppm, to even more. WHO says background daily exposure is .07 anyway. Phillippines, South Korea, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan are trying to get information out there, but are already being questioned.
We have one chart of countries that have banned importation of Chinese dairy products with 55 on it. I think Cambodia should also
be on it, as I recall reading it, but have never been able to find the report again.
I need four volunteers to each take 10 pages of this thread, 1-10, 11-20, 21-30, 31-40, and 41-51 and help me chart as accurately
as possible (I'm the 5th one and will take any pages, don't care which):
Countries like US and Canada, Russia, etc., which have simply recalled or banned particular products by name of product (include Reply numbers where info found). So a chart of country and products banned
By country, names of products and melamine levels if described, date it was done, and Reply in which the info appears.
Do I have four volunteers? PM me if you're willing to take ten pages.
Hey, db, isn't there something about a point at which melamine and cyanuric acid and/or uric acid saturates at some high level of exposure, forms
precipitate in the kidneys, causing stones and nephron tubule damage which is permanent and can no longer be excreted?
QuoteHey, db, isn't there something about a point at which melamine and cyanuric acid and/or uric acid saturates at some high level of exposure, forms
precipitate in the kidneys, causing stones and nephron tubule damage which is permanent and can no longer be excreted?
3cat
That is correct, not sure what the exposure level is though. Melamine by itself does not cause the kidney damage, only when it is mixed with other chemicals, CA, UREA, etc does it start to form the blockage and stones. The body will excrete, in half life, melamine in 3 hours, which means that it probably takes 24 hours before the levels have been reduced substantially. However that does not take into effect the addition of the other chemicals, who knows what those are, and what those half lives are.
Don't know if studies have been done on mixing melamine/ca/urea/etc and at what proportions and what those half lives would be. So basically no one really knows how this crap will effect us, pets, babies, etc in the short and long terms. The studies would only be valid for whatever concentrations that were tested on, typically rodents, and then that may or may not be whatever concentrations we are seeing in the melamilk, or melavegetables, melawhatever.
db
Guess that's the problem. No one knows those levels. No one is going to voluntarily subject themselves or their children to scientific studies to find out. And countries everywhere continue to import this tainted cwrap. (I just became 21 -- sorry, I have a big mouth I guess or am really angry)
Anyway, if anyone wants to help organize some of the chaotic info in this thread since September 11, please PM me, and thank you.
DB Thanks for the info. If melamine passes through the body in a short period of time is it excreted as melamine? If it mixes with other chemicals how much of the mix can the systems of animals and take before there is organ damage?
Quote from: yl on October 04, 2008, 06:39:21 PM
DB Thanks for the info. If melamine passes through the body in a short period of time is it excreted as melamine? If it mixes with other chemicals how much of the mix can the systems of animals and take before there is organ damage?
YL
Well sort of. If melamine is excreted through the urine, then it becomes mixed with uric acid, which then may make it more dangerous than it was to begin with. This may be a key element here. If a cow (for sake of example) eats some tainted grass and then urinated it out, onto the ground and then next year eats in the same area, it is now more toxic than the first year because it is mixed with uric acid and now will start to stay in the tissues longer. Then the third year would be worse, of course the original melamine is now at half life but the new compound, melamine/uric acid, it not studied for half life.
I can see a vicious circle here, cumulative effects occurring by ingesting the melamine and then passing it through the body, then creating something more toxic, etc, etc.
the FDA had said it over and over, and then will backtrack, but they continue to say, melamine does not belong in food, period.
Maybe this is one of the unreported side effects, unknown side effects of melamine ingestion.
db
In searching for melamine test on animals I found this patent. The dates are interesting or rather scary. This patent is for making feed with melamine in it.
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/3653909.html
We've been eating this s--t since the 70's ! What the h--l is wrong with our goverment !No wonder so many pets & pweople have kidney & liver problrms & diabetes.
Anyone searching the cryomazine to melamine angle, please be sure to search cyromazine as well. I'm not sure if these are two spellings of the same exact compound, but cyromazine does metabolize into melamine and is used on crops and in livestock. Does anyone know if these two things are the same?
http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/docs/risk/rcd/cyromazine.pdf
The weight of scientific evidence did not support conducting an
oncogenic risk assessment for melamine, a primary metabolite of
cyromazine found in the rat.
___________________
There is a lot more info on cyromazine than cryomazine. My concern is whether or not there is a parent chemical (which is not being measured) that has degraded into melamine or if melamine alone was added and proceeded to degrade.
This site has a lot of information on cyromazine and its residues on crops and in animals and different types of soil. Countries using cyromazine are also listed with approved crops and residue levels. The melamine aspect was not as well documented. Maybe it should be now, this is well worth looking over, residues and toxicity tests are listed. And as mentioned by db and others, I'm not sure what happens beyond the testing period as melamine and cyromazine accumulate in the soil:
http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPP/Pesticid/JMPR/Download/2007_eva/Cyromazine.pdf
Definition of the residue
In 1990, the JMPR defined the residue for cyromazine in food as cyromazine. At the 1992 JMPR, the
possibility of including melamine in the definition was discussed, but the Meeting decided to maintain
the previous definition as melamine was considered to be less toxic than cyromazine, and that
melamine may have originated from sources other than from the use of cyromazine. Nevertheless the
Meeting recognized that the monitoring of good agricultural practice in growing mushrooms under
certain conditions was not possible when melamine was omitted from the residue definition.
Data submitted to the present Meeting have shown that melamine is the main metabolite
found in all crops and most animal products. Cyromazine is the major compound found in all crops,
with the exception of mushroom, where melamine can be present at levels higher than cyromazine.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I believe the listed residual levels would also be dependent on the ratio in the spray as the tested rate is listed. If cyromazine is sprayed at a higher ratio or more often, I bet the residues would increase. The accumulation in the soil would most likely affect plant uptake as well. I will reread the info, but am not sure if that issue was addressed and explored.
In the link from yl it also makes mention that the cost of the melamine was too expensive? - well what did they use then instead - the waste water from the manufacture of melamine and add that to the feed for the livestock and swine, goats etc in order to have a place to get rid of it?
Probably & then turn around & use the waste from them including urine. Yum !
http://www.chicagotribune.com:80/news/chi-ap-wi-mathison-qampa,0,2060475.story
Dairy security specialist aims to prevent disaster
By M.L. JOHNSON | Associated Press Writer 12:00 AM CDT, October 5, 2008
MADISON, Wis. - The spread of disease -- accidentally or intentionally -- through the nation's livestock could cripple dairy and meat producers and create a severe food shortage.
To prevent such a catastrophe, federal and state officials have been working with farmers to improve safeguards and emergency plans.
Matt Mathison is helping lead the effort as chairman of the Wisconsin Agro-Security Resource Network and a member of the FBI Agro-Security Team of Wisconsin ...
Mathison: The U.S. food supply is highly regulated and very inspection-oriented. We know that has created a very safe food supply historically, and continues. The food grown outside the country has varying levels of regulatory and inspection oversight. There is some inspection at the border as it comes in, but that food supply may not be held to the same inspection and regulatory standard as the U.S. products
Twice in two years, 2007 with companion animals and 2008 with China's children, through the little understood mechanism of melamine degradation, the US food supply has been subject to lethal threat on a massive scale. Apparently there is so much of this adulterant in the global food supply, it only takes minimal addition by unknown suppliers in the global food chain to tip the scale causing illness and death among animals and human beings.
The time to argue about how melamine causes the phenomenon is a subject for future study. The time to stop the spread of melamine
adulteration was March of 2007. And China in September of 2008 proves it hasn't been done. The US government is failng the US consumer
by not acting right now.
This is a load of unspeakable d*ng:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i1PW8Su6EECm-m22gV1dABkLdHJQD93KA1V80
China says new tests show milk free from melamine
4 hours ago (October 5, 2008)
BEIJING (AP) — China's food safety watchdog said Sunday no traces of the industrial chemical melamine were found in new tests of milk powder sold domestically, as officials sought to restore public trust in milk supplies.
Every other food safety authority in the entire world agrees there would be trace levels of melamine from production processes and packaging alone.
This food source, China, does not know how to tell the truth.
http://miadhu.com.mv/news.php?id=7999
Sunday, October 5, 2008:
Maldivian authorities have ordered to destroy more than 20,000 bottles of Dutch Lady Milk manufactured in China in the wake of detection of melamine in Chinese milk products which has set off a global food safety scare.
The authorities have also suspended sale and import of all Chinese manufactured dairy products.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20081005-164710/Milk-scandal-sours-Chinas-White-Rabbit
Milk scandal sours China's White Rabbit
Agence France-Presse First Posted 11:24:00 10/05/2008
SHANGHAI -- China's creamy White Rabbit sweets survived Japan's World War II occupation and the Communist Revolution, but the tainted milk crisis has cast doubt on the future of the well-known brand.
But White Rabbit's manufacturer, Guan Sheng Yuan, has kept mum about the scandal, even as the list of multinationals recalling products grows.
The silence stands in sharp contrast to last year when -- amid allegations that its famous confectionery contained formaldehyde -- the company's general manager called a press conference to pop sweets into his mouth to show they were safe.
But unlike other companies, White Rabbit's problems do not stem from rogue suppliers. Guang Shen Yuan gets its milk from its parent company, one of the tarnished milk producers, Shanghai Guangming (Bright) Dairy and Food Co..
http://lawprofessors.typepad.com:80/healthlawprof_blog/2008/10/fda-sets-safety.html
FDA Sets Safety Threshold for Contaminant Melamine October 4, 2008
The FDA guidelines were issued to help federal and state investigators checking for contaminated Chinese products as they enter the country and in Asian grocery stores. Sundlof said the agency's goal is to identify products with potentially dangerous levels of melamine, rather than to find each small instance of contamination.
But Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), head of a House subcommittee that oversees FDA funding, criticized the agency for saying there could be safe levels of melamine in foods.
"While other countries throughout the world, including the European Union, are acting to ban melamine-contaminated products from China, the FDA has chosen to establish an acceptable level for melamine in food in an attempt to convince consumers that it is not harmful," DeLauro said in a statement. "Not only is this is an insult to consumers, but it would appear that the FDA is condoning the intentional contamination of foods."
3Cat, from your link:
QuoteSundlof said the agency's goal is to identify products with potentially dangerous levels of melamine, rather than to find each small instance of contamination.
WTF?! Have they learned NOTHING from the PFR?!
Should it be renamed to the FEDERAL DEATH AGENCY? (IMO) We will allow levels of toxins, poisons, etc. into the food just to prove to you - the CONSUMER - that the food is safe? WTF, WTF, WTF, WTF, WTF, WTF, WTF, WTF, WTF, WTF, WTF, WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-AS-Asia-Tainted-Milk.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin
Tainted Cadbury Chocolate Found in Hong Kong
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: October 5, 2008
BEIJING (AP) -- Hong Kong said Sunday it found two Cadbury chocolate products contained considerably more of the industrial chemical melamine than the city's legal limit in a growing scandal over tainted food made in China. ...
Iran banned imports of all dairy products from China because of the contamination concerns, state radio reported.
Hong Kong's Center for Food Safety said Cadbury's Dairy Milk Hazelnut Chocolate Bulk Pack contained 56 parts per million of melamine, while Dairy Milk Cookies Chocolate contained 6.9 parts per million. ...
The latest tests of 129 batches of baby formula and 212 batches of other kinds of milk powder showed they were free from melamine contamination, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said on its Web site.
The tests were on baby formula and other kinds of milk powder produced after Sept. 14, when the scandal broke, the watchdog said. Quality supervisors have been stationed in baby milk powder production facilities to oversee the process.
Since China's government declares it's the only country in the world that can produce melamine-free milk that is not even trace
contaminated with melamine from plastic packaging, there is absolutely no agreement regarding food safety that the US or any
other country anywhere in the world that one can make with the Chinese government that has any meaning. The Chinese government is willing to poison Chinese children long before and during the Olympics to increase profit. There is nothing the Chinese government would not lie about for profit with regard to food exports, absolutely nothing. There is no defense left for the FDA and the US government
continuing to allow any Chinese food imports without detention, inspection, and safety testing.
QuoteSince China's government declares it's the only country in the world that can produce melamine-free milk that is not even trace
contaminated with melamine from plastic packaging
Gee, I'm pretty sure the organic milk I get from the place upstate, packaged in glass bottles, is melamine free. ::) It's really not that difficult, just stop using toxic substances.
I stand corrected, straybaby. But I don't believe the milk China's government is testing is organic (except maybe for the added urea).
But good point.
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on October 03, 2008, 03:31:33 PM
http://www.taipeitimes.com:80/News/world/archives/2008/10/04/2003424991
More countries ban China dairy
SPILLED MILK: Authorities in Manila, Hanoi and Montevideo have taken measures to ban food products from China believed to contain the toxic chemical melamine.
Saturday, Oct 04, 2008, Page 5
In South America, Uruguay's public health ministry banned all dairy imports from China on Thursday, including baby formula.
Bringing to 55 the number of countries worldwide that put food safety first
From Reply 625, page 42 of this thread:
http://www.forbes.com/reuters/feeds/reuters/2008/09/27/2008-09-27T123805Z_01_B162168_RTRIDST_0_CHINA-MILK-RECALLS-FACTBOX.html
QuoteIMPORT BANS:
* BANGLADESH: -- Three Chinese powdered milk brands, Sanlu, Suncare and Yashili, banned. Melamine tests to be introduced on
all milk powder imports at Bangladeshi seaports.
* BENIN: -- Bans powered milk products from China.
* BHUTAN: -- Bhutan has banned Chinese milk imports, ranging from chocolates, sweets and cakes to milk tablets.
* BRUNEI: -- All Chinese milk products banned by Health Ministry, even though Brunei does not directly import dairy products from China.
* BURUNDI: -- Banned import, sale of Chinese milk products.
* COLOMBIA: -- Banned import of China-made powdered milk.
* CAMEROON: -- Suspends import and sale of fresh and powdered milk from China.
* EUROPEAN UNION: -- The 27-nation bloc banned baby food containing Chinese milk.
* FRANCE: -- Banned all food items containing Chinese milk as precautionary move.
* GABON: -- Introduced ban at same time as Burundi.
* GHANA: -- Food and Drug Board suspended imports of all milk and milk-based products made in China.
* INDIA: -- Banned import of milk and milk products from China for three months.
* INDONESIA: -- Banned imports of China dairy products.
* IVORY COAST: -- Banned imports of milk products from China.
* MALAYSIA: -- Banned all Chinese milk imports, as well as chocolates, sweets and other foods containing milk.
* MALDIVES: -- Banned Chinese milk products to protect its population of 300,000.
* NEPAL: -- Banned all China milk and milk-based food products as a precautionary measure.
* PAPUA NEW GUINEA: -- Banned China-made milk products.
* PHILIPPINES: -- Banned import and sale of milk products from China, pending investigation of possible contamination.
* SINGAPORE: -- Banned the import and sale of milk products from China on Sept 19 after finding melamine in two China-made
products -- "Dutch Lady" strawberry flavoured milk, and "Yili Brand" dairy fruit bar yoghurt flavoured ice confection.
White Rabbit Creamy Candy pulled from shelves after being found to be contaminated with melamine.
* SOUTH KOREA: -- Banned China-made foods containing powdered milk after imported biscuits test positive for melamine.
* SURINAME: -- Banned milk and dairy products from China, is stepping up inspections on food imported from Southeast Asia.
* TAIWAN: -- All China-made dairy products banned, a milk testing station set up for consumers in Taipei.
* TANZANIA: -- Suspended all China dairy imports, and seized 34 tonnes of China-made milk powder.
* TOGO: -- Suspended import, distribution and sale of all Chinese-origin milk products.
* VIETNAM: -- Banned China milk products. Health officials warned such products may have been sold in remote areas
in the impoverished central region.
Edited to add on Monday, September 29, 2008: *MYANMAR and *LAOS (see reply 556, page 38)
Edited to add on Wednesday, October 1, 2008: *UGANDA (see Reply 619, page 42)
51 54 nations where consumer food safety appears to come first pending further investigation and food safety controls
Edited to add on Friday, October 3, 2008: *URUGUAY
To the overwhelmed US FDA and US Congress: Keep repeating "If it's 'Got Milk?', it needs government testing" until it sinks into the
bureaucratic morass. The American consumer does not want this happening for the second time in the United States."
"China has run out of excuses, assurances and defenses. As a giant exporter of food and other products, its attitude toward consumer safety is a disgrace and a global health threat."
Edited to add on Sunday, October 5, 2008: *IRAN and *CAMBODIA
Bringing to 56 57 the number of countries concerned about consumer food safety first.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quote from: menusux on Today at 02:44:22 PM
More information on Russia's seizure of nearly 2 tons of Chinese-made dry milk:
http://www.times.spb.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=27290
Chinese Milk Seized
St. Petersburg Times October 7, 2008
"Federal authorities on Tuesday banned all imports of Chinese dairy products following news that milk containing melamine may have killed four Chinese babies and sickened more than 54,000 others.
Edited to add on Monday, October 6, 2008 *RUSSIA
Bringing to 58 the number of countries worldwide where food safety comes first
Testing Methods come under examination. Here's where the links to the FDA testing method & protocols should be examined.
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/protsurv.html
http://www.fda.gov/cvm/GCMSMelamine.htm
Pretty late in the game:
http://www.laboratorytalk.com/news/tel/tel135.html
http://www.thermo.com/eThermo/CMA/PDFs/Articles/articlesFile_6670.pdf
http://www.bodycotetesting.com/Category.aspx?ContId=13847&CatId=11233&lang=1
Quote
(GCMS)
F. Reporting
In the event that the analytes were observed in the representative control sample that was fortified at 10 µg/g, and no analyte signals were observed in the samples at levels which approach those in the fortified control, then the samples are not contaminated with melamine, ammeline, ammelide or cyanuric acid at levels in excess of 10 µg/g.
When it is close (within 50%), consider preparing additional portions from those samples along with a couple of additional fortified controls.
If it is clear that one or more of the analytes are present in the samples (based on the identification criteria above) and at levels in excess of 10 µg/g, then a semi-quantitative estimate may be obtained by comparing analyte responses to those from standards as described below.
There's politics in the methods & there's consumer protection in the methods - who choses the method on the side of consumer safety?http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/10/06/2003425143
Chan Chang-chuan (¸âªøÅv), a public health professor at the Institute of Occupational Medicine and Industrial Hygiene at National Taiwan University, praised health officials for choosing LC-MS/MS.
The technique is 500 times more sensitive in detecting melamine than high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), which was previously favored by the health department.
A provisional statement by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on June 7 said that the European Commission had recommended that all EU member states use gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to analyze imports of wheat gluten and other raw materials from developing countries ¡X in particular China.
The statement came after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) used the method to test for melamine and similar compounds in wheat gluten and pet food ingredients from China.
Midwest 10ppm MDL - they test for which pet food companies? ETA: Natura, Natural Balance..
others?LC-MS/MS is sensitive to .5ppm (MDL) for melamine & aminopterin
Nestle objects (cos consumers can decide .8 is more than they want)? Now, add in the uptake from packaging to Nestle's ("not contaminated") ....Nobody seems wants to talk about what's in the food and what's potentially coming from packaging in the same sentences, do they?
Quote
But when Yeh Ching-chuan (¸ª÷¤t) took over Lin¡¦s post on Sept. 26 and announced that LC-MS/MS would be used instead of HPLC, Nestle, one of the leading makers of infant and adult milk products, was quick to object.
Last Thursday, the health department requested a recall of all 20 Nestle milk products on the market after it said random tests conducted by city and county health bureaus found that six kinds of Nestle milk powder manufactured in China contained between 0.06ppm and 0.85ppm of melamine.
While the company said it would comply with the request, it complained that the department had adopted a melamine limit that was 50 times stricter than the international standard, which Nestle said was 2.5ppm.
Sorry 3Cat, that wasn't aimed at you. It was my frustration with the Chinese Government! When I look at all the food I get that isn't tainted with ANYTHING, it just pisses me off what China, multinational producers etc are doing to our food and environment. I'm betting most people would prefer a bug hole (or a few) in their greens vs toxic matter . . . . Bug holes rock!
3cat, did you ask us to find information on what Cambodia banned from China? I looked, but I may have missed Cambodia on your running list of countries banning or recalling products. I hope this info is not a duplicate. Pardon if it is.
"Pan Sorasak, secretary of state at the Ministry of Commerce, said the Cambodia Import-Export Inspection and Fraud Suppression Department (Camcontrol) has enforced a strict ban on all Chinese milk products since Friday."
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2008092321802/National-news/Govt-warns-of-milk-powder-dump-threat.html
I'm just as frustrated as you are, straybaby, and not aiming anything at anyone personally. Just furious at our government and our food regulator.
That is upsetting to me, too.
Thanks, purringfur, for finding another country ban.
This could be why New Zealand can't find the melamine:
http://www.stuff.co.nz:80/stuff/4717666a1861.html
Trouble with melamine and why trickery went unseen
WORLD OF SCIENCE - BOB BROCKIE
The Dominion Post | Monday, 06 October 2008
In recent weeks the authority has been exchanging information with similar agencies in the United States, Australia, Europe, Canada and elsewhere discussing how much melamine can be safely ingested. They have settled on 5 parts per million for food ingredients, 2.5 ppm for food in its final form and 1 part per million for infant foods. Any more melamine will trigger further investigation.
Among the many products sampled by the Food Safety Authority has been the pharmaceutical lactoferrin, which is made from milk. Minute amounts of melamine have been detected in the product but not enough to be a health hazard. Scientists at the authority are trying to work out how the lactoferrin was contaminated – possibly by leaching from plastic used in processing or packaging the product, or possibly from a farm pesticide residue.
Looks like we'd have to know from the US FDA if they are also using 5 ppm for food ingredients (meanng you are obviously going to miss many foods), 2.5 ppm for food in its "final form" (whatever the heck that means, processed food??), and New Zealand independently has
declared 1 ppm safe for infant foods. Remember, FDA in US says it doesn't know and has set no limiting standard (as in zero tolerance)for baby formula and baby food. What a government shell game. 3 card monte with the lives of babies, not to mention all other milk consumers.
Saw no testing limits on China's reports of melamine-free milk tests on product since September 14 2008 either. What was the lower testing limit, China, 10 ppm or higher?
Snip from a personal blog hoping it may help those with the scientific background:
http://blog.simplyjean.com/2008/10/05/melamine-in-everything-there-may-be-more-coming-and-heres-why/
"There was a dead gave away when melamine was also found in lactoferrin, one of the export products from New Zealand. Unless there is a worldwide conspiracy on the use of melamine in their products, it is unlikely that the factories in New Zealand have also added melamine into their products to fake a protein test. However, if you look at the common denominator of the products, the answer lies in the cows. To be more precise, it lies in the food of the cows.
Melamine is a by-product of cyromazine and is formed in the bodies of mammals that have ingested cyromazine. Cyromazine is a pesticide that is commonly used to control pests in plants. If cows have been given such plants as part of their diet, it could be possible that melamine is formed in their bodies and passed out in their milk and urine. This is particularly evident in the latest report of vegetables being tainted with melamine, which probably has no purpose when used on plants. However, it was also reported that cyromazine may also be converted to melamine on plants through photodegradation, resulting in dealkylation and thus the formation of melamine. This can be found in
Lim et al., 1990 L.O. Lim, S.J. Scherer, K.D. Shuler and J.P. Toth, Disposition of cyromazine in plants under environmental conditions,
J. Agric. Food Chem. 38 (1990), pp. 860–864.
Thus, the real culprit at the end of the day could be the pesticide, cyromazine, through use of it leads to the metabolite, melamine being formed in milk, urine and on plants through photodegradation."
http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Dealkylation
Dealkylation
The removing of alkyl groups from a compound
Alkyl groups
(Science: chemistry) a funtional group on an organic molecule which is derived from an alkane which has lost a hydrogen atom
http://toxics.usgs.gov/definitions/photodegradation.html
Photodegradation
Photodegradation is the chemical transformation of a compound into smaller compounds caused by the absorption of ultraviolet, visible, or infrared radiation (light). In many cases photodegradation is an oxidation process. Many compounds, when exposed to sunlight, degrade to smaller compounds. Some drinking-water and wastewater treatment facilities use ultraviolet light to destroy pollutants (through oxidation).
(I hope this isn't posted already) But I think this NY Times reporter is going to stay on this...he did with the pet food melamine contamination...interesting to see who may be the one to blame...
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1578314/chinas_dairy_farmers_angered_by_blame_they_say_policies_and/
"We have no way to adulterate our milk," said Shi Shangcun, a 38- year-old dairy farmer in Nantongyi, noting that village cows go directly to the milk station, where they are machine-milked. "I think it's Sanlu and the milking station that blend."
Sanlu officials repeatedly declined to respond to questions for this article. They have blamed farmers and milking stations for tampering with supplies.
Ya know, the more I think about them blaming the farmers, the less sense it makes. Exactly how many of those poor small dairy farmers brining their cows to a milking station, have the knowledge and means to spike milk on a large scale? And the volume of milk/milk products that are spiked is large, so it would take a lot of farmers doing this. Now a milk processing operation spiking large batches of whatever sounds pretty doable. I would also wonder about processing liquid spiked milk into dry milk products, as in what would happen to the melamine during processing? Also, the poor farmers would be risking poisoning their family and friends as they would never know when they would be getting it in food, but the higher ups are eating organic.
I think we have more than one problem here. Food and dairy animals ingesting it, manufacturers and middlemen spiking it and perhaps the fertilizer growing it in plants and waste water/toxic water used for irrigation. China is basically a toxic waste site in some areas being assaulted on many fronts.
QuoteI would also wonder about processing liquid spiked milk into dry milk products, as in what would happen to the melamine during processing?
I would suspect that the melamine was added to the dry ingredients to boost the "protein" content rather than put in the liquid milk. Easier that way to adjust the content.
db
I do not believe the dairy farmers are doing the melamine spiking if they have to herd (walk?) their cows to the milking stations. (A very different practice compared to our milking system & collection process.) Yes, the cows are most likely eating melamine tainted feed, along with a host of other pesticides, fungicides, toxic metals, GMO grain, etc. and are perhaps drinking water polluted with nitrogen-rich fertilizers, but I don't think this would account for the high levels of melamine tested in some of the milk products. (I'm surprised the cows don't go hoofs up before they reach milking age there!)
The water the fields are irrigated with is probably farm run-off water that is recycled, containing huge amounts of pesticides, fertilizers, & insecticides and could even be contaminated with the waste water from a melamine/cromazine plant or another hazardous/chemical industry. Who knows what toxic chemical factories are upstream from the dairy farmers? Or, who knows if there is a market for chemical factory wastewater to be tanked and transported to farmers? It would probably be cheaper than disposing of it properly, if there's even a regulation for that.
Before the Olympics, we heard about the algae blooms from the use of farm chemicals & sewage that are high in nitrogen:
"Besides being a concern to the sailors who plan to compete in the Olympic regattas, the algae explosion is also another instance of bad publicity highlighting China's polluted environment. The country's three-decade economic boom has left its waterways and coastlines severely polluted by industrial and farm chemicals and domestic sewage [AP], which contain high levels of nitrogen that nourish the algae blooms."
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/06/27/giant-slimy-green-algae-bloom-threatens-olympic-sailing/
The Chinese at first denied that the bloom was due to overuse of farm pesticides/fertilizers upstream. The same water problem occurred upriver. This isn't the article I'm thinking of that I cited, but I'm sure someone here knows to which article I refer.
I think this is a situation of the bigger, more powerful business owner or milking station blaming the little powerless farmer, when it's greedy businesses that benefit from the fraud.
Some of the very high amounts of melamine tested in products seems to point to deliberate spiking of the product. If there were always a level of melamine in milk from cow's milk or the grain/feed cows eat, the levels would tend to be about the same over time and not all of a sudden, start killing babies and sickening another 50,000+ children.
I think this was pure greed. Let's see who wins the blame game.
Kit Kat Bars???!!!
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/10/117_32242.html
"Items that were found to contain trace levels of melamine include Kit Kat bars, Misarang Custard and peanut Snickers the KFDA said, adding that the chemical was not found in 94 percent of all items checked."
"He said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's standard for melamine was less than 2.5 ppm for non-baby foods. However, among those confirmed to have contained the toxic chemical, most exceeded the ``tolerable'' level, he said.
Baek also added, ``The American authorities refused to set a minimum standard for baby food because they do not know the damage it could cause. The government is trying to fool the people by confirming food is safe."
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200810/200810060011.html
"The KFDA on Saturday said melamine was found in Peanut Snickers Fun Size with the expiry date of Jan. 4, 2009, and M&M¡¯s Milk expiring on March 22, 2009, both of which are made by Mars Korea, and in KitKat mini expiring on May 8, 2009, by Nestle Korea. "
From the Taipei Times:
FEATURE : Debate over melamine limit not over: experts
By Shih Hsiu-Chuan
STAFF REPORTER
Monday, Oct 06, 2008, Page 3
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/10/06/2003425143
5CatMom
=^..^=
3catmom,
I'm short on time this week, but I'll PM you.
Costa Rica is not officially calling it a ban on products coming in to the country.
Posted 09.27.08.
"We are going to retire all the products of this type that we find in commerce. Nobody can sell any milk products" coming from China, said Minister of Health Maria Luisa Avila."
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/234389,costa-rica-restricts-chinese-milk-products-due-to-health-concerns.html
I think it may be a good idea to look at a map of the world, pick a continent, and Google each country in relation to Chinese milk products and see what comes up.
Just to try it, I just thought of the name of a country I didn't see mentioned, and sure enough, the country is at least doing something short of an official recall.
http://www.fda.gov:80/oc/po/firmrecalls/mccormick09_08.html
McCormick & Company Has Recalled McCormick Enchilada Sauce Mix Due To Unlabeled Milk Ingredients
Contact:
Corporate Communications
(410) 771-7803
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- Sparks, MD -- September 30, 2008 – McCormick & Company, Incorporated has announced a voluntary recall of McCormick Enchilada Sauce Mix with UPC Code 52100091600 sold under the McCormick brand. The McCormick Enchilada Sauce Mix contains undeclared milk ingredients. People who have allergies to milk run the risk of serious or life threatening allergic reactions if they consume this product.
The McCormick Enchilada Sauce Mix was distributed to grocery stores nationally beginning on September 17, 2008. The product comes in 1.5 oz. pouches with an expiration date of "best by" AUG2910CH. The date is found printed in black on the back, bottom left of the pouch.
The recall was initiated after it was discovered that product containing the milk ingredient was distributed in packaging that did not reveal the presence of milk as an ingredient.
Related or unrelated? Odd that the recall notice is dated September 30, 2008, but not posted untl Octobr 6, 2008 by the FDA.
Fishy!
I've been looking for spices the last 2 weeks. Every one of their spices that I picked up said Product of China. I've got some of their garlic that says Product of China. Almost finished with the container. Wasn't looking for COOL labeling when I purchased that previously. >:(
I didn't look at their whole line, just the spices I needed to purchase. The store brand also said Product of China.
Thank you, 5CatMom!
http://www.taipeitimes.com:80/News/taiwan/archives/2008/10/06/2003425143
FEATURE : Debate over melamine limit not over: experts
By Shih Hsiu-Chuan STAFF REPORTER Monday, Oct 06, 2008, Page 3
While lauding the government for choosing the best technology available to detect melamine in food products, some health experts said more must be done to ensure accuracy and overall food safety.
The weeks-long controversy over which method to use to test for traces of melamine in foods didn't end with the Department of Health's decision on Wednesday to use liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).
LC-MS/MS testing is capable of detecting melamine levels as low as 0.05 parts per million (ppm).
The department said the method would be used to test for melamine in the raw materials imported for use in creamers, milk powder and baby formula.
But the method to test for melamine in other, finished products remained unclear, with the department saying it would only conduct random checks of 20 percent of finished creamers, milk powders and baby formulas from "high-risk countries."
Chan Chang-chuan, a public health professor at the Institute of Occupational Medicine and Industrial Hygiene at National Taiwan University, praised health officials for choosing LC-MS/MS.
The technique is 500 times more sensitive in detecting melamine than high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), which was previously favored by the health department.
A provisional statement by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on June 7 said that the European Commission had recommended that all EU member states use gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to analyze imports of wheat gluten and other raw materials from developing countries — in particular China.
The statement came after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) used the method to test for melamine and similar compounds in wheat gluten and pet food ingredients from China.
Toxic ingredients from China killed or sickened thousands of dogs and cats in the US last year, prompting a public outcry.
The WHO has said that as of Sept. 25, more than 54,000 infants and children in China had been taken to hospitals and clinics for treatment of urinary problems — such as renal tube blockages and kidney stones — related to the presence of melamine in infant formula and other dairy products.
The WHO also said that more than 14,000 infants had been hospitalized after ingesting the contaminated formula, of which a little less than 13,000 remained in hospitals.
"LC-MS/MS is a more precise instrument than GC-MS, so it is good [that the health department adopted the former]. But what is more important is that we should make our own risk assessment of melamine, given Taiwan's close relationship with and proximity to China," Chan said.
Whether the tolerable limit of melamine set by the government is in line with international safety standards has been a source of debate since the melamine scare erupted last month.
The health department came under fire when it decided on Sept. 24 to use HPLC to test for melamine and to change the safety limit for the chemical from zero ppm to 2.5ppm, meaning products containing up to 2.5ppm of melamine would not be blocked.
Department of Health minister Lin Fang-yue resigned the following day in response to fierce public criticism.
But when Yeh Ching-chuan took over Lin's post on Sept. 26 and announced that LC-MS/MS would be used instead of HPLC, Nestle, one of the leading makers of infant and adult milk products, was quick to object.
Last Thursday, the health department requested a recall of all 20 Nestle milk products on the market after it said random tests conducted by city and county health bureaus found that six kinds of Nestle milk powder manufactured in China contained between 0.06ppm and 0.85ppm of melamine.
While the company said it would comply with the request, it complained that the department had adopted a melamine limit that was 50 times stricter than the international standard, which Nestle said was 2.5ppm.
"Both the US and the EU have established tolerable daily intake [TDI] levels for melamine, but how many parts per million of melamine is permissible in food is not very clear in their food safety standards," said Ling Yong-chien, a chemistry professor at National Tsinghua University.
TDI represents an estimate of how much of a chemical can be ingested daily in food or water over a lifetime without posing a significant risk to health.
In the US, the FDA published a provisional risk assessment on melamine and related compounds on May 27 last year, putting TDI for melamine at 0.63mg per kilogram of body weight per day.
EFSA's statement last June, meanwhile, recommended that EU countries adopt a TDI of 0.5mg per kilogram of body weight per day.
The FDA risk assessment analyzed "the risk to human health associated with eating pork, chicken, fish and eggs from animals that had been inadvertently fed animal feed adulterated with melamine and its analogues" following the pet food incident.
Based on these TDI figures, some experts in Taiwan have said that 2.5ppm is an acceptable limit for dairy and other food products because an adult weighing 60kg can safely consume 30mg of melamine per day, or more than 12kg food contaminated with 2.5ppm of melamine.
The average adult weighing 60kg eats 3kg of food per day.
But Ling said it was inappropriate to set a limit for melamine based on TDI, which is used in risk-assessment of human exposure to dioxin-like pollutants. The safety of food additives are based on allowable daily intake (ADI) calculations, Ling said.
Lee Maw-rong, director of the Department of Chemistry at National Chung Hsing University, agreed, saying that TDI describes the toxicity of a compound and not the amount a person can eat.
"It's just like you can't ask if 1m is more than 1kg. Or morphine, for example: Its TDI is set at 0.1mg per kilogram of body weight per day, or 0.001ppm, but who eats morphine every day?" Lee asked.
Yang Chen-chang, a toxicologist at Taipei Veterans General Hospital, had a different opinion.
"The conversion between TDI and parts per million is not wrong. But the problem with melamine now is not just a matter of science. Too many factors are involved in the issue — public opinion on the government's handling of the problem and people's different views about the same risk assessment," Yang said.
While some have said that the limit of 2.5ppm of melamine is the permissible level of melamine in food in the US, the EU and New Zealand, that too has been called into question.
The documents that have been cited to prove that 2.5ppm is the limit in these countries were interpreted incorrectly, some say.
Taking the EU as an example, many people, including Yang, say that the union adopted the 2.5ppm level when it asked that member states immediately destroy any Chinese products with at least 15 percent milk that are found to contain melamine in excess of 2.5mg per kilogram.
That recommendation was made on Sept. 26 in a European Commission document on how to handle imports of dairy products and ingredients from China.
But Lee and Ling both said the EU stopped short of saying that the permissible level of melamine in food should be permanently set at 2.5ppm.
"The EU also stated in the document that it would reassess the appropriateness of the measures, which makes the measures seem to be temporary provisions implemented for this emergency situation only," Lee said.
In the case of the US, the FDA said on Friday on its Web site that "in food products other than infant formula, the FDA concludes that levels of melamine and melamine-related compounds below 2.5 parts per million do not raise concerns."
But Hsieh Yen-yao, vice superintendent of the Koo Foundation Sun Yet-Sen Cancer Center, said the US FDA had set a level of 0.05ppm for pork, chicken, fish and eggs.
That restriction is stated in the FDA's risk assessment from last May.
Most countries have not set a tolerable level of melamine for food products before as the toxic chemical has not been considered a food additive, Lee said. The melamine limits set by countries previously have referred to accidental contamination.
"Rather than debating what the permissible level is, what we should do is to make sure that we can accurately detect any presence [of melamine] using the most sensitive detection instruments and ensure that the detection is conducted in accordance with standard operating procedures in laboratories," Ling said.
Okay, I know this is opinion, but definitely one seldom heard on the relationship of people food and pet food:
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/Columns/2364345/Article/index_html
DZULKIFLI ABDUL RAZAK: Politics of dog food and moral virtues
By : Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
IN the current climate of food scarcity, increased prices as well as concern over a worldwide economic meltdown, the discussion over being served "dog food" behind bars seems quite topical and timely.
Putting the controversies aside, the question of people eating dog food or pet food is not entirely new.
Rather than dying of starvation, pet food serves as an alternative for survival in some places in the world.
Some argue that the stuff that make up hamburgers are no better than food fit for animals. It is the packaging, branding and promotions that may deceive ...
Preoccupied by their own self-interest, the thousands who have been without a decent meal almost daily, let alone eating so-called pet food, do not seem to register on their radar .
http://www.chron.com:80/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/6041697.html
China detains 6 more people in milk scandal
By GILLIAN WONG Associated Press Writer © 2008 The Associated Press
Oct. 5, 2008, 10:23PM
The suspects were detained in Hohhot in northern China's Inner Mongolia region and accused of mixing melamine into raw milk, a city spokeswoman said. The spokeswoman, who refused to give her name as is common with Chinese bureaucrats, said the six were being interrogated. She declined to say when the detentions took place or give other details.
The official Xinhua News Agency said the detentions followed an investigation into two major Chinese milk companies based in Inner Mongolia. The move brings the number of people being held in connection with the tainting scandal to 32
http://itchmoforums.com/off-topic-no-politics/melamine-found-in-chinese-vegetables-t6507.0.html
Melamine found in Chinese vegetables
http://itchmoforums.com/off-topic-no-politics/japan-steps-up-inspection-of-feed-from-china-t6508.0.html
Japan Steps up Inspection of Feed from China
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5it-s544Gap2YOlwqsjAhKjqQ0XNw
AFP October 5, 2008
"In the capital Beijing, 382 new illnesses linked to melamine-tainted milk were diagnosed in the past week alone, the state-run Beijing News reported, indicating the problem is far from being solved.
"A health ministry spokesman suggested the number of children affected with kidney stones, caused by ingesting melamine, could go up.
""We have the latest number of cases around the nation," he told AFP, "but for the time being, we are not releasing it to the public and the press." He refused to give a reason".
"South Korea, for its part, declared a large amount of Chinese-made kimchi, or spicy fermented cabbage, to be inedible due to banned or harmful additives, further adding to concerns over Chinese food."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/06/AR2008100600547.html (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/06/AR2008100600547.html)
Backlash from Tainted Milk Scandal Spreads to Burma
Washington Post October 6, 2008
"Thanks to tainted milk, China's product-safety reputation is plumbing new depths. Even Burma -- where one of the world's most repressive and isolated military governments relies on trade with China -- has now warned its people to steer clear of all Chinese dairy products.
"The generals who run Burma are sealed off from much of the world by economic sanctions, following a bloody military assault last year on Buddhist monks and democracy protesters. They increasingly depend on China for everything from military hardware to consumer goods.
"Still, the Burmese government has publicized its destruction of 16 tons of Chinese baby food tainted with melamine, the industrial chemical that was mixed with milk products, leading in China to the deaths of four infants, the sickening more than 54,000 babies and a Chinese government crackdown on 22 dairy companies.
""Authorities concerned have urged the people not to consume milk and dairy products," the state-run New Light of Myanmar reported Sunday in Rangoon, the Burmese capital.
"The anomaly of consumer protection in Burma points to the scale and severity of China's global public-relations disaster in the wake of what appears to have been a long-standing, industrial-scale scheme to adulterate infant formula and other milk products."
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Monday/NewsBreak/20081006200727/Article/index_html (http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Monday/NewsBreak/20081006200727/Article/index_html)
NST New Straits Times Malaysia October 6, 2008
White Rabbit confectonery tests positive for melamine
KUALA LUMPUR, Mon:
"The Health Ministry has directed that White Rabbit Creamer Candy and Ego White Rabbit Creamy Candy be removed from the shelf and destroyed after tests found that they are melamine-positive.
"Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said laboratory tests showed that the candies contained melamine above the standard or 135 parts per million (ppm)."
http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=4124
Were Melamine Deaths Seen in 2005?
The Daily NK October 1,2008
"Amidst the Chinese "Melamine milk" repercussions that are spreading rapidly across the world, it has come to light that a number of North Korean infants who had been given Chinese powdered milk in 2005 died.
"According to merchants trading between China and North Korea, the Chinese Melamine-tainted milk affair started in Pyongyang in the summer of 2005. At the time, infants who ate imported Chinese powdered milk fell unconscious and, in more serious cases, died.
"He said that "Upon a series of unexplained infant deaths, the North Korean authorities launched an examination of Chinese powdered milk and stopped importing it, and some other products, immediately. However, what kind of agreement between the North Korean and Chinese authorities was implemented afterwards is not known."
"According to the merchant's explanation, sausage made in China was included in the list of banned import items. This was due to a mass food poisoning incident. "
I believe Burma and Myanmar are the same country and affect what it's called based on political orientation.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Statement
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01896.html
October 6, 2008
Media Inquiries:
Stephanie Kwisnek, 301-827-0955
Consumer Inquiries:
888-INFO-FDA
FDA Detects Melamine Contamination in Flavored Drink
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has increased inspections and product testing efforts in response to the melamine contamination problem which originated in Chinese dairy products. As a result of the FDA's on-going testing program, the agency has detected melamine contamination in Blue Cat Flavor Drinks. The distributor of the product, Tristar Food Wholesale Co. Inc., initiated a recall of several flavors of Blue Cat Flavor Drink, based on the FDA's findings. The FDA advises the public not to consume this product and recommends that retailers and food service operators remove the product from sale or service.
As of Monday, October 6, 2008, FDA only testing for melamine and cyanuric acid, no other melamine analytes:
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/lib4421.html
Laboratory Information Bulletin
LIB No. 4421
Volume 24, October 2008
Determination of Melamine and Cyanuric Acid Residues
in Infant Formula using LC-MS/MS
A procedure has been evaluated for the simultaneous determination and confirmation of melamine and cyanuric acid in powdered milk-based infant formula. Results are reported to support the continued evaluation and application of this method. Concentrations are measured in the range of 0.25 to 5 µg/g (µg/g). Extracts at higher concentrations may be diluted into this range. The limits of quantification and confirmation are 0.25 µg/g for both analytes
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/lib4422.html
Laboratory Information Bulletin
LIB No. 4422
October 2008
Interim Method for Determination of Melamine and Cyanuric Acid Residues In Foods using LC-MS/MS: Version 1.0
This method for Melamine and Cyanuric Acid should be regarded as interim. Because of the need to rapidly provide this information, the method has not undergone the rigorous internal and external validation required for an official method. The performance of the method may change when different equipment and supplies are used or when different sample matrices are encountered. The user should validate the performance of the method in their laboratory and pay particular attention to the recommended quality control elements. Users should document with their results the version or date of the method used.
Melamine related food contaminations worldwide:
2004 Asian pet food recalls, over 100,000 pets affected (Teng v. Mars, US Fed District Court, Washington D.C., May 2004)
2005 North Korea, unknown number of babies possibly affected
2007 United States, unknown number of pets affected (ranging from 16 to estimates as high as several hundred thousand)
2008 China, unknown number of babies affected, 6,000, then 12,000, then 54,000, with reports of continuing illnesses as of Oct. 6, 2008
http://itchmoforums.com/off-topic-no-politics/melamine-poisons-and-the-misappliance-of-science-t6509.0.html;topicseen (thank you, menusux)
"From these incidents, one can tell there's a bit of actual science being maliciously applied in the course of finding cheap things with a certain utility in stepping on food additives and drugs for increased profit.
"With the case of melamine, there is probably a range of doses of it which, cynically, are sub-optimal for the generation of kidney stones and sand in the urine in mammals. When someone becomes too greedy or careless and the amount is pooched too high in tons of baby milk powder, there's a disaster which exposes the operation, and the arrests start.
Oops, there goes the supply chain...
"In this arrangement for profit, bad elements in China (as well as western firms) have cooperatively achieved subversion of what are supposed to be trusted sources. Islamic terrorists can only dream about such inside access to critical supply chains. The desire for profit is a much better motivator than the desire to create simple terror.
"So as melamine criss crosses the globe in Ritz crackers for Korea, cookies for Holland, in chocolate for Cadburys, in White Rabbit Creamy Candies for the Asian markets in California, and in the products of internationally manufacturing American food giants like Kraft, Heinz and Nabisco, what's that stabbing pain in your lower back?"
China and business is not going to regulate itself The US consumer needs protection NOW ...
More information on Russia's seizure of nearly 2 tons of Chinese-made dry milk:
http://www.times.spb.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=27290
Chinese Milk Seized
St. Petersburg Times October 7, 2008
"Food inspectors have found nearly 2 tons of Chinese dry milk believed to be contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine in the far eastern city of Khabarovsk.
"The country's chief epidemiologist, Gennady Onishchenko, said that the dry milk was seized, Itar-Tass reported Friday.
"Interfax, meanwhile, reported that inspectors have found more than 1,000 items containing Chinese dairy products around the country. And RIA-Novosti said milk powder containing melamine had been found in Tomsk.
"Federal authorities on Tuesday banned all imports of Chinese dairy products following news that milk containing melamine may have killed four Chinese babies and sickened more than 54,000 others.
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=13402&geo=6&size=A
Beijing says milk is safe now, but contaminated products are still in stores
China repeats that new analyses show that the melamine is gone, and the Chinese can buy milk again. But recalled products are still being sold in stores, and melamine has been found in other goods from China, including major brands.
AsiaNews (Italy) October 6, 2008
"China guarantees that its milk is safe now, and has arrested six more people for adulteration. But in the meantime, contaminated products are still being sold, and in South Korea, melamine has been found in other products from Western brands.
"In Chinese supermarkets, consumers are denouncing that even yesterday, recalled products containing melamine were still being sold. The media report that, in stores in Guangzhou, banned products from Mengniu were on sale on October 3, and even yesterday. Some of these are "mixed" with the more recent products maintained to be safe, during the " two for one" sale. "The most ridiculous part," one person tells the South China Morning Post, "is that right next to the shelf of these milk products, there is a government notice warning people not to buy them." Another person, in resignation, observes that "too many foods have been found to be contaminated. I've decided not to think about it. We're buying milk, at least as long as it's cheap."
That just says it all...........
"Buy one get one free"
"We're buying milk, as long as it's cheap? ??? ??? ???
But it's not milk and it's NOT cheap. Illness from poisoning is very expensive and could kill you >:(
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=23d7c3c6-35a4-4783-8d45-c17faa46e01d
CFIA unable to test all imports from China for melamine
Sarah Schmidt , Canwest News Service
Published: Monday, October 06, 2008
OTTAWA - Milk-derived ingredients swept up in the tainted milk scandal in China have been imported to Canada this year, but there's no way to know whether they were contaminated with melamine before being consumed in processed foods.
In addition to small amounts of cocoa powder, casein derivatives and whey protein, 36,052 kilograms of casein worth about $320,000 was shipped to Canada in the first seven months of this year, according to Statistics Canada based on data provided by the Canada Border Services Agency
CFIA and Statistics Canada officials cannot explain the discrepancy between the amount StatsCan says was imported - two shipments of 18,000 kilograms each in February and April and a 52-kilogram shipment in June - and the much smaller 125-kilogram shipments CFIA records show. As a result, CFIA did not track down the bulk of the recorded imports for testing.
The two agencies both receive import data from the Canada Border Services Agency.
Casein, often listed as sodium caseinate, calcium caseinate or milk protein, is found in energy bars and drinks as well as packaged goods. Whey protein is a popular supplement for athletes.
Meanwhile, 907,000 kilograms of casein and other powdered milk proteins worth $38.8 million US were imported to the United States from China from January to July.
There is no way for the Canadian public to know whether these ingredients wound up in processed products imported to Canada from the United States, says Patrick Woodall, a senior policy analyst at Food & Water Watch, based in Washington, DC.
"Obviously, if the Chinese imports are used by U.S. food processors, Canadian authorities would never be able to source the product to China," said Woodall.
He said the imports could be "toxic milk powder and we don't know where it is or how to get it back."
Woodall's organization is asking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ban all milk-derived ingredients from China.
907,000 kilograms of casein and other powdered milk proteins worth $38.8 million US were imported to the United States from China from January to July
Where is the information on where this casein is, FDA? Where are the testing results on products containing casein, often listed as sodium caseinate, calcium caseinate, or milk protein, whey protein in energy bars, drinks, whey powder supplements, as well as packaged goods?
Quote from: menusux on October 06, 2008, 02:44:22 PM
More information on Russia's seizure of nearly 2 tons of Chinese-made dry milk:
http://www.times.spb.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=27290
Chinese Milk Seized
St. Petersburg Times October 7, 2008
"Federal authorities on Tuesday banned all imports of Chinese dairy products following news that milk containing melamine may have killed four Chinese babies and sickened more than 54,000 others.
Edited to add on Monday, October 6, 2008 *RUSSIA
Bringing to 58 the number of countries worldwide where food safety comes first
3 cat--
Can you tell us if you have your total of 5 people to take this thread apart or not?
If not, now would be a good time to remind people of how many you still need. :)
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on October 06, 2008, 04:22:11 PM
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=23d7c3c6-35a4-4783-8d45-c17faa46e01d
CFIA unable to test all imports from China for melamine
After reading this article, my questions would be:
How much material was actually imported? Where did it all go if the larger quantity actually was imported? Where did the product go that they tracked down and said was used and can't be tested or recalled? Should consumers be checking their shelves for particular products/manufacturers? I'd like to know if something I have consumed could have had the tainted material in it even if it can't be proven at this time. At least let me be aware of the potential.
If it's recognized that processed products imported from manufacturers in the US could possibly be made with the tainted casien and like materials, are they testing any of these imported processed foods? I would hope so. Do we really care at this point if they can't actually trace it back to China? Not me; I just want to know if our food is safe. I'd assume US citizens would expect Canadian imports to be tested; surely the reverse is not unreasonable. Tainted food is tainted food regardless the source of the contaminant.
menusux, so far I have two and a third person available next week. But I'm not so sure at this point what good it would do us to
break down every news reported product by country, since this is considered proprietary business information and most of the
multinational companies can't tell you where their ingredients came from originally since they don't trace them accurately. With multinational
companies like Fonterra, Kraft, General Mills, Mars, and Nestle being mentioned in various places around the world, I'm kind of at the point where
I'm assuming anything that has any variant of milk could possibly be contaminated.
shadowmice, no one is releasing test results to US consumers on products containing milk or milk powders, as they are in, for example,
the Phillippines through BFAD, or the Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety. Personally, if it contains a milk powder ingredient, milk protein ingredient, cheese powder ingredient, lactose powder ingredient, casein, sodium caseinate, calcium caseinate, or whey powder, I'm tossing it at this point and not buying any more, especially Trick or "Chinese Trouble" candies for kids this Halloween. No processed baked goods either are being bought here. No ice cream or frozen dairy deserts. Only milk from local dairy who confirms local ingredients. I don't know what else to tell you at this point. No pizza. No chocolate (heaven help me). No dairy or non-dairy creamers. No cocoa or cocoa based drinks. No breakfast cereals or breakfast drinks. No processed cookies or crackers. No coffee or tea packaged drinks, or health drinks, or power bars, or nutritional drinks. Reading labels really carefully. And will continue to do this until the government helps by testing or after Christmas at this house. Or permanently if Chinese food imports are not detained, inspected, and tested; or totally banned until reasonable consumer safety measures are in place and operating.
Open to better ideas from anyone.Quotehttp://www.forbes.com/reuters/feeds/reuters/2008/09/27/2008-09-27T123805Z_01_B162168_RTRIDST_0_CHINA-MILK-RECALLS-FACTBOX.html
IMPORT BANS:
* BANGLADESH: -- Three Chinese powdered milk brands, Sanlu, Suncare and Yashili, banned. Melamine tests to be introduced on
all milk powder imports at Bangladeshi seaports.
* BENIN: -- Bans powered milk products from China.
* BHUTAN: -- Bhutan has banned Chinese milk imports, ranging from chocolates, sweets and cakes to milk tablets.
* BRUNEI: -- All Chinese milk products banned by Health Ministry, even though Brunei does not directly import dairy products from China.
* BURUNDI: -- Banned import, sale of Chinese milk products.
* COLOMBIA: -- Banned import of China-made powdered milk.
* CAMEROON: -- Suspends import and sale of fresh and powdered milk from China.
* EUROPEAN UNION: -- The 27-nation bloc banned baby food containing Chinese milk.
* FRANCE: -- Banned all food items containing Chinese milk as precautionary move.
* GABON: -- Introduced ban at same time as Burundi.
* GHANA: -- Food and Drug Board suspended imports of all milk and milk-based products made in China.
* INDIA: -- Banned import of milk and milk products from China for three months.
* INDONESIA: -- Banned imports of China dairy products.
* IVORY COAST: -- Banned imports of milk products from China.
* MALAYSIA: -- Banned all Chinese milk imports, as well as chocolates, sweets and other foods containing milk.
* MALDIVES: -- Banned Chinese milk products to protect its population of 300,000.
* NEPAL: -- Banned all China milk and milk-based food products as a precautionary measure.
* PAPUA NEW GUINEA: -- Banned China-made milk products.
* PHILIPPINES: -- Banned import and sale of milk products from China, pending investigation of possible contamination.
* SINGAPORE: -- Banned the import and sale of milk products from China on Sept 19 after finding melamine in two China-made
products -- "Dutch Lady" strawberry flavoured milk, and "Yili Brand" dairy fruit bar yoghurt flavoured ice confection.
White Rabbit Creamy Candy pulled from shelves after being found to be contaminated with melamine.
* SOUTH KOREA: -- Banned China-made foods containing powdered milk after imported biscuits test positive for melamine.
* SURINAME: -- Banned milk and dairy products from China, is stepping up inspections on food imported from Southeast Asia.
* TAIWAN: -- All China-made dairy products banned, a milk testing station set up for consumers in Taipei.
* TANZANIA: -- Suspended all China dairy imports, and seized 34 tonnes of China-made milk powder.
* TOGO: -- Suspended import, distribution and sale of all Chinese-origin milk products.
* VIETNAM: -- Banned China milk products. Health officials warned such products may have been sold in remote areas
in the impoverished central region.
Edited to add on Monday, September 29, 2008: *MYANMAR and *LAOS (see reply 556, page 38)
Edited to add on Wednesday, October 1, 2008: *UGANDA (see Reply 619, page 42)
51 54 nations where consumer food safety appears to come first pending further investigation and food safety controls
Edited to add on Friday, October 3, 2008: *URUGUAY
Edited to add on Sunday, October 5, 2008: *IRAN and *CAMBODIA
Bringing to 57 the number of countries concerned about consumer food safety first.
Edited to add on Tuesday, October 7, 2008 *RUSSIA and *LEBANON and *UAE (United Arab Emirates)
Bringing to 60 the number of countries worldwide where food safety comes first
"China has run out of excuses, assurances and defenses. As a giant exporter of food and other products, its attitude toward consumer safety is a disgrace and a global health threat."
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on October 06, 2008, 08:53:54 AM
http://www.fda.gov:80/oc/po/firmrecalls/mccormick09_08.html
McCormick & Company Has Recalled McCormick Enchilada Sauce Mix Due To Unlabeled Milk Ingredients
Contact:
Corporate Communications
(410) 771-7803
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- Sparks, MD -- September 30, 2008 – McCormick & Company, Incorporated has announced a voluntary recall of McCormick Enchilada Sauce Mix with UPC Code 52100091600 sold under the McCormick brand. The McCormick Enchilada Sauce Mix contains undeclared milk ingredients. People who have allergies to milk run the risk of serious or life threatening allergic reactions if they consume this product.
The McCormick Enchilada Sauce Mix was distributed to grocery stores nationally beginning on September 17, 2008. The product comes in 1.5 oz. pouches with an expiration date of "best by" AUG2910CH. The date is found printed in black on the back, bottom left of the pouch.
I went to some grocery stores today right after I saw this recall, 3cats. All of the Enchilada mixes were pulled, except from one store which did not have the date; but I took one anyway. It was an earlier date. There is no dairy listed on the ingredients, so the recall may be valid.
I did, however, find an Original Taco mix with that same exact date code, containing whey solids. The Cheesy Taco, different date code, has whey as the first listed ingredient. I took those as well.
So, I will save these samples, along with my Mac and Cheese, and decide whether or not to test.
From Thailand's FDA:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/071008_News/07Oct2008_news06.php
Tuesday October 07, 2008 www.bangkokpost.com
TAINTED PRODUCT
FDA to check if milk powder smuggled in
APIRADEE TREERUTKUARKUL
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is checking with the Livestock Development Department to see if powdered milk has been smuggled from China across a border checkpoint in the North. Pipat Yingseree, the FDA secretary-general, said he would ask for cooperation from the department to track down 9,000 tonnes of powdered milk reportedly imported from China as animal feed through Chiang Rai's Chiang Saen district.
He said he would also instruct FDA staff at the Chiang Saen border checkpoint to tighten inspections of imported food and closely work with livestock officials to ensure that milk imported from China as animal feed would not be smuggled in and used to produce anything for human consumption. ...
The Livestock Development Department has reported that since last August, it has rejected 608 tonnes of melamine-tainted livestock products used to produce animal feed.
There were also applications to import whey from China this year, but not a single shipment was brought in, according to Livestock Development Department official Sakchai Sriboonsue.
He added that the animal feed control board has finished drafting a new regulation banning the import, production, or sale of animal feed, and feed ingredients, that contain melamine.
The draft regulation is pending approval from the Agriculture and Cooperatives minister.
Just another possible avenue for melamine introduction into imports from countries with different standards.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=96557
Beirut bans Chinese milk powder over health fears
By Agence France Presse (AFP)
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
BEIRUT: Lebanon has banned the import of all powdered milk products from China over a contamination scandal that has left thousands of children ill in that country, Agriculture Minister Elias Skaff said on Monday. "I have asked that all powdered milk products be banned because of what is happening in China," Skaff told AFP, adding that the measure took effect late last week.
He said he has also asked that all Chinese powdered milk products already on the Lebanese market be withdrawn.
http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20081007-92106.html
Tue, Oct 07, 2008
Melamine testing for pet food
By Dawn Tay
Pet food and livestock feed here will undergo melamine tests, according to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA).
AVA spokesman Goh Shih Yong told my paper that the agency will move on to animal food after it finishes testing its samples of human food products. He said: "We want to check if there's any adulteration in other protein-related substances ...
Countries are also starting to count the losses brought on by the melamine fallout. According to the Taipei Times last Wednesday, the Taiwan government is estimating a loss of up to NT$8billion (S$361 million) - if all products that have been pulled off shelves need to be destroyed.
According to the official news website of the Philippine broadcasting company GMANews, Mars Inc - the local
distributor of Snickers chocolate bars in Manila - complained that it has lost 30 million pesos (S$900,000) in revenue since the milk scare surfaced in the country two weeks ago.
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsworld.php?id=362877
October 07, 2008 10:01 AM
Vietnam Finds 23 Tainted Milk Products
HANOI, Oct 7 (Bernama) -- Vietnamese Ministry of Health (MoH) has discovered the melamine at the heart of China's tainted milk scandal in 23 separate products and has ordered the recall and destruction of these products, an official said. MoH Chief Inspector Tran Quang Trung told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) that so far, the source of the imported milk contaminated by the industrial chemical melamine has been preliminarily brought under control.
He also said all tainted products manufactured by the local company Hanoimilk used melamine-contaminated materials that had been imported from China.
Good for Singapore!
Heh, all these countries should get together and pick food/product groups to test on China exports. And not just for melamine.
straybaby, the Chinese government, through export rebates to Chinese manufacturers, has been offering products to
Western businesses below cost or very low cost to gain advantage in the international market. Myself, I'd like to see the Chinese government and
the Western businesses who choose to use their products have to pay the costs of consumer safety testing and inspection of all Chinese
imports to take away some of the market advantage the Chinese government has gained. It might level the economic playing field for good old US companies and bring some jobs back home. With the possible addition of North Korean babies in 2005, pet food recalls in 2004 and 2007, and
the poor babies of China in 2008, I no longer trust the Chinese government or the Western businesses who purchase from them to monitor
themselves. So I would like to see a well deserved import user fee that paid for inspection and testing by the FDA/USDA/FSIS. The Chinese
government has been getting away with murder in terms of pricing of exports for years to increase market share. And Western businessrs have
taken advantage of it and hoped to gain a potential foothold in the huge Chinese market. Now it's real murder in terms of product safety it seems to me. I'd hope every nation in the world would do something similar to help stop the problem and protect consumer safety.
Monday, Oct 06, 2008
http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidGN_06102008_10250138/Strict%20vigil%20kept%20on%20tainted%20food%20items%20in%20UAE
Abu Dhabi: Authorities are keeping a strict vigil after finding more melamine-contaminated Chinese food products in international markets, although no such products were found in Abu Dhabi following a blanket ban across the country, said a senior official.
"We haven't found any Chinese-made dairy and related products in Abu Dhabi during the past ten days," said Mohammad Jalal Al Reyaysa, Manager of Communication and Information at Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority.
General Secretariat of Municipalities (GSM) decided to ban Chinese dairy and related products, ordering such products be withdrawn until it is ensured that they are free from melamine.
Bringing to 60 the number of countries worldwide where consumer food safety comes first
.
UAE is composed of Abu Dhabi (the largest), Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, and Umm al-Qaiwain. In addition to a federal president and prime minister, each emirate has a separate ruler who oversees the local government. So just counting UAE as one loosely confederated country.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/10/chinese_formula09.html
DeLauro Raps FDA On Melamine Risk Guidelines
Congresswoman says agency condones contamination of food
October 6, 2008
After numerous recalls and months of concerns about Chinese-made food products and ingredients containing melamine, the Food and Drug Administration has addressed the issue of exactly how much melamine poses a risk. Very small amounts of the substance, the agency said, poses very little risk at all.
The FDA action brought a strong rebuke from Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Chairwoman of the Agriculture-- Food and Drug Administration subcommittee.
"While other countries throughout the world, including the European Union, are acting to ban melamine-contaminated products from China, the FDA has chosen to establish an acceptable level for melamine in food in an attempt to convince consumers that it is not harmful," she said. "Not only is this is an insult to consumers, but it would appear that the FDA is condoning the intentional contamination of foods."
I hope somebody is listening to the lady, Peg, and acts.
http://afp.google.com:80/article/ALeqM5hSooNn1GgOgL-8sOUdRfC5Vzy1iQ
China declines to say how many kids sick in milk scandal
1 hour ago (Oct 6, 2008)
"We've not released the latest number of cases because it is not an infectious disease, so it's not absolutely necessary for us to announce it to the public," a health ministry spokesman told AFP
Previous official figures said milk powder tainted with the chemical melamine had claimed the lives of four children and made a further 53,000 ill.
Dairy sales for the full year are likely to be 20 percent lower than the 160 billion yuan (23.5 billion dollars) posted last year, said Lao, whose firm advises leading Chinese dairy brands.
"The industry had been growing at a pace of more than 20 percent over the past few years, but this year it's going to remain flat," he said.
About three million workers, mostly connected to the small dairy producers who account for 80 percent of China's milk production were affected, said Chen Lianfang, an analyst from Beijing-based Orient Agribusiness Consultant
Quote from: mainecoonpeg on October 06, 2008, 09:00:25 PM
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/10/chinese_formula09.html
DeLauro Raps FDA On Melamine Risk Guidelines
Congresswoman says agency condones contamination of food
After numerous recalls and months of concerns about Chinese-made food products and ingredients containing melamine, the Food and Drug Administration has addressed the issue of exactly how much melamine poses a risk. Very small amounts of the substance, the agency said, poses very little risk at all.
Of course, if the food isn't tested, no on has any idea how much they are eating anyway. And there is no way the health effects can be documented.
FDA's Melamine Decision Scares Consumers
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/10/chinese_formula10.html
"""But those words offer little comfort to worried consumers like Mary in Kansas.
"I don't trust the FDA," she said, adding she has shared her concerns with her elected officials. "And now I'm struggling day-to-day on what to feed my family. When you go to the grocery story, how do you figure out what to buy?"
Mary has stopped buying any processed food and only eats meat sold by local farmers. She said she will continue to take these precautions until she is sure the food supply is safe.
But the FDA, she fears, can't give her that assurance anytime soon. "The FDA is galloping down a slippery slope." """
;D
5CatMom
=^..^=
This one person Mary could speak for a lot of people. There should be hundreds of people who are wary of what the agencies say especially when they feel a level of any amount of this toxin is acceptable in any food or liquid drink. It is up to the consumer to be alert and not buy products they are wary of and to avoid those products forever if need be to have peace of mind that the very places that are supposed to be looking out for the welfare and food safety in this country are buried with their heads in the sand up to their waste IMO.
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/china/us-food-may-contain-tainted-chinese-ingredients-5286.html
Food labeled as made in the U.S.A. could contain tainted ingredients from China. Amid recent concerns over the safety of food products from China, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it has stepped up efforts to increase screening imports. The screening applies only to food products, and not to raw ingredients
"That [screening] doesn't cover the ingredients—ingredients are exempt," says Henri Morris, President and CEO of Edible Software. "A lot of stuff is falling through the cracks." Morris's company supplies inventory control and management accounting software to wholesale food distributors
According to the FDA's Country of Origin rule, "a statement of the country of origin on the labeling of imported foods is not required by the Federal Food, Drug, & Cosmetic Act". The regulation is required by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Under FDA rules, when further reprocessing occurs or material is added to the imported product, it results as a "substantial transformation" of the product. The country of origin can then be changed on the product. According to Morris, this means that ingredients such as milk powder, whey powder, milk concentrate and other items from China could be put into products that could then be labeled as "made in the U.S.A." He adds that the current system offers little protection for consumers ...
Despite FDA assurances that imports are being closely watched, Morris contends that the current law is a loophole for potentially hazardous ingredients that could make their way into the food supply without public knowledge.
"The big thing is the accountability and the traceability of the inventory," says Morris, who calls the current system "laughable".
... Chris Waldrop, Director of the Food Policy Institute at the Consumer Federation of America, a consumer advocacy organization, believes that the FDA needs more authority, a better inspection system, strong analytics, newer technology and improved sampling.
"We should draw a line in the sand," says Waldrop, who adds that the FDA should be tougher on those who want to import to the U.S. "If you [China] can't meet our standards, then you shouldn't import to us."
5CatMom: Has Romer Labs made any progress on releasing its test-at-home melamine strip test kits for US consumers?
http://itchmoforums.com/pet-food-testing/melamine-test-kit-available-t6377.0.html;msg88922#msg88922
The FDA's focus on pulling a White Rabbit out of the hat and off store shelves just isn't cutting it for this consumer, in view of what may be falling
through the cracks in the US food safety system and labeled as "made in the USA."
Here's a link where you can tell the FDA what you think about melamine in our food supply:
http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/qa-top.html
Dear FDA,
Your decision to allow food products to be contaminated with melamine is flawed.
1. There are no studies which indicate that melamine is safe for human consumption in any amount, for any period of time.
2. Your "science" assumes that the melamine is not also contaminated with other chemicals, i.e., cyanuric acid. Melamine, in combination with other chemicals, has been shown to form crystals in the bladder and kidneys.
3. Because food is not adequately tested for contaminates, you have no way to know if other toxic chemicals are present.
Your "science" is short sighted and obviously designed to placate the food industry and it's lobbyists.
Your decision DOES NOT improve food supply safety, or protect the health of consumers.
However, it does give the green light to dishonest companies who seek to profit by spiking food ingredients with cheap, but deadly, chemicals.
I will no longer purchase ANY processed foods from the grocery store. Likewise, because the FDA allows melamine to be fed to animals, I will no longer purchase ANY meat or meat products from the grocery store.
Shame, shame, shame on you for allowing our food supply to become contaminated.
5CatMom
=^..^=
Great link, 5Cat. Hope they enjoyed the earful. It really would be nice to see an FDA statement
on what the agency would like to do about melamine food safety if all bugetary restrictions were
removed.
Please, everyone, let the FDA know what you think. And keep a sharp eye out for accurate figures from
China and all other countries on the numbers of babies and infants affected.
Here, the FDA answers questions about melamine:
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/melamqa.html
5CatMom
=^..^=
All well and good, but where are the published independent FDA test results and testing level limits/methods
on actual products available in US grocery stores that I actually buy, including products labeled as made in the USA?
The failure to mention numbers of tests and products tested raises questions as to the effectiveness of the monitoring.
http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20081007-92106.html
AsiaOne News Singapore October 7, 2008
Melamine testing for pet food
"Pet food and livestock feed here will undergo melamine tests, according to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA).
"AVA spokesman Goh Shih Yong told my paper that the agency will move on to animal food after it finishes testing its samples of human food products.
"He said: "We want to check if there's any adulteration in other protein-related substances.""
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/07/asia/AS-Vietnam-Tainted-Milk.php
International Herald Tribune October 7, 2008
Vietnam finds tainted milk from China
"Melamine contamination has been found in 23 milk products imported into Vietnam from China, officials said Tuesday, intensifying consumer worries about tainted milk products.
"Five more products tested positive for the industrial chemical, which is usually used in making plastics and fertilizers. So far authorities have found 23 contaminated products after testing 400 samples of milk and milk products, Vietnam's vice minister of health Cao Minh Quang said.
"About 300 tons of products, mostly imported from China, have been recalled, said the ministry's chief inspector, Tran Quang Trung."
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jsH_So-km9lAdu_m8cO2QY19I2zA
AFP October 7, 2008
China declines to say how many children affected in milk scandal
""China on Tuesday declined to release updated figures revealing how many children have been affected by the tainted milk scandal, as it attempted to boost confidence in its food safety standards.
"The health ministry said it had new statistics showing how many babies were believed to have been left ill by the crisis, but did not release the data and gave no indication if or when it would make the latest information public.
""We've not released the latest number of cases because it is not an infectious disease, so it's not absolutely necessary for us to announce it to the public," a health ministry spokesman told AFP.
"The World Health Organisation in Beijing said it had not been informed of the updated data either.
"The foreign ministry said it was not in a position to make the figures public.
""We have no authority to make the health ministry release the figure. They are the department in charge," said a foreign ministry spokesman."
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=f6a88bfe-49c9-48f2-aa92-f027711a01d5
Calgary Herald (CA) October 6, 2008
Malaysia tests Chinese vegetables and fruits for melamine
"Malaysia will test fruit and vegetables imported from China following reports that they may contain the industrial chemical melamine, a senior minister said Monday.
""It is a precautionary measure on our side," Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai told reporters.
""We are on high alert with this issue and will zoom in on whatever news we receive for now," he said.
"China is a major trading partner and exports a large variety of vegetables and fruits to Malaysia including potatoes, cabbage and cauliflower.
"Liow said vegetables could have been contaminated by melamine through fertilizers and pesticides."
Cabbage and other leafy greens, along with mushrooms, seem to accumulate a lot of melamine from what I have read.
As for the FDA info- mercial----pathetic! No need to worry until we stop peeing! Gee, is that too late? And why would they think other proteins would not be contaminated? Anyone??? I am pulling out my hair with frustration at the ineptitude and disregard for human and animal health! Is there any hope left at all?
??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???
http://www.stuff.co.nz/southlandtimes/4716901a22356.html
Fonterra is in the dark about its liability for compensation payouts as the global fallout from the Sanlu tainted milk saga continues.
Gee, whiz, Fonterra has been in the dark here ever since it started doing business in China in 2007. Didn't know about Sanlu's melamine
additives. Couldn't do anything about melamine contamination because its three Sanlu board of directors members were outvoted. Poor Fonterra. Could only accept 43 percent of the Sanlu profits. Does this sound ridiculous to anyone else?
Yes. And so does this from the FDA babble page:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Will FDA's Safety and Risk Assessment of Melamine and Melamine-Related Compounds in human foods be subject to peer review?
FDA is identifying a group of experts to convene a scientific advisory board that will be charged with reviewing the risk assessment. This group will also be asked to contribute to future scientific analysis related to the risk of melamine and melamine-related compounds to humans and animals."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, in other words, in the mean time, until any more study or review is done, go ahead and eat it!!!!! I will write and ask their level of inspection and analysis method. I just can not take this government's incompetence and dereliction of duty anymore. I really feel like I can't take it. Maybe my food supply has fed a toxic personality---but I am feeling pretty toxic at this point.
I just wrote to the FDA and that felt so good. A brief catharsis. I hope they are getting a lot of comments. Unfortunately, the financial meltdown is garnering most people's attention. If only these two events had not coincided. Unfortunately when it rains it pours. This is such an impotent government! Absolute dereliction of duty!
DMS,
Very good job. I hope they get a couple of million comments.
We need to post that comment link all over, so that many others will see it.
5CatMom
=^..^=
http://www.flex-news-food.com/pages/19564/Chemical/China/Coffee/Food-Safety/Hungary/Nestle/Restaurant/hungary-melamine-detected-chinese-restaurants-nestle-product.html
FlexNews October 6, 2008
Hungary: Melamine Detected in Chinese Restaurants and in Nestle Product
"Traces of melamine have been discovered in products in a number of Chinese restaurants in Hungary, food safety official said today. It was also confirmed that melamine tainted Nestle products discovered at the weekend would be tested further.
"But the authorities said the melamine content found at the restaurants was so far within prescribed safety limits.
"Miklos Suth, of the Agriculture Ministry's food safety office, said: "Food products with melamine levels under the limits defined by food safety rules were found in a number of Chinese restaurants during the weekend."
"He also confirmed that a shipment of Nestle coffee product contaminated with the industrial chemical discovered on 4 October was still under examination. Test results will be released later in the week, said Mr Suth. Nestle had requested the examination of a 5.5 ton stock of Coffee Mate imported from Thailand but not yet placed on sale.
"He added that the product would be destroyed if the levels of melamine exceeded legal levels."
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=755627
eTaiwan News October 5, 2008
China exports toxic strawberry powder to Taiwan
"A company at Taoyuan Country sent their products to test and found out 6ppm melamine in the strawberry Sticks and 33ppm in another product, which was also made of strawberry powder. The company said the milk powder in cookies was imported from Australia and Netherlands, but the strawberry powder material was from another company at Taichung City , which imported that from China.
"Bureau of Health in Taichung City had dispatched and took the samples of dried strawberry to text at 23:00 on Oct. 3.
"The general manager of the company, said that only one of the five strawberry powder carbons was opened and supplied for the company this year. In addition, they had examined the products and did not find out pesticides and heavy metal when importing. However, melamine was not the test item then, they have sent the sample to test this morning."
From Russia:
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=13147127&PageNum=0
Over 2 tonnes of dry milk from China found in Tomsk
[Pulled post because duplicated menusux post a couple pages back. (Sorry.
Thread is getting long and dates cross over.)]
From the Phillippines:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com:80/nation/10/07/08/bfad-expand-safety-tests-non-dairy-products
BFAD to expand safety tests to non-dairy products
by CARMELA FONBUENA, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak | 10/07/2008 7:44 PM
Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) chief Leticia Gutierrez has asked food manufacturing companies that use ingredients from China to submit to the bureau a complete list of their raw materials
House committee on agriculture and food chairman Palawan Rep. Abraham Mitra expressed concern over the possibility that China would dump its export surpluses to the Philippines because of the US financial crisis.
With the US economic slowdown and reduced consumer spending, the US, a major trade partner of China, is expected to reduce its food imports.
Polig said they will write the manufacturing companies to inform them of the new procedure of BFAD on full disclosure of raw materials used in food products
From Taiwan (no statistical studies cited to back up the opinion):
http://www.taipeitimes.com:80/News/editorials/archives/2008/10/08/2003425337
How to keep chemicals far from the dinner table
By Chang Yeh-Shen Wednesday, Oct 08, 2008, Page 8
Taiwan has the highest rate of kidney dialysis patients per capita in the world. This is not a sign that our national health insurance system is doing its job, but rather the result of excessive and even abusive reliance on medicines and of rampant contamination in our food. The latter problem is related to the government's failure to implement strict screening procedures to block tainted imports from China.
Quoted earlier in this thread:
http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news-1/Chronic-Kidney-Disease-Growing-Globally-22854-1/
Chronic Kidney Disease Growing Globally - Taiwanese study published in The Lancet, June 2008
Quote from: DMS on October 07, 2008, 12:04:47 PM
I just wrote to the FDA and that felt so good. A brief catharsis. I hope they are getting a lot of comments. Unfortunately, the financial meltdown is garnering most people's attention. If only these two events had not coincided. Unfortunately when it rains it pours. This is such an impotent government! Absolute dereliction of duty!
I also brought up a point in my comment that JJ and others of us have found hard to swallow. Why are we importing dairy (and other proteins and goods) products from China when we, ourselves, are an exporter. We export to Mexico. Of course we all know the answer, but I thought it was still worth raising.
$$$$$$$ This system is so out of whack in every way. Gee, if they really want to save the environment, save money on theoretical inspections, and not exploit foreign workers, they could just let American companies provide the products. How did it get so convoluted and twisted? Bring the food all the way from China when we have it right here, and are sending it to Mexico,etc.....this isn't efficient or even remotely sensible. Now it's downright dangerous.
http://www.wisconsinagconnection.com/story-national.php?Id=2337&yr=2008
Congress to Investigate Melamine & Chinese Milk Products
USAgNet - 10/07/2008
"Reps. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, announced that the committee is expanding its food safety investigation following the recent outbreak in China involving contaminated milk products.
"The panel will specifically review what steps the Food and Drug Administration is taking to ensure that U.S. consumers are protected from Chinese-made food products contaminated with melamine. To date, melamine-tainted milk products have poisoned more than 53,000 children in China, Macao, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and are responsible for at least four deaths.
"The lawmakers stated that the situation highlights the need for robust inspections and enforcement by FDA as well as country of origin labeling on all foods, including processed foods. Dingell said that Congress will have to turn FDA into a meaningful regulator of imports or ban food from China and other unprotected sources.
"The committee has held numerous hearings over the past months on food safety issues and is developing comprehensive legislation to strengthen FDA and food safety policies."
CFIA has posted specific products which they found had melamine above allowed interim limits. Two have already been mentioned previously.
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concen/2008melinfoe.shtml
"Products that have tested positive at levels higher than the interim standards are listed below. This table will be updated as the CFIA investigation continues.
Mr. Brown 3 in 1 Coffee Products, from Taiwan, action: National Health Hazard Alert (2008-09-30)
Kaiser Strawberry Dressing Pretzel, from Taiwan, action: Ontario Consumer Advisory(2008-10-01)
Four Seas Cake (chocolate) - 5 packs, from China, action: British Columbia and Alberta Recall from retail (2008-10-06)
Four Seas Cake (strawberry) - 5 packs, from China, action: British Columbia and Alberta Recall from retail (2008-10-06)
Last Updated: 2008-10-07"
They define the interim limits as:
" Infant formula and sole source nutrition products, including meal replacement products
Maximum of 1.0 part per million (ppm*)
Other food products containing milk and milk-derived ingredients
Maximum of 2.5 ppm*
[*These levels will apply to a combined concentration of melamine and cyanuric acid (a chemical generally found together with melamine).]"
Questions & Answers:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/chem-chim/qa-melamine-qr-eng.php
The good folks at Science Blog (thanks to hf) posted some good links:
http://www.sciencebase.com/science-blog/melamine-in-milk.html#comment-554017
http://www.thescientificworld.com/headeradmin/upload/2008.20.134.pdf
I think most of the articles from around the world are showing the FDA science is seriously flawed and hindered (perhaps shackled by industries).
I wonder if they'd appreciate the research articles the vets did on necropsies & MARC that Carol had posted. Seems there's actually a good bit of insight in those that many scientists could use right now & appreciate...
http://www.bangkokpost.com/081008_News/08Oct2008_news13.php
Bangkok Post (Thailand) October 8, 2008
Melamine found in new powder shipments
Bangkok, Thailand- "The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has found melamine in 100 tonnes of powdered milk shipped from China by dairy product manufacturer Dairy Plus Co.
"The company is a subsidiary of Dutch Mill Co, which recently had a shipment of 22 tonnes of milk powder seized after it tested positive for melamine, a substance considered a lethal health hazard.
"FDA secretary-general Pipat Yingseree said a Medical Sciences Department lab test showed the milk shipment, manufactured by Beijing Shuangwa Daily Co Ltd, contains 1.10 to 1.32 ppm/kg of melamine. The shipment arrived in Samut Prakan on Sept 20."
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/125548/BFAD-also-testing-China-made-soya-milk-products-Qualibets-samples
GMan News Philippines October 7, 2008
BFAD also testing China-made soya milk products, Qualibet's samples
"The Bureau of Food and Drugs has expanded its laboratory testing to include milk products made from soya and samples previously tested by a private laboratory testing center.
"Joyce Cirunay, chief of the BFAD Product Services Division, confirmed this development before House lawmakers at the start of the joint House committee hearing on the milk scare.
"In a radio report, Cirunay was quoted as saying they decided to also check on soya milk products from China, fearing that melamine was also being used to make it appear that they also have higher levels of protein.
"The brands of the soya milk being tested were not immediately identified by the report.
"The BFAD also confirmed during the same hearing that it has already obtained samples from at least 10 products that laboratory testing center Qualibet had earlier found positive for melamine.
"Qualibet was under hot water last week after it released to the public the results of their laboratory test without coordinating with the DOH or the BFAD.
"The BFAD's move to conduct its own laboratory testing on Qualibet's samples stemmed from an order from Health Sec. Francisco Duque III."
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20081007-165132/NMSI-2-Chinese-meat-brands-to-be-tested
Inquirer.net Philippines October 7, 2008
NMSI: 2 Chinese meat brands to be tested
"Authorities on Tuesday said they will test two popular brands of Chinese luncheon meat amid concerns that other food products from the neighboring country may also be contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine.
"Jane Bacayo, executive director of the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS), said they would collect samples of the Maling brand, manufactured by Shanghai Foods Corp., and another brand, Cofco Chongging Hechuan Food Industrial Co.'s Pork Luncheon Meat, to test for possible melamine content.
"Bacayo acknowledged that there have been no reports yet of melamine being found in meat products but said it is better to have the meat brands tested because of concerns over contamination.
"The results of the luncheon meat testing would be released next week, he said."
Quote from: menusux on October 07, 2008, 03:25:52 PM
http://www.wisconsinagconnection.com/story-national.php?Id=2337&yr=2008
"The lawmakers stated that the situation highlights the need for robust inspections and enforcement by FDA as well as country of origin labeling on all foods, including processed foods. Dingell said that Congress will have to turn FDA into a meaningful regulator of imports or ban food from China and other unprotected sources."
How about if Dingell and Stupak banned food and raw ingredient imports from China until the FDA is a meaningful regulator? Seen too many
photo ops for Stupak with juicy ripe tomato and not enough action. Love Mr. Stupak, but am really fed up. Our legislative branch took about
eight days to bail out a lot of thieves on Wall Street. A temporary ban on Chinese food imports and raw food ingredients would protect so many
more American kids and bring sighs of relief from their parents all across America.
3Cat,
I don't disagree, but at least if Bart has a hearing it will be picked up by the media. That's a good thing 'cause many people don't seem to have a clue about what's going on.
In the meantime, I encourage everyone to send comments to the House's Energy and Commerce Committee.
http://energycommerce.house.gov/membios/contact_form.shtml
5CatMom
=^..^=
I don't disagree with you either, 5CatMom, just the order of action. Let Bart have all the hearings
and headlines after the Chinese food threat has been contained. Take all the time the committee and
the FDA needs to study and peer review and become more effective. Thats the only difference. Too much
deja vu for this consumer. Time for a different approach.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aA0__rfGpEec&refer=asia
China Sets Limits for Melamine in Dairy Products (Update1)
By Irene Shen
Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) -- China set limits for melamine content in dairy food and banned sales of products that don't meet the standard, after milk formula tainted with the chemical killed four babies and sickened more than 54,000.
Melamine content in infant formula can't exceed 1 milligram per kilogram, according to a joint statement issued by five government agencies posted on the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's Web site today. A limit of 2.5 milligrams per kilogram was set for other dairy products including liquid milk.
The Ministry of Health has reported three infant deaths caused by melamine-laced milk between May and August. The government of the northwest Xinjiang region reported a fourth death on Sept. 18, without saying when it happened. The government hasn't provided an update on the death toll or the number of babies hospitalized since Sept. 21.
To contact the reporter on this story: Irene Shen in Shanghai at ishen4@bloomberg.net
Saw this ad attached to the Bloomberg story above:
http://www.romerlabs.com/index.html?gclid=CM665p_clpYCFQ0xawodm3917A
Romer Labs® now offers a rapid ELISA test kit for the
detection of melamine in milk and milk powders
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2008-10-07-chinamilk_N.htm
Many Chinese doubt food scandals will end
... But similar crises will happen again, predict Shao and other experts in China's massive food-processing business.
Wu Yongning, deputy director of the government's National Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety, says, "For now, farmers won't dare to put additives into milk. But after some time, if the government effort slackens, some farmers will feel the pressure of rising costs and falling profits. The chances of making fake products increase. There will be more food-safety problems after this."
That's a tall order, says Laurence Brahm, a political economist and resident of China for 25 years. China "has gone from socialism to extremist capitalism, in which money is absolutely supreme and there is no other value. Everybody takes shortcuts to squeeze costs, and the (consumer) is the one who ultimately suffers."
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/chinese-vegetables-may-also-be-tainted/1328466.aspx
Chinese vegetables may also be tainted
8/10/2008 2:57:00 PM
There are fears Chinese vegetables sold in Australia could be contaminated with melamine, the chemical which has poisoned more than 50,000 babies in China.
Australian food authorities are investigating reports of melamine contamination of vegetables and will complete a safety assessment.
Chinese products imported into Australia include fresh garlic and peas, frozen mixed vegetables, canned mushrooms and tomato paste.
The melamine scandal started in milk products, but international media reports have raised concerns some fruit and vegetables could also be contaminated with melamine from fertilisers or pesticides.
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/china/milk-safety-propagandu-sanlu-5327.html
Parents Outraged by Officials' Milk Safety Propaganda, More Quit the Party Milk drinking propaganda drives more to quit Chinese Communist Party
By Xin Fei
Epoch Times Staff Oct 7, 2008
Wang Yong, Minister of Quality Supervision drank Mengniu brand milk during his investigative visit to Hebei Wangdu Mengniu Dairy Product Company, Ltd. and Hebei Xinxiwang Tianxiang Dairy Products Company, Ltd. Wang Yong has publicly praised milk products as "tasty!" and something his family never stops consuming.
Parents of children who drank contaminated milk, such as Mr. Wang, an engineer from Qingdao City, are angered by the milk propaganda. Wang's son, now three, has been drinking Sanlu milk formula since he was six months old. His son is hospitalized and examinations show development of kidney stones.
Wang said that the public milk drinking demonstrations are deceiving people to consume contaminated food, which is equal to continually poisoning people. Wang had quit the CCP after being tired of all the lies and disgrace. "It once again shows that the regime does not take people's lives seriously. This scandal is far from over," Wang added.
Ms. Han, a middle school political science teacher in Shanghai, said, "The drinking demonstration is a stupid political show. The officials think they have enough credibility to influence people, but their reputation has long been ruined."
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/lawyer-10072008150126.html
Lawyers' Outrage at Milk Case Ban
2008-10-07
Lawyers in China are warned against taking on cases related to a widening scandal over tainted milk.
HONG KONG—Chinese lawyers have slammed a government directive banning them from taking on cases related to the contaminated milk powder scandal, which has killed at least four infants and sickened tens of thousands with kidney problems
http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Local%20News&p=54&type=2&sec=2&aid=200810087
Philippine Star October 8, 2008
Another milk product from China found to contain melamine
"The Department of Health and the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) announced that another milk product from China tested positive for melamine.
"In a press conference at the Department of Health office in Manila, Health Secretary Francisco Duque announced that Jolly Cow Low Fat Slender fresh milk was added to its list of tainted milk products.
"Last week, the two departments also announced that Mengniu Milk and Greenwood Yili Fresh Milk also contained the banned chemical that affected 53,000 children in China. Jolly Cow Low Fat Slender milk is the third fresh milk product to be declared tainted with melamine but there are now 25 milk products from China in the BFAD "black list.""
1. Baoanli (Shanghai Bao'anli Dairy Co. Ltd)
2. Ad Hikid (Fuding Chenguan Dairy Co. Ltd)
3. Sanlu (Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group Inc.)
4. Panda Baby (Shanghai Panda Dairy Co. Ltd.)
5. Syrutra (Syrutra International Inc.)
6. Gucheng (Shanxi Gucheng Dairy Co. Ltd.)
7. Hero (Jiangxi Bright & Hero Dairy C)
8. Huimin/HMDP (Baoji Huimin Milk Co. Ltd.)
9. Mengniu (Mengniu Dairy)
10. Kocci (Duojiaduo Dairy Industry Tianjin Co. Ltd.)
11. Yashili (Guangdong Yashili Group Co. Ltd.)
12. Nanshan Beiyi (Hunan Peiyi Dairy Co.)
13. Heilongjiang Qining Dairy Co.)
14. Yashili (Shanxi Yashili Dairy Co.)
15. Jinbishi (Shenzhen Jinbishi Milk Co. Ltd.)
16. Scient (Guangzhou Shien Dairy Co.)
17. Jinding (Guangzhou Jinding Dairy Co.)
18. Yili (Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co.)
19. Ausmeadow (Ausmeadow Nutriment Co. Ltd.)
20. Suncare (Aikeding, Qingdao Suncare Nutritional Technology Co. Ltd.)
21. Yubao (Xi'an Baiyue Dairy Co. Ltd.)
22. Leilei (Yantai Leilei Dairy Products Co. Ltd.)
23. Baoanli (Shanghai Bao'anli Dairy Co. Ltd.)
24. Hikid (Fuding Chenguan Dairy Co. Ltd.)
25. Joly Cow Low Fat Slender Milk ( Flying Ace Corp.)
Saw an unconfirmed news story stating Liberia had joined the community of nations banning
import of all Chinese milk products. Can anyone find a confirming source? Thank you. ... found one ...
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i1PW8Su6EECm-m22gV1dABkLdHJQD93LRCSG0
Chinese lawyers face pressure to drop milk cases
By GILLIAN WONG – 9 hours ago
BEIJING (AP) — Lawyers advising the families of children sickened in China's tainted milk scandal said Tuesday they are facing growing official pressure to withdraw from the cases
Brazil and Liberia became the latest countries to take action. Brazil barred all Chinese food imports Tuesday, while Liberia banned Chinese dairy productsEdited to add, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008 *BRAZIL and *LIBERIA
Bringing to 62 the number of countries worldwide in which consumer food safety comes first
Quote
CHINESE IMPORT BANS 2008:
initially based on: http://www.forbes.com/reuters/feeds/reuters/2008/09/27/2008-09-27T123805Z_01_B162168_RTRIDST_0_CHINA-MILK-RECALLS-FACTBOX.html
* BANGLADESH: -- Three Chinese powdered milk brands, Sanlu, Suncare and Yashili, banned. Melamine tests to be introduced on
all milk powder imports at Bangladeshi seaports.
* BENIN: -- Bans powered milk products from China.
* BHUTAN: -- Bhutan has banned Chinese milk imports, ranging from chocolates, sweets and cakes to milk tablets.
* BIRKINA FASO: -- banned Chinese milk products
* BRAZIL: -- barred all Chinese food imports Oct 7
* BRUNEI: -- All Chinese milk products banned by Health Ministry, even though Brunei does not directly import dairy products from China.
* BURUNDI: -- Banned import, sale of Chinese milk products.
* COLOMBIA: -- Banned import of China-made powdered milk.
* CAMBODIA: -- strict ban on all Chinese milk products Oct 3
* CAMEROON: -- Suspends import and sale of fresh and powdered milk from China.
* D.R. of the CONGO: -- banned Chinese milk products
* EUROPEAN UNION: -- The 27-nation bloc banned baby food containing Chinese milk.
* FRANCE: -- Banned all food items containing Chinese milk as precautionary move.
* GABON: -- Introduced ban at same time as Burundi.
* GHANA: -- Food and Drug Board suspended imports of all milk and milk-based products made in China.
* INDIA: -- Banned import of milk and milk products from China for three months.
* INDONESIA: -- Banned imports of China dairy products.
* IRAN: -- banned imports of all dairy products from China
* IVORY COAST: -- Banned imports of milk products from China.
* LAOS: -- temporarily stopped the importation of milk products from China
* LEBANON: -- banned the import of all powdered milk products from China
* LIBERIA: -- temporary ban Chinese dairy products Oct 7
* MALAYSIA: -- Banned all Chinese milk imports, as well as chocolates, sweets and other foods containing milk.
* MALDIVES: -- Banned Chinese milk products to protect its population of 300,000.
* MYANMAR: -- dairy items from China barred
* NEPAL: -- Banned all China milk and milk-based food products as a precautionary measure.
* PAPUA NEW GUINEA: -- Banned China-made milk products.
* PHILIPPINES: -- Banned import and sale of milk products from China, pending investigation of possible contamination.
* RUSSIA: -- banned all imports of Chinese dairy products
* SENEGAL: -- banned the sale of all milk products from China
* SINGAPORE: -- Banned the import and sale of milk products from China on Sept 19 after finding melamine in two China-made
products -- "Dutch Lady" strawberry flavoured milk, and "Yili Brand" dairy fruit bar yoghurt flavoured ice confection.
White Rabbit Creamy Candy pulled from shelves after being found to be contaminated with melamine.
* SOUTH KOREA: -- Banned China-made foods containing powdered milk after imported biscuits test positive for melamine.
* SURINAME: -- Banned milk and dairy products from China, is stepping up inspections on food imported from Southeast Asia.
* TAIWAN: -- All China-made dairy products banned, a milk testing station set up for consumers in Taipei.
* TANZANIA: -- Suspended all China dairy imports, and seized 34 tonnes of China-made milk powder.
* TOGO: -- Suspended import, distribution and sale of all Chinese-origin milk products.
* TURKEY: -- banned imports of Chinese milk products
* UAE (United Arab Emirates): -- temporary ban on Chinese dairy and related products,
* UGANDA: -- blacklisted all milk imports that could contain Chinese dairy derivatives as a safeguard
* URUGUAY: -- public health ministry banned all dairy imports from China on Oct 2, including baby formula
* VIETNAM: -- Banned China milk products. Health officials warned such products may have been sold in remote areas
in the impoverished central region.
Bringing to 66 the number of countries worldwide where consumer food safety comes first
3cat you beat me to it. The same story is on http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/asia_tainted_milk?
Brazil has banned ALL Chinese food. Do they know something we don't?
Thanks, JJ. I guess Brazil cares about the health of its citizens, especially its children ...
3cat-
Here's Liberia and also Senegal banning Chinese milk products:
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gJljxDLKXA8OpLSDNSnvX2OjhpwQ
AFP October 7, 2008
Two more African countries to ban Chinese milk
"Liberia and Senegal have become the latest African countries to ban Chinese milk products following the tainted milk scandal that left tens of thousands of children ill in the Asian country.
""In September we received reports that these products made lot of victims in China, and that a good quantity has been shipped towards Africa. On October 2 the same report was reiterated," Liberian Minister of Commerce Frederick Nuckeh told state radio on Tuesday.
""Based on this information, we have decided to put a temporary ban on the milk from China until the problem is solved," he added.
"The press agency APS reported Tuesday that Senegal has also banned the sale of all milk products from China.
""We will not wait for the milk to arrive in Senegal before reacting," the minister of cattle farming, Oumou Khairy Gueye Seck, was quoted as saying at a press conference Monday.
""Together with the health ministry and the commerce ministry we have signed a ban on the sale of milk products from China," he added.
"Both the Liberian and the Senegalese authorities have said the customs authorities on the borders will be extra vigilant to make sure Chinese milk does not enter their countries illegally.
"Several African countries have already banned Chinese milk products including Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Gabon, Togo, Benin, Tanzania and the D emocratic Republic of Congo".
Oct 8, 2008 China sets limit for melamine in milk:
"""Safe melamine limits were set at 1 part per million of infant formula and 2.5 parts per million for liquid milk, milk powder and food products that contain more than 15 percent milk.
There had been no previous standards and levels of melamine discovered in batches of milk powder recently registered as much as 6,196 parts per million. Chinese health officials have said no harm comes from consuming less than 0.63 parts per million."""
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/08/AR2008100800325.html
5CatMom
=^..^=
Quote from: 5CatMom on October 08, 2008, 05:11:39 AM
Oct 8, 2008 China sets limit for melamine in milk:
"""Safe melamine limits were set at 1 part per million of infant formula and 2.5 parts per million for liquid milk, milk powder and food products that contain more than 15 percent milk.
Chinese health officials have said no harm comes from consuming less than 0.63 parts per million."""
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/08/AR2008100800325.html
5CatMom
=^..^=
I wonder how they came up with 0.63ppm as a harmless amount of contamination--and why they set acceptable limits at 1 and 2.5 parts per million when those numbers are above the alleged "safe" number. I really doubt those poor babies, or anyone else for that matter, needs any more melamine in their systems.
DMS,
Maybe they checked with the "gold standard", the US's FDA.
It's beyond me why anyone would believe that food producers have either the will or the ability to hold the amount of contamination to 2.5 ppm, or to any limit.
Dishonest food producers are being rewarded with "allowable limits" -- a green light for the contamination to continue.
5CatMom
=^..^=
Oct 8, 2008 Fears Chinese vegies sold in Australia tainted with melamine
"""Australian food authorities are investigating reports of melamine contamination of vegetables and will complete a safety assessment.
Chinese products imported into Australia include fresh garlic and peas, frozen mixed vegetables, canned mushrooms and tomato paste.""""
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,24465166-661,00.html
5CatMom
=^..^=
http://africa.reuters.com/world/news/usnTRE4974YX.html
China milk victims may have reached 94,000
Wed 8 Oct 2008, 12:27 GMT Reuters
"The toll of Chinese children ill from toxic milk formula may have nearly doubled since the Health Ministry's last public count, local media reports show, but an official said on Wednesday the number of new cases was falling.
"Beijing is struggling with fallout from adulteration of milk with the industrial chemical melamine. At home four babies have died, and thousands of infants fell sick, while around the world products made with Chinese milk have been recalled.
"The government has not updated figures issued on September 21, when it said that 12,892 infants were in hospital, 104 with serious illness, and close to 40,000 others were affected but did not need major treatment.
"But reports from local media across the country compiled by Reuters suggest the number of affected children has risen to nearly 94,000, although most are not in a serious condition.
"In some areas diagnoses rocketed up in the space of just a few days. In the most extreme case, northwestern Gansu province, the number of sick children climbed to 13,459 by Sept 26 from 1,695 a week earlier, the official Xinhua agency said.
"Worst hit so far is central Henan province, with over 30,000 cases by the end of September. Neighbouring Hebei also has nearly 16,000 cases. The province is home to Sanlu Dairy group, which made the contaminated formula that sparked the broader scandal.
"Despite the rash of cases across the country -- few areas appear to have been entirely immune -- the government says it has the problem under control and recent checks have found no trace of melamine, the toxic additive, in liquid milk.
"The number of sick children appearing at hospitals is also falling after news of the problem has blanketed domestic media and spread across the internet, prompting parents to take extra care about what they feed their children.
""The daily reports of infants who were diagnosed and hospitalized are decreasing noticeably, " said Chen Junshi, a researcher from Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety of Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
"But he declined to say how many had been ill overall.
""I'm not authorised to publish the number of sick infants," he added at a news conference held by the Ministry of Health.
"Even if the pace of new diagnoses is slowing, there is still room for a major leap in the total number of affected children because some of the country's most densely populated cities and provinces, like Shanghai, have not yet disclosed any figures."
(See countries chart
banning Chinese milk products or Chinese food imports, Reply 853, page 57)
Edited to add on Wednesday, October 8, 2008 *SENEGAL and *BIRKINA FASO and *D EMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (see Reply 856, page 58)
Bringing to 65 the number of countries worldwide where food safety comes first
"China has run out of excuses, assurances and defenses. As a giant exporter of food and other products, its attitude toward consumer safety is a disgrace and a global health threat."
Thank you, menusux and JJ, for the country ban updates.
Given the over 7 million children in China between the ages of 0 to 4 years old live at or below the poverty line, where these lower priced Chinese milk products probably had most of their customers,
I'm having trouble believing the Reuters' guess of 94,000 ill Chinese babies is even close.
QuoteOther/Misc / Recall (Non-Pet Food) / Re: (Melamine Suspected) Chinese Officials Say Baby Formula Tied to Kidney Stoneson: September 30, 2008, 06:31:14 PM
Started by menusux, Message by 3catkidneyfailureRelevance: 41.9%
http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Research/LUC/ChinaFood/data/pop/pop_7.htm
92.7 million of the Chinese people are children, aged 0 to 4 (estimated 2010)
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ch.html
8%
note: 21.5 million rural population live below the official "absolute poverty" line (approximately $90 per year); and
an additional 35.5 million rural population above that but below the official "low income" line (approximately $125 per year) (2006 est)
Reply 12, page 1 of this thread:
"San Lu, which is based in Hebei province, is China's biggest milk-powder producer and one of the 'big six' Chinese dairies that control
over half of China's fresh milk market."
.08 (Chinese children living in poverty CIA Factbook) x 92.7 million (Chinese children ages 0 to 4) = 7,360,000 Chinese children living at or below poverty level
Anyone besides me doubt the accuracy of the Chinese government report of 53,000 to 55,000 children affected here?
The food industry spinmeisters and the Chinese Communist Party seem to be filling the media with disinformation this week maybe?
http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/1579708/a_scandal_that_keeps_growing/
A Scandal That Keeps Growing
Posted on: Monday, 6 October 2008, 15:00 CDT
The contaminated milk scandal widens daily and consumers are being worried by ever more reports of melamine-related product recalls ...
Clearly, the numbers of companies and products embroiled in the scandal extend far beyond Sanlu operations and Fonterra's involvement with them. That does not lessen the extent to which Fonterra bosses should be held to account for their failure to anticipate what has been described as a disaster waiting to happen.
Alarm bells should have clanged when the US Food and Drug Administration last year found ingredients imported from China, then used in more than 100 brands of American pet foods, may have been intentionally spiked with melamine to boost their apparent protein content. . Cats and dogs were sickened; many died. Some pigs that ate tainted feed were processed into human food. This scandal is one of many to highlight Chinese indifference to standards. Fonterra knows - or should know - the importance of setting standards and of maintaining reliable quality controls. Heads should roll because of its negligence through acquiescing to have things done the Chinese way.
Well, the Kiwis of New Zealand have it right. 65 other countries worldwide know what to do. Mr. Dingell, Mr. Stupak, Ms. DeLauro, where
are you? American consumers, who love their children deeply, need to hear serious ALARM BELLS to prevent this "disaster waiting to happen"
from happening a second time in the United States.
Quotealthough most are not in a serious condition.
yeah, but what are the long term effects? How long will their kidneys hold up? Have they been permanently compromised (like the Chinese will tell us)? We are talking infants here.
I sent an email to one of the toxicologists involved in the pet food recall asking his opinion of what was going on with the melamine scandal now and why last year they told us that the combo of CA and melamine was necessary for the kidney destruction and his response was that last week the Food Response Network was activated to see if it is just melamine or more than that...I also had asked him about any studies on the animals that survived the recall last year as he wanted to pursue that but he never did as he got no funding... >:( Too bad that funding was not made available as it sure would come in handy now wouldn't it! >:(
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2008/10/08/2003425337
Taipei Times October 8, 2008
How to keep chemicals far from the dinner table
"Taiwan has the highest rate of kidney dialysis patients per capita in the world. This is not a sign that our national health insurance system is doing its job, but rather the result of excessive and even abusive reliance on medicines and of rampant contamination in our food. The latter problem is related to the government's failure to implement strict screening procedures to block tainted imports from China.
"In Anhui Province in 2004, hundreds of babies suffered malnutrition and 13 died after being fed fake baby formula with virtually no nutritional value. The malnourished infants developed what doctors called "big head disease," where infants' heads grew abnormally large while their bodies wasted away.
"Subsequently, 33 kinds of substandard milk powder were seized. Later it was reported that the milk powder had been repackaged and sold on the market as a result of corruption and collusion between local governments and private firms.
"In March this year, thousands of babies across China were diagnosed with kidney stones and tens of thousands were hospitalized. Seven babies have died so far in this latest milk powder debacle. Following a Chinese government investigation, 22 brands of infant formula were found to be contaminated with the chemical melamine.
"Melamine is not in itself deadly. When it is added to poor-quality milk powder to increase the apparent protein content, however, it can cause nutritional deficiencies such as "big head disease." It also causes kidney and urethral stones and impairs the filtration and reabsorption functions of the renal tubules. In the end it can cause kidney failure, after which dialysis is required for survival.
"Twenty-five tonnes of milk powder imported from China's Zhongshi Duqing (Shandong) Biotech Co have been found to contain up to 2,563 parts per million (ppm) of melamine. Earlier last month, Taiwan's King Car Industrial Co commissioned tests on its products, which found that some of its instant coffees and one of its soups made with ingredients from China contained melamine.
"The spokesman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, Li Weiyi dismisses the tests conducted in Taiwan and claimed the products were melamine-free.
"Rather than offering solutions to the problem, the Department of Health loosened the limit for melamine in food to 2.5ppm from zero ppm, with no regard to the 2ppm standard applied to animal feed in Hong Kong and China.
"While European countries and the US employ gas chromatography with tandem quadruple mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) with a detection minimum of 0.005ppm to identify toxic substances in aquatic plants and animals, until recently Taiwan employed high-pressure liquid chromatography with a sensitivity of only 2ppm to examine Chinese mitten crab tainted with carcinogenic nitrofurans and chloramphenicol that can cause aplastic anemia.
"Following repeated calls from experts, the government finally adopted GC-MS/MS and LC-MS/MS last year and managed to prevent tainted mitten crab from being imported from China. The change served to protect public health and revive domestic aquaculture.
"While the public is apprehensive about toxic milk powder from China, the government should call on concerned organizations to inspect imported products using their hundreds of advanced mass spectrometers. With the right policies, public health can be protected and Taiwan will eventually escape from the nightmare of being the "kingdom of kidney dialysis.""
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=13413&size=A
Japan has stepped up inspection of China-made animal feed and pet food that may be laced with melamine
Canadian Government news release this afternoon.
Sherwood Brands Pirate's Gold Milk Chocolate Coins may be Contaminated with Melamine
Products from China -
OTTAWA, October 8, 2008 – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning the public not to consume, distribute, or sell the Sherwood Brands Pirate's Gold Milk Chocolate Coins described below. This product is being recalled due to positive test results for melamine conducted by the CFIA
This product is sold nationally through Costco stores and may also have been sold in bulk packages or as individual pieces at various dollar and bulk stores across Canada.
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/newcom/2008/20081008e.shtml
Thank you, billyD. Pretty close to home and Halloween, and from Cosco.
http://news.xinhuanet.com:80/english/2008-10/08/content_10166333.htm
Chinese police arrest 14 more people in milk scandal
www.chinaview.cn 2008-10-08 17:18:58 Print
SHIJIAZHUANG, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Police in north China's Hebei Province arrested 14 more people in connection with the country's tainted milk scandal, putting the total arrests in the province at27.
Cao Aiping, Hebei Provincial Public Security Department's deputy director told Xinhua that police had questioned 91 people which generated 27 arrests, since the first 13 arrests on Sept. 29.
http://itchmoforums.com/off-topic-no-politics/melamine-poisoning-tip-of-the-icecream-t6532.0.html
Cross posted from Off Topics (no politics)
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=868780
National Post (CA) October 8, 2008
Chocolates sold at Costco contained melamine: inspectors
"More than 3,000 kilograms of chocolates sold at Costco, dollar and bulk stores across Canada were recalled Wednesday after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency found that the chocolates contain melamine, the toxic chemical compound that has left four babies dead and thousands sickened in China.
"Canadian health officials said the products affected in the nationwide recall were sold under the name Sherwood Brands Pirate's Gold Milk Chocolate Coins.
"The chocolate coins, sold in 840 gram containers, each with 240 pieces, have been distributed in the country since January 2008, CFIA spokesman Garfield Balsom said Wednesday.
"The chocolates have a bar code of 0 36077 112407 and lot code 1928S1.
"Mr. Balsom said the chocolates, a product of China, were distributed at Costco stores across the country.
"The most recent shipment of 3,360 kilograms of chocolates came into Canada last April.
"The agency believes the chocolates have also been sold in dollar and bulk stores.
"Mr. Balsom said the levels of melamine found in the chocolates was very low.
"There have also been no illnesses reported as a result of consuming the chocolate.
""The risk is very low but we decided to send out an advisory because of the wide distribution of the chocolates," he said. "The chocolates may be consumed by kids, and with Halloween coming, we wanted to get the information out there."
"This is the sixth time a Chinese-made product has been recalled in Canada after being tested positive for melamine. Canadian consumers were being warned not to have OK OK Kaiser pretzels, Lotte brand Koala's March filled cookies, Mr. Brown 3-in-1 Instant Coffee products, White Rabbit candy, and Nissin Cha Cha Dessert.
"The health agency also warns Canadians about consuming infant formula originating from China.
"Melamine has been at the centre of a growing tainted-milk controversy in China, which has left four infants dead and sickened more than 54,000 babies."
At this time there's no word whether these chocolate coins were sold at Costco stores in the US, US dollar-type stores, etc.
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Wednesday/NewsBreak/20081008221750/Article/index_html
New Straits Times (Malaysia) October 9, 2008
Vigour 888 filling roll bread contains excessive melamine
KUALA LUMPUR, WED:
"A type of bread, known as Vigour 888 Filling Roll (Sergestid Shrimp Flavour) produced by a company in China, is found to contain excessive melamine, Health Ministry secretary-general Datuk Mohd Nasir Mohd Ashraf disclosed today.
"He said tests conducted by the ministry's Food Safety and Quality Division found that the melamine content in the product was 4.71 parts per million (ppm) while the permissible level set by the ministry was 0 ppm.
""The ministry has identified the product and the company concerned and has issued a directive to the state health departments to destroy the product.
""The company has also been ordered to withdraw the product from the market," he said in a statement."
http://itchmoforums.com/off-topic-no-politics/milk-poison-could-come-from-melamine-scrap-t6533.0.html
"A reporter in Caijing learned that as an impure form of the chemical, such leftover melamine scrap often contains urea, ammonia, silica, potassium nitrate, sodium nitrite, acetic acid, and activated carbon. Sodium nitrite is also internationally recognized as a carcinogen."
Cross-posting link to article.
QuoteUntil today, 780 food products worth RM769,424.90, have been taken off the shelves nationwide.
Mohd Nasir said tests conducted by the ministry found 14 more food samples which met the standard melamine content.
They are Minis Milk Chocolate (M&M's), Peanut Chocolate (M&M's), Leisure Seaweed Biscuits (Golden Fuji Food), Rice Crackers (Want Want), Chicken Flavour Cracker (Golden Fuji), Burnedmeat Flavour Biscuit @ Cui Mei Si (Golden Fuji), Baby Bites Chicken With Vegetable Taste (Baby Bites), Chocolate Cream Biscuits (Sanwa), Milk Chewy Candy (Want Want), Seaweed Wheat Biscuits (Four Seas), Rice Crisps BBQ (Daysun), Rice Crisps Sour Cream & Onion (Daysun) and Gula Udang (KIKI).
Interesting that we aren't seeing more here, that we aren't getting warnings or recalls and not much news that anything is being done testing/import screening wise. Aside from "stepping up inspections", a couple of recalls and making "approved limits", there sure doesn't seem to be much concern from the FDA . . .
Lordy, when I think of all the sports drinks I used to consume . . . Sure glad I gave them up during the PFR. I still have a can around, was saving it for some reason. I'll be testing it now. I drank them for the protein and calories when I was having busy times at work, EEK!!!
http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/newsdetail1.asp?storyID=145874
NewsTalkZB (New Zealand) October 8, 2008
Melamine found in imported milk drink
"A milk-based drink imported from China has been found to contain low levels of melamine.
"Testing has revealed Wahaha AD sold in 100 millilitre bottles contains 3.3 parts per million of the chemical. Food Safety Authority Director Dr Geoff Allan says with such low levels of melamine, the product is unlikely to pose any health risk.
"But he says the importer has voluntarily taken the product off the shelves anyway."
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-10/09/content_7088760.htm
China Daily October 9, 2008
14 more arrested in Hebei milk scandal
"Police in Hebei province have arrested 14 more people in connection with the tainted milk scandal, bringing the total arrests in the province to 27, Xinhua reported Wednesday.
"The suspects are alleged to have produced, sold or added melamine into fresh milk to falsify protein tests.
"Cao Aiping, deputy chief of the Hebei provincial public security department, said 91 people had also been questioned in connection with the scandal.
"The chemical was first found in baby milk powder produced by Sanlu Group, based in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei.
"A number of local officials have been removed from their posts, including Party chief of Shijiazhuang Wu Xianguo, mayor Ji Chuntang, and deputy mayor Zhang Fawang.
"The city's quality supervision chief, food and drug administrator, and livestock and aquatic products bureau head were also sacked."
http://itchmoforums.com/off-topic-no-politics/how-did-toxic-levels-of-melamine-end-up-in-chinese-products-t6534.0.html;msg91998#new
How did Toxic Levels of Melamine End Up in Chinese Products
Cross-posting link to article in Off Topic no politics.
This is a recent blog post from someone living in China:
http://www.greendaily.com/2008/09/14/chinese-baby-formula-tainted-with-melamine/#c14452276
"Having been an organic farmer for 32 years, and now live at Wuzhishan, Hainan for the last 4 developing an organic marketing and production group, I have always had dairy cows, drank lots of milk daily.
"My recent story is this: something funny happening to my body late September 2007, by end of October a little more GI tract disruption, took the mandatory annual medical test November 15, 2007. It does say in the book under Abdomen ultrasound (liver, gallbladder, spleen, kidney) "abnormal findings" in English, but in Chinese it says normal. Having already left the office, I thought the English wording must be a mistake as no one mentioned anything.
"By first of December I was losing weight at an alarming rate, having trouble with GI tract, but no fever or organ pain (no fever or organ pain ever through to this day.) I concluded I was ingesting poison some how. I continued drinking a liter of ultra-pasteurized milk a day. I went to local hospital December 25, 2007, and did basic blood test plus first ultra sound. There was very high billrubin(s), symptomatic of destruction of spent or poorly developed red blood cells, RBD, which produced the jaundice in my eyes now (showed up in my urine as very dark and very light colored stools). Other indicators of liver, etc. problems were high also
"First week of January, I had lost 35 lb, normal weight 170 lb. First ultra-sound operator could not find a trace of my gall bladder, which indicated to me part of the problem was no enzymes for fats and protein digestion, plus low on carb enzymes. Ultra sound of kidney, liver, spleen all normal. Juandice was spreading to skin. I journeyed to Haikou and did comprehensive blood tests, ultra sound again, and many test for exotics on March 7, 2008. Again, a very well trained ultra-sound operator could not find a trace of my gall bladder. Ultra sound of kidney, liver, spleen all normal. Even higher billrubin(s). I am yellow by now.
"I had a supply of frozen avocado, 40 kg, from production, and could buy any fresh fruit in the market. Made up my substitute enzyme smoothie, pineapple, papaya for protein, banana for carbs, and hopefully although not confirmed avocado for fats. I always in China have eaten New Zealand cheese and French butter and since last November Italian olive oil exclusively—formerly locally pressed peanut oil. Drank smoothie all day with meals. Now doing 6 small meals a day as can not digest big volumes. Sun for vitamin D, and taking folic acid, B-12 plus calcium daily to supplement.
"Then one day I slowed and listened to what was happening when I drank my liter of milk—I immediately had an indigestion reaction. I concluded something was in the milk—no idea what, but stopped drinking ultra- pasteurized Yili, Mengiu milk. Still craving dairy, I tried yogurt but hit the same brick wall in the GI tract—it was poison, which all makes sense now because yogurt is made from dry milk powder worldwide commercially. Shifted to small amounts of Carnation evaporated milk, which was fine. About this time I also had my partner so gratefully massage my lower body especially and my feet which acts just like taking pure honey and lemon—energy returns—do it daily to this day.
"Eliminating the milk, everything began improvement. I had no energy left, no fat on my body at all, jaundiced, difficult to find what to eat—up was the only way to go or death. An additional point I discovered was your large intestine, formerly thought to not do much nutritionally for your body, evidently was a composting chamber for complex carbohydrates and the best complex carb was kidney beans—love them so bring the chili on at least every other day. It worked. I got energy into my liver storage via the large intestine fermentation rather than through the small intestine. That started my upward climb and I still eat kidney beans everyday now along with the enzyme smoothie, pure honey/lemon. In April having sent from USA for metamucile found it was very beneficial. I also found all simple sugars did nothing for me, however, lots of honey with lemon squeezed in, if I drank two glasses gave me 2 hours of super energy, so continue to today. By the way, this is not commercial honey, which in China is harvested before the cells are sealed, therefore very high in water. Then China honey is put into large crocks and adulterated with sugars for a few months evidently to smooth out the texture before bottling and selling. The honey I use comes from the cells, without any adulteration.
"Now, step by step working forward through May to present middle September, almost one year, I recovered 80% of weight. I had considered Chinese traditional doctors all along, but not until 3 weeks ago did I go to one. He prescribed herb mixtures, I have taken three different sets of his prescription. The first for jaundice and energy had a very good affect—lowered billrubin, stopped foot swelling upon standing too long (if you raise your feet at night or nap, the blood will flow out or you can massage the blood out) gave me energy immediately, like a half hour after taking—took herb mixture twice a day. The second herb mixture did just the opposite, feet swelled, indigestion, raised billrubin—I quite after one day. The third I just took yesterday, September 19 produced over night the most profound diarrhea with pain I have ever had. Canceled and went back to the first herb mixture.
"None the less, I am still only half physical strength and less in stamina to sustain high energy output. I continue to build the farm, welding, driving tractor, planting, etc. but it is taxing after 2 hours full bore.
"Has anyone else had such experience?
"I have not mentioned melamine up to this point because I have never been tested for it, but would like to be. Perhaps, my health problem was something else, but I would not want others be like me and not know there was a suspicion of melamine upon having symptoms as I describe.
"But, I do know a lot about agriculture, I am sure melamine and its associated tag along poisons are in commercial feed for chickens (meaning meat, in eggs and could be egg noodles also), hogs, pond raised fish, shrimp, duck, let alone dog food in China. Our dog story is below. All processed foods advertising high protein content probably contain melamine may be suspected of having melamine. Having eaten pork loin since arriving I asked our market seller about the feed they fed. I only like the taste of his pork having tried a dozen over 4 years. Turns out his brother raises the pigs and mixes the feed ingredients, not using commercial feed. I suspect there is no melamine and will further inquiry as I need to buy a couple weanling pigs from him. I/we only eat ocean fish, local beef which is a small yellow cow that basically wanders around the island and is fed next to nothing, certainly not commercial feed. Quit commercial eggs 6 months ago and now quitting peasant raised eggs feeding commercial feed—raising 3 chicken layers for our daily needs starting now. I buy no processed food anyway and for a couple of years, except under arm wrenching, do not eat out.
Dog story:
"I have always had Scottish border collies for 30 years and found a good looking female dog in Xian that for some reason, probably because it was so big, he wanted to sell very cheap. Bought it. Beautiful, well grown, big developed bones, excellent hair—come to find out the former owner has only fed European imported dog food from 3 months up to year and half when we bought. Then looking for male, found one in Haikou, over 2 years old. Bought it reasonably priced without thorough inspection and got it home for a better look. Very poorly developed, small, thinner bones, course hair, 2/3 or less weight of female, nervous and yet lacking stamina. Could be genetics, but I doubt as the male has been fed only China produced dog food from the beginning through 2 years. Our feeding regimen cost about 3-4 RMB per day per dog. It is fresh fried small ocean fish 3 to 3.5 RMB per jin, from the markets, uncooked pork liver and lesser quality fat cooked a little from our pork provider and what little left over we have. They now both look nice and the male appears to be growing. So, again, maybe melamine struck again.
"If this is helpful for others, great. Where to go from here, I am open to suggestions.
"I do not know who to contact to relay my experiences, so I am posting here for others think about."
The author has posted his e-mail address on the blog for anyone having questions or similar experiences.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-chinamilk9-2008oct09,0,4623370.story
LA Times October 8, 2008
China's small dairy farmers caught in milk scandal
"Before dawn each day, Gao Peng Hong and his wife join scores of other farmers in this dairy-rich village who must walk their cows to a local milk collection station because of new safety requirements.
"A byproduct of China's deadly tainted-milk scandal, the mile-long walks to the station come as officials push for more critical supervision of dairy farmers. Only weeks ago, farmers were free to milk their cows at home and deliver the product in heavy metal containers.
"But now some observers see dairy farmers, who exist at the lowest level of the milk production cycle, as having the most financial incentive to spike milk to boost protein readings. Other food safety experts say it's unlikely that small-time farmers are behind the scandal, because they generally lack the knowledge to cause such widespread contamination.
"Experts point to a growing black market for powdered melamine among food makers in China and elsewhere. There are numerous parties involved in moving milk from the cow to the consumer, including collection stations, middle men and manufacturers. The adulteration, analysts say, could come anywhere in the process.
"Jorgen Schlundt, the World Health Organization's director of food safety, thinks powdered melamine might be produced in underground factories in China, beyond the realm of small-time farmers.
""It's very unlikely that single farmers are responsible -- and significantly more likely it's the work of the collection centers," he said. "You have to treat the melamine before you use it. It's more complex than just putting a little powder into milk."
Quote from: menusux on October 08, 2008, 06:27:53 PM
This is a recent blog post from someone living in China:
http://www.greendaily.com/2008/09/14/chinese-baby-formula-tainted-with-melamine/#c14452276
"Having been an organic farmer for 32 years, and now live at Wuzhishan, Hainan for the last 4 developing an organic marketing and production group, I have always had dairy cows, drank lots of milk daily.
"My recent story is this: something funny happening to my body late September 2007, by end of October a little more GI tract disruption, took the mandatory annual medical test November 15, 2007. It does say in the book under Abdomen ultrasound (liver, gallbladder, spleen, kidney) "abnormal findings" in English, but in Chinese it says normal. Having already left the office, I thought the English wording must be a mistake as no one mentioned anything.
"By first of December I was losing weight at an alarming rate, having trouble with GI tract, but no fever or organ pain (no fever or organ pain ever through to this day.) I concluded I was ingesting poison some how. I continued drinking a liter of ultra-pasteurized milk a day. I went to local hospital December 25, 2007, and did basic blood test plus first ultra sound. There was very high billrubin(s), symptomatic of destruction of spent or poorly developed red blood cells, RBD, which produced the jaundice in my eyes now (showed up in my urine as very dark and very light colored stools). Other indicators of liver, etc. problems were high also
"First week of January, I had lost 35 lb, normal weight 170 lb. First ultra-sound operator could not find a trace of my gall bladder, which indicated to me part of the problem was no enzymes for fats and protein digestion, plus low on carb enzymes. Ultra sound of kidney, liver, spleen all normal. Juandice was spreading to skin. I journeyed to Haikou and did comprehensive blood tests, ultra sound again, and many test for exotics on March 7, 2008. Again, a very well trained ultra-sound operator could not find a trace of my gall bladder. Ultra sound of kidney, liver, spleen all normal. Even higher billrubin(s). I am yellow by now.
"I had a supply of frozen avocado, 40 kg, from production, and could buy any fresh fruit in the market. Made up my substitute enzyme smoothie, pineapple, papaya for protein, banana for carbs, and hopefully although not confirmed avocado for fats. I always in China have eaten New Zealand cheese and French butter and since last November Italian olive oil exclusively—formerly locally pressed peanut oil. Drank smoothie all day with meals. Now doing 6 small meals a day as can not digest big volumes. Sun for vitamin D, and taking folic acid, B-12 plus calcium daily to supplement.
"Then one day I slowed and listened to what was happening when I drank my liter of milk—I immediately had an indigestion reaction. I concluded something was in the milk—no idea what, but stopped drinking ultra- pasteurized Yili, Mengiu milk. Still craving dairy, I tried yogurt but hit the same brick wall in the GI tract—it was poison, which all makes sense now because yogurt is made from dry milk powder worldwide commercially. Shifted to small amounts of Carnation evaporated milk, which was fine. About this time I also had my partner so gratefully massage my lower body especially and my feet which acts just like taking pure honey and lemon—energy returns—do it daily to this day.
"Eliminating the milk, everything began improvement. I had no energy left, no fat on my body at all, jaundiced, difficult to find what to eat—up was the only way to go or death. An additional point I discovered was your large intestine, formerly thought to not do much nutritionally for your body, evidently was a composting chamber for complex carbohydrates and the best complex carb was kidney beans—love them so bring the chili on at least every other day. It worked. I got energy into my liver storage via the large intestine fermentation rather than through the small intestine. That started my upward climb and I still eat kidney beans everyday now along with the enzyme smoothie, pure honey/lemon. In April having sent from USA for metamucile found it was very beneficial. I also found all simple sugars did nothing for me, however, lots of honey with lemon squeezed in, if I drank two glasses gave me 2 hours of super energy, so continue to today. By the way, this is not commercial honey, which in China is harvested before the cells are sealed, therefore very high in water. Then China honey is put into large crocks and adulterated with sugars for a few months evidently to smooth out the texture before bottling and selling. The honey I use comes from the cells, without any adulteration.
"Now, step by step working forward through May to present middle September, almost one year, I recovered 80% of weight. I had considered Chinese traditional doctors all along, but not until 3 weeks ago did I go to one. He prescribed herb mixtures, I have taken three different sets of his prescription. The first for jaundice and energy had a very good affect—lowered billrubin, stopped foot swelling upon standing too long (if you raise your feet at night or nap, the blood will flow out or you can massage the blood out) gave me energy immediately, like a half hour after taking—took herb mixture twice a day. The second herb mixture did just the opposite, feet swelled, indigestion, raised billrubin—I quite after one day. The third I just took yesterday, September 19 produced over night the most profound diarrhea with pain I have ever had. Canceled and went back to the first herb mixture.
"None the less, I am still only half physical strength and less in stamina to sustain high energy output. I continue to build the farm, welding, driving tractor, planting, etc. but it is taxing after 2 hours full bore.
"Has anyone else had such experience?
"I have not mentioned melamine up to this point because I have never been tested for it, but would like to be. Perhaps, my health problem was something else, but I would not want others be like me and not know there was a suspicion of melamine upon having symptoms as I describe.
"But, I do know a lot about agriculture, I am sure melamine and its associated tag along poisons are in commercial feed for chickens (meaning meat, in eggs and could be egg noodles also), hogs, pond raised fish, shrimp, duck, let alone dog food in China. Our dog story is below. All processed foods advertising high protein content probably contain melamine may be suspected of having melamine. Having eaten pork loin since arriving I asked our market seller about the feed they fed. I only like the taste of his pork having tried a dozen over 4 years. Turns out his brother raises the pigs and mixes the feed ingredients, not using commercial feed. I suspect there is no melamine and will further inquiry as I need to buy a couple weanling pigs from him. I/we only eat ocean fish, local beef which is a small yellow cow that basically wanders around the island and is fed next to nothing, certainly not commercial feed. Quit commercial eggs 6 months ago and now quitting peasant raised eggs feeding commercial feed—raising 3 chicken layers for our daily needs starting now. I buy no processed food anyway and for a couple of years, except under arm wrenching, do not eat out.
Dog story:
"I have always had Scottish border collies for 30 years and found a good looking female dog in Xian that for some reason, probably because it was so big, he wanted to sell very cheap. Bought it. Beautiful, well grown, big developed bones, excellent hair—come to find out the former owner has only fed European imported dog food from 3 months up to year and half when we bought. Then looking for male, found one in Haikou, over 2 years old. Bought it reasonably priced without thorough inspection and got it home for a better look. Very poorly developed, small, thinner bones, course hair, 2/3 or less weight of female, nervous and yet lacking stamina. Could be genetics, but I doubt as the male has been fed only China produced dog food from the beginning through 2 years. Our feeding regimen cost about 3-4 RMB per day per dog. It is fresh fried small ocean fish 3 to 3.5 RMB per jin, from the markets, uncooked pork liver and lesser quality fat cooked a little from our pork provider and what little left over we have. They now both look nice and the male appears to be growing. So, again, maybe melamine struck again.
"If this is helpful for others, great. Where to go from here, I am open to suggestions.
"I do not know who to contact to relay my experiences, so I am posting here for others think about."
The author has posted his e-mail address on the blog for anyone having questions or similar experiences.
When reading the article on this link here are a couple snippets worth reading and he will keep updating the site with symptoms and add'l info on the melamine poison that went undetected for 6 months by parents and doctors -
- The government will (in China) will never come close to reporting the accurate statistics
- The Chinese people by nature have a very passive and "give up" attitudeabout most everything in their lives and on a day to day basis. They have no control and most simply accept most everything. So if their baby did not die or show sickness immediately, the highest % of the population will simply stop using the milk for awhile, then pretend all is well and there will be no long term effect.
Foreigners and international medical professionals however, know the truth and face it up front -
Fact: the entire population in China was poisoned.... They were poisoned with a potent cocktail of melamine and formaldehyde for up to 3 years that, depending upon how much milk you've ingested, will cause kidney disease and cancer in most of the people who were fed the poisoned milk.
Definetly has one vote for the Country without a Conscience IMO.
And to think this has gone on for 3 years? How many products is this poison in in the United States? Why have not any agency who is supposed to check our food for safety not reporting anything found here? You mean to tell me that for 3 years we have not imported animal feed, animal vitamins, etc. among other things spiked with this kidney/cancer causing poison?
More Nestle, Klim products found to contain melamine
CNA
Thursday, October 9, 2008 9:35 am
"""Nestle milk products were previously declared as safe because the equipment employed to test them was less sensitive."""
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national%20news/2008/10/09/177851/More-Nestle.htm
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This explains why "allowable levels" are dangerous - the amount measured is only as reliable as the test equipment.
5CatMom
=^..^=
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/finance/10078952.asp?scr=1
Hurriyet.com (Turkey) October 9, 2008
Turkey bans Chinese milk products over health fears
"Turkey has banned imports of Chinese milk products over a contamination scandal which has left thousands of babies ill in China, Turkey 's CNNTurk quoted Thursday Turkish agriculture Ministry as saying in a statement."
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/126047/Singapore-finds-melamine-in-3-more-Chinese-foods
GMANews October 9, 2008
Singapore finds melamine in 3 more Chinese foods
"Singapore found traces of a toxic chemical in three more Chinese-made food products, including milk powder and Cadbury-brand candies, authorities said Thursday.
"Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority, known as AVA, said samples of blueberry and chocolate-flavored Cadbury Choclairs and Panda Dairy-brand Whole Milk Powder imported from China were contaminated with melamine, an industrial chemical that can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure."
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/09/content_10171924.htm
ChinaView October 9, 2008
China calls for "unbiased, scientific, fair treatment" of dairy products
"China's government has called for "unbiased, scientific and fair treatment" of its dairy products abroad after the scandal of the melamine contamination that left at least three infants dead and thousands ill.
"Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said China "understands" the concerns of countries that have restricted imports of its dairy products, but Chinese food safety watchdogs had strengthened supervision of exported dairy products.
"He added that food safety had become a global challenge, and China was committed to stepping up its communication and cooperation with the international community to address the issue."
Think it has been addressed scientifically and in an unbiased manner--the tests either indicate the presence or melamine or they don't.
Food Safety is a global challenge--thanks to China.
Fair treatment????? This smacks of the little boy who cried wolf way too many times - just trust us one more time, we promise to behave ourselves - til the next poisoning or adulteration is detected. WTF - anyone who believes this has got rocks for brains IMO.
Quote from: menusux on October 09, 2008, 05:57:50 AM
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/finance/10078952.asp?scr=1
October 9, 2008
Turkey bans Chinese milk products over health fears
"Turkey has banned imports of Chinese milk products over a contamination scandal which has left thousands of babies ill in China, Turkey 's CNNTurk quoted Thursday Turkish agriculture Ministry as saying in a statement."
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on October 09, 2008, 09:34:01 PM
http://www.caribbeanworldnews.com/middle_top_news_detail.php?mid=1527
CaribWorldNews, GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Mon. Oct. 6, 2008: Guyana and Suriname have both placed a ban on Chinese dairy products following a world-wide alert
GLOBAL HEALTH IS UNDER ASSAULT BY CHINESE FOOD IMPORTS. Attacked by a plague, there is nothing to do but isolate Chinese
food products until the disease can be cured. Sixty-six nations have banned Chinese milk products or food imports as of October 9, 2008.
Collectively, these countries are acting in the best interests of humanity.
QuoteCHINESE IMPORT BANS 2008:
initially based on: http://www.forbes.com/reuters/feeds/reuters/2008/09/27/2008-09-27T123805Z_01_B162168_RTRIDST_0_CHINA-MILK-RECALLS-FACTBOX.html
* BANGLADESH: -- Three Chinese powdered milk brands, Sanlu, Suncare and Yashili, banned. Melamine tests to be introduced on
all milk powder imports at Bangladeshi seaports.
* BENIN: -- Bans powered milk products from China.
* BHUTAN: -- Bhutan has banned Chinese milk imports, ranging from chocolates, sweets and cakes to milk tablets.
* BURKINA FASO: -- banned Chinese milk products
* BRAZIL: -- barred all Chinese food imports Oct 7
* BRUNEI: -- All Chinese milk products banned by Health Ministry, even though Brunei does not directly import dairy products from China.
* BURUNDI: -- Banned import, sale of Chinese milk products.
* COLOMBIA: -- Banned import of China-made powdered milk.
* CAMBODIA: -- strict ban on all Chinese milk products Oct 3
* CAMEROON: -- Suspends import and sale of fresh and powdered milk from China.
* D.R. of the CONGO: -- banned Chinese milk products
* EUROPEAN UNION: -- The 27-nation bloc banned baby food containing Chinese milk.
* FRANCE: -- Banned all food items containing Chinese milk as precautionary move.
* GABON: -- Introduced ban at same time as Burundi.
* GHANA: -- Food and Drug Board suspended imports of all milk and milk-based products made in China.
* GUYANA -- ban on Chinese Dairy products
* INDIA: -- Banned import of milk and milk products from China for three months.
* INDONESIA: -- Banned imports of China dairy products.
* IRAN: -- banned imports of all dairy products from China
* IVORY COAST: -- Banned imports of milk products from China.
* LAOS: -- temporarily stopped the importation of milk products from China
* LEBANON: -- banned the import of all powdered milk products from China
* LIBERIA: -- temporary ban Chinese dairy products Oct 7
* MALAWI: -- banned imports of all Chinese milk products Oct 10
* MALAYSIA: -- Banned all Chinese milk imports, as well as chocolates, sweets and other foods containing milk.
* MALDIVES: -- Banned Chinese milk products to protect its population of 300,000.
* MYANMAR: -- dairy items from China barred
* NEPAL: -- Banned all China milk and milk-based food products as a precautionary measure.
* PAPUA NEW GUINEA: -- Banned China-made milk products.
* PHILIPPINES: -- Banned import and sale of milk products from China, pending investigation of possible contamination.
* RUSSIA: -- banned all imports of Chinese dairy products
* SENEGAL: -- banned the sale of all milk products from China
* SINGAPORE: -- Banned the import and sale of milk products from China on Sept 19 after finding melamine in two China-made
products -- "Dutch Lady" strawberry flavoured milk, and "Yili Brand" dairy fruit bar yoghurt flavoured ice confection.
White Rabbit Creamy Candy pulled from shelves after being found to be contaminated with melamine.
* SOUTH KOREA: -- Banned China-made foods containing powdered milk after imported biscuits test positive for melamine.
* SURINAME: -- Banned milk and dairy products from China, is stepping up inspections on food imported from Southeast Asia.
* TAIWAN: -- All China-made dairy products banned, a milk testing station set up for consumers in Taipei.
* TANZANIA: -- Suspended all China dairy imports, and seized 34 tonnes of China-made milk powder.
* TOGO: -- Suspended import, distribution and sale of all Chinese-origin milk products.
* TURKEY: -- banned imports of Chinese milk products
* UAE (United Arab Emirates): -- temporary ban on Chinese dairy and related products,
* UGANDA: -- blacklisted all milk imports that could contain Chinese dairy derivatives as a safeguard
* URUGUAY: -- public health ministry banned all dairy imports from China on Oct 2, including baby formula
* VIETNAM: -- Banned China milk products. Health officials warned such products may have been sold in remote areas
in the impoverished central region.
Bringing to 68 the number of countries worldwide where consumer food safety comes first
Quote
Population of 68 countries/territories banning Chinese milk products 3,149.8 (in billions)
or Chinese food imports (see attached text file; source CIA
World Factbook 2008)
WORLD POPULATION:6,706,993,152 6,707.0 (in billions)
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/xx.html
taiwan population: http://www.asiarooms.com/travel-guide/taiwan/taiwan-overview/taiwan-population.html
46.96 percent of all the people in the world have now blocked import of Chinese milk products or Chinese food imports
Almost half the entire World disagrees with the United States FDA's risk assessment of melamine contamination
and believe babies and infants need protection from adulterated food products ...
That is the short and sweet of it, isn't it?
We live in a country that doesn't care.
But the parents and grandparents in a lot of countries all over the world care, catbird, and
are not going to settle for no protection of our children, no matter what potential market share
business is slobbering over, or what trade agreements governments are kowtowing to.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/09/tainted-chinese-milk-has_n_133212.html
Tainted Chinese Milk Has Now Hospitalized Over 10,000 Children
GILLIAN WONG | October 9, 2008 04:03 PM EST |
The Health Ministry said in a statement on its Web site Wednesday that 10,666 children were still in hospitals after drinking milk contaminated with melamine, an industrial chemical that can cause kidney stones and lead to life-threatening kidney failure. ...
At a meeting of the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Chinese officials sought to limit the damage Thursday, saying Beijing was making enormous efforts to deal with the problem and maintaining no new cases of contamination had been detected since Sept. 20.
The officials also contended the contamination had been accidental, contradicting a World Health Organization assessment that the chemical was added deliberately. ...
Until this week, there had been no standards in China for the amount of the chemical allowed in food products.
Since September 20, 2008, there must not have been many tests conducted in China, either. Publish those on all food exports and all raw food
ingredients, including methods and testing limits and adulterants tested for, by brand and product name. That would be a reference list the receiving importing country could then verify the results of.
http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2008/October/09100801.asp
Chinese melamine crisis prompts call for better tests
09 October 2008 Hepeng Jia/Bejing, China
Analytical instrument makers have said that the Chinese government needs to invest in a systematic program of research to improve testing methods if it is to avoid further problems with food contamination. The calls come after milk powder contaminated with melamine sickened at least 54,000 babies and killed four in China through kidney stones, and made its way into chocolates and biscuits exported around the world.
While the government's food safety watchdog found no traces of melamine in liquid milk during its round of tests in early October, industry experts say that testing methods for food contamination need to be better studied and updated to take advantage of the latest technology. ...
But instrument makers at Analytica China 2008, an analysis device exhibition held in Shanghai between 23 and 25 September, have warned that current testing methods may be inadequate.
Analytical uncertainty
Wang Bing, CEO of Beijing Techmate - which represents Japanese cosmetics firm Shiseido's analysis wing in China, says that the methods currently being used to analyse milk may not detect other contaminants that might also be present.
This is important because the impure industrial melamine added to milk often contains a second compound, cyanuric acid. The two chemicals together can form insoluble crystals - which can lead to the formation of kidney stones and ultimately kidney failure. Melamine alone is less toxic - though prolonged exposure to the compound could also cause health problems.
In addition, Wang says, different technical approaches - such as liquid chromatography and gas chromatography - give quite different results when used to test for melamine. But so far there have been no efforts from either the government or academia to work out why. 'More systematic approaches must be adopted in food contamination tests,' Wang told Chemistry World.
Zhu Min of Perkin Elmer, who is responsible for melamine analysis at the firm, says contamination testing should make better use of the latest technologies. 'Molecular analysis technologies have been mature for 10 years, yet nitrogen levels remain the sole measure used to determine milk's protein content,' Zhu told Chemistry World.
Meanwhile, China's Ministry of Science and Technology posted a note on its website asking members of the public to submit testing methods able to identify the presence of melamine in under 30 minutes. According to media reports, the ministry had received more than 100 solutions by its 3 October deadline.
Toxic economics
Meanwhile, the economics behind the melamine scandal have become clearer. Industrial melamine costs about 12,000 yuan (US$1765) per tonne, much higher than the price of milk - 1200-1800 yuan per tonne. But the practice of adding melamine to milk is profitable because just one gram of melamine per kg of milk is enough to lift the apparent protein content of milk from less than 27 grams of protein per kilogram (the cheapest grade of milk in China) to greater than 31 grams per kilogram - the most expensive grade.
So for 0.012 yuan (0.0018 US cents), producers can illegally boost the price of a litre of milk from 1.2 yuan (17.6 US cents) to 1.8 yuan (26.5 US cents) per kilogram. If the milk is diluted, the resulting profits can be even greater.
According to Chinese media reports, some milk collection stations may also have heated milk to increase the amount of melamine they could dissolve - the compound is only 'slightly soluble' (less than 0.9 grams in 100 grams) in water at room temperature, but around 6 grams will dissolve into 100 grams of water at 100°C.
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/126098/HK-finds-melamine-in-Chinese-biscuit-sticks
GMANews October 9, 2008
HK finds melamine in Chinese biscuit sticks
"Hong Kong's food safety agency said Thursday it has found excessive levels of an industrial chemical in a sample of Chinese-made biscuit sticks.
"The chemical melamine was detected in EDO Pack Almond Cacao Biscuit Sticks produced by Hong Kong company EDO Trading Co., the Center for Food Safety said in a statement.
"The amount of melamine, which is used to make plastics and fertilizers, was 8.5 parts per million in the sample. Hong Kong has set the safe level at 2.5 ppm.
"A man surnamed Wong who answered the phone at EDO's office said the company ordered a recall of the product after it was notified about the results.
""Our internal inspection earlier found our products are fine, so we'll have to check again," the man said, declining to give his full name because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
"The biscuit sticks were manufactured by the company's factory in the Chinese coastal city of Qingdao, he added.
"The man said the company has used Chinese milk as a raw material in its products but he did not know which brand."
http://www.nih.gov/news/health/oct2008/niddk-08.htm
Annual Report Targets Chronic Kidney Disease in the United States
A 30 percent increase in chronic kidney disease over the past decade has prompted the U.S. Renal Data System (USRDS) to issue for the first time a separate report documenting the magnitude of the disease, which affects an estimated 27 million Americans and accounts for more than 24 percent of Medicare costs.
Related or not, that's a pretty impressive increase figure. Someone better start asking a lot of questions.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/236202,nestle-taiwan-agrees-to-refund-consumers-over-tainted-milk-powder.html
Taipei - Nestle Taiwan agreed on Thursday to refund consumers after 10 more brands of its China-made milk powder were found to contain small traces of the toxic chemical melamine. "Beginning today, consumers can ask for refund at the sales outlets where they bought the products before November 30, regardless of whether the containers are already opened and whether they still have the payment receipts or not," the company said in a statement.
It came a day after the Taipei Health Bureau announced its latest inspection results, saying that 10 more brands of Nestle milk powder supplied by Shuangcheng Nestle based in Heilongjiang, China were found to contain 0.123 to 2.02 parts per million (ppm) of melamine.
From Singapore. Thursday, October 9, 2008:
http://www.todayonline.com:80/articles/280653.asp
Hot News // Friday, October 10, 2008
Melamine found in three more China products
Neo Chai Chin chaichin@mediacorp.com.sg
THREE more products from China have been found tainted with melamine, including one meant for manufacturing use, the Agri-food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said yesterday.
They are Cadbury Choclairs in the coffee and blueberry flavours, and Panda Dairy Whole Milk Powder.
The AVA gave the assurance that the levels of melamine detected in the tainted products were very low and should not cause ill heath unless consumed in very large quantities.
.
It said the Choclairs had melamine concentrations of 21.4 to 92.3 parts per million (ppm) and a 60kg adult can consume between 108 and 292 pieces of the candy daily without suffering from ill effects from the chemical.
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Panda Dairy milk powder — which had melamine levels of 163.8 ppm — was imported in January by a local manufacturer to make chocolate blocks for export. None of the melamine-tainted batch has been used in food production.
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"The milk powder has been sealed in the manufacturer's warehouse since the suspension on Sept 19, 2008," said the AVA.
The latest detections bring the number of melamine-tainted products to 13. The AVA said all the tainted products would be destroyed under its supervision.
The AVA has issued a summons to I-Tec Supermart and verbally warned 10 other retailers for selling China-made dairy products after its ban. It will test pet food for melamine after completing tests on consumer food products.
Here is a Care2 link to petition the FDA to "Tell FDA Commissioner von Eschenbach that the U.S. citizens deserves protections like those other countries are taking -- ban the important [sic] of dairy products now and come up with a plan to keep us safe. "
http://action.foodandwaterwatch.org/t/5915/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26056
And according to USDA figures, this year the U.S. has already imported 2 million pounds of casein and other powdered milk proteins from China. This includes 293,000 pounds that were imported in July, when some Chinese authorities were aware of the Melamine contamination yet failed to act!
While other countries are moving to ban the Chinese dairy products, the U.S. has not. With your help, we'll fix that. Keep deadly chemicals out of your food - tell the FDA to block dairy imports from China >>
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/china/melamine-olympic-milk-5434.html
Epoch Times October 9, 2008
Melamine Found in "Olympic Milk"
"The sole supplier of food and beverages for the Beijing Olympics has been caught producing melamine-contaminated milk.
"China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ) found melamine in 31 batches of milk powder made by 20 dairy companies in China, including well-known brands Sanlu, Yalishi, Yili, Mengniu and Sanyuan.
"The Beijing-based Sanyuan Foods Company was awarded sole supply rights for food and beverages during the Beijing Olympics.
"GAQSIQ released the findings of their investigation on September 30, and according to their report melamine was found in three batches of Sanyuan's high-fiber high-calcium milk powders made on June 23, September 8 and September 11.
"Melamine was also detected in a batch of Sanyuan's Nanshan Beiyi IGG infant formula produced on September 9.
"Independent Beijing-based Caijing magazine approached the director of Sanyuan's public affairs department on October 6, but he refused to comment on the melamine contamination.
"The manufacturer of the tainted milk powder, Qianan Sanyuan Foods, is a subsidiary of Sanyuan.
"GAQSIQ found 10.58 mg per kg of melamine in a batch of powder produced by Qianan on August 7.
"Sanyuan's tainted milk powder has mainly been used in value-added foods, for further dairy processing or production in yogurt, yogurt drinks, cookies, candy, and chocolate.
"This was the first time GAQSIQ has found melamine in Sanyuan products.
"Melamine is an organic compound often combined with formaldehyde to produce melamine resin, a synthetic polymer which is fire resistant and heat tolerant.
"The chemical was not considered toxic until early 2007, when 8000 pets suddenly died in the US. FDA investigations later revealed the animals had been poisoned by mass-produced pet food containing wheat gluten contaminated with melamine.
"GAQSIQ's September 30 report showed the test results from 265 batches of adult milk powder made by 154 dairy companies before September 14.
"About 13,000 infants nationwide have been hospitalized with kidney problems and at least three have died after drinking baby formula tainted with melamine, a toxic chemical added to raw milk to raise its apparent protein content.
"The original supplier of dairy products for the 2008 Beijing Olympic was Yili Group, but Yili was later turned down by the Beijing Olympic Committee after its products failed quality tests.
"Until the September 30 report Sanyuan was the only listed dairy producer that had avoided being associated with China's milk contamination scandal."
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/126246/Melamine-found-in-Myanmar-milk-imports
GMA News October 10, 2008
Melamine found in Myanmar milk imports
"Myanmar state media reports say brands of milk and infant powder imported into the country have been tainted with the industrial chemical melamine.
"Authorities have banned the import of all dairy products from China where the scandal over chemically tainted milk erupted and have began tests on milk products sold in the country.
"The New Light of Myanmar says Friday that among the 16 brands of milk and milk powder tested, nine contain melamine."
Myanmar is also known as Burma.
http://www.caribbeanworldnews.com/middle_top_news_detail.php?mid=1527
Guyana, Suriname Ban Chinese Milk Products
CARIBWORLDNEWS.COM, NY - 5 Oct 2008
CaribWorldNews, GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Mon. Oct. 6, 2008: Guyana and Suriname have both placed a ban on Chinese dairy products following a world-wide alert
Edited to add *GUYANA
Population: 770,794 (CIA World Factbook 2008)
67 countries worldwide ban Chinese dairy products as of October 9, 2008
46.75 percent of all the people in the world have now blocked import of Chinese milk products or Chinese food imports
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,434364,00.html
FoxNews October 8, 2008
Melamine Scare Spreads to Chinese Vegetables Exported to Australia
"Australian food authorities are investigating reports of melamine contamination of vegetables and will complete a safety assessment.
"Chinese products imported into Australia include fresh garlic and peas, frozen mixed vegetables, canned mushrooms and tomato paste.
http://www.abc.net.au/rural/news/content/200810/s2386202.htm
ABC (Australia) October 9, 2008
Melamine scare prompts calls for tougher food standards
"Farmers and consumer groups are demanding more rigorous testing and better labelling of imported vegetables because of a scare over melamine.
"Food Standards Australia is investigating reports Malaysian authorities have found the toxic chemical in mushrooms, tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce and watercress from China.
"David Anderson, from the peak vegetable body Ausveg, says lax labelling laws are allowing processors to avoid telling customers where vegetables come from.
""Particularly like mixed vegetables, they'll just say it's made from local and imported products," he says.
""But I think they need to say its carrots from Australia, peas from China, celery form Brazil or wherever it's coming from, just so that the consumers can have a clear choice."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10536601
NZ Herald October 9, 2008
Melamine fears over fruit, vege imports
"Lydia Buchtmann from Food Standards Australia New Zealand in Canberra said Australian investigators were looking into the reports and would do a safety assessment.
"They would speak to authorities in Malaysia and in other Asian countries that had tested vegetables.
"The New Zealand Food Safety Authority, which enforces the rules here, has been alerted.
"Chinese products imported into New Zealand include fresh garlic, pears, canned fruit and frozen vegetables such as broccoli. The industry generated more than $40 million last year.
"Ms Buchtmann said international media reports had raised concerns about Chinese mushrooms, tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce and watercress."
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on October 09, 2008, 09:34:01 PM
http://www.caribbeanworldnews.com/middle_top_news_detail.php?mid=1527
Guyana, Suriname Ban Chinese Milk Products
CARIBWORLDNEWS.COM, NY - 5 Oct 2008
CaribWorldNews, GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Mon. Oct. 6, 2008: Guyana and Suriname have both placed a ban on Chinese dairy products following a world-wide alert
Edited to add *GUYANA
Population: 770,794 (CIA World Factbook 2008)
67 countries worldwide ban Chinese dairy products as of October 9, 2008
46.75 percent of all the people in the world have now blocked import of Chinese milk products or Chinese food imports
With the amount of countries growing ever bigger will the US be the only country that continues to import the milk products etc. from there and look the other way just in case anyone here gets hurt from it? IMO
Quote from: DMS on October 09, 2008, 06:20:11 PM
Here is a Care2 link to petition the FDA to "Tell FDA Commissioner von Eschenbach that the U.S. citizens deserves protections like those other countries are taking -- ban the important [sic] of dairy products now and come up with a plan to keep us safe. "
http://action.foodandwaterwatch.org/t/5915/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26056
And according to USDA figures, this year the U.S. has already imported 2 million pounds of casein and other powdered milk proteins from China. This includes 293,000 pounds that were imported in July, when some Chinese authorities were aware of the Melamine contamination yet failed to act!
While other countries are moving to ban the Chinese dairy products, the U.S. has not. With your help, we'll fix that. Keep deadly chemicals out of your food - tell the FDA to block dairy imports from China >>
thanks for the link...it was fast and easy and allows your own input too!
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=363607
Bernama.com Malaysia October 10, 2008
Taro Biscuits Found To Contain Melamine Above Permissible Level
"The Health Ministry Thursday ordered the Taro brand biscuit produced by Bairong to be withdrawn from the market with immediate effect after an analysis found it to contain melamine above the permissible level.
"The ministry's food quality and safety division director Noraini Mohd Othman in a statement Thursday said the product contained above the 75 ppm (parts per million) level of melamine that is permitted.
"The statement added that 12 products analysed by the division found them to meet the ministry's standard for melamine content,
"They are Fruit Jelly Stick (Motion), Genuine Pearl Jelly (Tian Tian), Lobster Peanut Crisp (Cap Layang), 888 (Egg & Milk Filling) (Vigor 888), Rice Crackers (Wang Wang), Biscuit Sticks (Four Seas). Mini Poppers Chocolate Flavoured (Walls), White Coffee 3-in-1 (Dali Coffee Beverage), Apple Sandwich Biscuits (Bairong), Colourfull Party (Cherry & Apple Biscuits) (Bairong), Almond Cakes (Fu Die Lai) and Curtes Chocolate (Giff)."
Quote
"The ministry's food quality and safety division director Noraini Mohd Othman in a statement Thursday said the product contained above the 75 ppm (parts per million) level of melamine that is permitted
75ppm???
Wow.
Is that an error in the article?
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinajournal/2008/10/09/for-melamine-cases-whats-in-a-number/?mod=googlenews_wsj
October 9, 2008, 7:06 am
For Melamine Cases, What's In a Number?
Earlier this week we noted the odd evasiveness of Chinese health authorities at providing an update on the number of children who have been sickened by drinking melamine-tainted milk products. They have new information, they say, but won't release it publicly. So the media is still parroting a figure of close to 54,500 that dates from Sept. 21.
The current reticence stands in marked contrast from the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake earlier this year, when the public was provided with regular updates on the number of dead, missing, injured, and even how many buildings had been destroyed. ...
The New York Times has taken to compiling its own data from provincial government Web sites and local media reports. From a review of news and statistics collected from 8 of China's 30-plus provinces and administrative regions, it found that around 52,000 people had fallen ill from tainted milk. So it seems fair to say that total number of ill across China is likely to be significantly higher than 54,500.
Today, health officials offered a partial update– they tripled the number of hospitalizations resulting from tainted milk (not all sick children required hospital stays). According to the latest figures, reported by the AFP, 46,810 children have been admitted to hospitals for melamine-related illnesses, up from 14,471 on Sept. 21. Most of the hospitalized children have been released, the report said, leaving 10,666 inpatients.
–Sky Canaves
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/world/asia/09milk.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Milk Scandal Pushes China to Set Limits on Melamine
By EDWARD WONG
Published: October 8, 2008
A check by The New York Times of statistics on the Web sites or official news media outlets of 8 of China's more than 30 provinces and province-level administrative areas shows that in those 8 territories, about 52,000 people have fallen ill from tainted milk. Some of the numbers were published this month and others in September. Extrapolating from those statistics, the number sickened across all of China would be much higher than the 53,000 announced by the Health Ministry in late September.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jkSxq2ah-NStZl0m7ZjdQmjJZGGw
China more than triples number of children hospitalised over milk
1 day ago
BEIJING (AFP) — China published Thursday a new number of children hospitalised after drinking tainted milk, more than tripling the official figure to nearly 47,000.
At the moment, 10,666 children remain in hospital for poisoning with the toxic chemical melamine, while another 36,144 were previously hospitalised but have since been allowed to go home, the health ministry said.
This makes for a total of 46,810 children who have been hospitalised for kidney problems caused by melamine, up from 14,471 according to the previous data from the health ministry on September 21.In addition to the children hospitalised, thousands of others have received outpatient care.
However, a health ministry spokeswoman told AFP on Thursday she did not have updated figures for the number of outpatients.
According to the September 21 data, there were 39,965 outpatients. When added to the number who had been hospitalised, the total figure for sickened children late last month reached 54,436.
Health ministry officials said this week they had updated figures for the total number of children affected by drinking tainted milk powder, but they refused to make the figure public.
http://www.canada.com:80/topics/news/world/story.html?id=59f79ae6-e975-4c85-8455-f5038c80306b
China announces biggest bust yet in melamine-milk scandal
AFP
Published: Friday, October 10, 2008
BEIJING - Chinese authorities have arrested a man who made 600 tonnes of melamine-laced powder that was destined for the nation's milk supply, in the biggest bust of its kind, state press reported on Friday. ...
The farmer, Zhang Yujun, had produced the 600 tonnes of protein powder in eastern China's Shandong province between September last year and August, Xinhua reported.
Identifying an adulteration time period going back to September 2007, at least.
Quote from: Offy on October 10, 2008, 06:49:41 AM
Quote
"The ministry's food quality and safety division director Noraini Mohd Othman in a statement Thursday said the product contained above the 75 ppm (parts per million) level of melamine that is permitted
75ppm???
Wow.
Is that an error in the article?
Gawd surely hope that is a typo. People will drop like flies with 75 ppm. Their kidneys will be destroyed. Anyone know if anyone consumed any products with the 75 ppm in them and are they still alive?
refresh my memory please . . . . Do we have numbers as to how much of this poison was in pet food and the animal feed? And aren't the infants consuming lower levels than whats been found in some of the candy etc?
75ppm sounds like 75 crystal/stone forming "seeds" to me . . .
With thanks to menusux and DMS, Cross-posting:
http://itchmoforums.com/off-topic-no-politics/philippines-issues-list-of-additional-formaldehydelaced-products-mic-t2390.0.html;topicseen
Quote from: menusux on October 23, 2007, 11:30:21 AM
For those of you who have been following this, there has been a second incident of children becoming ill after eating Chinese-made candy--the first was this summer. BFAD is the Philippine equivalent of FDA.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=96275
BFAD issues new list of tainted Chinese products
October 22, 2007
"BFAD ordered the Chinese-made food products pulled out of the market after test results showed they contained formaldehyde, a cancer-causing substance popularly known as formalin.
"This comes as China battles to improve the reputation of its products amid fears over food safety.
"According to the BFAD, the following imported Chinese products contain formaldehyde:
1. Fat & Thin Lo Han Kou Pei Pa Koa Candy, Net Wt. 120g (manufacturer not indicated)
2. Sau Tab Noodle King Dried-Mix, Soya Bean Paste Flavored, Net Wt. 75g
(manufactured by Sun Shun Fuk Foods Co., Ltd.)
3. Taro Milk (Nature & Nutrition & Healthy Delicious And Incomparable!!!)
(Manufactured by Huajia Foods Co. Ltd Jinjiang City)
4. Natural is Best 200 (manufacturer not indicated)
5. Wang Fu Yuan The Best For You 120
(Manufactured by 1. Hongkong Liangshi Food Co., Ltd Supervising Manufacturer, 2. Wanfu Food Factory Dongguan City)
6. Golden Monkey Milk Candy 118g
(Shanghai Golden Monkey Food Co., Ltd)
7. Xinlong Nougat Candy net weight 300g
(Xinlong Food Co., Ltd Zhongshan City)
8. Aoxiang (manufacturer not indicated)
9. Sheng Long Marshmallow Net Wt. 50g (1.760z) Bunny Marshmallow
(Zhongshan Kunbo Foodstuff Import & Export Corporation Limited and manufactured by Zhongshan Shenlong Foodstuff Factory)
10. Maleng Pork Luncheon Meat 170g
(Produced and sold by: Chongqing Winsun Foodstuff Co., Ltd)
11. Nicefoods Sweet Orange C% 11g (manufacturer not indicated)
"Health experts say prolonged use of formaldehyde could lead to cancer, especially lung cancer. The chemical, popularly known as formalin, is a disinfectant and preservative and often used in embalming.
"China has been battling to improve the reputation of its products as industrial oils, acid, cancer-causing chemicals and other dangerous ingredients have been found in thousands of China-made food items such as baby milk powder, rice and flour.
"Early this month, 23 children on Bantayan Island in Cebu province were hospitalized suffering from stomach aches, vomiting and dizziness after eating sweets made in China.
"Last month, the Department of Education banned four Chinese food products from school canteens following reports they contained cancer-causing formaldehyde.
"In July, Beijing executed the former head of its food and drug safety watchdog for corruption as part of drastic steps to contain the problem. With reports from Tina G. Santos and Agence France-Presse"
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view_article.php?article_id=77464
BFAD tests include food, cosmetic items
July 19, 2007
"MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) has started testing more products from China after several brands of candy and cookies were found positive for formaldehyde, a disinfectant linked to cancer in humans.
"On Tuesday, the BFAD issued an advisory which warned the public against eating four contaminated Chinese food products:
White Rabbit Cream Candy,
manufactured by Shanghai Guan Sheng Yan Food General Factory;
Milk Candy,
manufactured by Romanticfish Food Industry Company Inc. in Fujian;
Bairong Grape Biscuits,
manufactured by Dongguan Bairong Foodstuff Company Ltd.;
Yong Kang Foods Grape Biscuits,
manufactured by Dongguan Yongkang Food Company Ltd."
The presence of formalin/formaldehyde in the BFAD tests from the Phillippines in July and October of 2007 means to me, at least,
speculating my nonscientific best, that the Chinese went from poisoning pets in 2006 and 2007 right on to poisoning children via milk
products in July of 2007 without a hitch. Why else is BFAD finding formaldehyde in White Rabbit Candy in July of 2007?
Formaldehyde liquefies melamine in milk through some arcane method of heating and mixing. The Chinese never stopped it seems.
Or that's when they first got caught; who knows how long it may have gone on at undetected/unsuspected levels or until a certain threshold was reached? I'm feeling very cynical about all of this.
I just sent that to David Barboza at the New York Times. All you Stupak, Dingell, DeLauro and House committee fans,
please forward as well if you can. Anyone have Sundlof's email? Thank you if you do.
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on October 10, 2008, 01:19:00 PM
I just sent that to David Barboza at the New York Times. All you Stupak, Dingell, DeLauro and House committee fans,
please forward as well if you can. Anyone have Sundlof's email? Thank you if you do.
Send to [edited] and Feingold also! They are cosponsoring the dairy/COOL legislation. And perhaps Durbin?
ETA: [edited] should be the Jr Senator from NY that starts with a C! :D
Thank you, straybaby. You can't stop a plague from spreading, not one like this, especially
when the government regulators aren't looking for it. Until the FDA is equipped to look, an
import ban is the only hope.
Here's another reference to last year's formaldehyde in White Rabbit:
Quote from: menusux on September 19, 2008, 12:02:48 PM
A little more than a year ago, there was quite a scandal in the Philippines and other Asian nations about a Chinese-made milk candy called White Rabbit. Testing by the Philippines and Indonesia revealed some formaldehyde in the candy. The Philippines banned the Chinese candy totally, while Indonesia found only trace amounts, which were under the health risk guidelines.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/04/AR2007090402284_pf.html
Washington Post September 5, 2007
Seeing the need for some chemical like formaldehyde to dissolve melamine made me think about the candies because they have milk as an ingredient. Possible that the candy picked this up from any adulterated milk used to make them?
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on October 10, 2008, 01:34:28 PM
Thank you, straybaby. You can't stop a plague from spreading, not one like this, especially
when the government regulators aren't looking for it. Until the FDA is equipped to look, an
import ban is the only hope.
I agree we need a ban. We just need to stop everything and do a lot of trace back on ingredients and inspecting/testing. Hopefully more congress critters will come over to the light side on safety and will also realize how much this could benefit their states as far as the economy and jobs go. My Jr Senator has been very pro-active with NYS farmers since she's been elected. She just did her 7th annual NY Farmer day in DC a couple weeks ago.
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on October 10, 2008, 01:34:28 PM
Thank you, straybaby. You can't stop a plague from spreading, not one like this, especially
when the government regulators aren't looking for it. Until the FDA is equipped to look, an
import ban is the only hope.
I agree completely. A ban is needed. What we've talked about in the pet food and dairy products is just where adulteration has been
found. I'm sure there is much, much more that has not been found.
::) you guys may laugh at me but I just saw that Oprah is doing "where our food comes from" on Tuesday so I am going to write the show an email hoping that next friday they cover the food contamination crisis and the lack of intervention ....on fridays they talk about "current events" so maybe whoever reads the emails will have kids or pets and take notice! You never know...I happen to think it is all about who reads the mail... :P
ETA: Message sent to the show....you never know! ::)
Carol, that's a good idea. Between that and Senator C linton and the papers and anyone you'd care to contact, the
message can't be delivered often enough.
stephen.sundlof@fda.hhs.gov
5CatMom
=^..^=
Thank you, 5CatMom; done. We'll see how Mr. "black grains of sand" responds
to criticism of his adulteration-condoning risk assessment models.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7664339.stm
BBC News October 10, 2008
France pulls tainted Chinese food
"France has recalled sweets and biscuits made with Chinese dairy after finding high levels of an industrial chemical.
"The recall of White Rabbit sweets and Koala biscuits is the first such order to be made by a European country.
"French consumers were warned to destroy or return the tainted products after tests showed high levels of melamine, which can cause kidney failure.
"The first results of tests conducted in France have shown a melamine level above the warning level set by the European Commission at 2.5mg per kilo," the agriculture ministry said in a statement.
"The recall is the strongest measure yet taken by a European country amid a worldwide health scare over Chinese milk products that has led several countries to ban dairy imports from China."
I'm confused. I thought the EU already had banned:
http://euobserver.com/9/26812
EU to ban Chinese milk imports
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-09-25-voa50.cfm
EU Bans Baby Food Imports From China Containing Milk Products
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on October 10, 2008, 03:55:21 PM
I'm confused. I thought the EU already had banned:
http://euobserver.com/9/26812
EU to ban Chinese milk imports
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-09-25-voa50.cfm
EU Bans Baby Food Imports From China Containing Milk Products
They banned, but didn't recall so the stuff was already in the country?
It looks like the bans didn't cover the other products containing Chinese milk like the White Rabbit candy and the cookies.
http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnLA418408.html
Reuters October 10, 2008
Malawi bans Chinese milk product imports
"Malawi has banned imports of all Chinese milk products after contaminated milk and formula killed four children and made thousands others ill in China, the trade minister said on Friday.
"Director-general of Malawi's bureau of standards, Devlin Chokazinga, said authorities were testing some samples of imported powdered milk from China and Asia."
Edited to add:
* MALAWI: banned imports of all Chinese milk products
Population: 13,931,831 (CIA World Factbook 2008)
68 countries worldwide ban Chinese dairy products as of October 10, 2008
46.96 percent of all the people in the world have now blocked import of Chinese milk products or Chinese food imports
When is the United States of America going to stand with these 68 decent nations putting human food safety first
and refuse to be bullied by the government of China?
3cat-
Re: formaldehyde dissolving melamine:
http://www.csl.gov.uk/newsAndResources/documents/wekellPres.pdf
Page 51 (25 of 35)
You see two photos of kidney tissue with crystals on the page. The one on the left is before the use of formalin to "fix" the tissue. The photo on right is the same tissue after use of the formalin; formalin used on Friday afternoon, photo on right taken Monday morning after formalin use.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formaldehyde
"Aqueous solutions of formaldehyde are referred to as formalin. "100%" formalin consists of a saturated solution of formaldehyde (roughly 40% by mass) in water, with a small amount of stabilizer, usually methanol to limit oxidation and polymerization.
"Formaldehyde preserves or fixes tissue or cells by irreversibly cross-linking primary amino groups in proteins with other nearby nitrogen atoms in protein or DNA through a -CH2- linkage. This is exploited in ChIP-on-chip transcriptomics experiments."
I wonder if there is anything We can be sure does not have melamine in it? >:(
I don't know, Trudy. Just things where protein content does not determine product value maybe. I'm only sure
there's nothing China makes that can't be had elsewhere in the world.
menusux, looking at those slides, with massive ingestion and sudden linkage, I don't even want to think about
the pain.
I have city water. Probably not too good.
I am supposed to eat a lot of protien, because of my weight loss. Or drink it. It doesn't have to be meat, though.
Trudy- Try a Brita,Pur or Zero water pitcher. It will help.They also make attachments for the kitchen faucet.The reverse osmosis is supposed to be the best,but its pricey.
Lot of bottled water is processed with reverse osmosis and that is what we use at home. Only use tap water for washing dishes, clothes and to take showers but have a filter on my shower head to take our chlorine and other things. Might want to read up on pros and cons of water pitchers. Read the Brita only lasts for like 30 times and then its no good but don't know if you can change the filter or you just throw it away. Are these water pitchers made in america or in melaland? Remember the plastic could be made from mix of melamine and waster water run off from the melamine cause we know how much they want to make a buck and cut costs as we have been shown a lot of lately IMO.
The filters are replaceable in the pitchers. Mine isn't new & is made here,but no idea where they are made now.
Singapore and Japan find melamine in seven Chinese food products
Taiwan News, Website Editorial Staff 2008-10-11 11:59 AM(Taiwan News)-
Singapore announced on Oct 9 that melamine was found in 3 Chinese food products, including Panda Dairy Milky Powder.
Cadbury chocolate blueberry flavor and coffee flavor both contain melamine. The former has 21.4 to 33.9 parts per million, and the latter has up to 92.3 ppm. Panda Dairy Milky Powder that is not on sale in stores has been provided to food production companies in Singapore. Singapore's Agricultural Bureau said the milk powder was no longer in use after Sep 19, but they were not sure how many local-made products used this brand of milk powder.
Japan found 17 to 36 ppm of melamine in 4 items of croissants imported by Top Trading Company from Jiangsu Province, China. The company has recalled related products. So far in Japan, some brands of pastries, chocolate, egg tarts imported from China have been examined with melamine.
http://www.breakingnews.ie/world/mhidkfkfqlgb/
Thousands of Chinese children remain ill after milk scandal
Hong Kong's food regulator said it found melamine in EDO Pack Almond Cacao Biscuit Sticks produced by Hong Kong company EDO Trading Co
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1201537/chinese_melamine_industry_expanding_fast_according_to_insightful_report/index.html
Chinese Melamine Industry Expanding Fast According to Insightful Report
Posted on: Thursday, 3 January 2008, 00:00 CST
Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c78263) has announced the addition of "Production and Market of Melamine in China" to their offering.
In the past three decades, China has seen the fast expansion of the melamine industry and the expansion is reflected in the aspects of production quantity, consumption volume and technologies. In the next few years, changes will take place to the structure of China melamine enterprise. ...
II Appendix: Profiles of Melamine Manufacturers in China
II-1 Active Manufacturers of Melamine
II-1.01 Shandong Haihua Company Limited
II-1.02 Henan Zhongyuan Dahua Group Co., Ltd.
II-1.03 Tianjin Kaiwei Group
II-1.04 Henan Haohua-Junhua Group Co., Ltd.
II-1.05 Shandong Mingshui Great Chemical Group
II-1.06 Shandong Sanhe Chemical Co., Ltd.
II-1.07 Sichuan Chemical Works Group Ltd.
II-1.08 Sichuan Meifeng Cyanamid Co., Ltd.
II-1.09 Henan Jinshan Chemical Co., Ltd.
II-1.10 Anhui Jinhe Chemical Co., Ltd.
II-1.11 China Fujian Petrochemical Group Sanming Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.
II-1.12 Kingboard (Panyu Nansha) Petrochemical Company Limited
II-1.13 Urumqi Petrochemical Complex
II-1.14 Zhejiang Fuyang Yongxing Chemical Co., Ltd.
II-1.15 Jiangsu Sanmu Group Corporation
II-1.16 Shandong De QiLong Chemical Group Co., Ltd.
II-1.17 Shanxi Fengxi Fertilizer Industry (Group) Co., Ltd.
II-1.18 Shandong Zhucheng Liangfeng Chemical Co., Ltd.
II-1.19 Shandong Feida Chemical Technical Co., Ltd.
II-1.20 Anhui Hefei Sifang Group Holding Co., Ltd.
II-1.21 Shandong Liaherd Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.
II-1.22 Hebei Jinglong Fengli Chemical Co., Ltd.
II-1.23 Shandong Hualu Hengsheng Group Co., Ltd.
II-1.24 Liaoning Zhongrun Chemical Co., Ltd.
II-1.25 Shandong Zaozhuang Hualu Chemical Development Co., Ltd.
II-1.26 Henan Puyang City Sanan Chemical Co., Ltd.
II-1.27 Sichuan Meifeng Chemical Industry Co, Ltd.
II-1.28 Shandong Jining Gaoke Chemical Co., Ltd.
II-1.29 Shandong Times Chemical Co., Ltd.
II-1.30 Hebei Gaocheng Xinchang Chemical Co., Ltd.
II-1.31 Hebei Guangping Fertilizer Factory
II-1.32 Anhui Xincheng Chemical Co., Ltd.
II-1.33 Shandong Shuntian Chemical Group
II-1.34 China Haohua Hebei Xinji Chemical Group Co., Ltd.
II-1.35 Hebei Fangsheng Group Jihua Chemical Plant
II-1.36 Anhui Sunsou Chemical Co., Ltd.
II-1.37 Neimenggu Hengrong Chemical Co., Ltd.
II-1.38 Sichuan Golden Elephant Chemical Co., Ltd.
II-2 Potential Producers
II-2.01 CNNC Jianfeng Chemicals Plant
II-3 Idled Producers
II-3.01 Hebei Gaocheng Fertilizer General Plant
II-3.02 Shandong Jinan Huatailong Chemical Co., Ltd.
If there was any question as to a huge supply of melamine scrap and melamine waste water that needed disposing, I wonder how
much is regulated ...
http://www.redorbit.com/news/business/886255/expansion_of_processed_food_production_paves_the_way_for_the/index.html
Expansion of Processed Food Production Paves the Way for the Growth of Food Emulsifiers in China
Posted on: Friday, 30 March 2007, 09:00 CDT
PALO ALTO, Calif., March 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The food emulsifier market in China is witnessing sizeable growth through the increase in production of processed foods and new product development in all segments, including dairy, bakery, confectionery, meat products, and oils.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/978924/milking_china_market_fonterras_basics_to_boom_road_milking_chinas/index.html
Milking China Market Fonterra's Basics to Boom Road; Milking China's Dairy Market
Posted on: Sunday, 24 June 2007, 15:00 CDT
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out why Fonterra, and many other international dairy companies, are so interested in China. A recent Rabobank report estimated that, from 2001 to 2005, dairy consumption in China rose by around 30 per cent a year and that dairy industry sales were around $US11 billion in 2005. Chinese dairy production is expanding quickly to meet demand. In 2000 China's dairy production was around two-thirds of New Zealand's while today it's about 212 times the size. And although it will slow a bit, the pundits are predicting continuing strong growth for the foreseeable future. China Dairy Industry Association chairman Song Kun Gang predicts the growth rate will still be at least 15 per cent a year for the next few years. ...
Fonterra is also working on buying locally manufactured product from SanLu to supplement its food services and ingredients offerings.
Edited to add:
* ARGENTINA: -- banned the import of Chinese milk and related products October 2, 2008
Population: 40.482 million (CIA World Factbook 2008)
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Direct Link: http://www.mercopress.com/vernoticia.do?id=14730&formato=html
Argentina bans sale of Made in China 48 milk related products
Argentina joined a long list of Latinamerican countries which have banned the import of Chinese milk and related products such as sweets, chocolate bars, cookies, instant tea and coffee with powder milk, etc.
* COSTA RICA: -- bans sale any milk products coming from China September 30, 2008
Population: 4,195,914 (CIA World Factbook 2008)
http://insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2008/september/30/nac03.htm
Costa Rica Restricts Chinese Milk Products
Costa Rica has imposed restrictions on Chinese milk products in the midst of the scandal over China's tainted milk. Costa Rica's ministerio
de Salud (Ministry of Health)said it would monitor imports at customs and remove any milk products which could be suspicious.
The ban is in addition to the removal of all Chinese candies from store shelves earlier in the week.
"We are going to retire all the products of this type that we find in commerce. Nobody can sell any milk products" coming from China, said Salud minister María Luisa Avila.
* PERU: -- banned the sale of milk-flavored toffees, milk powder and any products containing Chinese milk powder September 29
Population: 29,180,900 (CIA World Factbook 2008)
http://www.livinginperu.com/news/7488
Health | 29 September, 2008 [ 09:37 ]
Peru bans sale of candy and products with Chinese milk After some of the milk products being sold in China were found to have been tainted with the industrial chemical melamine, authorities in Peru officially banned the sale of milk-flavored toffees, milk powder and any products containing Chinese milk powder in the Andean country. Peruvian health authorities explained that the sale of all products containing Chinese milk powder would be banned because in Peru it was impossible for consumers to identify ingredients because they were written in Chinese or English.
71 countries worldwide ban Chinese dairy products as of October 11, 2008
48.06 percent of all the people in the world have now blocked import of Chinese milk products or Chinese food imports
There's something really funky going on with regards to web entries regarding Chile.
Found Chile listed in Wikipedia here, scroll down to "Outside Mainland China":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Chinese_milk_scandal
^ "Gobierno anuncia retiro de productos lácteos chinos por alerta mundial". Chilepotencialimentaria.com.
^ "Gobierno de Chile retiró leche proveniente de China", Milenio.com (26 September 2008).
Also found this article in Spanish at the Houston Chronicle:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sp/nws/6024635.html
But most of the English articles come out as page links having expired and been removed, like this one, which is just weird:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/26904521/for/cnbc
My four years of high school Spanish is really rusty. It looks like the Spanish articles say Chile is checking all
products until they have been cleared of being tainted with melamine. Anyone speak Spanish and able to
translate?
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24462153-25837,00.html
British politician Peter Mandelson ill after yoghurt in China
Rowan Callick, China correspondent | October 08, 2008
CONTROVERSIAL British politician Peter Mandelson, who was feted in China for drinking a glass of yoghurt on television in Beijing last week, has been rushed to hospital suffering from a kidney stone.
Thousands of babies across China have suffered kidney stones after drinking formula milk mixed with the industrial plastic melamine.
But there is almost certainly no connection between the two events in the case of Mr Mandelson, whose illness blighted his first day as Business Secretary in Gordon Brown's cabinet.
Oh, DMS, the devil made you do it ;D
There is poetic justice after all.
Here is the translation to the link, 3cats. But, you're right, the devil did make me do that other post first!
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.chilepotenciaalimentaria.cl/content/view/285609/Gobierno_anuncia_retiro_de_productos_lacteos_chinos_por_alerta_mundial.html&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3DGobierno%2Banuncia%2Bretiro%2Bde%2Bproductos%2Bl%25C3%25A1cteos%2Bchinos%2Bpor%2Balerta%2Bmundial%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG
You can search for an article on google, and they offer a translated page.
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.agrodiario.com.ar/despachos.asp%3Fcod_des%3D14639%26id_seccion%3D15&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%2522Gobierno%2Bde%2BChile%2Bretir%25C3%25B3%2Bleche%2Bproveniente%2Bde%2BChina%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on October 11, 2008, 12:32:10 PM
There's something really funky going on with regards to web entries regarding Chile.
Found Chile listed in Wikipedia here, scroll down to "Outside Mainland China":
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Chinese_milk_scandal
^ "Gobierno anuncia retiro de productos lácteos chinos por alerta mundial". Chilepotencialimentaria.com.
^ "Gobierno de Chile retiró leche proveniente de China", Milenio.com (26 September 2008).
Also found this article in Spanish at the Houston Chronicle:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sp/nws/6024635.html
But most of the English articles come out as page links having expired and been removed, like this one, which is just weird:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/26904521/for/cnbc
My four years of high school Spanish is really rusty. It looks like the Spanish articles say Chile is checking all
products until they have been cleared of being tainted with melamine. Anyone speak Spanish and able to
translate?
3cat-
I put the Houston Chronicle link through Google Translate:
http://translate.google.com/translate_t?hl=en
http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chron.com%2Fdisp%2Fstory.mpl%2Fsp%2Fnws%2F6024635.html&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=es&tl=en (http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chron.com%2Fdisp%2Fstory.mpl%2Fsp%2Fnws%2F6024635.html&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=es&tl=en)
Chile controls sale and consumption of milk China
September 26, 2008|Associated Press
"Health authorities ordered the review of all dairy products of Chinese origin before authorizing its sale and consumption, to verify that they are not contaminated with melamine."
Thanks, all. Since it's not an outright ban, I haven't included Chile in my country counts.
At least it sounds like the Chileans are testing all imports, but I really can't be sure because the author uses the word "reviewing." And then there is the whole adequacy of testing, and the question of what all to test for....So, probably not stringent enough in this consumer's opinion.
ETA: It looks like the Chileans are doing laboratory testing, but we still have to wonder about the accuracy of the tests.
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/123292/Chile-checking-Chinese-milk-products
GMA News September 26, 2008
Chile checking Chinese milk products
"Chilean authorities are checking all milk products imported from China to make sure they are not tainted with melamine."
While Google translate is very useful for getting the idea of what the page is saying, sometimes some of the translations are a little stilted.
When you search for "melamine Chile" you come up with 2 hits from the Santiago Times referring to a Chinese milk ban--but the links won't get you to these stories for some reason.
CHILE BANS CHINESE LACTOSE PRODUCTS
Santiago Times, Chile - Sep 28, 2008
Chilean authorities are inspecting all milk products imported from China to make sure they are not tainted with melamine. They are also searching for 36000 ...
http://www.santiagotimes.cl/santiagotimes/news/mining-news/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14737&Itemid=1 (http://www.santiagotimes.cl/santiagotimes/news/mining-news/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14737&Itemid=1)
No access to story from link #1
CHINESE MILK STILL ON CHILEAN SHELVES, BAN NOTWITHSTANDING
Santiago Times, Chile - Oct 1, 2008
The Chinese milk products are believed to contain dangerously high levels of melamine, an industrial chemical normally used to make plastics. ...
http://www.santiagotimes.cl/santiagotimes/news/sports-news/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14768&Itemid=1 (http://www.santiagotimes.cl/santiagotimes/news/sports-news/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14768&Itemid=1)
No access here either.
Some of the Chinese government bullying going on in relation to trade deals maybe, or perhaps Fonterra Chile has
intervened. I kept finding links removed regarding Chile, too; and since they were just from the end of September,
very strange media spin or something.
QuoteGLOBAL HEALTH IS UNDER ASSAULT BY CHINESE FOOD IMPORTS. Attacked by a plague, there is nothing to do but isolate Chinese
food products until the disease can be cured. Seventy-one nations have banned Chinese milk products or food imports as of October 11, 2008.
CHINESE IMPORT BANS 2008:
initially based on: http://www.forbes.com/reuters/feeds/reuters/2008/09/27/2008-09-27T123805Z_01_B162168_RTRIDST_0_CHINA-MILK-RECALLS-FACTBOX.html
* ARGENTINA: -- banned the import of Chinese milk and related products October 2, 2008
* BANGLADESH: -- Three Chinese powdered milk brands, Sanlu, Suncare and Yashili, banned. Melamine tests to be introduced on
all milk powder imports at Bangladeshi seaports.
* BENIN: -- Bans powered milk products from China.
* BHUTAN: -- Bhutan has banned Chinese milk imports, ranging from chocolates, sweets and cakes to milk tablets.
* BRAZIL: -- barred all Chinese food imports Oct 7
* BRUNEI: -- All Chinese milk products banned by Health Ministry, even though Brunei does not directly import dairy products from China.
* BURKINA FASO: -- banned Chinese milk products
* BURUNDI: -- Banned import, sale of Chinese milk products.
* CAMBODIA: -- strict ban on all Chinese milk products Oct 3
* CAMEROON: -- Suspends import and sale of fresh and powdered milk from China.
* COLOMBIA: -- Banned import of China-made powdered milk.
* COSTA RICA: -- bans sale any milk products coming from China September 30, 2008
* D.R. of the CONGO: -- banned Chinese milk products
* EUROPEAN UNION: -- The 27-nation bloc banned baby food containing Chinese milk.
* FRANCE: -- Banned all food items containing Chinese milk as precautionary move.
* GABON: -- Introduced ban at same time as Burundi.
* GHANA: -- Food and Drug Board suspended imports of all milk and milk-based products made in China.
* GUYANA -- ban on Chinese dairy products
* INDIA: -- Banned import of milk and milk products from China for three months.
* INDONESIA: -- Banned imports of China dairy products.
* IRAN: -- banned imports of all dairy products from China
* IVORY COAST: -- Banned imports of milk products from China.
* LAOS: -- temporarily stopped the importation of milk products from China
* LEBANON: -- banned the import of all powdered milk products from China
* LIBERIA: -- temporary ban Chinese dairy products Oct 7
* MALAWI: -- banned imports of all Chinese milk products Oct 10
* MALAYSIA: -- Banned all Chinese milk imports, as well as chocolates, sweets and other foods containing milk.
* MALDIVES: -- Banned Chinese milk products to protect its population of 300,000.
* MYANMAR: -- dairy items from China barred
* NEPAL: -- Banned all China milk and milk-based food products as a precautionary measure.
* PAPUA NEW GUINEA: -- Banned China-made milk products.
* PERU: -- banned the sale of milk-flavored toffees, milk powder and any products containing Chinese milk powder September 29
* PHILIPPINES: -- Banned import and sale of milk products from China, pending investigation of possible contamination.
* RUSSIA: -- banned all imports of Chinese dairy products
* SENEGAL: -- banned the sale of all milk products from China
* SINGAPORE: -- Banned the import and sale of milk products from China on Sept 19 after finding melamine in two China-made
products -- "Dutch Lady" strawberry flavoured milk, and "Yili Brand" dairy fruit bar yoghurt flavoured ice confection.
White Rabbit Creamy Candy pulled from shelves after being found to be contaminated with melamine.
* SOUTH KOREA: -- Banned China-made foods containing powdered milk after imported biscuits test positive for melamine.
* SURINAME: -- Banned milk and dairy products from China, is stepping up inspections on food imported from Southeast Asia.
* TAIWAN: -- All China-made dairy products banned, a milk testing station set up for consumers in Taipei.
* TANZANIA: -- Suspended all China dairy imports, and seized 34 tonnes of China-made milk powder.
* TOGO: -- Suspended import, distribution and sale of all Chinese-origin milk products.
* TURKEY: -- banned imports of Chinese milk products
* UAE (United Arab Emirates): -- temporary ban on Chinese dairy and related products,
* UGANDA: -- blacklisted all milk imports that could contain Chinese dairy derivatives as a safeguard
* URUGUAY: -- public health ministry banned all dairy imports from China on Oct 2, including baby formula
* VIETNAM: -- Banned China milk products. Health officials warned such products may have been sold in remote areas
in the impoverished central region.
Bringing to 71 the number of countries worldwide where consumer food safety comes first
its attitude toward consumer safety is a disgrace and a global health threat."
QuotePopulation of 71 countries/territories banning Chinese milk products 3,223.7 (in billions)
or Chinese food imports
WORLD POPULATION:6,706,993,152 6,707.0 (in billions)
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/xx.html
taiwan population: http://www.asiarooms.com/travel-guide/taiwan/taiwan-overview/taiwan-population.html
48.06 percent of all the people in the world have now blocked import of Chinese milk products or Chinese food imports
Almost half the entire World disagrees with the United States FDA's risk assessment of melamine contamination
and believes babies and infants need protection from adulterated food products ...
Quote from: menusux on October 11, 2008, 01:34:56 PM
When you search for "melamine Chile" you come up with 2 hits from the Santiago Times referring to a Chinese milk ban--but the links won't get you to these stories for some reason.
CHILE BANS CHINESE LACTOSE PRODUCTS
Santiago Times, Chile - Sep 28, 2008
Chilean authorities are inspecting all milk products imported from China to make sure they are not tainted with melamine. They are also searching for 36000 ...
http://www.santiagotimes.cl/santiagotimes/news/mining-news/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14737&Itemid=1 (http://www.santiagotimes.cl/santiagotimes/news/mining-news/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14737&Itemid=1)
No access to story from link #1
Very strange, and I wonder what they are searching for, 36000 what?
ETA: here is a good link. I will post articles in case they disappear:
http://www.santiagotimes.cl/santiagotimes/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14737&Itemid=41
CHILE BANS CHINESE LACTOSE PRODUCTS Sunday, 28 September 2008
Over 100,000 cans of condensed and evaporated milk from Chinese brands Ghosh and Zhejiang have been confiscated in Santiago since Saturday, Chilean health authorities reported this weekend.
"What we have done as a prevention method is to seize the milk," said Chile's Health Minister Soledad Barria, confirming that the government has asked companies not to sell milk imported from China before the products have been checked.
"We are going to test them and only when we are sure they are not contaminated will we release the items. We ask that stores with any Chinese milk stocks not to sell them and for the people not to consume the products," Barria said.
Chilean authorities are inspecting all milk products imported from China to make sure they are not tainted with melamine. They are also searching for
36,000 units of milk that were in circulation in Chile last month.
By Thursday night of last week, only several hundred cans of Chinese powdered milk had been found at stores in Colchagua, just south of Santiago's Metropolitan Region. Barria said no tainted milk had been found as of Friday morning.
Authorities estimate that the milk imported from China amounts to a total of 60 thousand kilos.....
http://www.santiagotimes.cl/santiagotimes/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14768&Itemid=41
CHINESE MILK STILL ON CHILEAN SHELVES, BAN NOTWITHSTANDING Wednesday, 01 October 2008
An investigation by Chile's Health Ministry revealed on Tuesday that 56,000 tins of Chinese milk products are still present in the Chilean market. The announcement came after health officials banned Chinese milk from the country and confiscated more than 100,000 tins of milk products in Santiago late last week (ST, Sept. 29).
During the Health Ministry's investigation, authorities removed 82 percent of all Chinese evaporated milk and 58 percent of Chinese condensed milk from Chilean shelves. Even so, it is estimated that 42 percent of the Chinese milk products that entered the country –
some 56,864 units – could remain on the market.
The Chinese milk products are believed to contain dangerously high levels of melamine, an industrial chemical normally used to make plastics. Melamine can be added to food products to make them appear richer in protein and is the same chemical that sickened thousands of dogs and cats in the United States last year. Melamine was first discovered in powdered baby formula from China but has since been traced to many other products. In high amounts, the chemical can cause kidney stones and renal failure.
Tito Pizarro, the director of the Nutrition and Food Branch of the Health Ministry, doubts that all of the Chinese milk products in Chile will be recovered. "It is highly unlikely that we will recover 100 percent of the tins. There is always ongoing consumption in the country, so we have asked all medical centers to keep an eye out for children and adults with renal problems," Pizarro said.
The Health Ministry is currently testing confiscated milk products to determine their level of melamine. "In the next two weeks, we're going to have all of the samples checked," Pizarro said.
*******************************************
I searched the paper for follow-ups, but could find nothing.
Here's the China Spin on the melamine situation:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/11/content_10180918.htm (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/11/content_10180918.htm)
China says new liquid milk in line with melamine limits
ChinaView October 11, 2008
"The latest tests found that Chinese liquid dairy products met the new temporary restrictions on melamine, the country's top quality control agency said on Saturday.
"China on Wednesday set temporary limits on melamine content in dairy products. The limits were a maximum of 1 mg of melamine per kg of infant formula and a maximum 2.5 mg per kg for liquid milk, milk powder and food products containing at least 15 percent milk".
They aren't saying the milk is FREE from melamine. We also know nothing about how long these "temporary restrictions" will be around either, nor what the "permanent" ones, if any, might be.
As spooky as predictions about melamine content of Chinese food exports are these
economic predictions:
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article4925762.ece
The Sunday Times October 12, 2008
China: all bets are off
The economic miracle has been halted in its tracks Michael Sheridan in Hong Kong
Not surprisingly, some officials are openly arguing that China has got its priorities wrong. Wen Zongyu of the Ministry of Finance research centre, said: "We need to admit that most of our exports were low-quality, without brand value or added knowledge, which meant that most of our exports to America and Europe were sold to poor people."
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=13454&geo=6&size=A
10/11/2008 15:01 CHINA
China, poisoned milk: death penalty for those who break the law
The punishment is stipulated by a new norm regulating production in the dairy industry. It involves the entire chain of production, from individual farmers to the point of sale. While the government announces stiff penalties and new research funds, parents are finding it almost impossible to receive justice.
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=13161391&PageNum=0
Melamine-containing dried milk removed from stores in Altai Rep
11.10.2008, 09.47
GORNO-ALTAISK, October 11 (Itar-Tass) -- Sixty three kilogrammes of dried milk containing melamine dangerous for human health have been withdrawn from the trade network in the Altai Republic, the head of the local department of the Russian federal consumer rights protection and human health control service (Rospotrebnadzor) and the republic's chief sanitary inspector, Leonid Shchuchinov, said on Saturday.
Melamine in the product was preliminary detected in tests conducted by the laboratory of the republic's Rospotrebnadzor department in Gorno-Altaisk. To finally confirm it, samples of the product were sent to one of leading laboratories of Novosibirsk.
Dallas Texas:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D93NVG3G2.html
Recalls: Dried radishes, milk drinks, cookies
10/11/2008 Associated Press
The following recalls have been announced:
_Packages of Kyosai Sengiri Daikon dried radishes due to the presence of undeclared sulfite. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to sulfite run the risk of a life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product, which is being recalled by JFC International Inc.
Kyosai Sengiri Daikon is sold in 3.5 oz. clear plastic packages with the following UPC Code (0 11152 42327 2) and was distributed nationwide. It comes from China.
No illnesses have been reported to date. Consumers who have purchased Kyosai Sengiri Daikon are urged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 323-887-5232.
_YILI Brand Sour Milk Drink packaged in 250 milliliter flexible paperboard boxes (all codes and all lots are affected) and YILI Brand Pure Milk Drink packaged in 250 milliliter flexible paperboard boxes (all codes and all lots are affected) because it may be contaminated with melamine. The milk products are being recalled by HUA XIA Food Trade USA, Inc. of Flushing, N.Y.
YILI Brand Sour Milk Drink and YILI Brand Pure Milk Drink were distributed to New York City through Asian retail grocery stores.
The recall was initiated after FDA testing discovered that the product was found to contain melamine.
Consumers who have purchased YILI Brand Sour Milk or YILI Brand Pure Milk Drink are urged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.
_"Kroger Value Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips" in 12 oz. containers (UPC Code is 1111086603 and "sell by" date of May 30, 2010) because they may contain undeclared milk protein. The "sell by" date is found printed in black on the end of the bag. People with allergies or severe sensitivity to milk protein may be at risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product.
Hmmmmm... anyone recall seeing so many recalls for "undeclared milk protein", "undeclared milk ingredients" (McCormick Enchilada Sauce
earlier in this thread), Chocolate soy milk? I know it's a serious allergy, but maybe something to look out for right now.
This is way too much for Me. And just before the hollidays again ???
I wonder if the kids in school got that milk?
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on October 11, 2008, 05:58:52 PM
Dallas Texas:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D93NVG3G2.html
_"Kroger Value Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips" in 12 oz. containers (UPC Code is 1111086603 and "sell by" date of May 30, 2010) because they may contain undeclared milk protein. The "sell by" date is found printed in black on the end of the bag. People with allergies or severe sensitivity to milk protein may be at risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product.
Hmmmmm... anyone recall seeing so many recalls for "undeclared milk protein"?
3cats, I have some discount store brand semisweet chocolate chips that I saved because they had a bitter after taste and strange slightly grainy texture. I called the big box store, they said they would check with the no-name vendor/manufacturer who packages the chips with their brand name. About a week later, I got a letter saying the vendor checked the retained sample of that batch and all was well and I must have expected the sweeter taste of milk chocolate as opposed to semi-sweet. Not so, I know the difference very well. No milk protein is listed, but I have them just in case. I am going to continue to save. My husband, the skeptic, agreed that they tasted weird. When the melamine thing came up, I was suspicious, but didn't see a milk product on the list. I'm so glad we did not bake them in the cookies. This is not meant as an accusation, only a suspicion.
I still have the package. It is also 12oz, best by date 4-25-10 C.
There is just one more anecdotal story I want to put out there. Lately, my stomach has been bothering me a bit. All of my kids have reflux and stomach issues. I was talking to my mom, who also has sensitive digestion. She told me that for the past few months, her stomach has been hurting, especially she notices after she eats chocolate. I, who am given to indulging in chocolate quite often, had noticed the same thing around the same time and told her so. This was a few months ago, before the dairy issue. I just saved the chocolate chips I had in case they made me sick, then decided to hang on to them, being the neurotic person I am. Those of you who know me, know that I am not making this up--especially the neuroses. I am really suspicious of chocolate and the coming holidays.
I just read everything again. this is getting really scarey. I wonder how much We have already eaten?
and where will there milk and stuff go now? Into more pet food?
I have been drinking all the protein drinks lately, now i don't dare.
And all of the cooking coming up soon?
It makes you wonder about mistake or on purpose?
And all those poor babies who are suffering. That is terrible.
Trudy and DMS, it's just a thought, knowing store brands were implicated in the pet food recalls and being worried about silent recalls. But milk ingredients that aren't declared are the subject of recalls, too, to prevent allergy reactions. So I don't know. Also strange that whatever cookies
they're looking for are not described at all in that Texas story on this recall.
I agree about the recall. But there is definitely something wrong with these chocolate chips that I have saved. However, I don't know what it is. Looking at them now, they have a white cast, like chips that have heated up and recooled. But that doesn't usually leave a bad taste or gritty texture. I know I have read that melamine is tasteless, but as I said, these have a strange, almost bitter aftertaste. There is something wrong with these.
DMS and 3Cats, It does make you wonder what the H#^$ is going on ???
I wouldn't eat the C. chips either.
Here is a link to recalls due to food allergies, quite a few with undeclared milk ingredients, not sure if it is more than usual. Also chocolate products due to undeclared nuts.
http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/faalerts.php
Here is something about semi sweet chocolate chips from February 2008--not an accusation, only information:
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS220395+13-Feb-2008+PRN20080213
Remember the Canadian Hersey's recall that overlapped the pet food poisoning, it was called for salmonella. Did anyone ever get salmonella from that? The only articles I have read said there were no reported illnesses. Lots of chocolate was recalled.
http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_5220.aspx
************************************
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Financial-Industry/Secrecy-surrounds-source-of-Hershey-s-salmonella-outbreak
Secrecy surrounds source of Hershey's salmonella outbreak
By George Reynolds
16-Nov-2006 - Four days after announcing the recall of twenty-five chocolate products due to salmonella contamination, Hershey's and the Canadian food inspection agency (CFIA) still refuse to reveal the exact source and cause of the contamination.
On 12 November, both the company and the CFIA's investigations were advanced enough to confirm exactly which products were affected and determined that 'an externally sourced ingredient' was believed to be the cause.
Today, the identity of the ingredient and its supplier remains a guarded secret, potentially putting other processors at risk of having contaminated products on the market.
The CFIA confirmed to FoodProductionDaily-USA.com that the ingredient and supplier are known but they are not under law required to publicly reveal the information.
Canadian and US food regulations do not require manufacturers or regulators to reveal the source of contamination, or the supplier, if the ingredient was externally sourced.
*****************************************
White chocolate recall due to possible salmonella:
http://www.chocolatebytes.com/white-chocolate-recall/
******************************************
more chocolate, different brand, unnamed allergens
http://forums.startsampling.com/showthread.php?t=10956
********************************************
http://www.660news.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20080709_172116_13936
***********************************************
DMS, the only way to know is to test. An avenue I've looked into is contacting a lab with a melamine
detection kit for sale, and then going through the chemistry department of my local university to find
a graduate student able to conduct the test. Limited by the quanitation abilities of the test kit and the
skill of the grad student, but still in all less expensive than sending off to one of the many labs. Would
be a way of preliminary testing for the presence of melamine to select samples for a certified lab test.
You wouldn't necessarily have to use a grad student, either. Some of the profs are aware of this
situation and may even be interested.
In addition to the cover-up story here, this victim was a 13 year old teenager:
http://www.mysinchew.com/node/17202
A Tale Of Greed And Cover-up
Foreign Headline 2008-10-12 10:21
An anxious dad tried to raise the alarm months before New Zealand blew the whistle. ...
His experience illustrates what the experts have been saying for a long time: that it is impossible for tests and regulations alone to police a massive market like China's. What would protect consumers in the long run is a reliable channel to report food safety problems, such as those with Sanlu's milk powder.
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/china/new-brand-of-candy-removed-from-shelves-5497.html
More Candy Taken Off Shelves in China By Feng Riyao
Radio Free Asia Oct 12, 2008
On October 10, San Kuan pulled its hard milk candies off the shelves in China. At present, over thirty countries have either banned or limited diary product imports from China. The Public Security Bureau has arrested the principal suspect as the source of melamine contamination.
On Friday, a Chinese representative criticized countries that are still banning Chinese milk and other dairy products since the discovery of melamine contamination during the WTO meeting in Geneva. Chinese officials said that the milk powder was accidentally contaminated and that China is already devoted to dealing with the issue.
The Chinese officials said that no melamine contamination has been found since September 20. They urged the 153 members of the WTO to base import restrictions on scientific risk assessments and to use the global trade body's official notification mechanism if they impose a ban.
Another Candy Brand Questioned
Despite China's protest against the import bans, on that same day San Kuan pulled its Ahersi brand milk candy off the shelves due to unclear test results. The flavors of the milk candy included strawberry, coffee and chocolate. This is the second brand of milk candies suspected of melamine content.
http://thestar.com.my/health/story.asp?file=/2008/10/12/health/2236670&sec=health
Sunday October 12, 2008
Plastics and your food
Tell Me About
By DR Y.L.M
Why are we only finding out about the dangers of melamine now? Surely there must have been cases before?
In 2007, there was a big scare in the pet food world. Some material containing melamine was shipped by Chinese manufacturers to pet food companies in the US, and it was labelled as "wheat gluten" and "rice protein". This was added to make pet food.
The pets started getting kidney stones and renal failure, and the US FDA started to investigate. They found that a lot of pet food had been contaminated by the tainted gluten and protein from China. They recalled the brands, but thousands of dogs and cats did die from renal failure.
Now it is found to have been added to baby formula and milk as well. There are a lot of products made from milk such as cakes, sweets, candy, crackers, cereals, snacks, ice cream, coffees and teas. These may have melamine contamination too.
menusux, We can't do this without your contribution at least as a poster. Pick any name you want, but don't throw in the towel ...
Menusux, I also hope you will come back soon. We really need you--especially on this vital issue. No one has done more to research the pet topics, recalls, and especially this melamine issue. You are truly missed.
And all of that aside, the forum is greatly diminished without your ideas, comments, and even tone. Please reconsider.
What happened to Menusux???? Please come back! I read everything you post and appreciate your very thorough research.
I hope Menusux will feel able to return after a break. I think we all appreciate her research & rely on it. This goes for all the others who have left also. We miss you !
One month and one day into this global scandal, I don't believe anyone could write a better
summary of what the problem is than this:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/12/business/food.3-347384.php
The melamine stain: One sign of a worldwide problem
By Thomas Fuller
Sunday, October 12, 2008
The stain of melamine is that there has been no global effort to keep up with food safety while the
food supply has been globalized. It's just that simple. As with air quality and water quality, food is now
a hazardous substance. The food safety authorities of the U.S. have come down squarely on the side
of attempting to guesstimate the amount of deadly toxins like melamine the citizens of this country can
consume, and that policy will stand unless there is major American consumer protest.
And if you want to see how frighteningly true that is, read this story from Jamaica about how easily
trusting people of the world might be misled:
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com:80/news/html/20081012T000000-0500_141231_OBS_FOOD_FOR_THE_POOR_SAYS_CHINESE_INFANT_FORMULA_IT_ISSUED_TO_LOCAL_MOMS_SAFE.asp
Food for the Poor says Chinese infant formula it issued to local moms safe
BY TANEISHA LEWIS Sunday Observer staff reporter lewist@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Thomas Fuller has another great article up this am...my answer to his first sentence is ...Heck YES---too much to count!
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1586415/unknown_risks_of_globalized_food_after_melamine_scandal_consumers_grow/
http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RS22713_20080922.pdf
CRS Report for Congress Health and Safety Concerns Over U.S. Imports
of Chinese Products: An Overview
Wayne M. Morrison Specialist in International Trade and Finance
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division, September 22, 2008
In 2007, China overtook Canada to became the largest source of U.S. imports (at
$322 billion); about 17% of all U.S. imports now come from China. ...
China's Poor Regulatory System
China is believed to have a rather weak health and safety regime for manufactured
goods and agricultural products. Problems include weak consumer protection laws and
poorly enforced regulations, lack of inspections and ineffective penalties for code
violators, underfunded and understaffed regulatory agencies and poor interagency
cooperation, the proliferation of fake goods and ingredients, the existence of numerous
unlicensed producers, falsified export documents, extensive pollution,6 intense
competition that often induces firms to cut corners, the relative absence of consumer
protection advocacy groups, failure by Chinese companies to effectively monitor the
quality of their suppliers' products, restrictions on the media,7 and extensive government
corruption and lack of accountability, especially at the local government level ...
However, it is unclear how long it will take for the central government to effectively address
the numerous challenges it faces (especially government corruption and counterfeiting) to ensure
that its exports comply with the health and safety standards of the United States and other trading
partners. Additionally, a sharp decrease in purchases by U.S. consumers of Chinese
products could negatively impact U.S. firms that import and/or sell such products and may
raise prices of some commodities as firms attempt to rectify various safety problems.
The current crisis in China over melamine-tainted milk (which can cause kidney
stones) and the growing number of children who have reportedly have become ill (tens
of thousands) have seriously challenged the government's assertions that most products
made in China are safe and that an effective regulatory regime has been established. The
government announced on September 22, 2008, that China's chief quality supervisor had
stepped down from his post over the incident. Other local and provincial officials have
reportedly been sacked for trying to cover up incident. At least 22 Chinese baby formula
companies have been found to have tainted products. Press reports indicate that other
milk products made in China may have been contaminated as well..
Duh! China is not a fit trading partner and will not be for the foreseeable future. American
consumers already know that. Now give the U.S. shopper the labels that say made in China
so we can protect our families in the grocery store because food safety authorities in the
United States continue to allow the import of dangerous Chinese food and defective Chinese
manufactured goods. We're totally fed up and want to stop poisoning our families.
Table 1 lists products imported from China in 2007 that have been the subject of
recent U.S. health and safety concerns, such as toys, seafood, tires, animal foods, organic
chemicals and pharmaceuticals, and toothpaste. It indicates that China was a major
source of imports for many of these products. For example, China was the largest
supplier of imported toys (89% of total), seafood products (15%), and tires (26%); the 2nd
largest foreign supplier of animal food products (24%); the 6th largest supplier of
toothpaste (1%); and the 9th largest source of imported pharmaceuticals and organic
chemicals (3%). (See attached Table 1)
According to Table 1, China supplies 24 percent of the US animal food imported and is the
number 2 trading partner. Given the level of melamine in animal food imports, no wonder
our pets died in 2007. How much of the meat you're eating contains melamine in the tissues?
If it's MIC [Made in China] food product or raw ingredients, it has to be detained, inspected,
and safety tested; or outright banned as a US import.
Carol, we seem to have found the same article with different titles. I hope Mr. Fuller's
statement is reprinted everywhere.
For a view of the FDA's lack of action:
http://wakeupamericatheendtimeishere.blogspot.com:80/2008/10/plastic-outrage-children-in-danger.html
Saturday, October 11, 2008
PLASTIC OUTRAGE - CHILDREN IN DANGER
By Byron J. Richards, CCN
October 8, 2008
NewsWithViews.com
Main stream media spins:
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49C0D020081013?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
China milk scandal companies apologize
Mon Oct 13, 2008 6:29am EDT
BEIJING (Reuters) - Three Chinese dairy companies have publicly apologized for their involvement in a toxic milk scandal that has killed at least four children and led to Chinese-made products pulled from shelves around the world.
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49C2SH20081013
Media watchdog probes Taiwan's milk powder coverage
Mon Oct 13, 2008 6:29am EDT TAIPEI (Reuters) - An international media watchdog said on Monday it was probing allegations the Taiwan government, which wants better ties with Beijing, tried to influence local coverage of China's tainted milk powder scandal.
It wasn't overt interference, but there was a clear message conveyed that (the government) wasn't satisfied with the reports," said Sam Grunhard, project director with the Australia-based federation, which claims 600,000 members in 122 countries. "We need to find out more."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/12/EDLO13ED5P.DTL
What raw milk and the economic meltdown have in common
David E. Gumpert
Monday, October 13, 2008
What do American collateralized debt obligations have in common with Chinese dairy products?
For starters, both can be highly toxic.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jL7mHkJcSHVOLlejms7eQS2xXDiwD93PHVV01
China dairy sued over infant's toxic milk death
By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN – 5 hours ago [October 13, 2008]
BEIJING (AP) — The family of a baby whose death has been blamed on toxic milk filed suit against one of China's largest dairies Monday, while another dairy ensnared in the scandal said it was a victim of unscrupulous subcontractors.
The lawsuit against Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group Co. was filed over the May 1 death of 6-month-old Yi Kaixuan in the northwestern city of Lanzhou, the family's lawyer said.
It is the first to be filed over a child who died from drinking the tainted milk and asks for almost $160,000 in damages
... It won't be known until Tuesday, Oct. 14 if the Chinese court will accept the lawsuit.
Comment from a reader on the Reuters story that 94,000 Chinese babies were
affected according to Reuters press local reports from China:
http://www.topix.com/forum/world/TQ3FOR1DCBJ1O9LCF
As I'd referenced in another story about acceptable limits of melamine that China will find acceptable in milk.)
What???
Regulations for how much melamine can be in milk? Someone is smoking some serious crack here or intentionally trying to hurt/kill people. Yes, I did say this would be nothing short of premeditated acts of murder.
Wait while I give them the percentage of melamine that they can safely have in milk:
ZERO!
(OK, now I'm appending to the original comment.)
Meanwhile, mindless American citizens flood the Wal*Marts because they have "great prices" (and are the dumping station for all products, such as these). Trust me, we'll find out that some of the products got to Wally World, just like the tainted pet food did, earlier this year.
I think the price of my life is a greater thing to be concerned about than purchasing cheap items. -- JimmMotyka
http://www.twocircles.net/2008oct08/chinese_authorities_reopen_probe_melamine_death.html
Chinese authorities reopen probe into melamine death
Submitted by Mudassir Rizwan on 8 October 2008 - 9:38am. International Science/Health
By Xinhua,
Urumqi (China) : Health authorities in northwest China have reopened the investigation into the first of the four infant deaths suspected to be related to the consumption of milk products tainted with industrial chemical melamine.
The health department of Xinjiang region reported the death, which was attributed to kidney stones, on Sep 18. Since then the toll in the contaminated milk related diseases has risen to four.
The infant died at a hospital in Bayingolin prefecture of Mongolia, the regional health department said on its website but gave no details. The information was deleted from the website the next day.
"The baby died from complications related to kidney stones in March. At first we thought it was caused by the baby formula contaminated with the chemical melamine, but now we need to check whether the death was directly linked to the tainted milk," said Li Huaihai, health department spokesman.
"Medical experts are reinvestigating the case, but it needs time to get the final result as the baby had been buried," he said, without saying how the examination would be conducted or when it would be completed.
Three babies, two in the Gansu province in the northwest and one in Zhejiang province in the east, died after consuming tainted milk powder from May to August, according to the ministry of health. No deaths were reported in September.
The contaminated baby formula left more than 53,000 babies with urinary tract problems, including kidney stones, according to the ministry.
Some 12,892 infants were hospitalized, the ministry said Sep 21. It has not updated the figures since then.
The director of the ministry's information office, who declined to be named, said Wednesday that the ministry would release updated figures "at a suitable time".
http://www.goldismoney.info/forums/showthread.php?t=311931
For what it's worth, here's a US blog post very close to home, not documented,
China's Melamine poisoned milk infects Hershey's & Archers'
My analytical chemist buddy sent me this shocker just now.
OH, PLEEZE, folks, make this viral. He can stand the heat and has the credentials to back up the research.
It is absolutely mandatory that this message "go viral"!!!!!!!!!
HALLOWEEN IS IN 2 weeks!
JW wrote me 10/12/2008, 9:15AM EDT,
"Yesterday, Target in Charlotte,NC started pulling Archers' items off the shelf. Our analysis of the chocolate shows melamine at levels exceeding the 2.5 ppm levels mandated by FDA.
"Today's paper in the Charlotte Observer notes that the only chocolate made in the US today is Dove from Mars. The old standby Hershey chocolate to maintain a competitive standing has seen fit to cut workforce by 3000 in the US and move its operations further into India, China, Mexico and Brazil.
"Need I remind you that Hershey chocolate made from contaminated milk from China containing melamine is finding it self in Europe in Swiss Chocolate and more so in Hershey chocolate. Melamine in children can cause renal failure and kidney stones. China has over 10,666 children in the hospitals today that have been officially reported by the Chinese Govt. all due to melamine contamination. This practice continues in China and outside China and without oversight the chocolate is at risk.
"Without oversight in the last several years, foreign produced food and plastics and other items coming from these countries is akin to a form of terror among citizens who would normally trust its food supplies, but not now!
"As of July 08 new regulations even by Wal-mart have been promulaged (<--published) to analytically check plastics coming into their stores for sale. Therefore, be aware of these issue to protect yourselves and your family."
JW
================================================== =============================
Joseph Webster is an expert on plastics stabilization technologies with more than 30 years' experience. He started as a researcher in plastics additives with Shell Development Co. in 1972. After 15 years, he moved to American Cyanamid, where he was principal investigator in plastics additives, and then to Sandoz Chemicals as manager of pigments and additives. When the Sandoz business was sold to Clariant Corp., Webster joined that firm. When he left Clariant Corp. in 2002, he started his own consulting and compounding firm, Stabilization Technologies LLC, Charlotte, N.C., with operations in Canada, Europe, and China. In 2002, he received the American Chemical Society Award for Innovation in Industrial Chemistry.
Sent October 13, 2008:
From: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: <jwebster1@carolina.rr.com>
Subject: Target pulling Archers
Date: Monday, October 13, 2008 9:35 AM
Dear Mr. Webster:
Can you confirm this report of Target pulling Archers off shelves on October 12, 2008?
I'm a concerned grandma.
Additionally, sir, who tested this product and showed it contained melamine?
Thank you very much.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
[If I get anything back on this email, I will post it immediately!!! Has great potential to be an internet hoax.]
European Commission disagrees with FDA melamine risk assessment:
http://www.flex-news-food.com/pages/19706/China/European-Commission/Import/Milk/european-commission-submits-updated-measures-china-milk-products.html
European Commission Submits Updated Measures on China Milk Products
Source: European Commission
13 Oct, 2008 - Last Friday, the European Commission discussed how to update the existing measures to respond to the melamine contaminated milk from China with the Member States.
Daily News Alerts
The set of reinforced measures discussed and agreed by Member States, will replace the interim measures provisionally adopted by the Commission on 26 September last (Decision 2008/757/EC).
The new proposed measures update and supplement the measures adopted two weeks ago, which consisted of a ban on imports of products intended for the particular nutritional uses of infants or young children and of systematic checks on other composite products containing milk prior to import into the Community.
Member States may also perform random checks on other products which, because of their high protein content, could have been subject to adulteration practices similar to those applied to the milk products, although there is at present no evidence that this has been the case.
Whilst controls were, pursuant to Decision 2008/757/EC, limited to products containing at least 15% of milk products, Member States have been reporting significant difficulties in establishing the exact milk product content of a number of composite products targeted by the interim measures.
The new proposed measures will streamline and simplify control tasks imposed on Member States by the interim measures adopted on 26 September.
On the one hand such controls will have to be carried out on a limited number of control points specifically designated for that purpose by the Member States.
On the other hand, Member States will not have to establish the exact amount of milk product content on imported products in order to decide whether analytical tests are required, as the new measures will require systematic checks on all milk containing products irrespective of the exact amount of such content.
The measures shall be regularly reassessed in the light of the results of the controls carried out by the Member States. The proposed measures are currently being scrutinised by the European Parliament, and are expected to be adopted next Wednesday.
Thanks 3cat, Lt of good information.
Just FYI, I did go to a Tampa Target. There were still plenty of Archer Farms chocolate chips and Herseys as well. I will definitely keep an eye on the situation, the news, and for chocolate recalls or any other dairy related recalls.
Regarding the blog entry re Target Stores, I haven't been able to confirm it either, nor have I received an
email from Mr. Webster. The email I sent didn't come back. I haven't seen it on Snopes.com as an internet hoax yet.
Personally, I'm kind of hoping it's not true because Target is too close to home.
Personally, I'm hoping this also is a misprint of some kind:
http://www.financeasia.com/article.aspx?CIaNID=86553
China cries over poisoned milk
By Daniel Inman | 14 October 2008
According to a recent J.P. Morgan research report, melamine-contaminated milk has been present in China's dairy industry for the past three to four years and has contributed to the rapid development of the market. "When fake raw milk is eliminated from the system, the decline in raw materials itself should reduce production volume by at least 50% in the sector, in our view," the report says.
A J.P. Morgan research report of some unknown date knew about melamine contamination for some time and nobody said anything at all.
The contamination goes back three or four years.
The decline in raw milk materials would be at least 50 percent if the fake raw milk was removed from the Chinese dairy industry. --
there's just too much disgusting info in those two sentences for me.
I emailed Daniel Inman asking about the date of the J.P. Morgan research report, and have already received a reply with
a confidential disclaimer on it, message sent from www.financeasia.com, stating that the J.P. Morgan report came out on "October 7.
Although it's title is on Mengniu, it talks about the dairy sector in general at length."
So apparently the melamine milk contamination in China based on that J.P. Morgan research report started in approximately 2004 or
2005. That would fit in with the 2004 Asian pet food recalls and the reports in Southern China of baby milk formula deaths in 2004, wouldn't it?
Let's hope the estimate of over 50 percent of the raw milk in China being contaminated with melamine to grow the supply ... lord, if that's true, ugh.
2004 Asian pet food recalls
Teng v. Mars, U.S. Federal District Court in Washington, D.C., May 2004
2004 Chinese baby deaths
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/09/health/main622021.shtml
Fake Milk Powder Causes Baby Death
Counterfeit Market Thrives In China Despite Nationwide Crackdown SHANGHAI, China. June 9, 2004
2005 North Korean babies die
http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=4124
Were Melamine Deaths Seen in 2005?
The Daily NK October 1,2008
(Reply 803, menusux, this thread)
2007 U.S. Pet food recalls
2008 China baby milk scandal
How many times does melamine get to bite you in the #@@? I need to take tomorrow off. (A) this just got very depressing on the issue of intent. So feel free to dig in and post any news you can find. There just appears to be a news blanket being thrown over this topic. There have been about the same two stories per day printed by almost every news company lately. So happy digging.
Sorry if there is any repetition here; losing track of what's been posted so far.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081014/thailand_cookies_081014/20081014?hub=Health
Thailand's S&P recalls cookies nationwide
Updated Tue. Oct. 14 2008 9:09 AM ET
The Associated Press
BANGKOK, Thailand -- One of Thailand's most popular bakery chains, S&P, said Tuesday it was recalling all its packaged cookies from stores nationwide after Swiss authorities said they found high concentrations of melamine in the Thai biscuits.
Swiss authorities on Monday said that tests of Milk Cookies S&P found high melamine levels and called on other European countries to withdraw the products.
Article goes further to say milk powder source was Australia not China and company is not sure where samples originated. Seems there are some questions on this one.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081014/china_milk_081014/20081014?hub=Health
China orders more testing for liquid milk powder
Updated Tue. Oct. 14 2008 9:02 AM ET
The Associated Press
BEIJING -- China is ordering all liquid and powdered milk manufactured before Sept. 14 to be taken off the shelves for melamine testing, a news report said Tuesday, the first time Beijing has issued a blanket recall of products since the tainted dairy scandal broke last month.
Quote from: shadowmice on October 14, 2008, 09:25:04 AM
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081014/china_milk_081014/20081014?hub=Health
China orders more testing for liquid milk powder
Updated Tue. Oct. 14 2008 9:02 AM ET
The Associated Press
BEIJING -- China is ordering all liquid and powdered milk manufactured before Sept. 14 to be taken off the shelves for melamine testing, a news report said Tuesday, the first time Beijing has issued a blanket recall of products since the tainted dairy scandal broke last month.
Well this makes sense to me seeing what 3cat found in this article. >:( hmmm ...wonder if that is why?. http://www.financeasia.com/article.aspx?CIaNID=86553
Good find, Shadowmice, on Thailand and the question of the source of the contaminated milk powder. Here's a second
one from today (Oct 14, 2008) regarding Indonesia and Vietnam:
Vietnam complains to Indonesia of possible melamine contamination
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/081014/afp/081014065813asiapacificnews.html
Vietnam has complained to Indonesia of possible melamine contamination in Indonesian-made biscuits, a report said Tuesday.
Vietnamese authorities informed Indonesia's embassy in Hanoi that Indonesian-made Khong Guan biscuits could be tainted with the
chemical, Trade Ministry Director Subagyo was quoted as saying by the Antara news agency.
Indonesia's food and drug monitoring agency has been ordered to probe the issue, Subagyo said.
"Based on the results of our own tests the product is not contaminated with melamine," food and drug agency chairman Husniah Rubiana Thamrin Akib was quoted as saying.
Khong Guan biscuits had already been tested in Indonesian and Vietnamese laboratories and had come up negative for melamine, usually used in making plastics, she said.
"Our products are safe because we import milk from Europe, Australia and New Zealand," Akib said.
It's beginning to appear this melamine practice of expanding milk, milk products, cheese products, and the protein content of other vegetable proteins is not limited to manufacturers in China. I would at this point ask Fonterra and other similarly situation multinationals to define
exactly where their "value added" ingredients for milk are from and exactly where they go. ... Those of us involved in the pet food recalls of 2007
already knew that it was happening either by design or "accident."
The sleuthing prize of the year would go to anyone who can figure out why China selected the date of [September 14, 2008], as the
test-everything-before date.
Here's a question involving a non-dairy cream from Korea (not sure if it's South or North):
Burma bans more melamine products
http://englishdeyeanews.blogspot.com/2008/10/more-chinese-milk-products-banned-in.html
More Chinese Milk Products Banned in Burma
By KYI WAI Tuesday, October 14, 2008
RANGOON — Burma's military regime issued an order yesterday banning more Chinese dairy products found to be contaminated with the toxic industrial chemical melamine.
Under order 42/2008, issued on October 13, the following products have been banned: Golden River Full Cream Milk Powder, Butterfly Calcium Milk Powder, Yu Li Full Cream Milk Powder, Sweet Whey Powder, Non-Dairy Cream (Korea), Non-Dairy Cream (China) and Elfalac A+. ...
Despite the FDA's condoning certain levels of melamine in all milk products with their October 2008 risk assessments,
I join this consumer in China in asking why it isn't zero tolerance:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2008-10/14/content_7102642.htm
Dose of melamine matters By Chong Zi (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-10-14 09:27
Should melamine be allowed in our milk? The issue was gradually clarified after debates heated up. All of a sudden, it became a worry again.
In a joint announcement in October, the Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Agriculture, State Administration for Industry and Commerce and General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine allowed a small dose of melamine in the milk and dairy products. For example, 1mg/kg is OK for powdered milk for infants and maximum of 2.5mg/kg acceptable for milk (including the one as material), other powdered milk and dairy products.
The public health officials and experts justified that zero tolerance of melamine is impossible because food has to be packed. A small portion of melamine comes along with the packing stuff.
So melamine has gained new access to our milk and dairy products. I say "new" because most of the consumers assume that "melamine free" is the important benchmark for qualified safe milk and dairy products. The spot tests the government took shortly after the milk scandal was exposed verified that this logic makes sense. The published test results showed us the products with "no melamine" tags and those with that chemical on the blacklist.
Didn't they mean that some companies can produce milk without melamine? Then why are 1mg and 2.5mg of melamine acceptable for our milk and dairy products?
Melamine-contaminated milk has driven the country into a panic. We cannot afford to study how much dose of it is harmful.
Consumers have a right to say NO to it altogether.
October 14, 2008:
http://www.fda.gov:80/oc/po/firmrecalls/huaxia10_08.html
Recall -- Firm Press Release
FDA posts press releases and other notices of recalls and market withdrawals from the firms involved as a service to consumers, the media, and other interested parties. FDA does not endorse either the product or the company.
HUA XIA Food Trade USA, Inc. Recalls YILI Brand Sour Milk Drink and YILI Brand Pure Milk Drink, Because of Possible Health Risk
Contact:
HUA XIA Food Trade USA, Inc.
(917) 216-0575
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- October 10, 2008 -- HUA XIA Food Trade USA, Inc. of Flushing, NY, is recalling YILI Brand Sour Milk Drink packaged in 250ml flexible paperboard boxes (all codes and all lots are affected) and YILI Brand Pure Milk Drink packaged in 250ml flexible paperboard boxes (all codes and all lots are affected) because it may be contaminated with melamine.
Is this Oct. 10, 2008, recall related? I do not know. Is there some other form of chocolate chip that is not milk based, and wouldn't a person with
serious milk allergies know that?:
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/kroger10_08.html
Recall -- Firm Press Release
FDA posts press releases and other notices of recalls and market withdrawals from the firms involved as a service to consumers, the media, and other interested parties. FDA does not endorse either the product or the company.
Barry Callebaut USA LLC Issues Allergen Alert on Undeclared Milk Protein in Kroger Value Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
Contact:
Technical: Mr. Bradley Wilson, Director of Quality Assurance
Press: Ms. Sarah O'Neil, Marketing Director
Telephone: 1-866-678-5221
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- Chicago, IL -- October 10, 2008 – Barry Callebaut USA LLC is conducting a voluntary recall on its product sold by Kroger Stores under the brand "Kroger Value Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips", 12 oz., UPC Code is 11110–86603 and "sell by" date May 30, 2010, as the product may contain undeclared milk protein. The "sell by" date is found printed in black on the end of the bag. People with allergies or severe sensitivity to milk protein may be at risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product.
The Kroger Value Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips subject to this recall were sold in Kroger stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia
This recall was determined necessary after it was identified by 3 consumers that packages of Kroger Value Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips may also contain chocolate chips with undeclared milk protein. The package ingredient label does not identify that the product may contain milk protein.
3cat, As far as I know, chocolate chips do not have milk in them.
Bothers me that they refer to this as an "Undeclared milk protein".
I'm wondering if that's the polite way of saying powdered melamilk?
What's really scary is the Flushing, NY HUA XIA Food Trade USA, Inc.
Not only is the place a 20 minute ride away from my house, but I've seen their trucks delivering all over Long Island and especially to the Chinese take outs and eat in restaurants. Flushing, NY is referred to as "Little Chinatown".
Please folks be very careful............
And 3cat...........a very public thank you for your amazing work. Itchmoans, I have taken some of 3cat's posts, put them in emails and sent them out. Last year during the petfood recalls, I got nasty grams from people telling me their pets were fine on the food they were feeding and to stop sending them info.
This time however, I am getting emails from folks I don't even know who are thanking me and asking me to thank 3cat. Sooooo many people are unaware.
3cat................... :-*
Now I'm embarassed :-[ You all know what a bad cook I am. I thought chocolate was milk-based with chocolate powder added - oops
My motives are the same as all here at Itchmo. Killing is wrong. Killing of babies the worst. I have lost, as so many of you, and have
three grandchildren under age five. Not to mention all the sweet children that I fear are affected in China and elsewhere, and I really
don't want it to be here, too. 'Nuf said on the spirit of all of Itchmo ...
http://www.worldradio.ch/wrs/news/switzerland/chinese-milk-poison-found-in-products-in-switzerla.shtml?11690
Tuesday, 14 October, 2008, 04:50
Tainted milk products on sale in Switzerland
High concentrations of the potentially-fatal chemical melamine have been found in biscuits and sweets on sale in Switzerland.
Tests have revealed the chemical in products from China, Thailand and Sri Lanka.
The products identified by the Federal Office of Public Health as having high levels of melamine are « White Rabbit » sweets, « Milk Cookies S&P » and « Lemon Puff Munchee ».
In addition to those, television station TSR says there are also high concentrations of melamine in the « Yinpin Sachima » and « Tongxin Sachima » biscuits.
3cat now you know how chocolate milk comes about. By adding chocolate to white milk. Just warned my sister about the grandbaby to be careful with the milk and treats for her and check to make sure they are not on the lists of products that so far have been discovered to contain melamine.
This shouldn't happen anywhere, and has happened in China (hard to read):
http://www.3news.co.nz/News/The-human-side-of-Chinas-contaminated-milk-scandal/tabid/209/articleID/75673/Default.aspx?ArticleID=75673
The human side of China's contaminated milk scandal
Tue, 14 Oct 2008 10:45a.m.
Heartbroken at the sudden death of their baby boy, the Yi family struggled to forget what they thought was a tragic twist of fate. They burned his clothes, toys, everything but a single photo and the baby formula he drank.
here's a link to a commentary....my comments are being reviewed...
http://www.latimes.com/news/columnists/la-fi-lazarus15-2008oct15,0,6037514.column
FDA's lax approach to China comes back to bite us
3cat....I found this as to your earlier question why the sept 14th date...
http://www.cctv.com/program/bizchina/20081015/102105.shtml#
The AQSIQ press office told China Daily Tuesday the cut-off date was set for Sept 14 because the central government already requires every batch of dairy products made after that date to undergo melamine checks before entering the market.
Saudi Arabia
3cat, the Saudi equivalent of our FDA issued a directive to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry not to allow any Chinese milk products into the country.
24 September 2008
JEDDAH:
"The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) has instructed the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to make sure that the Kingdom is free of contaminated Chinese milk. It also urged the ministry not to allow any Chinese milk products into the Kingdom."
and
"We have also instructed the ministry not to release any Chinese milk product, either imported directly to the Kingdom or re-imported," Al-Kenhal told Al-Riyadh Arabic daily. [underlining, my emphasis]
http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20080924030922/Saudi%20Arabia:%20Ministry%20urged%20to%20ensure%20no%20Chinese%20milk%20in%20market
Carol, thanks for the link to the latimes article by David Lazarus you posted.
I'm glad to see this world-wide poisoning is garnering some attention. I wrote to Mr. Lazarus to thank him for his article and gave him a link to this thread and directed him to the list compiled by 3catkidneyfailure (page 63 here) of the 71 countries that have, to date, banned Chinese milk/milk products.
Seeing that extensive list is a stunning realization of how little the U.S. appears to be doing compared to other countries, not to mention the inference that U.S. citizens' health and safety seem to mean so little to our regulatory agencies... For crying out loud, BABIES have been killed. I don't want to consume melamine, pure or industrial scrap melamine, in ANY amount, regardless of the FDA's hurried risk assessment, to see what dosage my body can tolerate before I need to be hooked up to a kidney dialysis machine for the rest of my life.
And, as far as permitting a "little" melamine in products due to "packaging materials" (Yeah, right. ;) It's just the packaging leaching into the product.), CHANGE the packaging requirements. Just as we can make baby bottles and water bottles without BPA, do the same for packaging foods. Outlaw it. That solution wasn't so difficult to think of, was it? There should be zero tolerance for melamine in ANY food product.
purringfur,
I sent him a thank you too! As well as posted a comment... Hope he knows how much we appreciate his interest....need more like him writing about this...the "canaries" are still barking and meowing in the "coal mine"....it is strange that those of us here can still hear them....but not too many others >:(
Carol, thank you for Lazarus artice. Should be printed everywhere. Plus you get official sleuthing prize for the September 14 test-before date.
I think Saudi Arabia and Chile should be added to the country list. What think the rest of you?
Got mela-meat??????
As if ruminants were not ingesting enough melamine from imported animal feed, look at this new food additives list from FSIS:
FSIS updates listing of safe ingredients for poultry products
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations_%26_Policies/7000_Series-Processed_Products/index.asp
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/rdad/FSISDirectives/7120.1Amend16.pdf
CHANGE TRANSMITTAL SHEET
Safe And Suitable Ingredients Used In The Production Of
Meat And Poultry Products7120.1,
Amend 16
10/8/08I. PURPOSE
This transmittal issues the on-going updates to Attachment 1 for FSIS Directive 7120.1.
Attachment 1 identifies the substances that have been approved in 21 Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) for use in meat and poultry products as food additives, approved in
generally recognized as safe (GRAS) notices and pre-market notifications, and approved in
letters conveying acceptability determinations. Substances added since the 07/22/2008
issuance of the directive are in bold. This information is also available on the USDA websites
at:
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations_&_Policies/Ingredients_Guidance/index.asp
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/About_FSIS/labeling_&_consumer_protection/index.asp
For further policy information regarding any of the substances listed below please contact the
Risk Management Division (RMD) at (202) 205-0210. FSIS will continue to issue updates to
the list, as needed.
[lengthy list of food additives, among which are:}
Skim milk or dextrose
cultured with
propionibacterium
freudenreichii subsp. Shermanii
Meat and poultry
sausages including
those with standards of
identity which permit
the use of antimicrobial
agents
Not to exceed 2
percent by weight of
the finished productGRAS Notice
No. 000128
Listed by common or
usual name in the
ingredients
statement
(2)
A mixture of
carrageenan,
wheyprotein concentrate,
and xanthan gum
Sausages where
binders are permitted;
cooked poultry
products; beef and
poultry patties; modified
breakfast sausage,
cooked sausages, and
fermented sausages
covered by FSIS Policy
Memo 123; and
modified substitute
versions of fresh
sausage, ground beef,
or hamburger covered
by FSIS Policy Memo
121B
Not to exceed 3.5
percent by weight of
the product
formulationAcceptability
determination
Listed by common or
usual name in the
ingredients
statement
(4)
Lactoferrin Beef carcasses and
parts
At up to 2 percent of a
water-based
antimicrobial sprayGRAS Notice
No. 000067
Listed by common or
usual name in
ingredients
statement (2)
Lactoferrin Beef carcasses As part of an
antimicrobial spray
that would deliver 1
gram of lactoferrin per
dressed beef carcass,
followed by a wash
with tempered water
and rinse with lactic
acidGRAS Notice
No. 000130
None under the
accepted conditions
of use (1)
If the milk food additives were contaminated with melamine, I wonder how many parts per million the meat would test out to?
I definitely need help from those with better science backgrounds here ...
See Reply 673 by DMS, October 2, 2008
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-suspected-chinese-officials-say-baby-formula-tied-to-kidney-stones-t6256.0.html;msg89984;topicseen#msg89984
Here's a map and list from Radio Free Asia on the countries banning/recalling Chinese milk/milk products. Below the map is a link to a list of countries banning the poisoned products. The map was dated October 8, 2008. I imagine their list has not been updated since as well.
http://www.rfa.org/english/multimedia/InteractiveMapMelamineGlobally-10082008160847.html
3cat, I would include Saudi Arabia since the wording just uses different language to say "ban." Products were not allowed to enter the country. I'll go back and read the info about Chile. I thought Chile had more of a seizure for testing of products already on shelves, and I didn't recall an outright ban, but I'll check again.
Amen to that, Poco.
http://www.rfa.org/english/multimedia/InteractiveMapMelamineGlobally-10082008160847.html
(thanks, purringfur)
Includes information from countries not on the 71-country ban list of Chinese milk products or food products:
Radio Free Asia Interactive map - Tainted Chinese Milk Powder Spreads Across the Globe
Written by Joshua Lipes, produced by Minh-Ha Le
2008-10-08
AUSTRALIA: -- Authorities find melamine in Kirin milk tea and White Rabbit candy - Four Chinese dairy
products are recalled nationwide and checks ordered for contamination of Asian foodstuffs.
CANADA: - Authorities find melamine in 3-in-1 instant coffee blend, as well as chocolate and strawberry-
flavored pretzel snacks -- Boxes of Chinese dessert mix "Nissin Retort Pouch Cha Cha Dessert", which
contains a Yili milk product, are recalled after it fails tests in Hong Kong.
CHINA: -- Powdered and fresh milk products are recalled by the 22 companies named as having sold
melamine contaminated milk. Starbucks coffee chain pulls Mengniu Dairy milk, which has tested positive,
from 300 outlets in China. Metro AG withdraws Sanlu and other suspect milk brands from its stores in China.
HONG KONG: - Authorities find melamine in Cadbury chocolates - All Yili products including milk, ice-cream,,
ice-bars, and yogurt products are recalled. Nestlemilk powder is pulled after a newspaper reports it contains
melamine. H.J. Heinz Co recalls a batch of baby food due to a small amount of melamine contamination.
MACAU: - Authorities find melamine in egg tarts, as well as strawberry and chocolate cream-filled cookies.
JAPAN: - Authorities find melamine in "Chocolate Pillows" snacks - Marudai Food Co. Ltd withdraws five types
of buns made with milk imported from the Yili dairy firm.
UNITED STATES: - Authorities find melamine in White Rabbit Creamy Candies, Blue Cat Flavor Yogurt Drink,
instant coffee and tea products - Recalls follow FDA warnings about seven Mr. Brown Instant coffee and milk
tea products made in Taiwan using Chinese milk. The U.S. distributor of White Rabbit Creamy Candies
recalls the product when tests on samples show traces of melamine.
[71 country ban list]:
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-suspected-chinese-officials-say-baby-formula-tied-to-kidney-stones-t6256.0.html;msg92688;topicseen#msg92688
European Union (counted in ban list) countries where melamine products have been found:
Austria
Belgium
France
Hungary
Germany
Netherlands
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Paco, I've found that it's just easier to make things like bread. You find safe brands but still need to always check ingredients. If they are out of your safe brand, you're back to square one with label reading and research. And it's much cheaper than 5 bucks a loaf! OMG! (obviously I haven't bought bread in awhile!)
If melamine is possibly entering the U.S. food supply
in vegetables through pesticides and fertilizers
in grains as a protein content booster
in milk products and cheese products as a protein content booster
in meat (beef and poultry) as animal feed, antimicrobial sprays, and binders where allowed
just what is safe?
Zero tolerance is safe. Anything else is criminal, imnsho.
6 bucks Poco?!!! :o :o :o I'll have to check prices when I go out later. I was shocked at the price of rice not too long ago. I had bought bulk, so I didn't realize the price hike until recently when I ran out. The other day I went to the store and bought sour cream, cottage cheese and portabella mushrooms. Almost $14!!! And these were just the reg size of the dairy, not big ones!!
3cat, it seems as though it's not really safe to eat any more, unless you practically grow your own or source your food from well-researched places such as CSA's or local farmers. That's what it's coming down to. The small farmer and rancher may just come back. With the constant pushing from chemical co.'s, big-agriculture, and food manufacturers to keep adding to the list of "additives" that can be added to foods, the consumers have to push back and let their voices be heard. Food should be FOOD in its PUREST form.
This year with our first year of larger scale growing of vegetables and some fruits, we're keeping track of yields and how much we use so we can plant accordingly next year. The sweet potato slips I saved from this year's harvest are rooting nicely already, and it's only been a week. I hope I can keep them till next summer.
Brand name organic bread this past winter was $3.50, and a month or so ago, shot up to $5.00 even, the same price it is baked by a local woman who sells at the local health food store. I now sometimes buy the bread at the HFS because it's fresher and has a variety of nuts, grains, & seeds in it. Yum! I buy organic flours, eggs, and sunflower seeds, so my cost to bake at home is somewhat cheaper than buying it, yet I still keep a loaf of the brand name organic bread in the freezer for when I haven't baked. But with the prices, I'll be more vigilant about the loaf of bread getting short. :)
Yikes...did we know this???
http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?S=9183312&nav=menu33_2
Melamine found in cookies sold in Alabama
This is from the FDA to US food manufacturers:
October 10, 2008
""""Dear Colleague" Letter to the United States Food Manufacturing Industry Regarding Melamine
This letter is intended to ensure that members of the United States food manufacturing industry are aware of the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) serious concern about the possibility that foods or food ingredients produced in China and exported to the United States may be contaminated with melamine or its analogues. FDA has information indicating that melamine and its analogues have been added to milk produced in China and that milk contaminated in such a fashion has been used to manufacture infant formulas and other dairy-based products. As of this writing, Chinese authorities are reporting that in China approximately 53,000 infants have suffered illnesses, with 13,000 hospitalizations and four deaths. Approximately 158 of the victims thus far have suffered acute kidney failure. Chinese authorities have disclosed that, in addition to discovering contaminated infant formulas, melamine has been discovered in 24 of 1202 samples of milk and yogurt. There is little information at this stage to determine when the contamination might have begun or how widespread the contamination might be. However, Chinese authorities report that melamine was found in infant formula, milk, yogurt, and ice cream manufactured by 22 companies in China. The Chinese investigation into this matter is ongoing.
There are currently two recalls for products in the United States related to this situation. Tristar Food Wholesale Co., Inc. has issued a recall of Blue Cat Flavor Drink (Lanmao), manufactured in China, due to possible contamination with melamine. Also, seven Mr. Brown brand instant coffee and milk tea products manufactured in China are being recalled by the King Car Food Industrial Co., Ltd. due to possible contamination with melamine. In addition, California and Connecticut report that their testing of White Rabbit Creamy Candies manufactured in China has shown melamine contamination. Further, other countries (South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Indonesia, Canada and New Zealand) have all identified products containing melamine including flavored milks, cakes, candies, crackers, rice snacks, coffee creamer, lactoferrin, and cereal.
Milk and milk products that could originate from China include condensed, dried, and non-fat milk, condensed and dried whey, lactose powder, permeate powder, demineralized and partially demineralized whey powders, caseins, yogurt, ice cream, cheese, whey protein concentrate, and milk protein concentrate.
In light of current circumstances, there are several useful steps to help protect the public health available to manufacturers of products containing milk-derived ingredients, including the following:
Know the precise origin of each milk-derived ingredient. For example, milk-derived ingredients that are sourced from countries other than China could actually originate from China.
Determine that milk-derived ingredients originating from China are free of melamine and its analogues prior to usage.
For food manufactured in the last twelve months which might still be on the shelf at retail or in stock elsewhere, determine whether the food might contain any milk-derived ingredients from China. If any such foods exist, verify that they do not contain melamine or its analogues.
In addition, it would be useful for manufacturers to be alert to the possibility that non-milk-derived ingredients from China that are or may be sold on the basis of protein content, such as soy protein, also could be contaminated with melamine.
Should firms decide to recall any of their products because of the presence of melamine, please follow FDA's guidelines in 21 CFR Part 7 Subpart C. We encourage you to communicate any concerns to your local FDA district office.
A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) as well as a liquid chromatograph-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for determining melamine and its analogues is available at the following link to the FDA website: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/melamine.html#testing.
In addition to sending this letter, FDA has taken, and will continue to take, proactive measures to help ensure the safety of the American food supply. In conjunction with state and local officials, FDA will continue to check retail stores for food items imported from China that could contain a significant amount of milk or milk-derived ingredients. At the same time that FDA began working with the States on this matter, it began sampling and testing milk and milk-derived ingredients and finished food products that could contain these milk-derived ingredients from Chinese sources. The sampling is being done either when products are offered for entry into the United States or at the retail level. In addition to working with state and local governments, FDA is working in close cooperation with Customs and Border Protection within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, other federal agencies, and foreign governments.
FDA recognizes and appreciates the extraordinary collaborative efforts to protect consumers by all of the aforementioned government authorities and industry in response to this matter. We are confident that you will continue to work to provide safe food products to the U.S. customer.
If you have any questions regarding this letter, you may contact John F. Sheehan, J.D. at (301)436-2367 or Benson M. Silverman, M.D. (301)436-1459.
Sincerely,
Nega Beru, Ph.D.
Director
Office of Food Safety
Center for Food Safety And Applied Nutrition"""
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/melamltr.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IMHO, the FDA has done enough testing by now to know that the problem is widespread in the US food supply.
5CatMom
=^..^=
5cat---great find.....only took about a month for the FDA to relay what we have been screaming here since Sept 14th..... :P well actually... since March 16, 2007
Well, the FDA must read this forum. We had figured most of this out ourselves anyway. Nice to have it all in one spot, though.
Hope the food manufacturers will pay attention. ::)
motherload, 5CatMom and Carol, that hopefully means the FDA will start testing all milk and milk-derived products during a nice
long temporary ban of Chinese food products.
Carol, your Koala cookies in Alabama have shown up in other countries, but not the ones manufactured by Lotte USA. The contaminated milk product dry protein ingredients must be here. Supposedly it was only those manufacturers whose products were manufactured
in China or with China-sourced ingredients.
I have no faith left in Fonterra, DariConcepts, Nestle USA, Mars, Kraft, or General Mills. Too late with no actions taken.
I hope Congress and the FDA will finally act and test to protect U.S. consumers and their children.
Edited to add: Sorry. The Koala Alabama cookies were manufactured in China. Jumped on that one too fast.
Carol,
No kidding. Last week, I called my FDA consumer complaint coordinator and learned that they were testing products "back in the lab". They wouldn't tell me what their findings were (of course), but I'm betting that they found plenty.
I also noticed that their "colleague letter" is dated last Friday. Well, aren't they all?
5CatMom
=^..^=
QuoteShould firms decide to recall any of their products because of the presence of melamine,
Shouldn't this read: Should firms find
any melamine and need to recall their products . . . .
I think one can assume from the Dear Colleague letter that the FDA standards to be used are 2.5 ppm in most things and 1 ppm in infant formula, whether we non-colleague consumers like it or not. Heaven forbid that the FDA would admit that these standards are just an educated guess
at what levels are harmful or that they don't have any idea what the cumulative effects of constant melamine consumption are on human health.
After all, these FDA "gold standards" on melamine were arrived at with an intense week's worth of study following the pet food recalls of 2007, and
then who knows how many weeks of effort, two?, three?, following the September 11, 2008 Chinese baby milk announcement?
FDA Gaps Leave U.S. Vulnerable to Melamine Contamination Former FDA Director of Imports says 'radical change' needed
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/united-states/fda-gaps-leave-us-vulnerable-5674.html
5CatMom
=^..^=
well, I just sent the link 5cat found to Mr Lazarus at the LA Times as he wrote that article today....so maybe we will see more articles and more in the news....hopefully... :-\ and more pressure on the FDA and food suppliers.... :P
That's an understatement. Thank you, 5CatMom. Congress needs to temporarily
bail out our children until it can address the issue of food safety authority. Maybe
go visit the European Union.
Great article, 5catmom. Thanks. Very scary stuff!
Here's a great quote about the efficacy of the FDA to find problems by Carl Nielsen, the former Director of Imports for the FDA from '99-'05:
"They find the bad stuff just by tripping over it, not because they have any great mysterious strategic capability" says Nielsen. "They find a problem, then they'll put it up in an import alert, which is on the web, and there are about 265 of them. That ends up being the primary criteria for being on the hunt for bad stuff—stuff that's already been found. It doesn't mean the other 99 percent is okay."
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/united-states/fda-gaps-leave-us-vulnerable-5674.html
Quote from: Carol on October 15, 2008, 04:19:44 PM
well, I just sent the link 5cat found to Mr Lazarus at the LA Times as he wrote that article today....so maybe we will see more articles and more in the news....hopefully... :-\ and more pressure on the FDA and food suppliers.... :P
and Lisa McCormick... ;)
http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/ora_import_ia9931.html
October 10, 2008:
IA #99-31, 10/10/2008, IMPORT ALERT #99-31, "DETENTION WITHOUT PHYSICAL EXAMINATION
OF FOOD PRODUCTS DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF MELAMINE AND/OR MELAMINE ANALOGS"
This is four. Ten are mentioned in 5CatMom's former FDA employee article.
To date, the FDA has issued import alerts for at least 10 different products from four Chinese manufacturers
View all import alerts by country, China:
http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/ora_import_40cn.html
http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/melamine.html
YILI Brand Sour Milk Drink
YILI Brand Pure Milk Drink
Blue Cat Flavored Drinks
White Rabbit Candies
Mr. Brown Mandehling Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown Arabica Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown Blue Mountain Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown Caramel Macchiato Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown French Vanilla Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown Mandhling Blend instant Coffee (2-in-1)
Mr. Brown Milk Tea (3-in-1)
Infant formula manufactured in China
That explains it. Thanks, Carol. Wish I believed that was all. We non-colleague consumers could sure use public release of more
information. What's been cleared, even at 2.5 ppms, would be nice for grocery shopping purposes. But then since FDA has no
control of the inspecting labs, maybe it doesn't matter.
One thing to note in the FDA link is that their theory on limits is based on 50% of the diet being made up of MARC adulterated products.. so, for humans, it would be a good thing to rotate brands the same way we did with pet foods, hoping they all weren't contaminated.
Then, you just gotta ask 50% of the diet? Is it axiomatic then that it's accounting for uneven distribution of the contaminant and in more foods than acknowledged?
My comment is also being reviewed.It will be interesting to see if any are actually published.
If 2.5 ppms is acceptable, it needs to be on the label as an ingredient. Obviously, we need to monitor our melamine intake. It should be treated as a trace ingredient and like an allergen. If Newman's Own is listing soy and peanuts related to their Vit E supplement in pop corn (last ingredient item), then I expect the same for melamine. Babies on formula start eating "big people" foods at the same time. What if we started giving them part of our melamine meals?! When I cared for a friends baby, I made turkey meatballs in a marinara sauce. We mashed it up for the baby, he loved it and went nuts over it. Consumed tons, to the point the parents were shocked. What if it had too much melamine? (thankfully, this was in the 90's!) He ate a mix of baby food and meals the parents made, along with formula. I'm sure he wasn't unique.
We need to start seeing recall notices that say "Undeclared melamine ingredient" just like dairy, soy, nus etc.
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/recarapp/2008/20081015e.shtml
OTTAWA, October 15, 2008 – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Haofine International Trading Inc. are warning the public not to consume the Mengniu strawberry flavour sour milk beverage described below. This product is being recalled due to positive test results for melamine conducted by the CFIA.
Product: Mengniu strawberry flavour sour milk beverage
Size: 250 ml
Production Date Code:
20071113/X
20205//kcf
UPC:6 923644 242930
The product does not have an English or French name on the package.
Only product distributed in Alberta and Saskatchewan is affected.
The importer, Haofine International Trading Inc., Edmonton, AB, is voluntarily recalling the affected product described above from the marketplace.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/15/asia/AS-Vietnam-Tainted-Milk.php
HANOI, Vietnam: Vietnam has imposed a total ban on melamine in food and will send back any imported products found to be tainted with the industrial chemical, state-controlled media reported Wednesday Melamine has been found in 23 Chinese milk products imported into Vietnam, and about 330 tons (300 metric tons) of milk products, mostly imported from China, have been recalled.
Perhaps if China received all the products back and had to pay for the return? ... that would be a new twist in foreign policy.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2008/10/16/5800_chinese_babies_hospitalized_on_tainted_milk/
Meanwhile, the Malaysian government on Thursday banned the import of ammonium bicarbonate, a baking agent, from China, after certain products tested positive for melamine.
okay...so I have done a little searching...
http://www.answers.com/topic/ammonium-bicarbonate
It is commonly used as an inexpensive nitrogen fertilizer in China, but is now being phased out in favor of urea because of its relatively low quality and instability. This compound is used as a component in the production of fire-extinguishing compounds, pharmaceuticals, dyes, pigments and it is also a basic fertilizer being a source of ammonia. Ammonium bicarbonate is still widely used in the plastic and rubber industry, in the manufacture of ceramics, in chrome leather tanning and for the synthesis of catalysts.
I wonder how often that is used in the US. I always use sodium bicarbonate--but who knows what it really is anymore?
From Carol's post Reply 1025, some ingredient name alternatives to watch out for, especially in cookies, apparently:
Also known as hartshorn, carbonate of ammonia and powdered baking ammonia
How our imports are affected by trade agreements:
http://www.ustr.gov/Document_Library/Fact_Sheets/2003/Quick_Facts_US-Singapore_Free_Trade_Agreement.html
Quick Facts: U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
05/06/2003
The leading edge U.S.-Singapore Free Trade Agreement is the first U.S. FTA with an Asian nation and the first FTA signed by President [edited]
Also see:
http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Agreements/Bilateral/Singapore_FTA/Section_Index.html
Trade and Investment Framework Agreements (TIFAs)
U.S. and ASEAN agreement
http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Trade_Agreements/TIFA/asset_upload_file932_9760.pdf
Member Countries ASEAN, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand, Vietnam
Below are Bilateral Trade Agreements between China and the United States and Multilateral Agreements to which China is a signatory:
http://www.mac.doc.gov/China/Agreements.htm
http://www.ustr.gov/Trade_Agreements/Bilateral/Section_Index.html
[United States pursues comprehensive free trade agreements to expand opportunities for American workers, farmers, ranchers, and service providers. Currently, the United States has free trade agreements in effect with 14 countries: Israel, Canada, Mexico, Jordan, Chile, Singapore, Australia, Morocco, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Bahrain. (See list of Bilateral Trade Agreements in negotiation)]
so they're spiking baking agents also?
Basically, it sounds unsafe to eat any processed food from anywhere. Since they don't seem to have done trace backs and testing on all Chinese ingredients, you could buy something made elsewhere that contains the ingredient. China has effectively poisoned the global food chain.
Why would you spike a baking ingredient unless its original intended purpose was as a nitrogen fertilizer? Someone
has to explain that for me.
Based on the trade agreements we have and whatever agreements our free trade partners have with whomever, it
sure would be difficult without international tracing and tracking abilities to know what ingredient goes where. Quit
testing White Rabbit candies from 1000 Asian markets and start testing all milk products in the grocery aisles. Publish
results so the consuming public knows what is safe.
straybaby then all the efforts for COOL were in vain I gather. No one closed the barn door and instead spread this globally. Could that be why COOL kept getting delayed-needed more time to spread toxins worldwide in the food supply first IMO?
JJ, I don't think COOL is intended for processed food. From what I'm getting, that whole candy bar label BS is just that, BS.
QuoteCountry of Origin Labeling
On May 13, 2002, the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, more commonly known as the 2002 Farm Bill, became law. One of its many provisions requires country of origin labeling (COOL) for beef, lamb, pork, fish, perishable agricultural commodities, and peanuts. On January 27, 2004, Public Law 108-199 delayed implementation of mandatory COOL for all covered commodities except wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish until September 30, 2006. On November 10, 2005, Public Law 109-97 delayed implementation of mandatory COOL for all covered commodities except wild and farm-raised fish and shellfish until September 30, 2008. As described in the legislation, program implementation is the responsibility of USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service. The recently enacted Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) expands the list of covered commodities to include chicken, goat meat, ginseng, pecans and macadamia nuts.
http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=TemplateM&navID=CountryofOriginLabeling&rightNav1=CountryofOriginLabeling&topN
COOL would affect beef and poultry meat sprayed with lactoferrin antimicrobials or in which milk products
(skim milk and whey) are used as part of the allowable binder, but I don't think the labeling
provisions of COOL even mention that. The FSIS says it's okay.
Govt warns against 8 makes of milk powder [Bangladesh]
Thu, Oct 16th, 2008 10:27 pm BdST
http://bdnews24.com/details.php?id=65497&cid=2
Dhaka, Oct 16 (bdnews24.com) – The government on Thursday advised people against eight foreign makes of powdered milk, until further notice after the products tested positive for melamine content, according to an official handout.
The eight brands are: Australian brands Diploma and Red Cow, Danish brand Dano Full Cream, Chinese brands Yashili-1, Yashili-2, Sweet Baby-2 and New Zealand brands Nido Fortified Instant and Anlene.
The handout came after tests in a Dhaka University laboratory appeared positive for the contaminant melamine in the milk powders of the eight imported brands being sold in Bangladesh.
Phillippines
http://www.bworldonline.com/BW101708/content.php?id=079
Cagayan de Oro intensifies milk checking
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — The city's health office has intensified the monitoring of milk products sold in local retail outlets in coordination with Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD).
At least 30 groceries have been subjected to strict monitoring after authorities received reports that milk repacking is being done by one distributor.
Italy:
http://www.ansa.it/site/notizie/awnplus/english/news/2008-10-16_116290488.html
Health police had been checking businesses that import or distribute Chinese foods in the wake of the contaminated milk scandal that broke in China in September, when thousands of babies fell ill and at least four died after drinking melamine-tainted formula.
Italian health police commander Cosimo Piccinno said the levels of melamine in the samples found in Italy were between 3 and 22 milligrams per kilogram, while the limit for acceptable levels had been set at 2.5 milligrams. ...
The three Italian samples brought the total number of cases in which Chinese food has tested positive for melamine in the European Union to 26.
In a separate case, Italian police on Thursday confiscated a tonne of Chinese milk and 300 kilograms of Chinese mozzarella from a warehouse in Naples thought to have entered the country illegally.
Martini said tests for melamine contamination would take 10 days.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aD.ui5krR5_c&refer=japan
Mitsui & Co. Finds Melamine Contamination From Eggs (Update1)
By Taku Kato and Megumi Yamanaka
Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Mitsui & Co., a Japanese trading company, said eggs it imported from China were found to be contaminated with traces of melamine.
Tests that Tokyo-based Mitsui conducted found 2.8 to 4.6 parts per million of the industrial chemical, the trading house said in a release on its Web site. The trader imported 20 tons of dried eggs, of which 19.6 tons that were stored in warehouses were discarded, it said.
Mitsui imported the eggs from Dalian Hanwei Enterprise Group, a Chinese food manufacturer based in Dalian city, and sold them to Q.P. Egg Corp., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Q.P. Corp., according to the statement.
The remaining 400 kilograms were sold to an end user through Q.P. Eggs and melamine wasn't found in the finished products, Q.P. Eggs said in a statement on its Web site.
To contact the reporter on this story: Taku Kato in Tokyo at tkato6@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: October 16, 2008 07:24 EDT
I'm off to find out more about this... ::)
so in my search I found this from March 2008... ??? Not March...forgot how to read the date...my mistake...
http://www.asianewsnet.net/news.php?sec=1&id=1893
Melamine found in Chinese egg tarts
News Desk
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Publication Date: 03-10-2008
Japan's Kanematsu Corp. has started a voluntary recall of egg tarts imported from China after detecting the toxic substance melamine.
The Tokyo-based trading firm conducted tests voluntarily and found 1.4 parts per million of the toxic chemical in a 50-gram Macao Egg Tart, the company said Wednesday.
Carol, I think that's from Oct 3 (those whacky foreign countries do day first) as they mention the milk scandal.
http://www.supermarket.co.za/news_detail.asp?ID=993
Commission tightens rules on Chinese products further
2008/10/16
The European Commission has adopted a new decision to prohibit the import of all composite infant formula products containing milk and milk from China, and to require testing of all other Chinese milk-containing products.
What is there about food safety that the U.S. is having trouble understanding? We have trade agreements with almost all the countries directly
affected here, but none of the melamine is in processed food products in America? -- yeah, right.
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on October 16, 2008, 10:00:20 AM
Why would you spike a baking ingredient unless its original intended purpose was as a nitrogen fertilizer? Someone
has to explain that for me.
Based on the trade agreements we have and whatever agreements our free trade partners have with whomever, it
sure would be difficult without international tracing and tracking abilities to know what ingredient goes where. Quit
testing White Rabbit candies from 1000 Asian markets and start testing all milk products in the grocery aisles. Publish
results so the consuming public knows what is safe.
I wonder if the ammonia could be contaminated from the co-processing of melamine and ammonia/urea. It's just a thought:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melamine
Synthesis
Melamine was first synthesized by the German chemist Justus von Liebig in 1834. In early production, first calcium cyanamide is converted into dicyandiamide, then heated above its melting temperature to produce melamine. However, today most industrial manufacturers use urea in the following reaction to produce melamine:
6 (NH2)2CO ? C3H6N6 + 6 NH3 + 3 CO2
It can be understood as two steps.
First, urea decomposes into cyanic acid and ammonia in an endothermic reaction:
6 (NH2)2CO ? 6 HCNO + 6 NH3
Then, cyanic acid polymerizes to form melamine and carbon dioxide:
6 HCNO ? C3H6N6 + 3 CO2
The second reaction is exothermic but the overall process is endothermic.
The above reaction can be carried out by either of two methods: catalyzed gas-phase production or high pressure liquid-phase production. In one method, molten urea is introduced onto a fluidized bed with catalyst for reaction. Hot ammonia gas is also present to fluidize the bed and inhibit deammonization. The effluent then is cooled. Ammonia and carbon dioxide in the off-gas are separated from the melamine-containing slurry. The slurry is further concentrated and crystallized to yield melamine.[35] Major manufacturers and licensors such as DSM, BASF and Eurotecnica have developed some proprietary methods.
The off-gas contains large amounts of ammonia. Therefore melamine production is often integrated into urea production which uses ammonia as feedstock.
So the off-gas ammonia is collected and ends up as a melamine-contaminated leavening agent in cookies? Somebody
making cookies cuts ingredients costs so cheap that they buy this cwap instead of the real thing?
I'm not really sure how the ammonium bicarbonate is made, it was just a connection that came to mind. Perhaps I should have researched how ammonium bicarbonate is made first. The association of the two compounds just made me wonder.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonium_carbonate
Production
Ammonium carbonate was historically obtained by the dry distillation of nitrogenous organic matter such as hair, horn, decomposed urine, etc.[citation needed]
Currently, it is produced by heating a mixture of ammonium chloride, or ammonium sulfate and chalk, to redness in iron retorts, the vapours being condensed in leaden receivers.[citation needed] The crude product is refined by sublimation, when it is obtained as a white fibrous mass, which consists of a mixture of ammonium bicarbonate, NH4HCO3, and ammonium carbamate, NH2COONH4, in molecular proportions; on account of its possessing this constitution it is sometimes called ammonium sesquicarbonate. It possesses a strong ammoniacal smell, and on digestion with alcohol the carbamate is dissolved and a residue of ammonium bicarbonate is left; a similar decomposition taking place when the sesquicarbonate is exposed to air.
Ammonia gas passed into a strong aqueous solution of the sesquicarbonate converts it into normal ammonium carbonate, (NH4)2CO3, which can be obtained in the crystalline condition from a solution prepared at about 30 °C. This compound on exposure to air gives off ammonia and passes back to ammonium bicarbonate. It has pH of 9.
QuoteProduction
Ammonium carbonate was historically obtained by the dry distillation of nitrogenous organic matter such as hair, horn, decomposed urine, etc.[citation needed]
way too much information!!! :D
Oh, egg powder would be the perfect product to spike with melamine, wouldn't it. Maybe we should just compile a list of powdered stuff that might have melamine it and avoid that. Better yet, just avoid any product with anything powdered in it.
It sounds like baking powder used to be cut with flour to reduce the strength. Maybe that's how melamine got into the ammonium baking powder, or maybe they were just finding yet another new place to get rid of some of that excess melamine scrap.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baking_powder
"Traditional baking powder was composed of a mixture of tartaric acid and bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), a quantity of flour or cornstarch usually being added to reduce the strength"
here's another story about the egg situation... :P and I won't be eating any sweet buns either... :(
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20081017TDY01306.htm
Melamine detected in egg powder from China
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Melamine was found in powdered dried whole eggs imported from China, Mitsui & Co. announced Thursday, marking the first time the toxic chemical has been found in Chinese egg products in Japan.
The Tokyo-based trading company said that it found 2.8 to 4.6 parts per million of melamine in the product. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry instructed importers of Chinese eggs to conduct thorough voluntary tests because the amount of melamine detected is above 2.5 ppm, the threshold for a voluntary recall.
Mitsui & Co. said it was informed by the Chinese company on Oct. 6 that melamine had been detected in feed for its chickens. The trading company then found melamine in all the three samples from eggs powder it imported from the company.
chicken feed...hmm that new isn't it?
and from the same article...
We're aware of melamine problems, but didn't think about [possible contamination in] feed for chickens," a Mitsui & Co. representative said. "Our risk judgment was insufficient
Only point for the COOL I was trying to get across was that if it had been in place last year people would have paid more attention to the food as hopefully they are doing now. The fresh meat was all labeled with country or countries of origin in the Shop & Save when I was there last night which is what I meant by having to think about your purchase and read where its from to consider if you want to buy it or not. I know COOL doesn't cover processed food but now that it is on some food people might question more and ask where things come from that are not part of COOL.
Back to the cyromazine/melamine intake route.
http://www.epa.gov/EPA-PEST/1999/September/Day-15/p24047.htm
EPA has concluded that only residues of the parent compound
cyromazine need to be regulated and used for risk assessment and is
proposing that melamine, a metabolite of cyromazine, be removed from
the tolerance expression as a residue of toxicological concern.
In addition, only about 10% of cyromazine is converted to melamine
in vivo. Anticipated human dietary and occupational exposure to the
parent compound cyromazine from its current pesticide usage is
estimated to result in melamine concentrations far below the NOAEL in
rats (500 mg/kg/day) that led to formation of stones in rats. Thus, EPA
does not have any toxicological concerns for the minimal amount of
melamine residues that could result from the use of the pesticide
cyromazine. Also, melamine has been removed from the World Health
Organization as a residue of concern for cyromazine, and Codex limits
are established for the parent cyromazine only. (So to me this is saying, you have the melamine the plant or animal metabolizes in your food, plus your body turns 10% of the cyromazine residue to melamine. Does it say something different to anyone else? I'm not positive, but that is what it sounds like.)
This was an amendment of the 2000 rule where stated:
http://www.epa.gov/EPA-PEST/2003/September/Day-24/p24012.htm
III. Aggregate Risk Assessment and Determination of Safety
Consistent with section 408(b)(2)(D) of the FFDCA, EPA has reviewed
the available scientific data and other relevant information in support
of this action. EPA has sufficient data to assess the hazards of and to
make a determination on aggregate exposure, consistent with section
408(b)(2) of the FFDCA, for tolerances for residues of cyromazine on
Sec. 180.414 Cyromazine; tolerances for residues.
(a) * * *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Parts per
Commodity million [cyromazine only]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * *
Broccoli................................................... 1.0
Cabbage, abyssinian........................................ 10.0
Cabbage, seakale........................................... 10.0
* * * * *
Cattle, kidney............................................. 0.2
* * * * *
Cattle, meat byproducts, except kidney..................... 0.05
* * * * *
Garlic, bulb............................................... 0.2
Garlic, great-headed, bulb................................. 0.2
* * * * *
Goat, kidney............................................... 0.2
* * * * *
Goat, meat byproducts, except kidney....................... 0.05
Hanover salad, leaves...................................... 10.0
* * * * *
Hog, kidney................................................ 0.2
* * * * *
Hog, meat byproducts, except kidney........................ 0.05
* * * * *
Horse, kidney.............................................. 0.2
* * * * *
Horse, meat byproducts, except kidney...................... 0.05
* * * * *
Leek....................................................... 3.0
* * * * *
Onion, dry bulb............................................ 0.2
Onion, green............................................... 3.0
Onion, potato.............................................. 3.0
Onion, tree................................................ 3.0
Onion, welsh............................................... 3.0
* * * * *
Rakkyo, bulb............................................... 0.2
Shallot, bulb.............................................. 0.2
Shallot, fresh leaves...................................... 3.0
* * * * *
Sheep, kidney.............................................. 0.2
* * * * *
Sheep, meat byproducts, except kidney...................... 0.05
* * * * *
Turnip, greens............................................. 10.0
Vegetable, brassica, leafy, group 5, except broccoli....... 10.0
* * * * *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2000 rule:
SUMMARY: This final rule establishes permanent tolerances for residues
of cyromazine (CAS No. 66215-27-8) in or on mango at 0.3 parts per
million (ppm); onion, green at 2.0 ppm; onions, dry bulb at 0.1 ppm;
potato at 0.8 ppm; corn, sweet, (kernels plus cob with husks removed)
at 0.5 ppm; corn, sweet, forage at 0.5 ppm; corn, sweet, stover at 0.5
ppm; radishes, root at 0.5 ppm; radishes, tops at 0.5 ppm; lima beans
at 1.0 ppm; cotton, undelinted seed at 0.1 ppm; milk at 0.05 ppm; and
meat, fat and meat byproducts (of cattle, goat, hogs, horses and sheep)
at 0.05 ppm. This final rule also removes melamine, a metabolite of
cyromazine from the tolerance expression since it is no longer
considered a residue of concern.
PART 180--[AMENDED]
1. The authority citation for part 180 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 21 U.S.C. 321(q), (346a) and 371.
2. Section 180.414 is revised to read as follows:
Sec. 180.414 Cyromazine; tolerances for residues.
(a) General. (1) Tolerances are established for residues of the
insecticide cyromazine (N-cyclopropyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine) in
or on the following raw agricultural commodities:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commodity Parts per million [cyromazine only]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cattle, fat.......................................... 0.05
Cattle, meat......................................... 0.05
Cattle, meat byproduct............................... 0.05
Cucurbit vegetables.................................. 1.0
Eggs................................................. 0.25
Goats, fat........................................... 0.05
Goats, meat.......................................... 0.05
Goats, meat byproduct................................ 0.05
Hogs, fat............................................ 0.05
Hogs, meat........................................... 0.05
Hogs, meat byproduct................................. 0.05
Horses, fat.......................................... 0.05
Horses, meat......................................... 0.05
Horses, meat byproduct............................... 0.05
Leafy vegetables (except Brassica)................... 7.0
Lima beans........................................... 1.0
Mango1............................................... 0.3
Milk................................................. 0.05
Mushrooms............................................ 1.0
Onion, dry bulb...................................... 2.0
Onion, green......................................... 0.1
Peppers.............................................. 1.0
Potato............................................... 0.8
Poultry, fat (from chicken layer hens and chicken 0.05
breeder hens only)..................................
Poultry, meat (from chicken layer hens and chicken 0.05
breeder hens only)..................................
Poultry, meat byproduct (from chicken layer hens and 0.05
chicken breeder hens only)..........................
Sheep, fat........................................... 0.05
Sheep, meat.......................................... 0.05
Sheep, meat byproduct................................ 0.05
Tomato............................................... 0.5
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1There are no U.S. registrations on mango as of May 4, 2000.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commodity Parts per million
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cabbage, Chinese..................................... 3.0
Mustard, Chinese..................................... 3.0
http://www.epa.gov/EPA-PEST/2002/December/Day-06/p30839.htm
SUMMARY: This regulation establishes a tolerance for residues of
cyromazine in or on bean, dry at 3.0 parts per million (ppm).
This is the EPA search for cyromazine for any interested. My eyes are pretty blurry.
So if someone wants double-check my work, I wouldn't mind:
http://nlquery.epa.gov/epasearch/epasearch?typeofsearch=area&filterclause=(tssms:fedrgstr)%20AND%20&referer=http://www.epa.gov/EPA-PEST/1999/September/Day-15/p24047.htm&result_template=epafiles_default.xsl&areaname=EPA's%20Federal%20Register%20Documents&areapagehead=epafiles_pagehead&areapagefoot=epafiles_pagefoot&areasidebar=search_sidebar&stylesheet=s/epa.css&sort=term_relevancy&sessionid=6443640FBB35B6E4959083C645688E43&querytext=cyromazine%20tolerance%20levels&start=1&doctype=html
So, what happems when all the people who have heartburn take baking soda?
DMS good observation about amount that is metabolized. So when you also cook any of the food in plastic or I should say heat it in plastic does that then also up the amount of plastic (melamine) you ingest? What about paper plates that are bleached and styrofoam cups, etc? The toxin mix would then be under the cumulative effect? You heat your dinner in a plastic dish or veggie, heat up the mashed potatoes in plastic bowl or serve in plastic when hot and how much plastic leaches in to the food. You pour a cup of coffe or buy one and put it into styrofoam, bleach and what else leach into your coffee, tea, etc? Again more accumulation and its not just one item you may use on a daily basis. Think of all the things you use, eat out of, drink out of that are plastic. So exactly how much is the melamine ramped up in your system on a daily basis then? And since its continual when does the body rid itself or does the residue just continue to build up to toxic levels til your dead?
Yes, the document says even drinking water levels have to be considered--although they don't know how much that is. It looks small, but the problem seems to be cumulative and very pervasive in the environment and our food. I do believe there is intentional adulteration as well. So, it was no blank slate for the FDA when the melamine risk assessment came up; they had already done research and decided not to even worry about melamine from cyromazine when they had the information in the 90's. That's what's scary to me. They didn't realize how dangerous melamine is---they just dismissed it. The only thing I believe they are not clear on is the true safety risk. I would like to hear how much we are truly exposed to, exactly how it is happening, how long it has been going on, and what the FDA plans to do about it.
Dr. Sundlof responds on FDA melamine concern:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/16/AR2008101603488.html
Letters to the Editor
The FDA's Concern About Melamine
Friday, October 17, 2008; A24
The Food and Drug Administration remains concerned about the significant health problems caused overseas by products contaminated with melamine and is working hard to protect U.S. consumers.
The Oct. 4 news story "FDA Sets Safety Threshold for Contaminant Melamine" said that the agency "set 2.5 parts per million as the maximum 'tolerable' amount of melamine that could be safely consumed in other foods" beyond infant formula. In the story, it was also suggested that the FDA's ruling was somehow an attempt to convince consumers that melamine is not harmful and that the FDA condoned the intentional contamination of foods. Such assertions reflect a misunderstanding of what the FDA said.
Identifying a level of public health concern is a means of helping federal and state officials to focus resources on the greatest risks to our health. It is not an indication that melamine in food products is acceptable to, or will be tolerated by, the FDA.
STEPHEN SUNDLOF
Director
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Washington
You can post a comment to this letter.
The FDA's risk assessment of melamine, Dr. Sundlof, is being misunderstood by the rest of the world.
See:
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=765092
Safety standard for melamine key issue at international conference in Taiwan
Central News Agency
2008-10-17 01:25 AM Song Yen-jen, vice-director of DOH, said at the meeting of melamine toxic food control yesterday that the experts would construct a standard for people.
Central News Agency
The safety standard for melamine levels in food was one of the key issues at an international conference held Thursday in Taipei, with most foreign experts agreeing that 2.5 ppm of melamine would be an appropriate safety level.
We're not encouraging people to close the level down as low as they can impossibly go," said an FDA expert, adding that there are no safety concerns with 2.5 ppm of melamine in foods.
Experts invited by the DOH to attend the conference said earlier that a maximum level of 2.5 ppm of melamine in food is acceptable, but that background contamination levels need to be determined.
What American consumers need to see here is assessment of the cumulative risks of melamine consumption from pesticides,
plastic packaging, processing of foods including milk products and meat food products. The FDA needs to start leading in
this research because it has never been done. The FDA is admitting it does not know the true health risk to the consumer
from consuming melamine.
So why is the FDA, the national food safety authority, not advising the US government to ban the import of Chinese food products, including milk, until the issue can be assessed and appropriate food safety measures can be put in place in the United States? Until
a real food safety assessment of melamine can be completed by the FDA, zero tolerance of the presence of melamine in food should be the American standard.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/17/world/asia/17milk.html?em
October 17, 2008
Courts Compound Pain of China's Tainted Milk
By EDWARD WONG
"To protect Sanlu is to protect the government itself," he added. "A public health crisis like this not only involves Sanlu. It involves many officials from authorities in the city of Shijiazhuang up to the central government. It involves media censorship, the food quality regulatory system and the corrupt deal between commercial merchants and corrupt officials."
http://www.voanews.com/english/Science/2008-10-16-voa49.cfm
Cornell University Scientists Work to Keep Milk Safe
By Véronique LaCapra
Washington
16 October 2008
I hope Cornell is developing a bulk tank monitoring standard for the presence of melamine in milk.
It is not an indication that melamine in food products is acceptable to, or will be tolerated by, the FDA.
bull poo poo. If that were true we would have a zero tolerance level and they would have a hold and inspection on all Chinese food items. I haven't forgotten how melamine and friends was zero tolerance during the PFR, until, OOPS! it went into animal feed. That's when we got slapped down with their Risk Assumption report.
http://ap.google.com:80/article/ALeqM5gfaVYHHc7nDFBz9f4MdNfz0N679wD93SFSI02
A Chinese family deals with tainted milk scandal
By AUDRA ANG – 5 hours ago [Oct. 17, 2008]
YONG'AN VILLAGE, China (AP) — At the height of the corn harvest in the long muggy days of August, 10-month-old Zhang Peng
began refusing to drink his milk, crying fitfully at night as he struggled to sleep. Soon his twin sister Zhang Xue fell ill, too. ...
http://www.rfa.org:80/english/news/china/quashed-10172008105551.html
China Milk Parents' Complaints Quashed
2008-10-17
Parents and lawyers accuse Chinese authorities of hushing up a scandal over tainted milk.
HONG KONG—Parents whose children became ill or died after they drank melamine-tainted milk products say their bid to pursue complaints against
those responsible is being suppressed by the Chinese authorities.
As the wider political implications of the melamine scare are emerging, China's ruling Communist Party has effectively banned all forms of public
advocacy on behalf of affected parents, prompting calls for a nationwide alliance of victims. ...
Scandal suppressed
But parents now say the authorities are using the hotlines they set up for parents of children affected by the milk scandal to monitor their activities,
and to ensure that they don't get access either to lawyers or to journalists.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/4730937a12.html
Crime link to tainted milk
Chinese gangs may be behind melamine use
By RUTH HILL - The Dominion Post | Saturday, 18 October 2008
At least Canada is moving in the right direction. Canada is linking melamine and cyanuric acid levels testing, and holding business
accountable for certifying where food ingredients come from. If business lies to the government, business could be held accountable
under the legal system for the fraud:
http://www.flex-news-food.com/pages/19856/Baby/Canada/China/Infant/Milk/canada-demands-documentation-baby-food-infant-formula-imports-not-sourced-china.html
Canada Demands Documentation that Baby Food and Infant Formula Imports Not Sourced in China
Source: US Government
17/10/2008
17 Oct - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has advised all importers that imports of baby food or infant formula
from all countries will require documentation attesting that the product and its milk ingredients were not sourced from China.
For infant formula and baby food that contains milk or milkderived ingredients from China, the CFIA will require documentation
of analytical results indicating that melamine levels do not surpass the interim standards set by Health Canada of a maximum
of 1.0 part per million (ppm). Laboratory results must be obtained through a laboratory acceptable to the CFIA and results must
be available for CFIA review upon request.
For other foods imported from China that contain milk or milk-derived ingredients, documentation of analytical results will be
required indicating that melamine levels do not surpass the interim standard of a maximum 2.5 ppm. The levels will apply to
a combined concentration of melamine and cyanuric acid (a chemical generally found together with melamine).
According to the CFIA, the interim standards were developed using a consistent approach adopted by other food regulatory agencies
in Europe, Australia, New-Zealand and the United States. Should new scientific evidence become available, Health Canada's risk
assessment will be reviewed and the interim standards will be re-examined. The new requirements are effective immediately, but
will not be implemented until CFIA has finalized procedures and briefed inspection staff. CFIA inspection will be taking place at the
importer's distribution center, not at the border.
http://www.lankabusinessonline.com:80/fullstory.php?nid=216576757
Safe Move
17 Oct, 2008 14:09:59
Sri Lanka bans 60 food products, including milk powder, chocolate, and biscuits, on melamine fears Oct. 17
Oct 17, 2008 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's health ministry has banned the import and sale of 60 food products as a precautionary measure following
the melamine Chinese milk contamination scandal.
The products include milk powder and those using milk as an ingredient such as chocolate and biscuits.
http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/10/17/news17.asp
Food products with melamine [in Sri Lanka]
The Health Ministry has identified 60 food products as positive for melamine internationally.
Biscuits, cakes and confectionary Suspect products: White Rabbit Creamy Candy, Misarang Custard, Milk Rusk, Cream Panda, Cream Panda,
Matcha Azuki Milk Man, Oreo Wafer Sticks, M&M's Mini Milk Chocolate, Snickers, M&M's Peanut Chocolate Candies, M&M's Milk Chocolate,
New Sshina Ows Mallow Dippers - Strawberry Flavour, Lotte Kola Yummies Cookies (Chestnut), Lotte Koala Biscuit (Chocolate Filled Biscuit),
Lotte Koala Strawberry Biscuit (Family Pack), Lotte Koala's March Chocolate Biscuit, Lotte Koala Biscuit (Family Pack) Chocolate Filled) (Double
Chocolate Flavour), Frozen Chocolate Croissant, Frozen Croissant rolled with Red, Bean, Frozen Pain aux Raisins, Frozen Croissant, Cadbury
Choclairs - Blueberry Flavour, Cadbury Choclairs - Coffee Flavour. Bairong Taro Biscuits, Mr. Brown 3 in 1 Coffee Products, Kaiser Dressing
Ptretzel (strawberry and choco flavour), Four Seas cake (strawberry flavour), Four Seas cake (chocolate flavour), Sherwood Brands Pirates Gold
Milk Chocolate, Lee Cheng Milk Slice (Original), (Tong Wang Yang) Coconut Cakes. (Tong Wang Yang) Walnut Cakes, Glico Pocky Men's Coffee
Cream Coated Biscuit Stick, Lotte Cream Cheesecake, Cadbury Dairy Milk Cookies (5kg bulk pack). Cadbury Dairy Milk Hazelnut Chocolate
(5kg bulk pack), and Edo Pack Almond Cacao Biscuit Sticks (36g).
Liquid Milk and Yoghurt: Dutch Lady - Strawberry Flavoured Milk, Dutch Lady - Banana Flavoured milk, Dutch Lady - Honeydew Flavoured
Milk (250ml), Wangzal Milk Drink (245ml) Guozhen Pine Pollen Calcium Milk, Soybean Drink with Milk, Wahaha AD Milk Drink, Klrin Milk Tea,
Blue Cat Drinks (Strawberry, Sweet Orange, Pineapple, Peach Flavour), Yili High Calcium milk beverage, Yili Pure Milk (1l), and Yili High calcium
low fat milk beverage.
Snack Food: Silang - House of Steamed Potato - Potato Cracker, Silang - House of Steamed Potato - Potato and Tomato Cracker, Xu Fu Ji puffed
Rice Rolls - Butter Corn Flavour, Xu Fu Ji Puffed Rice Rolls - Cheese Flavour, Snack World P-nut Crackers Chips (135g), Chocolate Pillows and
Vigour 888 Filling Roll (Sergestid Shrimps flavour).
Frozen Dessert: Yili Choice dairy fruit bar yougut flavoured ice confection, Yili Super Bean Red Bean Chestnut Ice Bar, Yili Bean Club-Match
red bean ice bar, Yili Bean Club-Red bean milk bar, Yili Prestige Chocliz - Dark Chocolate Bar and Yili natural choice yogurt flavoured ice bar with real fruit.
Powdered Milk and Cereal Products: Soyspring Instant Milk Cereal and Panda Dairy Whole Milk Powder.
Processed Foodstuff: Frozen gratin crepe corn. Products with Dairy Component including Infant Formula: Infant Formula, Powdered Milk, Liquid Milk
and Yoghurt, Manufactured in China.
QuoteCHINESE IMPORT BANS 2008:
initially based on: http://www.forbes.com/reuters/feeds/reuters/2008/09/27/2008-09-27T123805Z_01_B162168_RTRIDST_0_CHINA-MILK-RECALLS-FACTBOX.html
* ARGENTINA: -- banned the import of Chinese milk and related products October 2, 2008
* BANGLADESH: -- Three Chinese powdered milk brands, Sanlu, Suncare and Yashili, banned. Melamine tests to be introduced on
all milk powder imports at Bangladeshi seaports.
* BENIN: -- Bans powered milk products from China.
* BHUTAN: -- Bhutan has banned Chinese milk imports, ranging from chocolates, sweets and cakes to milk tablets.
* BRAZIL: -- barred all Chinese food imports Oct 7
* BRUNEI: -- All Chinese milk products banned by Health Ministry, even though Brunei does not directly import dairy products from China.
* BURKINA FASO: -- banned Chinese milk products
* BURUNDI: -- Banned import, sale of Chinese milk products.
* CAMBODIA: -- strict ban on all Chinese milk products Oct 3
* CAMEROON: -- Suspends import and sale of fresh and powdered milk from China.
* COLOMBIA: -- Banned import of China-made powdered milk.
* COSTA RICA: -- bans sale any milk products coming from China September 30, 2008
* D.R. of the CONGO: -- banned Chinese milk products
* EUROPEAN UNION: -- The 27-nation bloc banned baby food containing Chinese milk.
* FRANCE: -- Banned all food items containing Chinese milk as precautionary move.
* GABON: -- Introduced ban at same time as Burundi.
* GHANA: -- Food and Drug Board suspended imports of all milk and milk-based products made in China.
* GUYANA -- ban on Chinese dairy products
* INDIA: -- Banned import of milk and milk products from China for three months.
* INDONESIA: -- Banned imports of China dairy products.
* IRAN: -- banned imports of all dairy products from China
* IVORY COAST: -- Banned imports of milk products from China.
* LAOS: -- temporarily stopped the importation of milk products from China
* LEBANON: -- banned the import of all powdered milk products from China
* LIBERIA: -- temporary ban Chinese dairy products Oct 7
* MALAWI: -- banned imports of all Chinese milk products Oct 10
* MALAYSIA: -- Banned all Chinese milk imports, as well as chocolates, sweets and other foods containing milk.
* MALDIVES: -- Banned Chinese milk products to protect its population of 300,000.
* MYANMAR: -- dairy items from China barred
* NEPAL: -- Banned all China milk and milk-based food products as a precautionary measure.
* PAPUA NEW GUINEA: -- Banned China-made milk products.
* PERU: -- banned the sale of milk-flavored toffees, milk powder and any products containing Chinese milk powder September 29
* PHILIPPINES: -- Banned import and sale of milk products from China, pending investigation of possible contamination.
* RUSSIA: -- banned all imports of Chinese dairy products
* SENEGAL: -- banned the sale of all milk products from China
* SINGAPORE: -- Banned the import and sale of milk products from China on Sept 19 after finding melamine in two China-made
products -- "Dutch Lady" strawberry flavoured milk, and "Yili Brand" dairy fruit bar yoghurt flavoured ice confection.
White Rabbit Creamy Candy pulled from shelves after being found to be contaminated with melamine.
* SOUTH KOREA: -- Banned China-made foods containing powdered milk after imported biscuits test positive for melamine.
* SRI LANKA bans 60 food products, including milk powder, chocolate, and biscuits, on melamine fears Oct. 17
* SURINAME: -- Banned milk and dairy products from China, is stepping up inspections on food imported from Southeast Asia.
* TAIWAN: -- All China-made dairy products banned, a milk testing station set up for consumers in Taipei.
* TANZANIA: -- Suspended all China dairy imports, and seized 34 tonnes of China-made milk powder.
* TOGO: -- Suspended import, distribution and sale of all Chinese-origin milk products.
* TURKEY: -- banned imports of Chinese milk products
* UAE (United Arab Emirates): -- temporary ban on Chinese dairy and related products,
* UGANDA: -- blacklisted all milk imports that could contain Chinese dairy derivatives as a safeguard
* URUGUAY: -- public health ministry banned all dairy imports from China on Oct 2, including baby formula
* VIETNAM: -- Banned China milk products. Health officials warned such products may have been sold in remote areas
in the impoverished central region.
Bringing to 72 the number of countries worldwide where consumer food safety comes first
its attitude toward consumer safety is a disgrace and a global health threat."
Population of 72 countries/territories banning Chinese milk products 3,244.8 (in billions)
or Chinese food imports
WORLD POPULATION: 6,706,993,152 6,707.0 (in billions)
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/xx.html
taiwan population: http://www.asiarooms.com/travel-guide/taiwan/taiwan-overview/taiwan-population.html
48.38 percent of all the people in the world have now blocked import of Chinese milk products or Chinese food imports
and believes babies and infants need protection from adulterated food products ...
I wonder if We could make a list of candy that the children shouldn't be eating this halloween? There's so much, I feel lost in all of it.
Sure, Trudy, that would be great. There are few common names, though, between Asia brands and the common ones
we have in American stores. There were several folks last week who volunteered to take ten pages and try to pull the names.
We had three at that point, includng me. Anyone else willing to dig through ten pages? PM or volunteer in a reply, and we can get
that done.
I guess each person could do ten pages and create two lists:
One list of brands that have been reported in alphabetical order from those ten pages
and
One list of ingredients to watch out for in alphabetical order from those ten pages.
Should take each person about one to two hours to go through their ten pages and follow through on all the links included to make
sure they don't miss anything. So that's seven volunteers with two hours or so to devote. Let me know. I'm one.
Then if anyone wanted to follow down a brand name or ingredient, they could do a search from page one to track it. Sound okay?
Since I mentioned it, I will try some tomorrow.
Thanks, 3cat.
What ten pages do you want, Trudy? Just so we don't have duplicates. You know, one to ten? Eleven to 20?
Twenty-one to 30? Name it and it's yours. Then once that's done, on Excel I think, we could do master list
and alphabetize.
That would be so great to have another source of melamine contaminated food listed - the candy. 3cat from your most recent posts on the countries and the food found - could quite possibly all the food from melaland be full of melamine IMO? My sister and others are not eating any food from there as far as I know. I have warned people and they look at your like a deer in the headlight kinda look so I figure why bother - let them have at it all they want.
The news on this is being so suppressed, JJ, by business and governments. I think it's just
like the pet food recalls; everyone thinks it's handled and over. I think if they realized the
extent to which China ties into the US food supply through treaties and agreements, they'd
be a lot more concerned. All you can do is try with family, friends, and neighbors I guess.
And keep the faith that everyone in Washington, D.C., is not without a moral compass.
I had to read this one a couple of times...
Malaysia:
http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news.php?id=365773
Factory Sealed, Two Biscuits Being Tested For Melamine
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 (Bernama) -- The Health Ministry has sealed a factory producing two local biscuits which are said to contain excessive amount of melamine by the Hong Kong government's laboratory.
Its Food Safety and Quality Division director, Noraini Mohd Othman said, in a statement Sunday night, the products would be tested for melamine.
She was commenting on a Reuters report that excessive amount of melamine had been found in Munchy's Mini Crackers with Peanut Butter and Munchy's Mini Crackers with Cheese Cream, produced by the Munchy Food Industries Sdn Bhd.
Meanwhile, Munchy Food Industries chief executive officer C.K. Tan said none of its products contain any dairy-based ingredients from China except from Australia and France.
This is from the Hong Kong Center for Food Safety on Oct. 18, 2008, Saturday:
http://www.china.org.cn/health/2008-10/19/content_16634074.htm
Two more samples fail melamine tests in HK
The Center for Food Safety of Hong Kong (CFS) released the latest batch of results of melamine tests on Saturday, with two samples found unsatisfactory.
Results available on Saturday showed that of the 66 samples tested, 64 were satisfactory. These included milk and milk beverages, cream, instant drink mixes, biscuits and cakes.
Munchy's Mini Crackers with Peanut Butter and Munchy's Mini Crackers with Cheese Cream failed the test.
The level of melamine detected in the sample of Munchy's Mini Crackers with Peanut Butter was 5.4ppm, while the level in the sample of Munchy's Mini Crackers with Cheese Cream was 3.8ppm."
Based on the levels detected, people are advised to stop consuming the products concerned," a CFS spokesman said.
Makes sense maybe, Offy, if you consider direct pipeline of trade agreements between Australia and China, and then Australia into Kuala Lumpur. Australia also has many trade agreements with the U.S., but of course no one is testing. Or maybe the U.S. should be testing all products coming
from any SEAN treaty country, but of course no one is. Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined on 8 January 1984, Vietnam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999. But of course no one is testing. And of course there's no melamine in U.S. produced goods with "value added to milk ingredients" from multinational corporations like Fonterra New Zealand.
Only Chinese milk products directly from China contain melamine. My U.S. government tells me so. And the FDA is only testing a few of those.
[major fed up snark]
More melamine from China
The People's Republic of Poison?
From the cover story of today's Taipei Times:
In yet another food industry ban related to toxic chemicals from China, the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday that an imported batch of powdered baking ammonia was found to contain between 70 parts per million (ppm) and 300ppm of melamine.
While the DOH said that the melamine content was 70ppm to 300ppm, the Taipei City Government Department of Health issued a press release saying the concentration was between 1,410ppm and 2,470 ppm.
The DOH did not give an explanation for the discrepancy.
Ammonium bicarbonate is used in the food industry as a leavening agent. It is commonly used in biscuits, cookies, cream puffs and Chinese fried bread sticks (??).
Sesoda said in a press release issued yesterday that, of the 400 tonnes of ammonium bicarbonate it had imported from China, 20 tonnes remained in its warehouses countrywide, leaving 380 tonnes in circulation.
However, the company said it did not know whether all 380 tonnes are contaminated.
A source speaking on condition of anonymity said that health authorities had already detected melamine in ammonium bicarbonate a week ago, but waited until yesterday to make the announcement.
The source said that talk of melamine-contaminated baking ingredients had been circulating in the food industry for the past week.
In response, a DOH official who declined to be identified said that since the incident involving King Car Industrial Co (??) last month, health authorities have been randomly checking certain materials for traces of melamine.
How much you wanna bet this isn't the last discovery of melamine-tainted imports from China?
Are you going to wait until it hits you right in the kidneys before you do everything you can to avoid buying things from China?
Hey, Trudy, do you have the web link to that article by any chance still? There's some huge concentrations
of melamine in there. Yikes.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2008/10/19/2003426317
Baking product spiked with melamine
FOOD SCARE CONTINUES:
...Wu said a leavening agent is added to dough or batter before heating or baking.
While the chemical reactions involved in the baking process may emit some chemicals in the form of gas, melamine will remain in the finished product, Wu said.
Melamine has been added to milk powder by some companies in China to give their products a false high protein content reading.
Wu said the addition of melamine to powdered baking ammonia also caused testing instruments to falsely identify a high amount of nitrogen, which is used as an indicator of the purity of the material.
Oh, cripes, baked goods, too.
Please don't take offense anyone, but this one is priceless new place for melamine
contamination. I'm not saying another word --
http://www.scoopit.co.nz:80/story.php?title=Chocolate_sex_toy_melamine_contamination-1
One PM and I'll pull it, promise.
:o
:-[
;)
This is why (preaching to the choir here!) we need zero tolerance. We let in all these ingredients only inspecting 2%, and of those 2%, they are allowed a melamine minimum. So, lets say I make you a meat style pie. It's in the baking ingredient, the milk ingredient, the thickening agent (gravy), the veggies and the freaking meat. Or, how about baby food when we get to the later stages and they have gravy, meat and veggies along with thickening agents and/or dairy? And this is assuming the 98% un-inspected items don't surpass the minimum allowed. >:(
Can I interest you in a nice dinner? A little melamine and e-coli with a side of pesticides and salmonella anyone? I can top your dessert of with some lead if ya like . . . . :o :o
"chocolate willy spread"?! :o :o :o LOL!~ :D :D :D
3cats- :o ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
ROFL ;D ;D :D
Melamine Analysis in Food ZIC®-HILIC technology from Merck increases food safety
New FDA method for detecting melamine and cyanuric acid in infant formula uses Merck SeQuant™ ZIC®-HILIC chromatography column
The contamination of food with melamine can cause severe illness – especially to children. Therefore, a reliable method is needed to determine melamine residues and related potential contaminations in food and particularly in milk products for children. Merck SeQuant™ ZIC®-HILIC technology offers a solution.
Reliable and sensitive: FDA recommends SeQuantTM ZIC®-HILIC from Merck
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it has developed a method for simultaneously detecting residues of melamine and cyanuric acid in infant formula using the chromatography column SeQuantTM ZIC®-HILIC from Merck. The FDA regulates, among other things, the safety of foods in the U.S. Recommendations of the FDA receive global attention and are often adopted by national authorities in other countries.
The proposed method is a variant of liquid chromatography (hydrophilic liquid chromatography, HILIC) combined with mass spectrometry (LC-MS). With the use of SeQuantTM ZIC®-HILIC, even minute quantities of melamine and cyanuric acid can be precisely separated and detected. The limits of quantification and confirmation are 0.25 µg/g for both analytes. Thus, using SeQuantTM ZIC®-HILIC from Merck, the quality of infant formula can be reliably tested.
Simultaneous detection of melamine and cyanuric
The ZIC®-HILIC method proposed by the FDA offers a decisive advantage over alternative measurement methods: Infant formula contaminated with melamine may also contain other toxic triazine compounds such as cyanuric acid, which in combination with melamine can intensify the negative effects of the contaminated food. By simultaneously determining and confirming melamine and cyanuric acid in powdered milk-based infant formula, the proposed procedure considerably increases food safety.
More about the FDA method for detecting melamine and other substances in infant formula can be found at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/lib4421.html.
Products for the Determination of Melamine and Cyanuric Acid Residues in Infant Formula using LC-MS/MS:
HPLC column
SeQuant ZIC®-HILIC, 150 x 2.1 mm, 5µm, 200 Å
Standards and Reagents
2,4,6 Triamino-1,3,5 triazine for synthesis (Melamine)
Cyanuric acid
Acetonitrile LiChrosolv® for LC-MS
Formic acid 100% GR for Analysis
Water LiChrosolv®
Laboratory Information Bulletin
LIB No. 4421
Volume 24, October 2008
Determination of Melamine and Cyanuric Acid Residues
in Infant Formula using LC-MS/MS
Sherri Turnipseed1, Christine Casey1, Cristina Nochetto2, David N. Heller2
1 Denver Laboratory, Office of Regulatory Affairs, Food and Drug Administration
2 Office of Research, Center for Veterinary Medicine, Food and Drug Administration
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Laboratory Information Bulletin is a communication from the Division of Field Science, Office of Regulatory Affairs, U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the rapid dissemination of laboratory methods (or scientific regulatory information) which appear to solve a problem or improve an existing problem. In many cases, however, the report may not represent completed analytical work. The reader must assure, by appropriate validation procedures, that the reported methods or techniques are reliable and accurate for use as a regulatory method. Reference to any commercial materials, equipment, or process does not, in any way, constitute approval, endorsement, or recommendation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Abstract
A liquid chromatography triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for residues of cyanuric acid (CYA) and melamine (MEL) developed by the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) has been adapted for use with infant formula. This method consists of an initial extraction with 2.5% aqueous formic acid, followed by a series of filtration, centrifugation, and dilution steps. Both compounds are analyzed in the same chromatographic program using a zwitterionic HILIC LC column. Electrospray ionization is used in both the negative ion (CYA) and positive ion (MEL) modes. Two selected reaction monitoring (SRM) transitions are monitored for both compounds. The amount of compounds present is determined with a calibration curve consisting of sample extracts from infant formula fortified from 0.25 to 5 µg/g that have been taken through the extraction procedure. The range of recovery from fortified infant samples (n =38) was 70-114 % (RSDs 4.5- 22.7 %), and 72-110% (RSDs 5.7-24.9%) for cyanuric acid and melamine, respectively. The limits of quantification and confirmation are 0.25 µg/g for both analytes in dry infant formula.
Introduction
In 2007, pet food, animal feed, wheat gluten, and other protein-based food commodities were found to contain residues of....................
Why just infant formula?!
3cats, i'm trying to find the link to that page.
Trudy, I think I found it from page one of yesterday's Taipei Times [I think] Posted it above, before toys entry.
For those of us who are totally untrained, what's "0.25 µg/g" mean in parts per million?
I agree, straybaby, why just infant formula, since it seems melamine can be about anywhere?
I agree Stray.
Merck comes up with a new, speedier and cost effective way to analyze and all the FDA will allow is infant formula for testing???? >:(
The October FDA Laboratory Information Bulletin is a most interesting read and especially since they tie in the 2007 petfood recall..........
WTF >:(
3cat...........ug/g stands for microgram/gram
Will see if my brain will allow me to do the conversion math to ppm :-\
ah ha for aqueous solutions a true measure
so.......
0.25 ug/g is 0.25ppm
So 10 times lower in strength than 2.5 ppm for most foods? Still not zero tolerance,
but an improvement on the down side.
So it seems
Still should be 0 ppm in my assessment >:(
Not sure any more if this is posted or not. So to be safe, here's official FDA recall notice ...
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/lotte10_08.html
Lotte USA, Inc. Initiates Nationwide Recall of Koala's March Crème filled Cookies
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- October 17, 2008 -- Lotte USA, Inc., Battle Creek, MI initiated a recall of all Koalas' March Cookies on September 29, 2008 because they were produced in China and they may be contaminated with melamine. The products are packaged in a plastic overwrap and the recall includes the following products:
Koala's March cookies, chocolate, strawberry, or white chocolate, distribution nationwide.
3cats that was pretty snarky post kiddo ;D ;D ;D
But at least will get people to thinking that this cwap is everywhere - even in personal items. ;)
:o ;D :o ;D :o ;D
melachocolate ~ it's EVERYWHERE
I don't know if this has been posted already, but it looks like melamine is back in the animal feed in China. Let me know or feel free to cross-post if this should also be in the pet food recall area.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/1500-dogs-die-from-tainted-feed-in-china-967283.html
1,500 dogs die from tainted feed in China
Some 1,500 dogs in northeast China have died after eating animal feed tainted with the same chemical that contaminated dairy products and sickened tens of thousands of babies nationwide, a veterinarian said today.
The raccoon dogs — a breed native to east Asia that is raised for its fur — were fed a product that contained the chemical melamine and developed kidney stones, said Zhang Wenkui, a veterinary professor at Shenyang Agriculture University. All of the dogs died on farms in just one village.
Zhang determined that the animals died of kidney failure after performing a necropsy — an animal autopsy — on about a dozen dogs. He declined to say when the deaths occurred but a today's report in the Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper said they had occurred over the past two months.
"First, we found melamine in the dogs' feed, and second, I found that 25 percent of the stones in the dogs' kidneys were made up of melamine," Zhang told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.
The Southern Metropolis Daily also blamed the deaths of several hundred dogs on melamine, but it was not immediately clear how the chemical would have entered the raccoon dog feed. In the ongoing milk scandal, melamine was said to be added to watered-down milk to artificially boost nitrogen levels, making products seem higher in protein when tested.
Raccoon dogs take their name from their fur, which resembles that of raccoons, and is used to make clothing, especially coats.
The animal deaths raise questions about the extent of the chemical's presence in the country's food chain.
Melamine has been found in a wide range of Chinese-made dairy products and foods with milk ingredients over the past few months. The government is still trying to win back consumer confidence after those tainted products turned up on store shelves around the world.
Four Chinese babies' deaths have been blamed on infant formula that was laced with melamine. Some 54,000 other children were sickened.
Last year, melamine-tainted wheat gluten, a pet food ingredient made in China, was blamed for the deaths of dozens of dogs and cats in North America.
When ingested by humans, the industrial chemical — used in plastics and fertilizers — can cause kidney stones as the body tries to eliminate it and, in extreme cases, can lead to kidney failure. Infants are particularly susceptible.
Zhang said the company that produces the animal feed is in talks with breeders in Xishan, the village in Liaoning province where the dogs died, about providing compensation and has pressured them not to talk to the media.
Zhang did not give the company's name but the newspaper report said the feed was produced by Harbin Hualong Feed Co. The company refused to comment, saying officials were unavailable because they were in a meeting.
An official surnamed Liu at the Liaoning provincial animal feed and medicine inspection center said the facility tested one sample of animal feed from Xishan and found that it contained about 500 parts per million of melamine. China's Health Ministry recently capped the amount of melamine permissible in milk, milk powder and food products that contain more than 15 percent dairy to 2.5 parts per million.
He said that the center was assisting the Ministry of Agriculture in a nationwide inspection of animal feed for similar contamination but would not give any other details.
The ministry did not respond to a list of faxed questions. Telephone calls to the agricultural department of the Ciyutuo county government, which oversees Xishan, rang unanswered.
China's products have been under intense scrutiny after high levels of industrial toxins were found last year in exports ranging from toothpaste to toys.
The milk scandal has resulted in recalls and the blocking of Chinese imports in numerous countries.
Also today, Australia said it had ordered a recall of a milk drink and cake brand after tests showed they were contaminated with melamine.
Lydia Buchtmann, a spokeswoman for Food Standards Australia New Zealand, said Orion brand Tiramisu Italian Cake with Cheese Cream and Dali Yuan brand First Milk vanilla-flavored drink have been taken off store shelves.
I was looking for the link to post about melamine in the chicken feed I read ?friday and found this...maybe we knew this but I either didn't or forgot... :o
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=766082
Separately, the Japanese health ministry said that melamine was detected in frozen fried chicken imported from China.
So my question is what is the level detected.....
This also makes Me wonder about chemicals
http://qunligelatin.en.alibaba.com
Qunli Gelatin Chemical Co., Ltd.
1 2 3 OfflineHangzhou Qunli Gelatin Chemical Co., Ltd. is a professional manufacturer and exporter who is engaged in producing and distributing gelatin, bone glue, calcium propionate, soft/hard capsules, hydrolyzed animal protein, food/feed additives and chemical products.
Qunli Gelatin has over 30 years working experiences in this industry. Our company depends on science and technology for our continued success and is backed by professional technicians and expert quality control and testing personnel. We also have one ISO9001 certified overseas branch office that supplies foodstuffs, feed, resin products, printed and dyed products. Due to our quality products and knowledgeable staff, we have been able to maintain long-term business relations with clients in Canada, the USA, France, Japan, Mexico, and Turkey.
We enjoy an upstanding reputation amongst our domestic and overseas clients, and are looking forward to building more successful partnerships with companies worldwide. If you are interested in any of our product range, please contact us directly with your inquiries.
3Cats, I think this is the link You were looking for.
http://indiac.blogspot.com/2008/10/more-melamine-from-china.html
Poco, we have eaten that stuff in the past too. My daughter is a Japanophile, and loves the rice crackers in particular. Yikes!
Bone Glue
this looks gross, and I wonder who's food it goes to?
http://www.alibaba.com:80/product-gs/50244465/Bone_Glue.html
Buy > Chemicals > Other Chemical Auxiliaries > Bone Glue
Bone Glue See larger image: Bone GluePlace of origin: China
Model No: Bone glue in pear
Payment Terms: T/T, L/C
Minimum Order Quantity: 1,000kg
Delivery Time: 10 days
Brand Name: Qunli
Hangzhou Qunli Gelatin Chemical Co., Ltd.
China
View other similar products from this Supplier.
Features Specifications: Bone Glue
Bone glue index:
1) Strength (moisture 12%, commercial glue 6.67%): bloomg ? 160
2) Viscosity (moisture 12%, commercial glue 6.67%): mPas ?4.5
3) Engler viscosity (moisture 12%, commercial glue 15%): E ? 3.4
4) Moisture: ? 16
5) Ash (%): ?3
6) Water insoluble matter (%): ?0.5
7) pH: 5.5-7.0
Packing: in 25kg/50kg woven bag
Carol, As far as the frozen fried chicken from China-
where does McDonalds and KFC get their chicken? I really would like to know, please?
Quote from: trudy1 on October 20, 2008, 07:40:46 AM
Carol, As far as the frozen fried chicken from China-
where does McDonalds and KFC get their chicken? I really would like to know, please?
me too. ???
Most of the grocery stores sell fried chicken takeout dinners too. I'm afraid we probably know where it comes from.
Quote from: Carol on October 20, 2008, 05:03:41 AM
I was looking for the link to post about melamine in the chicken feed I read ?friday and found this...maybe we knew this but I either didn't or forgot... :o
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=766082
Separately, the Japanese health ministry said that melamine was detected in frozen fried chicken imported from China.
So my question is what is the level detected.....
So is this stuff in the actual chicken or in the breading part of the chicken...?
I though we hadn't started importing poultry from China *yet*?
1,500 dogs die from tainted feed in China
An official surnamed Liu at the Liaoning provincial animal feed and medicine inspection center said the facility tested one sample of animal feed from Xishan and found that it contained about 500 parts per million of melamine.
[/quote]
Holy cow thats alot! 500 ppm! So once again, where is the cyanuric acid part in this? They are clearly saying its just melamine, FDA is not refuting any of this or prior articles saying its just melamine, so have we been duped and cyanuric acid was not needed in 2007 to makes pets sick or die? How come no one will answer this question? In 2007 they clearly always said melamine and its compounds, no one is even coming close to saying anything like that...its just melamine making pets and humans sick. And one other thing, this stuff is everywhere but in the U.S.? I find it really hard to believe. With all the U.S. companies at the receiving end of these China mela-producers, I cannot believe it has not been imported into the U.S. somewhere.
We don't import raw chicken from China yet. But who knows what gets sent over there to be breaded,processed & frozen. It could be chicken from here & sent there to be breaded & frozen,then sent back here. They delayed cool again & that might count as a processed food & not be labeled MIC anyway.
It does seem like an act of science fiction to maintain that none of this melamine-contamined
food, ranging from baby formula, to saltine crackers, to breads-cakes-cookies-crackers snack food,
to candies chocolate-or-otherwise, to milk products liquid-or-dry-powder, to protein nutritional drinks-
and-bars, to egg-and-meat products is not making its way into the U.S. food supply through our trading
partners and trade agreements with China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia,
the Phillippines ... just absolute stupid denial on the part of U.S. food authorities that is totally
unsupportable and calls for immediate melamine and cyanuric safety testing of products imported
from everywhere.
We have volunteers for the first 30 pages of analysis on this thread for the brand names and ingredients
lists to be tallied. We need more to produce master listings. Please PM.
"now you for pages 41 to 50
Two lists, alphabetized, one of brand names of products containing
melamine found on those pages [including checking links to make sure you
have them all] and one of ingredients to watch out for
(whey, casein, etc., etc., which should be much shorter." Thanks.
We still need volunteers for
pages 31 to 40
pages 51 to 60
pages 61 to 70
... oops, and someone for 71 to the end
edited to add:
we need only two-and-a-half volunteers as of 1 pm PDT on Monday, Oct. 20, 2008.
shooting to have this completed by next Sunday. Thank you all, very much.
I really wondered about KFC. Like I said, We never go to fast foods.
But last night My DH went to KFC and brought home chicken for him, and boneless chicken for Me. The breading on the chicken looked gross. so, i didn't eat much of it. but I did get sick after eating. Not that bad, but I didn't feel well all night. It might just have been the thought, who knows?
Animal fodder From China
http://www.diytrade.com/china/4/products-list/0-k-c-1/animal_fodder.html
Dry Dog Food From china
If You can go to all the pages, you will see a lot of brand name dog foods. You might already know this, but i didn't know all of them.
http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/Pet_food_Distributors/2.html
That's just the problem, Trudy, no one knows in the US at this point, and if they are
checking, there's no way for the American consumer to know because the information
is not being made public.
Scariest darn products you're finding, Trudy, listed for sale. Wish I thought no U.S. manufacturers
were purchasing it because Chinese imports were banned, but I don't.
Come on, Itchmo, I only need four... [b]2 and 1/2[/b]
one volunteer for pages 61 to 70, and one volunteer for pages 71 to the end of the thread to help analyze before next Sunday. Just a few hours and we'd as a group have it done...
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=13528&geo=36&size=A
10/20/2008 16:02
NEPAL Nepal bans Chinese milk and dairy products
by Kalpit Parajuli
Kathmandu (AsiaNews) - The government of Nepal has banned Chinese milk and all products derived from it. The decision was made on Sunday the 19th, in anticipation of new technologies to test food products coming from Beijing. Uttam Kumar Bhattarai, director general of the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DoFTQC) ...
[edited to add: Nepal is already counted in the country list per Forbes, I guess]
JAPAN [?]
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/26/asia/AS-China-Tainted-Milk.php
Baby cereal latest problem in China milk scandal
The Associated PressPublished: September 26, 2008
BEIJING: The list of products caught in China's tainted milk scandal grew Friday to include baby cereal in Hong Kong and snack foods in Japan, while Taiwan reported three children and a mother with kidney stones in the island's first cases possibly linked to the crisis.
The Japanese government also said it had suspended imports of milk and milk products from China, where some 54,000 children have developed kidney stones or other illnesses after drinking baby formula contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine
Japan kind of seems like Chile and Saudi Arabia as far as the country counts go???
That is the problem, Poco. All that trade money and business lobbying:
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/story.html?id=16e3ed8e-b7d8-42cb-86b0-19ded899d112
Out for Chinese Food
Where's your food from? Answers on ingredient sources are hard to come by for jittery consumers
Sarah Schmidt, Canwest News Service
Published: Friday, October 17, 2008
... Food firms stress safety, but won't disclose sources
Some of the world's largest food and beverage companies won't disclose the ingredients they source from China for the thousands of products they sell to Canadians. They offer similar explanations of why they can't reveal ingredient details - and why consumers have nothing to worry about. A sampling:
. General Mills: "We don't share information about ingredients by supplier or country for competitive reasons, so that's our total response . . . Obviously, we're very, very careful. We have the highest possible standards and our consumers know that and trust us."
. PepsiCo: "PepsiCo sources ingredients from around the globe to ensure that we use the freshest and highest quality ingredients available for all of our products. Safety of these materials is critical to our consumers and customers."
. The Coca-Cola Company: "The Coca-Cola Company has an uncompromising commitment to product quality and safety and rigorous quality control practices for our ingredient suppliers. We adhere to the same high global standards for product safety and quality - regardless of where we produce, source or sell . . . "
. Heinz: "Heinz does not disclose specific product sourcing details for competitive reasons. We commit to sourcing from the country in which we operate as much as possible. Importantly, quality is of paramount importance to everyone at the HJ Heinz Company."
. Nestle: "Nestle sources ingredients from around the world. All of Nestle's quality assurance practices are the same in every Nestle factory throughout the world and these practices meet and often exceed government standards."
. Loblaw: "At Loblaw, food safety has always been a number one priority. All food products and ingredients we offer for sale must meet Canadian regulatory requirements . . . "
© Canwest News Service 2008
Quote from: kittylyda on October 01, 2008, 06:47:21 PM
I found this on Dick Durbin's website:
http://durbin.senate.gov/showRelease.cfm?releaseId=303894
Durbin, DeLauro Press FDA on Contaminated Milk Investigation
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – United States Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday, asking for assurances that the FDA is proactively doing all it can to protect consumers from contaminated milk products from China.
"We are writing in response to the recent reports of milk products from China contaminated with melamine, the same industrial chemical involved in a series of pet food recalls in 2007. A number of safety issues have emerged in recent years with respect to Chinese imports, such as pet food, seafood, and toothpaste. This latest incident not only demonstrates that significant work remains for China to reform its food safety system, but raises serious questions about the FDA's ability to protect consumers and our food supply from hazardous products that originate overseas," Durbin and DeLauro wrote.
More than 54,000 have been sickened and 13,000 hospitalized in China in recent weeks as a result of melamine-tainted infant formula produced by Chinese dairy companies. The World Health Organization has said that a delay in reporting the contamination contributed to the magnitude of the incident. Authorities in both China and the US are investigating if other milk-based products are at risk of contamination.
On September 12, the FDA issued an advisory stating there was no known threat of contamination in infant formula being sold in the U.S. On September 26, the FDA updated its advisory to alert customers to a possible contamination Mr. Brown instant coffee and milk tea products. FDA is currently testing other milk-based products imported from China to ensure that the melamine contamination has not spread to the US. No contaminated products or illnesses resulting from these products have been confirmed in the US.
Durbin and DeLauro are seeking information on the status of ongoing investigations and future plans for banning or recalling certain Chinese imports due to contamination.
A copy of the letter can be found below:
September 29, 2008
Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D.
Commissioner
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
5600 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20857
Dear Dr. von Eschenbach:
We are writing in response to the recent reports of milk products from China contaminated with melamine, the same industrial chemical involved in a series of pet food recalls in 2007. A number of safety issues have emerged in recent years with respect to Chinese imports, such as pet food, seafood, and toothpaste. This latest incident not only demonstrates that significant work remains for China to reform its food safety system, but raises serious questions about the FDA's ability to protect consumers and our food supply from hazardous products that originate overseas.
To date, infant formula tainted with melamine has sickened 54,000, hospitalized 13,000, and caused the deaths of four infants in China. Concerns over contamination have spread beyond infant formula to include processed foods that may contain milk-based ingredients produced in China. In response, dozens of countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa have begun testing or banning Chinese imports containing dairy ingredients or recalling such products from off the shelves.
According to the World Health Organization, delays in reporting, including a deliberate failure to report, contributed to the magnitude of the incident. News agencies report that Sanlu Group, one of 22 Chinese dairy companies producing tainted milk, received complaints as early as last December and became aware of a contamination in June. But the company failed to notify the government until early August, and more than a month passed before an official investigation was launched.
On September 12, the FDA issued a Health Information Advisory to inform the American public that there is no known threat of contamination in infant formula manufactured by companies that have met the requirements to sell such products in the United States. On September 26, the FDA updated its advisory to alert customers to a possible contamination in Mr. Brown instant coffee and milk tea products. It is our understanding that the FDA is also testing milk-based products imported from China for melamine contamination, including dairy-based candies and desserts.
We appreciate the steps the FDA has taken to respond to this latest incident. Yet, we are seeking assurances that the FDA is proactively doing everything in its power to protect the public health now, before contaminated products put consumers at risk. As such, we ask that you answer the following questions:
1. What is the status of the current investigation?
2. Please provide a detailed timeline from when the FDA first learned about a potential contamination through the present that also details the actions taken in response.
3. How many dairy products, or products containing dairy ingredients, were received by the U.S. from China in 2006, 2007, and 2008?
4. How many of these imports were inspected by the FDA?
5. Were any of these refused import? For what reasons? Did these concerns suggest a systemic risk?
6. Does the FDA plan on banning certain Chinese imports or issuing recalls in response to the contamination?
7. What changes in current law or funding levels are needed so that the FDA can best protect the public and the food supply from tainted imports?
8. Please provide a status update on the implementation of the December 11, 2007 memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the United States and China with respect to food safety.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. We ask that you provide a response within 20 days.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator
Rosa L. DeLauro
United States Representative
Time should be up!
FDA standard operating time is not up until the FDA says it's up. COOL, pet illness early warning system. Where's your
FDA wristwatch with no clock hands ;D :'( Wristwatch only operates temporarily in the event of absolute disaster I think.
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on October 20, 2008, 04:18:07 PM
That is the problem, Poco. All that trade money and business lobbying:
http://www.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/news/story.html?id=16e3ed8e-b7d8-42cb-86b0-19ded899d112
Out for Chinese Food
Where's your food from? Answers on ingredient sources are hard to come by for jittery consumers
Sarah Schmidt, Canwest News Service
Published: Friday, October 17, 2008
... Food firms stress safety, but won't disclose sources
So they all claim safety first - but what are they actually checking? If you believe statements made elsewhere melamine and its derivatives were not on the radar even after the pet food recalls last year - companies express surprise regarding where it has been detected. So what exactly are they actually testing for?
(Oops - I posted by accident before I finished entering my response. Hopefully that makes more sense now.)
I don't know ifthis has been posted or not?
Japan finds melamine in Chinese egg powder
A Japanese company said the toxic chemical melamine was found in dried egg powder imported from China as a scandal over tainted milk that has sickened thousands of babies keeps growing.
Japan's leading trading firm Mitsui & Co. said late Thursday that the company has recalled egg powder after detecting a small amount of melamine inside it.
Egg powder is often used to flavor pastries, cooked pasta and confectionery products.
Mitsui imported 20 tons of Chinese egg powder in September, most of which was sold to Q.P. Egg Corp., a unit of Japanese mayonnaise maker Q.P. Corp., the company said.
Some 0.4 tons of egg powder have already been consumed, it said, but no health problems have been reported.
The finding came after Chinese manufacturer Dalian Hanovo Foods informed Mitsui that melamine was detected in its egg powder products and poultry feed.
Mitsui has "recalled all the egg powder products that have not been used and plans to send them back to China or destroy them," it said in a statement.
Separately, the Japanese health ministry said that melamine was detected in frozen fried chicken imported from China.
The fried chicken has not been distributed in the market, according to the ministry.
These were recalled last week.
Cookies containing melamine in higher-than-allowed amounts have been found on some store shelves in Connecticut. Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell says the cookies, sold under the "Koala's March" brand are imported from China and distributed by Lotte USA of Battle Creek, Michigan.
http://www.wtic.com/Cookies-Containing-Melamine-Found-on-Connecticut-S/3168649
Five of us are working on master lists of brands/products recalled or banned by brands. Then a separate list of the types of foods recalled but not named by brand and/or ingredients to watch out for on labels. I still need 1 and 1/2 volunteers for
pages 61 to 70, and 71 to the end.
What we'll post are the best lists each of us can make to warn consumers what to avoid, hopefully by this next weekend.
Menusux wanted to do this posts ago, and no one else is doing it. So these volunteers are just trying based on increasingly
shut down media reports to make a list for consumers!! Thank you, volunteers!!!
And thanks to Susan Thixton at The Truth About Pet Food for tying this all together, humans and pets, in a desparate struggle
to protect us all from kidney disease:
http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com:80/articles/129/1/Has-Chinese-Melamine-been-affecting-US-Citizens-for-years/Page1.html
Has Chinese Melamine been affecting US Citizens for years?
By Susan Thixton
Oldie but a goodie regarding fast food restaurant chains:
http://www.smartbrief.com/news/idfa/storyDetails.jsp?issueid=568B9E0D-9634-41A6-A733-94F6C569DBA7©id=6FD5ED2D-0B1D-43F4-AC08-FF05EB0353B7&lmcid=&type=press
Starbucks chooses new Chinese milk supplier
IDFA SmartBrief | 10/13/2008
Starbucks has selected Baxy as its milk supplier in China, severing ties with Mengniu, a company linked to the tainted milk crisis. Starbucks, which has more than 300 locations in China, switched to soy milk and stopped selling coffee products with milk from Mengniu on Sept. 17. ChinaCSR.com (10/13)
Not sure what the correct date is here:
http://www.smartbrief.com/news/idfa/storyDetails.jsp?issueid=568B9E0D-9634-41A6-A733-94F6C569DBA7©id=9C2261D7-C47D-437F-9D64-C41023A6B81A&lmcid=
Mengniu to supply KFC's dairy needs in China
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Mengniu to supply KFC's dairy needs in China
IDFA SmartBrief | 10/13/2008
Mengniu Dairy, China's biggest milk producer, will replace Nestle as the milk supplier for China's 2,000 KFC restaurants. The supply agreement, which is set to start next year, follows Starbucks' decision earlier this year to make Mengniu its milk supplier in Beijing. Reuters (10/23) China Daily (Beijing) (10/23)
There is no safe remote corner of the world's globalized food supply, period:
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200810/s2396012.htm?tab=latest
Melamine found in Chinese-made candy in Solomons
Updated October 20, 2008 14:35:02
Solomons Islands has found very high levels of melamine in samples of candies, after products were sent to Australia for analysis.
Ms Mapolu says White Rabbit candy products have now been withdrawn from all retail outlets throughout the country.
Quote from: Poco on October 21, 2008, 12:10:34 AM
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/china/toxic-milk-scandal-tv-show-5807.html
Chinese TV Pulls Show Discussing Toxic Milk Scandal By Qiao Long
Radio Free Asia Oct 17, 2008
"China's state-run Chinese Central Television (CCTV) pulled a talk show discussing the recent milk scandal on October 12 allegedly under the order of the Central Propaganda Department."
At least our government would never be so bold as to admit that we have one, too.
Remember Oprah and beef?
I can't believe they are reselling the poo poo to college students!!! I hope they (the Chinese government) will post the results of their live testing . . .
Still need 1/2 volunteer to go through pages 71 to end to create lists kind of like this. Everything else is covered
by some great volunteers!!! It does take some time to check out each link, and some of the links have been yanked
since early September 2008 (media blanket, I guess). Definitely need to be able to copy-and-paste from articles:
Brands/Products with melamine:
baby milk powder products produced by Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group, Shanghai Panda Dairy, Qingdao Shengyuan Dairy, Shanxi Gu Cheng Dairy, Jiangxi Guangming Yingxiong Dairy, Baoji Huimin Dairy, Inner Mongolia Mengniu Dairy, Torador Dairy Industry (Tianjin), Guangdong Yashili Group, Hunan Peiyi Dairy, Heilongjiang Qilin Dairy, Shanxi Yashili Dairy, Shenzhen Jinbishi Milk, Scient (Guangzhou) Infant Nutrition, Guangzhou Jinding Dairy Products Factory, Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group, Yantai Ausmeadow Nutriment, Qingdao Suncare Nutritional Technology, Xi'an Baiyue Dairy, Yantai Leilei Dairy, Shanghai Baoanli Dairy, and Fuding Chenguan Dairy
Bright Dairy liquid milk
Dutch Lady milk
Mengniu Dairy products
Mr. Brown products imported by local King Car Company
Mr. Brown coffee (canned)
Nestle Dairy Farm Pure Milk (catering use only)
Nestle products imported from China
Nestle milk powder
Sanlu Dairy products
White Rabbit Creamy Candy
Yili Dairy products
List of foods/types to be wary of:
baby milk powder products
formula milk powder
frozen confections
infant formula
instant coffee (containing nondairy creamer vegetable protein)
milk
milk beverage
milk candy
milk powder
milk tea (containing nondairy creamer vegetable protein)
raw milk
soup chicken-and-corn (containing nondairy creamer vegetable protein)
List of food ingredients to read food labels for:
caseinate
Corn Gluten
Corn Gluten Meal
Corn By-Products
dried skim milk
Mung Bean Protein
non-dairy
Rice Gluten
Milled Rice Products
Rice Protein
Rice Protein Concentrate
sodium caseinate (a milk derivative)
Soy Bean Meal/Powder/Gluten/Protein Isolate
Soybean Meal
Soy Gluten
Soy Meal
Soy Protein
Soy Protein Powder
Wheat Gluten
Wheat Flour Gluten
whey protein concentrate
http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/10/22/afx5587919.html
Thomson Financial News
RPT China milk scandal made worse by 'old fashioned' regulatory system - WHO
10.22.08, 4:16 AM ET
BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) - China's milk contamination scandal was exacerbated by an 'old-fashioned' regulatory system, officials from the World Health Organization said, as they urged Beijing to consolidate the numerous arms of its current system into a single, unified framework.
Speaking at the release of a new paper on advancing food safety in China, WHO food safety advisor Anthony Hazzard said China should adopt one law that governs all aspects of the food supply chain as there is currently too much ambiguity among the various food safety bodies.
.....
Unfortunately I think we could substitute US where it says China in the above blurb from the article....
Amen, Carol, for one national food safety authority with mandatory import ban and mandatory recall
powers over the total US food supply. Here's a UN report and steps to be taken by the chief culpable
US retailer, albiet not the only one, way too late and too slowly, Wal-Mart:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/22/china
UN and Wal-Mart highlight China food safety concernsTania Branigan in Beijing
The safety of Chinese products was under the spotlight again today as the UN called for "urgent revision" of the country's food supervision system and Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, pledged to crack down on unscrupulous suppliers. ...
In a report released today, the United Nations warns that China's food exports could plummet without changes including an overarching watchdog and a single food safety law covering the "farm-to-fork" journey.
"The national system needs urgent review and revision," said Khalid Malik, the UN's resident coordinator for China. ...
Jorgen Schlundt, the World Health Organisation's food safety chief, said the melamine case showed "that a disjointed system with dispersed authority resulted in poor communication and maybe prolonged [the] outbreak with a late response".
Today it emerged that three more children in the Chinese territory of Macau have developed kidney stones after drinking milk from the companies involved; Hong Kong officials have found cake containing "excessive" amounts of melamine; and South Korea has destroyed 23 tonnes of tainted Chinese-processed egg products. ...
Wal-Mart, which buys around $9bn of goods from China annually, has announced rigorous new standards for suppliers covering issues from product quality to working conditions and environmental sustainability.
Among the measures are a pledge to drive returns on defective merchandise "virtually out of existence" by 2012 and a promise to slash energy use in stores. Suppliers will have to tell the company the name and location of every factory they use.
"I firmly believe that a company that cheats on overtime and on the age of its labour, that dumps its scraps and chemicals in our rivers, that does not pay its taxes or honour its contracts, will ultimately cheat on the quality of its products," said Lee Scott, the company's chief executive, speaking in Beijing at a specially convened conference for suppliers.
The company was built on rock-bottom prices, but Scott acknowledged it was "very likely" some of the changes would result in higher prices in stores, lower profits for the company and smaller margins for suppliers.
"When we have bought overseas, we have purchased historically in a very transactional manner. We need deeper, longer-term relationships with suppliers so they are not based upon the last penny but provide a quality product at a very good price.
"Will there be people today, who subcontract to factories we should never have brought from, who go bust? Yes."
Wal-Mart is regularly accused of squeezing suppliers on cost, resulting in contractors pushing down wages. Unions are not allowed in Wal-Mart's US stores. It is the single biggest US importer of Chinese goods, and owns more than 100 stores in China itself as well as the Asda chain in Britain.
Wal-Mart said the rules would initially apply to clothing and then be rolled out to all areas and countries by 2011.
Keep feeding us melamine, Wal-Mart, until 2011. While no one wants your clothes with fire retardant in them, I believe, I'd much rather you protected US consumers from melamine contaminated food imports first.
http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/rnr/888247935.html
Chinese Melamine --- Halloween Candy - WARNING Chinese food product (Canada)
With Halloween fast approaching comes a warning to parents and kids regarding Sherwood brand Pirate's Gold milk chocolate coins imported from China .
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is warning the public not to eat, distribute or sell the candy.
It is sold across Canada by Costco and may also have been sold in bulk packages or as individual pieces at various dollar and bulk stores
http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/news/article.asp?docKey=600-200810220200KRTRIB__BUSNEWS_63515-02J9BVO2HIR1CNL6VQ90EI0T00¶ms=timestamp%7C%7C10/22/2008%202:00%20AM%20ET%7C%7Cheadline%7C%7CHalloween%20confections%20from%20China%20on%20shelves%3A%20Melamine%20scare%20has%20consumers%20wary.%20FDA%20says%20imports%20tested%20and%20no%20illnesses%20are%20reported%20%5BThe%20Akron%20Beacon%20Journal%2C%20Ohio%5D%7C%7CdocSource%7C%7CKnight%20Ridder/Tribune%7C%7Cprovider%7C%7CACQUIREMEDIA
Halloween confections from China on shelves: Melamine scare has consumers wary. 10/22/2008 12:08 PM ETOct. 22--Read the fine print on a bag of Halloween candy and it could scare you more than the goblins who soon will be at your door begging for it.
Packages printed with the words "product of China" aren't hard to find in local grocery stores and discount retailers.
...
FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Kwisnek said the FDA has taken aggressive action since the melamine scare began in September to ensure the safety of all food, including candy, including additional inspections and testing of imports. She noted that few prod ucts containing melamine have been detected and no illnesses have been reported.
Consumer worries have led many American candy companies to post statements on their Web sites, detailing precautions they have taken. Hershey's, Mars, Kraft and others have issued statements on melamine.
But what those statements don't say is that U.S. companies are still making candy in China and other countries.
On the site of the R.M. Palmer Co., a novelty candymaker in Reading, Pa., a disclaimer states, "Our plants, located in Reading, Pennsylvania, use domestic milk and milk products sourced in the USA for all of our dairy-based products. We do not use dairy products sourced from China."
However, the statement doesn't note that some of the firm's other candies are made in China, including Marshmallow Super Sports, currently on local store shelves. A company spokesman declined to speak about the issue.
Michael MacAdams, marketing director for Frankford Candy Co. in Philadelphia, Pa., a maker of candy novelties for licensed brands, said his company makes some products in China and other countries, including a best seller this Halloween, SpongeBob Squarepants Gummy Krabby Patties for Nickelodeon.
Gummies from China
The chewy layered confection resembles a hamburger. MacAdams said the company uses Chinese manufacturers for molded or gummy candies because of cost advantages, particularly in tooling molds and in labor. Frankford balances those savings against shipping costs and other factors to determine where an item will be made.
MacAdams stressed that Frankford imports no chocolate and tests products at various points in the production chain. "We're very diligent about making sure the products we bring in meet all the necessary FDA requirements and are safe for everybody's kids," he said.
While the FDA has not recalled any candy from an American maker, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has recalled Sherwood Brands Pirate's Gold Milk Chocolate Coins, which were made in China and sold at Costco stores in Canada, after they tested positive for melamine.
Sherwood, located in Rockville, Md., has numerous China-made candies on local store shelves, including Lolli Pups, bone-shaped lollipops, and Spooky Eyes Bubble Gum, the package of which states, "May contain milk."
Sherwood company officials did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Kwisnek said the FDA is keeping an eye on the Sherwood situation, but did not issue a recall because the product was distributed only in Canada.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/10/22/08/bfad-finds-melamine-two-more-food-products
[BFAD is in the Phillippines]
BFAD finds melamine in two more food products
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 10/22/2008 1:10 PM
Two more products have tested positive for melamine, bringing to six the number of food products that have been found by the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) to be contaminated with melamine.
In its sixth batch of results announced Wednesday, the Department of Health (DOH) said the two food products that have tested positive for melamine are: Lotte B&W Koala Biscuits, and Lotte Chocolate Snack Koala Biscuits.
In the earlier batches of food products tested, the BFAD discovered melamine in four: JollyCow Slender High Calcium Low Fat Milk (1 liter);Greenfood Yili Fresh Milk (in Chinese character); Mengniu Drink (in Chinese character); Lotte Strawberry Snack Koala Biscuit.
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/consumer_product_safety/china/index.html?offset=120&s=newest&query=FOOD+CONTAMINATION+AND+POISONING&field=des&match=exact
Times Topics > Subjects > C > Consumer Product Safety > China
Consumer Safety and China Your search for FOOD CONTAMINATION AND POISONING in Consumer Safety and China returned 122 articles
ARTICLES ABOUT CONSUMER SAFETY AND CHINA
Newest First | Oldest First | Closest Match
This is one newspaper, The New York Times.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/22/FD1313JJBF.DTL&type=printable
Melamine taint - old problem has new urgency
Marion Nestle, Special to The Chronicle
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Editor's note: Nationally recognized nutrition expert Marion Nestle answers readers' questions in Food Matters, written exclusively for The Chronicle. E-mail your questions to food@sfchronicle .com, with "Marion Nestle" in the subject line.
Q: Every day we hear about more foods from China with melamine. First it was infant formula, now it's candy in New Zealand, croissants in Japan, M&M's in South Korea, and coffee drinks in the United States. Explain, please.
A: You may be puzzled, but I am appalled that melamine waste from Chinese plastic dinnerware is in so many foods, particularly infant formula. China admits to 54,000 cases, 14,000 hospitalizations and four deaths from kidney stones among infants fed formula laced with melamine. These numbers are undoubtedly underestimates. ...
Credit for this goes to a beloved "little birdie" who sent it along for posting:
http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/ora_import_ia9931.html
IA #99-31, 10/10/2008, IMPORT ALERT #99-31, "DETENTION WITHOUT PHYSICAL EXAMINATION
OF FOOD PRODUCTS DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF MELAMINE AND/OR MELAMINE ANALOGS"
TYPE OF ALERT: Detention Without Physical Examination ...
RECOMMENDING
OFFICE: Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), HFS-607 ...
To date, FDA testing has found melamine contamination in multiple
products imported from China. FDA is continuing its testing of a
variety of products for melamine and its analogs. ...
ATTACHMENT TO IMPORT ALERT #99-31 10/10/2008
Firm: Product/Product Code/Charge:
Guan Sheng Yuan Food, Ltd., Taffy candy - "White Rabbit"
AKA: Shanghai Quan Sheng Yuan Food, Ltd. 33H[][][][], 33J[][][][],
220 Can Bao Road 33G[][][][], 33K[][][][],
Shanghai, China 33L[][][][], 33S[][][][],
FEI# 3003619135 33Y[][][][]
CHARGE: 402(a)(2)(c)(i)
10/10/08
Shanghai Guan Sheng Yuan Taffy candy - "White Rabbit"
International Trade Co. Ltd. 33H[][][][], 33J[][][][],
No. 1418 Xinzha Road 33G[][][][], 33K[][][][],
Shanghai, China 33L[][][][], 33S[][][][],
FEI# 3003625317 33Y[][][][]
CHARGE: 402(a)(2)(c)(i)
10/10/08
Kun Bo (kun Po) Foodstuff I/E Co., Ltd. Milk based flavored drink
Zhongshan City, China - "Blue Cat"
FEI# 3004275116 09[][][][][], 29A[][][]70,
29B[][][]70, 29A[][][]99,
29B[][][]99
CHARGE: 402(a)(2)(c)(i)
10/10/08
Inner Mongolia Yili Dairy Products Yeast flavored milk drink
Drink-Co. Ltd. - Yili Brand
8 Jinshan Road, Jinshan Development 09[][][][][], 29A[][][]70
Hohhot, China 29B[][][]70, 29A[][][]99,
FEI# 3004920511 29B[][][]99
CHARGE: 402(a)(2)(c)(i)
10/10/08
Because Sri Lanka and Canada have banned Sherwood Brands Pirates Gold coins for containing melamine,
[Sri Lanka:]
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-suspected-chinese-officials-say-baby-formula-tied-to-kidney-stones-t6256.0.html;msg94003;topicseen#msg94003
[Canada:]
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-suspected-chinese-officials-say-baby-formula-tied-to-kidney-stones-t6256.0.html;msg91967;topicseen#msg91967
and given the history found online of Sherwood Brands:
Sherwood Brands
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS213886+14-Feb-2008+BW20080214
Dollar General Issues Customer Warning, Removes Pokeman Valentine's Day Candy From...
Thu Feb 14, 2008 11:56am EST
Dollar General Issues Customer Warning, Removes Pokeman Valentine's Day Candy From All Stores
GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn.--(Business Wire)--
Out of an abundance of caution, Dollar General is removing from
its shelves this morning Pokemon 10 Valentine Cards and Pops and has
placed an immediate nationwide stop sale of the product on its
registers after a customer reported finding a metal object in one of
the product's candy lollipops last night. The product, supplied by
Sherwood Brands of Maryland, was purchased from a store in Lakeland,
FL.
No injuries have been reported; and, at this time, no additional
incidents have been reported.
http://www.macraesbluebook.com/search/company.cfm?company=482671
275 Ferris Ave
Rumford, RI , 02916-1033
Phone: 401-434-7773
FAX: 401-434-7748
Website: www.sherwoodbrands.com
Business Activity: Importer
Products Description:
Manufactures cookies; manufactures candy & other confectionery products Confectionary products, Chocolate or
chocolate substitute candy, Sugar or sugar substitute candy, Chewing gum, Frozen pastry dough, Frozen savory biscuit dough
http://www.sherwoodbrands.com/
Sherwood Brands is a leading marketer of premium confectionary products and gift items which specializes in seasonal product lines.
Our popular everyday brands include
Ruger wafers,
Elana premium Belgian chocolate,
and COWS candy.
We also offer products under licensed brands like Animal Planet® and NASCAR ™. Sherwood products are sold nationwide by top retailers of all categories, who recognize Sherwood's ability to provide top-quality products at affordable prices and who benefit from the mass consumer appeal of Sherwood Brands.
Without any other testing of product for melamine/cyanuric acid that I'm able to find, it seems like a good idea to avoid the following Sherwood products in the USA this Halloween as a consumer safety measure since Sherwood Brands has not indentified its ingredient
product sources. The following is a partial list of Sherwood Brands that I could find online:
http://www.sherwoodbrands.com/Catalog/Everyday/EVERYDAY_Volume08.pdf
A nimal Licks™ The p op th at licks y o u back! Kid Fun Animals with Ca n dy Tong ues! Gira ffe, Hipp o, Ze bra an d Ch e etah A nim al Licks
BPoPs are fun candy pacifiers for all ages
Bpop Beast Pops
Chick-N-Chat®
Cows Soft n"Chewy Dairy Butter Toffees, Chocolate Filled Butter Toffees, Butter n' Cream Cows Hard Candy,
Cows Double Chocolate Filled Toffees, Cows Peanut Butter Filled, Cows Assorted (Vanilla, Mint, Coffee),
Cows Sugar-Free Dairy Butter Toffees
Demitasse Teabiscuits (like oblong cookies)
Demitasse Petit Beurre (like oblong cookies)
Pirates Gold Premium Chocolate Coins in gold mesh bags, sold individually in large and medium, and in Pirates Gold Treasure Chests
Ruger Wafer Chocolate
Ruger Wafer Vanilla
Rugar Sugar Free Chocolate Wafer
Ruger Sugar Free Vanilla Wafer
Sour Fruit Burst
It seems to me there is no way for the US consumer to know about any other possible melamine adulteration of Sherwood Brands, but
no Sherwood products except Pirates Gold coins have been identified by any country as containing melamine.
>:(
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/united-states/fda-melamine-inspection-5997.html
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/282466.asp
This article raises concerns to me about who is conducting the tests and why....and this word is troublesome too...
sodium caseinate
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/10/17/2003426112
Those are great articles, Carol. Sodium caseinate does seem to be an ingredient of particular worry, along with
lactoferrin, whey, and wheat flour.
We all know why no inspection is taking place on foreign firms and so little on actual US imports I think. I don't
believe they could stand the scrutiny by anyone even if the funding was there to do it ...
A word of warning to everyone. Trying to analyze this thread back to the beginning, a lot of the links posted a month
ago have already disappeared. So if all you give is the URL, everything in the article you are quoting may disappear in a very
short period of time. I know it's a pain, but as long as you don't try to represent that you wrote it and attribute the
source, it is okay to quote. Most of the yanked I'm finding are from AP (Associated Press), but I have seen some from USA Today,
the BBC, and elsewhere.
My mind never made a connection from processed egg products to Salad Dressing!!!
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200810/200810230027.html
Melamine has now also been found in processed egg products imported from China which are used in salad dressing or seasoning. The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced on Wednesday that after thorough testing, some melamine was found in five products out of nine tested. The five products were manufactured by two companies, Dalian Hanovo Foods and Dalilan Greensnow Eggproducts Development.
Melamine was detected in duck¡¯s yolk powder, egg power, albumen power and yolk liquid, 47.1 tons of which were imported from China on April 17 and 18.
While the WHO report is basically addressed at China, the United States needs to acknowledge that its own system is just as faulty as the one in China. We've proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that "self regulation" does NOT work. We've proven that without enforceable, strong laws the industries have NO incentive to ensure the safety of their products BEFORE they release them and NO incentive to ensure they quickly respond AFTER release to problems. The consumer always pays the consequences and is buried in useless systems with no support to the consumers from government or industry.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2008/10/23/2003426690
¡§In this incident we see that an old-fashioned system contributed to the event,¡¨ Schlundt said of the milk scandal.
¡§This disjointed system with disjointed authority between different ministries and agencies had resulted in broken communication and may have prolonged the outbreak with a late response,¡¨ he said.
It called on China to set up a unified and enforceable system capable of ensuring product safety from farm to table, and which would highlight the responsibilities of producers to make safe food.
China needed to educate its companies to better understand the role they played in building market confidence both domestically and abroad, Schlundt said.
Offy's article says April 17 and 18...so just imagine the endless possibilities of how far the contamination has reached...mind boggling...and just as mind boggling is how this is still so low key in the mainstream press... >:(
Thanks Carol for noting that. For that to have been imported at that time (finished ingredient), it had to have been in the manufacturing system for quite some time prior to reaching the stage where it was packaged, sold and exported.
3cat said: "A word of warning to everyone. Trying to analyze this thread back to the beginning, a lot of the links posted a month
ago have already disappeared. So if all you give is the URL, everything in the article you are quoting may disappear in a very
short period of time. I know it's a pain, but as long as you don't try to represent that you wrote it and attribute the
source, it is okay to quote."
[Emphasis mine.]
Great idea, 3cat. We really need to quote to preserve the pertinent recall/banning info of the articles referenced: brand, manufacturer, product name, batch, flavor, Use By dates, banning country, where shipped, test results, etc. I've found Yahoo and ??orbit articles that have already disappeared as well.
It seems as though we have so many categories of foods to be cautious of.
I think a lot of times the on-line newspapers end up putting aticles in their archives. I am wondering if we can search for some of the lost material and get an updated link. Just a thought.
Still in need of a volunteer to analyze pages 71 to the end. I can PM or email samples of what types
of entries to look out for. My research has gone down because of analyzing pages 21 to 30.
So keep the current news posts coming and thank you!
The search for melamine is hampered by the nonavailability of the latest testing equipment.
The UN here is offering to connect poorer countries with probably the most affected children
to the certified labs able to test:
http://health.yahoo.com/news/afp/chinafoodsafetychildbangladesh_081022152609.html
UN urges Bangladesh vigilance over melamine
By AFP - Wed Oct 22, 8:26 AM PDT
DHAKA (AFP) - UN agencies Wednesday urged Bangladesh to act quickly to determine the extent
of melamine contamination in milk products in the nation after criticism over its testing methods.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation, World Health Organisation and the UN Children's Fund in
Bangladesh said they were willing to offer the use of "internationally certified" laboratories to test
for the industrial chemical. ...
Three major international dairy firms, Nestle, Arla -- which produces Dano products -- and New Zealand
Dairy Products have challenged the Bangladeshi results and say their products are safe.
The initial tests, carried out by Dhaka University's chemistry department, were contradicted by results
from two other local labs, which found melamine in only one of the brands tested.
One has to question manufacturer motives regarding testing. What is needed here is a truly independent
testing source whose priority is consumer food safety on behalf of all the children and people of the
world to prevent the continued spread of melamine contamination.
http://knowmediablog.com:80/?p=1005
China Blocks Blogs, Search Results on Tainted Milk Scandal
Oct 23rd, 2008 by Tyler.
Via MediaShift
by Lucie Morillon, October 22, 2008
... In 2006, the Chinese government virtually inscribed its censorship policies in stone when it promulgated an emergency management law that included heavy fines for news media that published unauthorized information about industrial accidents, natural disasters, public health emergencies or social unrest. The authorities had initially even envisaged prison sentences for violators before backing off.
Chinese officials have not only censored the mainstream press, but also the new media. Internet censorship is ensured by the 11 Commandments of the Internet, which forbids online editors from covering 11 sensitive subjects, including items that:
> endanger national security
> destroy the country's reputation and benefits
> spread rumors, endanger public order and create social uncertainty
> include illegal information bounded by law and administrative rules
The censors continue to quash reports on the Sanlu tainted milk. A blog post on the scandal by Southern Weekend editor Fu Jianfeng was removed from the Internet and Jianfeng now faces official harassment. It took only two days for Chinese web censors to set up filters to block key words related to the scandal.
Nart Villeneuve, a Psiphon Fellow with the Citizen Lab, an Internet and politics research group at the University of Toronto, has discovered a huge surveillance system in China that monitors and archives Internet text conversations that include politically charged words. His report Breaching Trust: An analysis of surveillance and security practices on China's TOM-Skype platform spots "milk powder" as one of the restricted phrases.
According to a report from the Nanfang Dushi Bao (Southern Metropolis Daily) translated by ESWN and posted on Global Voices Online, some Chinese Netizens are accusing popular Chinese search engine Baidu of censoring its search results. A Netizen at DoNews pointed out that Baidu yielded more results than Google when searching for "Wenchuan+earthquake" but fewer when searching for "Sanlu+melamine." This prompted the question: "Why is it that Baidu falls behind Google when Sanlu milk powder is posing a huge risk against public health?" Some bloggers went even further, accusing Sanlu of paying Baidu to block embarrassing search results.
Curtailing Online Coverage
According to a September 29 report by Chinese Human Rights Defenders, authorities have ordered newspapers to relegate scandal coverage to less prominent sections of their publications, highlight the attention paid to the issue by top officials, print only articles written by official state news agency Xinhua, and focus on positive news in general. In addition, blogs and online articles about the issue have been deleted and blocked on popular websites such as Sina, Sohu and NetEase.
Chinese journalists have been expelled from the province where Sanlu has its headquarters. And a group of volunteer lawyers representing the parents of poisoned babies have been subject to official pressure. Meanwhile, New Zealand-based Fonterra, a shareholder in Sanlu, has been slow to provide information to the authorities. ...
Spurred on by increasingly restless bloggers, the Chinese media is trying to fulfill the role that the press everywhere is meant to play: that of questioning and challenging the government. But to do that, they will first have to fight the Propaganda Department, a bastion of conservatism whose sole goal is to muzzle the press and the new media at any price.
I think Chinese news media is not the only media being pressured not to follow this story.
Think censorship is not real? See this blog post, follow the actual link, and look at how it appears on your screen:
http://forumsynd.com/2008/10/food-testing-hub/
Posted by admin October 22nd, 2008 0Labs looking to cash in on testing times
Hong Kong Standard
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Amid the testing frenzy that followed the mainland melamine milk scandal, Hong Kong laboratories say the city is well placed to become a food testing center for Asia.
The need for more lab test facilities was highlighted as a favorite dim sum pastry, Ma Lai Ko, at Maxim's Chinese restaurant in Siu Sai Wan, was found to contain traces of melamine in a Centre for Food Safety test.
Secretary for Food and Health York Chow Yat-ngok told lawmakers yesterday that there are seven private labs offering their expertise on testing melamine, with another six equipping themselves to do the same in several months' time.
[From Bangladesh]
http://nation.ittefaq.com:80/issues/2008/10/24/news0951.htm
Govt to examine 36 brands of milk powder, baby food
Staff Reporter
The government will examine all 36 brands of milk powder available in the market to detect whether those are contaminated with melamine, expert committee sources said.
The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) has already colleted the 36 brands of milk powder that also include much talked about eight brands. A laboratory test of the Chemistry Department of university of Dhaka found the eight brands of milk contaminated with melamine. ...
Meanwhile, the High Court yesterday ordered the government to ban display and sale of eight foreign milk powder brands, which were found contaminated with melamine in a Dhaka University laboratory test.
The eight banned brands are Australia's Diploma and Red Cow, Denmark's Dano Full Cream, China's Yashli-1, Yashli- 2 and Sweet Baby, and New Zealand's Nido Fortified Instant and Anlene
Implied here in the Bangladesh results is that China may not be the only country involved in the use of fake protein content boosters, and this
is not the first time Anlene or New Zealand has been mentioned.
I agree, 3cat. It looks as if as many other countries' names are tossed into the scandal as possible. But why not just mention the brands alone? Because of global trade relations? So that China is not the only country embarrassed? Do these other countries' brands have manufacturing partners or facilities in China or do they buy Chinese milk products? I think we can trace each one...
Tracing countries' company affiliations to Chinese-based partner companies can be done, because we have the screenshot of the dairy business and articles detailing some of the relationships in this thread.
Concerning Denmark's Dano Full Cream...
Arla is a Danish company, which has a Chinese joint venture partner named Mengniu Dairy. Does Mengniu Dairy manufacture the Dano Full Cream product in China using Chinese ingredients? If so, the Chinese counterpart of the operation should also be listed, if the product was manufactured in China.
"Arla Foods' Chinese joint venture partner, Mengniu Dairy, is among the dairies in China whose products have tested positive for melamine. These products have now been recalled and production at Mengniu Arla's milk powder factory has been temporarily suspended."
http://www.arlafoods.com/APPL/HJ/HJ202COM/HJ202D01.NSF/O/A8688A6747617A23C12574C7002BFB26 (Sept. 17, 2008 article)
(I believe Poco?? originally posted this link? Thanks, Poco.)
Can these other countries' products named below also be traced back to Chinese-based business partners and Chinese ingredients? Naming the countries sure looks as if it was done for a reason...
"The eight banned brands are Australia's Diploma and Red Cow, Denmark's Dano Full Cream, China's Yashli-1, Yashli- 2 and Sweet Baby, and New Zealand's Nido Fortified Instant and Anlene"
I guess this effort never got off the ground?
Sanlu Noxious Milk Powder Victims Union
http://initiativesforchina.org/2008/09/25/yang-jianli-calls-for%E2%80%9Csanlu-noxious-milk-powder-victims-union%E2%80%9D/
I wish that effort got off the ground, purringfur.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/23/asia/AS-China-Tainted-Products.php
China to review food safety draft law
The Associated PressPublished: October 23, 2008
BEIJING: China was set to review a draft law on food safety Thursday, a day after the U.N. urged the country to enact stricter laws
and replace its patchwork surveillance system to help restore public trust badly shaken by a spate of food safety scandals. ...
Makers of substandard food products could face fines, imprisonment and the confiscation of their production certificates.
Fines range from US$731 to US$14,600, according to the draft, which also aims to improve monitoring of food and establish
a recall system for unsafe products. No date has been set for when it will become law.
http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/10/23/melamine-china.html
6 workers arrested in melamine milk-contamination scandal
Last Updated: Thursday, October 23, 2008 | 9:10 AM ET
China arrested six people Thursday for their alleged role in supplying contaminated milk to dairy companies, as the Health
Ministry said more than 3,600 Chinese children remain hospitalized after consuming compromised products.
The six suspects, who worked in the major dairy-producing region of Inner Mongolia, allegedly either sold melamine to milk
suppliers or added the industrial chemical to milk themselves, the official Xinhua News Agency said. ...
As of Wednesday, a total of 46,717 children had been treated and discharged from hospitals, the ministry said. Milk powder
contaminated with melamine has been blamed for the deaths of four infants.
UN report calls for stricter surveillance
Xinhua said the government in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia's capital, requested that police launch an investigation into the sources
of milk for China's largest dairy companies, Yili Industrial Group and Mengniu Dairy Group Co. — both of which are headquartered in the region.
Three of the suspects, who operated milk collecting stations, allegedly put additives containing melamine bought from two
other suspects into their milk so it could pass quality testing, Xinhua said. The report said the sixth suspect is accused of
selling a range of manmade additives containing melamine but did not give any other details. The milk collection stations sold milk to Mengniu, it said.
http://news.smh.com.au/world/china-says-over-3600-babies-still-in-hospital-from-tainted-milk-20081023-57aw.html
China says over 3,600 babies still in hospital from tainted milk
October 23, 2008 - 6:14PM
More than 3,600 babies remain in hospital in China after drinking tainted milk products that have sickened over 53,000 children, the government said Thursday.
Of the 3,654 infants still in hospital, three remain in serious condition, while over 46,700 children have recovered and been released from medical clinics as of October 22, the health ministry said in a short statement.
On Tuesday, 105 young children were admitted to hospitals around China with kidney ailments stemming from drinking the tainted milk products, while 370 infants were released, it added.
The ministry did not report any new fatalities, but said that the four infant deaths so far attributed to drinking the contaminated milk all occurred between May and August before the scandal was made public.
The government had previously reported that more than 53,000 children had fallen ill after drinking tainted milk.
For opinions on where to go from here, see:
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/blog/eyeonasia/archives/2008/10/chinas_milk_sca.html
[You can post comments to this article]
China's Milk Scandal Isn't Over
Posted by: Bruce Einhorn on October 23
The Chinese milk scandal is not just a milk scandal anymore. The chemical keeps showing up in other Chinese-made foods:
Yesterday came news South Korea is destroying tons of egg products imported from China after tests revealed melamine, a chemical typically used in making plastics. "Melamine was detected in duck's yolk powder, egg power [sic], albumen power [sic] and yolk liquid, 47.1 tons of which were imported from China on April 17 and 18," reports Korea's Chosun Ilbo, which adds the government's health ministry "ordered the immediate destruction of 23.2 tons currently held by importers and halted shipping of more." Eggs and dairy aren't the only foods at risk, either. On Tuesday, the Hong Kong government said it will start testing meat and vegetables for melamine, too.
Up till now, the story has seemed pretty straightforward: Since melamine can artificially boost protein levels in milk, unscrupulous
people in China's dairy industry decided make some extra money by watering down their milk and using melamine to cover that up. But meat and vegetables? How could they be tainted by melamine? Reuters explains: "Cyromazine, a derivative of melamine, is widely used in pesticides and animal feed in China, and experts say it is absorbed in plants as melamine and that the chemical is already in the human food chain."
The San Francisco Chronicle nutrition columnist and NYU professor Marion Nestle had a good analysis on this in Wednesday's paper.
She points out that the history of people adding melamine to food goes back decades, starting in South Africa in the 1960s. Although it didn't take long to realize how dangerous this could be (the sheep who ate the melamine-laced animal feed developed kidney disease and died), melamine use in animal feed remained so common in the 1970s "Italian scientists invented a test to look for 'melammina' in fish feed. They found melamine in nearly 60 percent of the tested samples."
As Nestle points out, it's therefore not fair to blame only Chinese. People in China weren't the first to discover melamine, and the U.S. has had its share of scandal involving greedy business people in the food industry endangering the health of consumers. What this scandal does point out, again, is the need for the Chinese government to focus more, a lot more, on enforcing safety rules and overseeing industry. For now, Beijing seems to be trying to show it has a grip by publicizing arrests: Yesterday Xinhua reported police had jailed six people for alleged involvement in the melamine scandal. That's on top of the 36 people already arrested.
That's fine, but that's just a start. More disclosure wouldn't hurt. For instance, how many people have died from this scandal? The official count is four – but it's been four for weeks. Are we to believe that tens of thousands of babies have been sickened from the tainted milk – with no one else dying? The Chronicle's Nestle doesn't buy it. "These numbers are undoubtedly underestimates," she writes. Unfortunately, she's probably right.
http://gazette.gmu.edu/articles/12702/
A Tragedy Unfolds: Mason Experts Comment on China's Tainted Milk Crisis
October 23, 2008
Lisa Pawloski
Associate professor and chair of the Department of Global and Community Health
"In addition, I would suggest that there be greater regulation of imported products such as vitamin supplements and herbal medicines, which are not regulated by the FDA but by the Federal Trade Commission. The United States should also attempt to assist countries with poor regulation practices in developing good quality control and regulation of food and drug products to ensure the safety and protection of their citizens."
P.J. Maddox
Professor and chair of the Department of Health Administration and Policy
"In December 2007, the United States and China signed a memorandum of agreement to ensure food and feed safety. The purpose
of the bilateral agreement is to provide greater information and other assurances to enhance the safety of food and animal feed products traded between the two countries. This agreement and China's adoption of FDA standards for safety, information exchange and regulatory systems will be pivotal to ensuring the safety of the international food supply in the future."
Ming Wan
Professor, Department of Public and International Affairs
"With a globalized economy, unsafe products in another part of the world may well end up on our own dinner tables, often as ingredients. Unlike some sensitive issues in U.S.-China relations in recent years that have led to Chinese public resentment toward the United States, an American call for Chinese transparency and accountability in food production should resonate with the Chinese public, which stands to benefit first from improved food security."
Lisa Eckenwiler
Associate professor of philosophy and director of health care ethics at the Center for Health Policy Research and Ethics
"From an ethical perspective, there are a number of concerns worth highlighting here that revolve around the principles of transparency, integrity and trust. There was a failure of transparency on the part of the company as well as the Chinese government. A related ethical principle is that of integrity.
This has been defined as 'a kind of reliable accountability.' In other words, it captures the ethical significance of being responsive and reliable to others who depend on us, especially those who are in situations of vulnerability (like parents trying to care as best they can for their children, and the children themselves).
"In the end, because of these failures of transparency and integrity, people's trust in the corporate sector and in their government officials was betrayed. Some might even say it was exploited, especially by people motivated by power and profit.
"As China's civil society strengthens and the country becomes more democratic, we can expect things to improve. Despite the tragedy, it's possible to view this story as an example of advances being made. It was the Internet activity and the resultant public outcry that made the difference here.
"And to return just briefly to the corporate sector, it's worth noting that we have experience here in the United States that demonstrates that when companies are honest and open about problems, they can regain trust and even become stronger financially."
I don't think we're going to get many (reliable?) updates on the melamine milk scandal. I think China wants to move on...
"But officials still appear nervous about public reaction to the news. Chinese journalists say the Communist Party's Propaganda Department has ordered all but the party's most trusted media to refrain from investigating the story. At Sanlu's headquarters people lining up to return their powder complain that the local press has barely covered the issue."
http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12262271
Melamine is still out there... been reading local news from Asia... the Philippine version of the FDA has been testing candies, cookies, milk and virtually every "foreign" manufactured food that kids eat, and I was shoked to read that a South Korean biscuit ("Lotte") tested positive.
Cato:
Seven great volunteers are working on a list of products mentioned in the first 70 pages of this thread which we're
hoping to post this next weekend. Here are the ones on Lotte Koala cookies that we have so far:
"Koala's March Chestnut Cookies 270 g (10 x 27 g) 0 81900 08010 1 (China) (Lotte China Foods Co., Ltd) (Lotte USA., Inc.)
Koala's March Chocolate Biscuits (Expiry Date 29.06.09) (China)
Koala's March Chocolate Biscuits Double Chocolate Flavour (Expiry Date 14.02.08) (China)
Koala's March Chocolate Creme 270 g (10 x 27 g) 0 81900 08001 9 (China) (Lotte China Foods Co., Ltd) (Lotte USA., Inc.)
Koala's March Chocolate Creme 50 g 0 81900 00901 0 (China) (Lotte China Foods Co., Ltd) (Lotte USA., Inc.)
Koala's March Strawberry Creme 270 g (10 x 27 g) 0 81900 08902 9 (China) (Lotte China Foods Co., Ltd) (Lotte USA., Inc.)
Koala's March Strawberry Creme 50 g 0 81900 00907 2 (China) (Lotte China Foods Co., Ltd) (Lotte U.S.A., Inc.)
Koala's March White Chocolate Creme 270 g 0 81900 08911 1 (China) (Lotte China Foods Co., Ltd) (Lotte USA., Inc.)
Koala's March White Chocolate Creme 50 g 0 81900 00911 9 (China) (Lotte China Foods Co., Ltd) (Lotte USA., Inc.)
Koala's Strawberry Snack White Chocolate Filled Biscuits (Code 20080215) (China) (Lotte)
Lotte Choudy
Lotte Koala Biscuits (chocolate filling),
Lotte Koala Biscuits (chocolate flavor)
Lotte Koala Biscuits (creamy strawberry filling)
Lotte Koala's March filled cookies"
These cookies have been found in Alabama and Connecticut stateside, I'm sorry to say.
The recall notice is here:
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/fda-melamine-recalladvisory-announcements-threadnonpet-food-t6406.0.html;msg93993#msg93993
From Poco's post above:
"Responsibility
The survey indicates mixed feelings regarding food safety efforts in the US and claims food processors have the most responsibility in respect to food safety.
Asked to rate food safety according to 'school grades' (A, B, C, D, or F), only one in ten of the consumers (11 per cent) gave food safety a grade of 'A', with nearly half of those surveyed (46 per cent) giving food safety a fair, poor or failing grade (34% 'C', 9% 'D', 3% 'F'), claims the poll.
The report reveals that, in terms of the level of food safety controls now in place compared to six months ago, a majority (57 per cent) think the situation is about the same but a significant number (28 per cent) feel food safety has got worse, while 15 per cent report that it has improved."
What a beauty of a post, Poco. Too bad they didn't poll Itchmoforums.
Cross-posting Attachments to FDA Import Alert IA 9931 Added 10/23/2008
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/us-vulnerable-to-melamine-contamination-former-fda-director-of-imports-say-t6673.0.html;msg95306;topicseen#msg95306
My head is spinning!... and Haloween is upon us... I think I better not give out candies to the kiddies this year
Nice that the Phillipines has listed products - should we take the lack of any notification in this country as a sign no one is really doing anything much to test the food here already - also any milk products imported months ago that would now be processed into foods on our store shelves?
JJ, I think it's pretty safe to say no one is looking here in the US at domestic products, or not so the public would know.
Phillippines clears some, Singapore finds more:
http://www.nst.com.my:80/Current_News/NST/Sunday/National/2385812/Article/index_html
2008/10/26
Singapore adds 20 more imports to its melamine list
SINGAPORE: The city-state has discovered the industrial chemical melamine in 20 more products from Malaysia and China, taking its total to 33, authorities said.
Melamine, which is at the centre of a toxic milk scandal that has rocked China's dairy sector, was found in three products from China and 17 types of biscuits from Malaysia.
The affected items include the popular Lotte Koala biscuits and Julie's crackers, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore said in a statement posted on its website yesterday.
It was the first time Singapore had found melamine in non-Chinese products, the Straits Times said. ...
http://www.ava.gov.sg/
When I try to open the consumer advisory .pdf file under "details" for consumers regarding the melamine containing products from AVA Singapore,
it closes down my IE7 after about 45 seconds of downloading. Tried it twice. Some kind of censorship? - I don't know. Can anyone do it and get into the details of the Chinese and Malaysian products Singapore thinks it has found?
This is a different take on China:
http://www.cfr.org/publication/17496/brand_chinas_trial.html?breadcrumb=%2Fbios%2F11890%3Fgroupby%3D1%26page%3D1%26hide%3D1%26id%3D11890
As China has risen on the world stage, it has developed what some experts call a brand of authoritarian capitalism, and is now competing with U.S. and European liberal democratic models. Some academics, like Kishore Mahbubani of the National University of Singapore, argue that with the West increasingly seen as incompetent (ForeignAffairs) in handling key global issues, countries like China are raising their profile. At a CFR meeting in June, James K. Glassman, U.S. undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, said the China model is attractive in places like Africa, and countries like Vietnam, "because it allows people in power to stay in power by making people happy on the economic side, and yet keeping a lid on the freedom side."
Whatever they're trying to say here, I don't want to see any more dangerous imports from China in my bumbling but lovable free country. Leave the unsafe food imports right where they are until the authoritarian capitalists can fix their own problems at home ...
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977487229&grpId=3659174697255087&nav=Groupspace
Suspect White Rabbit Creamy Candy found in at least two states
By Lisa Wade McCormick
ConsumerAffairs.com
Candy lovers beware. Melamine-tainted candy — imported from China — is now showing up on store shelves in the United States. ...
A U.S. distributor of White Rabbit Creamy Candy last Friday recalled the products because of melamine contamination. Queensway Foods Company Inc. said it distributed the candy in California, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Texas and Washington.
The company said the candy is sold in 8 or 16 oz packages. All other flavors of White Rabbit Candy, including Assorted (Chocolate, Coconut, and Coffee), Red Bean, Coffee, Corn, Lychee, Mango and Strawberry are sold in 7 oz. packages. The packages have a logo of a white rabbit on the front with the words "White Rabbit".
U.S. officials aren't the only ones who have found melamine in White Rabbit Creamy Candy.
Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority last week recalled those after the products tested positive for melamine. It said other Chinese-made food also tested positive for melamine, including Dutch Lady-brand banana and honeydew flavored milk, Silang-brand potato crackers, and two kinds of puffed rice balls.
The New Zealand Food Safety Authority also found high levels of melamine in the White Rabbit candy.
And the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) warned consumers not to eat, distribute, or sell White Rabbit candy because of possible melamine contamination.
Earlier this week, another brand of candy tested positive for melamine. The British maker of the popular Cadbury candies recalled 11 types of Chinese-made chocolates because of melamine contamination.
Those products were exported to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, the Pacific island of Nauru and Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.
But the Hershey Company, which manufactures and sells Cadbury chocolates
in the United States, said it does not buy powered milk or other milk ingredients from China.
"All Hershey products use the highest-quality ingredients and are completely safe," the candy giant said in a written statement. "This includes CADBURY products manufactured and distributed in the United States by The Hershey Company."
The recalled Cadbury chocolates are:
Cadbury Dark Chocette, 45 grams;
Cadbury Dark Chocette, 80 grams;
Cadbury Eclairs, 180 grams;
Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate Pumpkin, 150 grams;
Cadbury Dark Chocolate, 40 grams;
Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate Bulk Pack, 5 kilograms;
Cadbury Dark Chocolate Bulk Pack, 5 kilograms;
Cadbury Dairy Milk Hazelnut Chocolate Bulk Pack, 5 kilograms;
Cadbury Dairy Milk Cookies Chocolate Bulk Pack, 5 kilograms;
Cadbury Hazelnut Praline Chocolate (2008 Chinese New Year), 312 grams;
Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate (2008 Chinese New Year), 300 grams.
Cadbury said it is implementing new food safety and quality checks at its Beijing plant.
In related news, the Taiwanese company that makes Mr. Brown instant coffee and milk tea recalled seven of its products last week because of possible melamine contamination. The recalled products are:
Mr. Brown Mandheling Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown Arabica Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown Blue Mountain Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown Caramel Macchiato Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown French Vanilla Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
Mr. Brown Mandhling Blend instant Coffee (2-in-1)
Mr. Brown Milk Tea (3-in-1) ...
The FDA said it is not aware of any illnesses in the United States linked to the Chinese-made milk products. It also assured consumers the infant formula in the United States is safe. U.S. companies that make infant formula are not importing formula or sourcing milk-based materials from China, the agency said
:o
The burning question in my mind right now is: why is melamine being found in virtually al types of manufactured or processed foods that has some kind of China connection? what's going on?!!!
Maybe it's not just China?
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90882/6521479.html
HK finds egg, biscuit samples tainted with melamine
+ - 09:42, October 26, 2008
Two food products for sale in Hong Kong, including eggs produced on a Chinese mainland farm and biscuits produced by a Philippine firm, have been found contaminated with melamine, local food safety watchdog said Saturday.
The Center for Food Safety (CFS) said the sample of the Select Fresh Brown Eggs (Extra Large), produced by mainland-based Dalian Hanwei Chicken Farming Limited and sold in 6-piece packs, was found to contain 4.7 ppm (part per million) of melamine.
Under the Harmful Substances in Food (Amendment) Regulation 2008 of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the legal limit for melamine in food is 2.5 ppm.
The other unsatisfactory sample was the Croley Foods Sunflower Crackers Blueberry Cream Sandwich, sold in big packs each containing ten small individual packs with an expiry date of Dec. 5, 2008. The level of melamine detected was 3.2 ppm.
The website of the producer Croley Foods suggests it is based in the Philippines.
The Center for Food Safety said the two unsatisfactory samples were among 77 samples tested, which included milk, eggs, biscuits, cakes and cake mixes. The results, available on Saturday showed that the rest 75 were all satisfactory. ...
cross-posting:
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/chinese-eggs-found-tainted-with-excessive-melamine-t6747.0.html;topicseen
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_295113.html
Oct 26, 2008
1/4 Beijing babies had bad milk
BEIJING - NEARLY a fourth of infants in the Chinese capital consumed milk formula tainted with melamine before the shoddy products were taken off store shelves, state media on Sunday cited survey by the city government as showing.
The door-to-door screening of more than 307,000 Beijing families with children under the age of three found that over 75,000 babies had been fed contaminated milk formula, the official Xinhua news agency said.
The survey, ordered by the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau, was carried out from Sept 20 to Oct 24.
Four children have died and thousands of others have fallen ill from drinking milk formula adulterated with melamine, which was subsequently found in other drinks and foods, prompting Chinese-made products to be pulled from shelves worldwide.
More than 3,000 children remain in hospital in China. ...
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/238531,thailand-pulls-three-melamine-tainted-snacks-from-store-shelves.html
Thailand pulls three melamine-tainted snacks from store shelves
Posted : Sat, 25 Oct 2008 10:24:17 GMT
Author : DPA
Category : Health
Bangkok - Thailand's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has ordered a nationwide ban on the sale of three snack products imported from China and Malaysia after they were found to contain excessive levels of melamine, reports said Saturday. The banned items included Chinese-made Hajuku brand strawberry cream stick biscuits, Chinese-made Koala chocolate cream biscuits and Malaysian-made Julie's peanut cream crackers, all of which contained more than the safety limit of 2.5 milligrams per kilogram, Thai News Agency reported.
FDA secretary general Pipat Yingseri ordered retailers to remove the items from their shelves nationwide.
Melamine is typically used as a bonding agent for particle board, and as a pesticide.
There has been a worldwide health scare after thousands of Chinese infants became ill last month from drinking milk formula contaminated by melamine
Must have lent the "16 or 17 dogs and cats" FDA statistician to report 53,000 babies in China, a figure
which hasn't been updated since about September 21 or 22, 2008.
"Made in U.S.A." isn't enough information to keep us safe.
http://scienceblogs.com/ethicsandscience/2008/10/the_world_is_flat_your_adult_e.php
3cat, I can open the link without its closing. I'll snip some for ya... It's a 16-page pdf document with very large, numerous graphics, so it will take a while to download for some people.
I'm quite impressed with the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore's website and actions to date. It looks as though they've been quite active in trying to protect the citizens. There are actually charts giving full product info, the amounts of melamine found, number of contaminated product servings of each food a person could consume daily for life before reaching the oh-oh level, and clear photos of the product packages. They also note which products have tested melamine-free and divulge that they're testing other products. Maybe the Singapore AVA can come to the U.S. and give some lessons.
http://www.ava.gov.sg/NR/rdonlyres/9253E7B2-E57D-4992-982C-1304E73748D6/22324/CONSUMERADVISORYUPDATEONPRODUCTSDETECTEDTOCONTAINM.pdf
AVA has detected melamine contamination in these three additional China-made products:
i)
Lotte Koala's March Cocoa Chocolate Biscuit
ii)
Hello Kitty Strawberry Cream Filled Biscuit
iii)
Unbranded non-dairy creamer in industrial pack
3 The two China-made biscuits [(i) and (ii)] contained milk ingredients and had been recalled since 19 September 2008. The non-dairy creamer [(iii)] is meant for re-export and is not available in the retail market. The tainted products will be destroyed under AVA's supervision.
4 Other than the affected products from China, melamine has been detected in 17 biscuit products from Malaysia. Test results for the rest of the imported biscuits, including those from Malaysia, were satisfactory. The affected Malaysian-made biscuits are:
i)
Julie's Golden Kaka Crackers
ii)
Julie's Wheat Crackers
iii)
Julie's Cottage Crackers (Vegetable Yeast Cracker)
iv)
Julie's Cottage Crackers (Original Yeast Cracker)
v)
Julie's Chez Creamy Cheese Sandwich
vi)
Julie's Sugar Crackers (extra flaky)
vii)
Julie's Waferico Chocolate Coated Wafers with Chocolate Cream Filling
viii)
Julie's Cream Crackers
ix)
Julie's Minico Rich Chocolate Chip Cookies
x)
Julie's Peanut Butter Sandwich
xi)
Julie's Cocoro Crispy Chocolate Wafer Rolls with Vanilla Filling
xii)
Julie's Le-Mond Puff Sandwich with Lemon Flavoured Cream
xiii)
Khong Guan Assorted Biscuits
xiv)
Khian Guan Biscuit Osborne
xv)
Leo Gold Finger Choco
xvi)
Santa Chocolate Gold Fingers
xvii)
Swan Chocolate Fingers
(Details of the affected Malaysian-made biscuits are attached at Annex B.)
5 Importers and retailers are required to withdraw the affected Malaysian-made biscuits from sale with immediate effect. As 12 of the 17 products are "Julie's" brand of biscuits, as a precautionary measure, all "Julie's" brand biscuits are also required to be withdrawn from sale. [emphasis, mine.]
Blankety-blank dial-up. Thank you very much, purringfur, for the details.
unbranded non-dairy creamer in industrial pack - I
wonder who imported that one and would wager it would be hard to identify.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/10/26/Tainted_milk_fed_to_many_in_Beijing/UPI-56301225036449/
BEIJING, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Nearly 25 percent of Beijing children under age 3 reportedly drank chemically tainted milk, said officials who conducted a massive door-to-door survey.
Families of 75,474 young children said they had given their children Sanlu milk powder, which later was found to be tainted with the industrial chemical melamine, Xinhua, China (OTCBB:XHUA)'s state-run news agency reported.
How many children under three in Bejing were drinking one of the other 21 dairy companies' mela-milk?
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/26/asia/26hongkongeggs-fw.php
Hong Kong tests more food from China after egg scare
The Associated PressPublished: October 26, 2008
HONG KONG: The discovery of excessive levels of melamine, an industrial chemical, in Chinese eggs has prompted Hong Kong authorities to expand testing to include meat products imported from China, a senior official said Sunday.
The move follows the announcement late Saturday that Hong Kong testers had found 4.7 parts per million of melamine in imported eggs produced by a division of China's Dalian Hanwei Enterprise Group. The legal limit for melamine in foodstuffs in Hong Kong is 2.5 parts per million.
York Chow, the secretary for food and health in Hong Kong, said the melamine may have come from feed given to the chickens that laid the eggs.
"The preliminary opinion experts have given us is that there is a problem with the feed," Chow said Saturday.
The egg results have prompted officials to expand food testing to meat imports from China, Chow said Sunday. He said Hong Kong officials will also step up checks of eggs imported from China.
http://www.uzbekistannews.net/story/422924
Global slowdown may impact China
Reported 3 hours ago by Uzbekistan News
ZHOU XiaochuanBeijing, Oct 26 (Xinhua) Narrowing overseas demand in the wake of global economic slowdown could have a negative impact on the growth prospects of exports-dependent China, country's top banker said Sunday. 'Our economy is highly reliant on overseas demand. ...
Overseas demand might be higher if China would stop sending lethal food exports out to the world. Until they do, as a consumer, my only
protection seems to be ceasing to buy food I don't know the country of origin of or food that is processed anywhere, including the USA, unless
FDA starts testing everything and publishing truly independent cleared/not cleared reports complete with melamine levels attached.
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=771860&cate_img=49.jpg&cate_rss=news_Society_TAIWAN
Peacock Biscuits pulled off the shelves in Taiwan
Taiwan News, Staff Writer Page 4 2008-10-25 12:54 AM
Central News Agency
Taipei health authorities ordered the well-known local Peacock Biscuits off the shelves yesterday after tests showed they contained the toxic chemical melamine.
Kuai Kuai Co., Ltd., the company which produces the biscuits, said flour and eggs were used as ingredients, but never any milk powder or other dairy products imported from China. However, company official Ko Chih-hsiung was unable to tell immediately whether it used any Chinese leavening agent.
Tests of one packet of Peacock biscuits showed a melamine level of 4.62 parts per million, the Taipei Health Bureau said. The packet was the only one of 87 products the bureau tested at a major supermarket in Taipei's Neihu District last Monday which tested positive for the substance. Other products from Kuai Kuai did not contain melamine, according to the bureau.
The central government's Department of Health said the biscuits had used ammonium bicarbonate imported from China by Sesoda Corp., but the leavening agent only amounted to 1 percent of each biscuit, so consumers did not have to fear for their health. Ko said consumers were welcome to return biscuits to the store, even if the packaging had been opened.
Taiwan's three hypermarket chains and four major convenience store chains all said they were removing the biscuits from sale. Inspections will start within 48 hours, the health bureau said.
October 25, 2008:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/6078538.html
TAIPEI, TAIWAN — — Tens of thousands of opposition supporters marched through Taiwan's capital Saturday to protest an upcoming visit by a senior Chinese envoy, saying the trip was part of Chinese efforts to assert control over the self-ruled island.
The protesters, many wearing T-shirts bearing the slogan "Defend Taiwan," also accused Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou of making too many concessions and moving too fast in relaxing restrictions on trade and investment with China
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on October 26, 2008, 10:24:49 AM
"The preliminary opinion experts have given us is that there is a problem with the feed," Chow said Saturday.
I wonder if the FDA has any inclination to revisit their risk assumption from last year? Anyone think it's not in our animal feed anymore . . . . ?
Not only is melamine coming at the meat supply through Chinese animal feed, but also
antimicrobial carcass sprays recently approved by the FSIS in October 2008, lactoferrin,
whey, skim milk possibly:
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-suspected-chinese-officials-say-baby-formula-tied-to-kidney-stones-t6256.0.html;msg93606;topicseen#msg93606
http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2008/10/milk-parents-may-sue-in-us/
Milk Parents May Sue in U.S.
From Radio Free Asia:
Parents of Chinese children who died or became ill after drinking infant milk formula contaminated with melamine say they will sue a subsidiary of a Chinese milk powder manufacturer based in the U.S. state of Maryland.
A member of one of the affected families surnamed Liu said Qingdao Shengyuan Milk Co. Ltd., a dairy products manufacturer based in the eastern China city of Qingdao, had a Delaware-registered investment subsidiary with offices in Maryland, rendering it subject to U.S. law.
"We have signed a contract with a Maryland-based lawyer who will represent us in this collective compensation suit," Liu said.
"There are milk victim parents who are willing to pay for the legal fees and expenses and who want to pursue justice in the United States," he said.
Eggs: China
"China, the world's No. 1 egg producer has boosted output 67.8 percent over the past decade. India, No. 3, is up 66.6 percent, with Mexico, No. 5 on the list of the largest egg producing nations, up 83.3 percent. This growth illustrates how rapidly the developing world is gaining egg production market share over the developed world, according to 1995 to 2005 data recently released from the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations."
http://www.wattpoultry.com/EggIndustry/Article.aspx?id=15040
The greedy criminals are adulterating the entire food chain and poisoning people globally. They should be ousted from the World Trade Organization. Now, it's poisoned animal feed and probably has been for years. Also, it's eggs, fish, vegetables, leavening agents for baking, adulterated grains, individual ingredients and derivatives. And, we ask them to make our vitamins, supplements, drugs, and medical devices??????????? Are we NUTS? When will this insanity for cheap food and products end? It can all be traced to the greedy CEO's who sell us out to set up shop in China. Where is the accountability?
How much more of a rise in kidney disease and kidney failure will it take? How many deaths will it take? It's well past time for 100% inspections and testing of every single item coming from China! What kind of country are we living in that would sit back and inspect around 1% of what is shipped here? It's time we reclaim our farm land, plant crops, and raise animals for our OWN CITIZENS first, instead of exporting our better food to other countries! And, let's start up the mills and factories to provide some JOBS HERE, NOT ABROAD! My goodness, people practically have to run their own farm or buy vintage products to replace the toxic items that are shipped here in the name of so-called "free trade" with China. Well, free trade isn't so "free" when you look at the cost burden of cleaning up the toxic mess and disposing of cwap that China ships out, not to mention the dangers to health.
I'm sick of this poisoned cwap being shipped around the world. It's NOT ignorance. It's GREED and DELIBERATE ADULTERATION! An even bigger drain on our economy will be the health care costs as people develop kidney disease and who knows what other ailments from the ACCUMULATION FACTOR from this poisoned food. The toxicity is found in every food group. [END OF RANT!]
15,000 VIEWS OF THIS THREAD NOW!
Just a few days ago, it seems as though it was around 12,000+. I would imagine this is one of the more comprehensive threads on the melamine milk poisonings.
I hope our government officials are reading this AND ACTING TO PROTECT US!
I'm so glad I have the land to cultivate to grow most of my vegetables, fruits, and herbs. For the rest, I buy grass-fed beef, local pork and eggs, pick my own fruits, and buy organic grains at the health food store. I buy so little in the grocery stores, except for organic milk, butter, cheese, and yogurt.
In the 50's and later, it was a sign of affluence to have a well-manicured grass lawn. Before this, most landowners had their own vegetable gardens, which they depended on for food. When enough people wake up about the poisoned food sold to us, my hope is that as many people as possible will rip up their lawns and turn them into gardens and plant fruit trees to help feed their families. In the free-rein of "free trade," it's a necessity in light of the lax regulations and meek acceptance of this poisoned garbage we get time after time after time. Enough is enough.
To protect us, purringfur, I think the US government would either have to stop Chinese food imports
until China can deal with the problems it has in regards to the food supply, or start testing and publishing
information on every single food product in the US. Neither choice is without considerable expense and effort,
but based on the numerous dangerous or worse imports the US has received in recent years, I can't think of
too many other alternatives. China has cried wolf too many times about how its taken care of the problems.
I'm out of patience with arrests of a few people. I don't have confidence in that government's ability to do
anything about it except send a large number of people scurrying around the country for show and fairly effectively
silencing news reports.
Consumer boycott is a third alternative in case you're frustrated with US government inaction.
With a big thanks to the group of
dedicated volunteers who helped to compile this information, I attach
a list of Suspect Food types based on the first 76 pages of posts and web links in this forum thread. It's posted as
a text file attachment below that consumers can download.
If the consumer does not know the country of origin of the food they are purchasing at the grocery store because it's not there
on the food label, this list might be a reminder of some general food types to avoid. Updates may be posted as new information
becomes available.
For those not forum members, here's the list:
QuoteList of suspect foods:
baby food
baby milk powder products
bakery goods (cakes, cookies, crackers,
cream buns)
baking mixes
beef (from animal feed)
biscuits (aka cookies, crackers)
bread
body-building supplements
butter
buttermilk
cake
candies
celery
cheese
cheese sauces
chips (coated with cheese, sour cream)
chicken (from animal feed)
chocolate candy bars
chocolate chip cookies
chocolate milk
chocolates
coffee beverages (canned)
coffee creamer or whitener
colostrum (clinical product)
confectioners cookies
cooked pasta
condensed milk
cookies
corn, minced
corn, organic cracked
crackers
creamers
cream products
creams
creamy candies
dairy-based candies
dairy-based desserts
dips
dressings
drinking yogurt
eggs
fish raised on farms (from animal feed)
formula milk powder
frozen confections
frozen desserts
goats (from animal feed)
ham
hogs (from animal feed)
hydrolysates (clinical product)
ice cream
infant formula
infant milk powder
instant coffee (containing nondairy creamer
vegetable protein)
instant coffee drinks (containing milk products)
lamb (from animal feed)
mayonnaise (possible egg products)
milk (fresh, papaya beverages, chocolate
and strawberry flavored)
milk beverage
milk candy
milk coffee beverages
milk drink
milk powder
milk raw
milk tablets
milk tea (containing nondairy creamer
vegetable protein)
mooncakes
non-dairy creamer
noodles
nutritional powder products
pastries
plastic packaging (which may leach melamine
into foods)
pork (from animal feed)
pork buns
poultry (from animal feed)
probiotics (clinical product)
protein bars
powdered tea drinks
raw milk
rice balls
salad dressing (with egg products)
salad dressings (creamy)
sauces
sausages
seasoning (with egg products)
sheepmeats (from animal feed)
shrimp raised on farms (from animal feed)
snack flavorings
snack foods
soup chicken-and-corn (containing nondairy
creamer vegetable protein)
soups
sour cream
sports drinks (especially high protein)
stews
sweets (aka candies)
tempura (added Oct. 29 08)
toffees
ultra heat treated (UHT) milk
vegetables including:
lettuce
tomato
mushroom
potato
Java waterdropwort
watercress
cabbage
garlic
peas
mixed frozen
tomato paste
vegetables (sprayed with pesticides
cyromazine or Veterzine)
vegetarian ham (added Oct. 29 08)
whipping cream
white chocolate
yogurt
yogurt drinks
yogurt ice bars
Again with thanks to the
same group of dedicated volunteers, here's a listing of Suspect Ingredients
to look for on food labels or single-ingredient items that you may wish to avoid based on the same web links
and posts from the first 76 pages of this thread. If new information appears, the list may be updated.
QuoteList of suspect label ingredients:
albumen powder
ammonium bicarbonate
anhydrous milk fat
buttermilk powder
calcium caseinate
casein
casein derivatives
caseinate
cereal flours
cheese concentrate
cheese powder
cocoa powder
condensed milk (added Oct. 28 08)
condensed whey (added Oct. 28 08)
corn by-products
corn gluten
corn gluten meal
corn, minced
corn, organic cracked
corn meal
corn protein
cottonseed meal
dairy
dairy powder
demineralized/partially demineralized whey powders (Oct. 28 08)
dried egg powder
dried milk (added Oct. 28 08)
dried skim milk
duck's yolk powder
egg powder
flavor additives
fermented soy powder
frozen gluten
lactalbumin
lactoferrin
lactose
lactose powder
liquid milk
malt extract
milk
milk derivative
milk fat
milk protein
milk protein concentrate aka (MPC)
milled wheat
milled rice
mung bean protein
non-dairy
non-dairy creamer
non-fat dry milk
nonfat milk powder
permeate powder (added Oct. 28 08)
plant proteins (corn protein, soy protein)
powdered baking ammonia
powdered milk
powdered milk protein
prepared edible fat
protein powder (added Oct. 29 08)
rice flour
rice gluten
rice meal
milled rice products
rice protein
rice protein concentrate
skim milk
skim milk powder
sodium caseinate
sodium caseinate (a milk derivative)
soy bean Meal/Powder/Gluten/Protein Isolate
soybean meal
soy gluten
soy isoflavone
soy meal
soy protein
soy protein powder
soya milk product
ultrafiltered concentrates
vegetable protein
vegetable protein products
vegetable protein meat extenders
wheat flour
wheat flour gluten
wheat gluten
wheat gluten, vital
wheat meal
wheat starch
whey
whey powder
whey protein
whey protein concentrate
whole milk powder
yolk liquid
http://www.reuters.com:80/article/healthNews/idUSTRE49Q0D120081027
China urged to halt melamine in eggs
Sun Oct 26, 2008 11:15pm EDT
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong, a city in southern China, has asked Beijing to investigate how melamine, an industrial chemical found in tainted milk formula, turned up in Chinese chicken eggs, newspapers said on Monday.
Tests over the weekend detected melamine in eggs imported from Dalian in northeastern China at levels that were nearly twice the legal limit, further blighting the "made in China" label.
"We have contacted the mainland's food safety agency and hope they can do more to reduce the risk at the source," Health Secretary York Chow was reported as saying by local newspapers. ...
With weeks, tests found melamine in a variety of Chinese-made products from milk and chocolate bars to yoghurt exported around the world, including egg products in South Korea, leading to items being pulled from shop shelves. ...
But it has emerged that cyromazine, a derivative of melamine, is widely used in pesticides and animal feed in China, and experts say it is absorbed in plants as melamine and that the chemical is already in the human food chain.
However, no one knows how much melamine is absorbed into raw foods such as meat and vegetables, and experts are hoping Hong Kong's tests on vegetables and meat will shed some light.
"Since some animal feed used on the mainland might have been polluted by melamine, our tests will target more on meat imported from the mainland," Chow was quoted as saying.
"As we have found melamine in eggs, we shall also test chicken meat and we shall also look at offal, for example chicken kidneys and pig kidneys." ...
It's pretty apparent to me at this point that a lot of things predicted very early in the posts in this thread are all coming true.
A bunch of you seem to have been clairvoyant. I hope my prediction of hundreds of thousands of kids and babies being affected
is not true ... How can a country that sprays melamine pesticide everywhere, feeds its food animals melamine, and cuts corners by throwing
melamine scrap into anything it can be in such denial?
3cat....thank you for taking this task on.... and to the other volunteers who did LOTS more than I did....thanks for your time!
3cat, it stands to reason that your prediction of hundreds of thousands of infants being affected is most likely true. If the Chinese government FINALLY releases that 75,000 babies in Beijing ALONE drank the poisoned formula, that's only one city. This poisoned cocktail and its related products were used throughout the mainland and shipped to how many other countries?
Someone within this thread posted that all but the most "trusted" journalists [perhaps read... those that can be controlled by authorities and only print what is agreed upon with no further digging] were ousted from the dairy producing region of the country. This leads one to believe the information is closely being controlled and very much shaped by officials, so I do not even think we're getting a glimpse of how pervasive this poisoning is. Couple that with poor families who have not sought medical care, who just thought their child was sick and are trying to treat the child at home the best they can.
Look also at the team of 70 lawyers who were, at the beginning, going to help families. Now, they have been put under pressure NOT to help families. So much is controlled there.
3catkidneyfailure said: "It's pretty apparent to me at this point that a lot of things predicted very early in the posts in this thread are all coming true. A bunch of you seem to have been clairvoyant. I hope my prediction of hundreds of thousands of kids and babies being affected
is not true ... How can a country that sprays melamine pesticide everywhere, feeds its food animals melamine, and cuts corners by throwing
melamine scrap into anything it can be in such denial?"
Every food group is tainted, whether you buy processed or some single ingredients to make your own food. It's the country of origin that matters. There has to be an accumulation factor involved. Even eating a varied diet, unlike the poisoned pets and babies, does not help unless you know where your food (and EACH ingredient in the food) comes from.
No, 3cat, we're not clairvoyant. We just used reasoning after watching our pets die, doing some research about recalls and farming/manufacturing practices there. We nut job, over-the-top, hysterical pet owners who said the poisoning was throughout the human food chain may have been viewed as crackpots a year ago, but we are (sorry to say) right on target and knew it from the start. It just took the media a while to release the information.
To get the chain-wide food contamination information to go mainstream, it's going to take private citizens to test food from the stores. And, TESTING HERE WILL HAPPEN! More people are becoming aware.
I cannot tell you the number of people I meet in passing who buy their meats from farms (or raise their own) instead of buying at grocery stores. It's a lot more people than you'd think. We just start talking about the unsafe state of our food supply, feed-lot meats, industrial poultry ranches, etc., and I discover yet another person who buys privately. I've also noticed a surge in organic sales of products in stores and have spoken with managers who've said sales have spiked and they're needing to order larger quantities of organic goods.
We're already starting to plan next year's garden plantings...
Talcum Powder In flour
Flour has joined the list of food products made in China, found to be contaminated with dangerous additives. Recently, a flour mill in Shandong province's Pingdu city has been found to contain talcum powder, with the factory allegedly adding large quantities of the substance over an extended period of time. Police have confiscated talcum powder found at the manufacturing plant.
The Pingdu manufacturer has been in operation for 6 years, with a dozen or so workers and produces over 8 tonnes of flour per day, according to Chinese food technology website tech-food.com.
One of the workers revealed that the manufacturer uses on average 20 tonnes of talcum powder every month, the volume added depends on the grade of the flour. For example, Grade 1 flour would have 2.5kg of talcum powdered added to 50kg of flour, where as Grade 3 flour would have over 10kgs of powder added to 50kgs of flour. According to SOH sources, villagers around the manufacturing plant are well aware of this practice, and do not purchase flour from the manufacturer.
Talcum powder costs only 180 Yuan per tonne, and most of the flour produced at the plant was sold to nearby food halls and small scale food processors. Talcum powder is apparently added to the flour as a whitener to improve its appearance to boost sales.
Chinese police have found over 200 bags of talcum powder and 200 bags of flour containing talcum powder as well as a mixer and a bag sealer.
China Feed Counterfeit-White clay as Bone Powder
«
China feed counterfeit, white clay posed as bone powder
Posted by chris on Thursday, October 23rd, 2008
Counterfeited products in China are breeding like flies. Shandong Laixi feed business admitted that they processed the clay which they dug from the mountains posing it as bone powder to mix into the feed of chicken and pigs, and chicken will die if eating too much of it.
According to China media, Mr Wang, was in the feed processing business in Shandong Laixi before, and said that there are many people near the village digging for clay from the hills posing it as bone powder after processing and then selling it. Most people cannot see the difference.
Mr. Wang disclosed that not long ago a large number of chickens died at a farm and he felt bad about what he did so he decided to tell this inside story.
The report said that at the white clay processing point in Pange village at the Laixi Guhe Office, white clay was piled up in large and small "mountain tips", a woman was enthusiastically introducing how to process the "bone powder". She also said that at the best time of business she could sell 20 tons a day.
An old local villager said that there is white clay everywhere in the mountain behind the village, and actually it was being sold for ceramic materials, but some people used it and processed it into the feed.
It is reported that there are villagers from a number of villages in Sunshou town of Laixi City engaged in breeding chickens and pigs. Since the villagers used feed processed from the clay, in the past when the pigs were 8-months-old, their weight would be more than 120 kilograms, but now they are less than 100 kg, and some pigs stool had blood.
Agricultural experts have pointed out that the use of clay posed as bone powder, when mixing a large number of bone powder into animal feed, will cause the animal to suffer malnutrition if consuming to much.
The above news is brought to you by He Wen and was hosted by Chris Thomas for Inside China Today on the SOH Radio Network.
Let's hope the Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety does a better job on the "dilution factor" in meats, vegetables, and eggs
than the FDA did after the pet food recalls of 2007 and can define the melamine tipping point for all of us. At least maybe
Hong Kong will publish their results. It is all about where is the tipping point:
http://www.topnews.in/nestle-taiwan-agrees-refund-consumers-over-tainted-milk-powder-274584
Nestle Taiwan agrees to refund consumers over tainted milk powder
Submitted by Sahil Nagpal on Thu, 10/09/2008 - 12:42. China Taipei Taiwan
Taipei- Nestle Taiwan agreed on Thursday to refund consumers after 10 more brands of its China-made milk powder were found to contain small traces of the toxic chemical melamine. ...
It came a day after the Taipei Health Bureau announced its latest inspection results, saying that 10 more brands of Nestle milk powder supplied by Shuangcheng Nestle based in Heilongjiang, China were found to contain 0.123 to 2.02 parts per million (ppm) of melamine.
Taiwan's top health authority, the Department of Health, announced on October 2 that six brands of Nestle milk powder from China were slightly tainted, although still safe to consume.
I wonder what talcum powder could introduce into alreadying existing melamine adulterations, Trudy.
Why am I not surprised?
http://www.rthk.org.hk/rthk/news/elocal/news.htm?elocal&20081027&56&533457
Melamine tainted eggs found last month
27-10-2008
It's emerged that eggs tainted with the industrial chemical melamine were detected last month on a farm in Dalian in northern China. A mainland food safety inspector has been quoted as saying that the eggs were destroyed but the discovery wasn't made public. He said the melamine could have found its way into eggs via animal feed given to chickens. Melamine-tainted eggs from Dalian have been discovered at Park N'Shop in Hong Kong. Liberal party lawmaker, Tommy Cheung, has called on the mainland authorities to explain what happened. Mr Cheung also said the SAR government should put more resources into the Food Safety Centre, and begin checking a wider range of imported products.
Link to a thread with more about the egg issue:
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/chinese-eggs-found-tainted-with-excessive-melamine-t6747.0.html;msg95738#msg95738
http://www.prlog.org:80/10133169-senator-clinton-urges-fda-to-work-with-communities-to-address-concerns-about-melamine-contamination.html
Senator Clinton Urges FDA to Work with Communities to Address Concerns About Melamine Contamination
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to expand efforts to reach out to communities impacted by food potentially contaminated with the deadly chemical melamine.
PRLog (Press Release) – Oct 26, 2008 – WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to expand efforts to reach out to communities impacted by food potentially contaminated with the deadly chemical melamine. ...
several products identified by the FDA as possibly contaminated are widely available in Asian specialty supermarkets in New York and other states. In a letter sent today to FDA Commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach, M.D., Senator Clinton praised the FDA's work in working with retailers and state and local health departments to ensure that contaminated products do not reach store shelves, but urged the agency to also increase their outreach with impacted communities to make them aware of the potential dangers associated with these foods.
Senator Clinton's letter to von Eschenbach is contained in this press release.
May this go from Senator Clinton's press office directly to the attention of both candidates and more national attention.
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-suspected-chinese-officials-say-baby-formula-tied-to-kidney-stones-t6256.0.html;msg91595;topicseen#msg91595
Has anyone from Michigan heard any more about Dingell's and Stupak's letter to the FDA? Or any response received by the House
Energy Committee?
that link didn't work for me 3Cat, so here's her site link:
http://clinton.senate.gov/news/statements/details.cfm?id=304548&&
must say, yet another day I'm thankful she's my senator.
Sorry, straybaby, it works for me. Maybe it just works on dialup? ;D
Quote from: trudy1 on October 27, 2008, 10:11:18 AM
China Feed Counterfeit-White clay as Bone Powder
«
China feed counterfeit, white clay posed as bone powder
Posted by chris on Thursday, October 23rd, 2008
Counterfeited products in China are breeding like flies. Shandong Laixi feed business admitted that they processed the clay which they dug from the mountains posing it as bone powder to mix into the feed of chicken and pigs, and chicken will die if eating too much of it.
According to China media, Mr Wang, was in the feed processing business in Shandong Laixi before, and said that there are many people near the village digging for clay from the hills posing it as bone powder after processing and then selling it. Most people cannot see the difference.
Mr. Wang disclosed that not long ago a large number of chickens died at a farm and he felt bad about what he did so he decided to tell this inside story.
The report said that at the white clay processing point in Pange village at the Laixi Guhe Office, white clay was piled up in large and small "mountain tips", a woman was enthusiastically introducing how to process the "bone powder". She also said that at the best time of business she could sell 20 tons a day.
An old local villager said that there is white clay everywhere in the mountain behind the village, and actually it was being sold for ceramic materials, but some people used it and processed it into the feed.
It is reported that there are villagers from a number of villages in Sunshou town of Laixi City engaged in breeding chickens and pigs. Since the villagers used feed processed from the clay, in the past when the pigs were 8-months-old, their weight would be more than 120 kilograms, but now they are less than 100 kg, and some pigs stool had blood.
Agricultural experts have pointed out that the use of clay posed as bone powder, when mixing a large number of bone powder into animal feed, will cause the animal to suffer malnutrition if consuming to much.
The above news is brought to you by He Wen and was hosted by Chris Thomas for Inside China Today on the SOH Radio Network.
Mr. Wang 'felt bad' and decided to tell this inside story? Sounds more like he wanted to brag about it so had to tell the story of these poor animals dropping dead. At least we know of another source of contamination in the food there that is fed to their animals. Sheesh this just goes on and on and on and on. Like groundhog day - the day repeats, repeats, repeats, repeats cause no one can get it wrong (as long as the money keeps rolling in) - they keep ramping up the toxins to boost the fake food quality and killing animals and people in the process from all the reports these last several weeks on major news sites and tv and radio news.
Must be nice to go thru life without a conscience IMO.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gKnKSn2RJcwce1BbdtdWmhkaBTnQD943FC0O0
Wal-Mart removes brand of eggs from China stores
By GILLIAN WONG – 38 minutes ago
BEIJING (AP) — Wal-Mart said Tuesday it had stopped selling a brand of eggs in its Chinese stores after food safety regulators in Hong Kong found excessive levels of the industrial chemical melamine in eggs sold under the brand.
The world's largest retailer said it has removed a brand of eggs produced by China's Dalian Hanwei Enterprise Group from all of its stores in China.
"We just want to make sure the products on our shelves are safe. We will work closely with suppliers and the government and other related organizations to make further steps," Mu Mingming, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart, told The Associated Press by telephone from Shenzhen.
Hanwei apologized to consumers in Hong Kong on Tuesday after testers in the Chinese territory on Saturday found its eggs contained melamine, the chemical at the heart of a tainted milk scandal that has sickened tens of thousands of Chinese children.
Hong Kong television station TVB reported Tuesday that the company's director Han Wei said the firm bore responsibility for the contamination.
"There are no consumers asking about protein levels in our eggs and so there is no need for us to add melamine to our eggs in the process of selling our products," Han said in the report. "We truly regret this. We too have an undeniable responsibility."
Calls to Hanwei, based in the northeastern port city Dalian, went unanswered Tuesday, but an official with the city government said Hanwei had started a nationwide recall of eggs deemed "problematic." The official, who refused to give her name as is common among Chinese officials, said she had no further details.
Han did not explain how the chemical made its way into eggs sold by the company. But the Chinese Agriculture Ministry's animal husbandry department head, Wang Zhicai, was quoted by the Beijing News newspaper Tuesday as saying it was highly likely that melamine had been added to the feed given to the chickens that laid the eggs.
Melamine, a chemical used in plastics and fertilizer, is not an animal feed additive and is banned from being mixed in, Wang said.
The report said the ministry has been inspecting feed for the chemical since last year, after a Chinese-made pet food ingredient containing melamine that was linked to the deaths of dozens of dogs and cats in the United States and touched off a massive pet food recall.
Last week, the death of 1,500 raccoon dogs in China was blamed on feed tainted with melamine.
It was not immediately clear why the chemical would be added into animal feed. But a food industry expert pointed to the same motivation cited in the current milk scandal and last year's pet food recall: Melamine boosts nitrogen levels, making products seem higher in protein when tested.
Jason Yan, the U.S. Grains Council's technical director in Beijing, said the chemical could have been added by suppliers of animal feed ingredients trying to pass off a normal grade protein ingredient as a higher grade product.
"The price gap between the two grades is high," about several hundred yuan (tens of dollars) per ton (metric ton), Yan said Tuesday. "Some traders may be willing to take the risk by adding melamine to make a lot more profit."
Wang was quoted as saying that there was little available research on the human effects of eating eggs tainted with melamine. Milk formula contaminated with the chemical has given Chinese babies painful kidney stones.
More than 3,600 children remain sick from tainted milk, with three in serious condition, the Ministry of Health said last week. The deaths of four babies were also linked to compromised dairy products.
Hong Kong testers found melamine in the eggs at nearly two times the territory's legal limit for the chemical in foodstuffs. The egg contamination has prompted Hong Kong officials to expand food testing to Chinese meat imports.
Associated Press researcher Xi Yue contributed to this report in Beijing.
When my kids were very young they loved to start the day with scrambled eggs....so I can't help but wonder how many poor little guys who were old enough to escape the formula contamination started their day with a nice glass of melamilk, a plate full of scrambled melaeggs and some nice toast contaminated with talcum powder....
This article also states they are going to test meat products...hmmm...have a feeling already of what they will find ... don't you? >:(
http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKTRE49R3CJ20081028
Chinese kids on melamine milk develop crystals: WHO
Tue Oct 28, 2008 11:20am GMT
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Some children who have fallen ill in China after being fed milk formula that had been contaminated with melamine have developed "crystals" in their kidneys, a WHO food safety expert said on Tuesday.
"Our understanding is that these are not normal kidney stones because they are not being detected via all of the tools that one uses to detect kidney stones, so some are not showing up on x-rays," said Anthony Hazzard, regional advisor for food safety at the World Health Organization.
"We believe at this stage that it's really the complex of melamine and cyanuric acid forming what you call crystals ... they can form in the small tubules (in the kidneys) and they get bigger and can block the tubules," he said in a telephone interview from Manila.
Cyanuric acid is chemically similar to melamine - a plastic-making industrial compound that was added to milk powder to cheat quality tests.
Tens of thousands of Chinese children have fallen ill with kidney stones and other kidney problems after consuming the contaminated milk, and at least four children have died.
It is not clear how cyanuric acid found its way into the children. Experts say it could have been added along with melamine into milk, also to cheat quality tests, or it may have been formed when the body tried processing the melamine, which is indigestible.
Experts said earlier that crystals may be even more troublesome than stones. They can potentially impair kidney function especially when large numbers of them suddenly form at the same time, blocking tubules in the kidneys.
Hazzard said the children were mainly treated in three ways.
"Depending on how severe the situation, they can either pass these crystals in urine or they need hospitalization and treatment with fluids that will allow these crystals or stones to better pass, or in some cases, they may need surgery," he said.
This latest China food scandal has sparked tests for melamine in a variety of Chinese-made products from milk and chocolate bars to yoghurt exported around the world, including products in South Korea, leading to items being pulled from shop shelves.
(Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
color]
I betcha the same crystals as Smudgie has...so where is the cyanuric acid coming from....
Quote from: Carol on October 28, 2008, 05:03:57 AM
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gKnKSn2RJcwce1BbdtdWmhkaBTnQD943FC0O0
Wal-Mart removes brand of eggs from China stores
By GILLIAN WONG – 38 minutes ago
BEIJING (AP) — Wal-Mart said Tuesday it had stopped selling a brand of eggs in its Chinese stores after food safety regulators in Hong Kong found excessive levels of the industrial chemical melamine in eggs sold under the brand.
The world's largest retailer said it has removed a brand of eggs produced by China's Dalian Hanwei Enterprise Group from all of its stores in China.
"We just want to make sure the products on our shelves are safe. We will work closely with suppliers and the government and other related organizations to make further steps," Mu Mingming, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart, told The Associated Press by telephone from Shenzhen.
Hanwei apologized to consumers in Hong Kong on Tuesday after testers in the Chinese territory on Saturday found its eggs contained melamine, the chemical at the heart of a tainted milk scandal that has sickened tens of thousands of Chinese children.
Hong Kong television station TVB reported Tuesday that the company's director Han Wei said the firm bore responsibility for the contamination.
"There are no consumers asking about protein levels in our eggs and so there is no need for us to add melamine to our eggs in the process of selling our products," Han said in the report. "We truly regret this. We too have an undeniable responsibility."
Calls to Hanwei, based in the northeastern port city Dalian, went unanswered Tuesday, but an official with the city government said Hanwei had started a nationwide recall of eggs deemed "problematic." The official, who refused to give her name as is common among Chinese officials, said she had no further details.
Han did not explain how the chemical made its way into eggs sold by the company. But the Chinese Agriculture Ministry's animal husbandry department head, Wang Zhicai, was quoted by the Beijing News newspaper Tuesday as saying it was highly likely that melamine had been added to the feed given to the chickens that laid the eggs.
Melamine, a chemical used in plastics and fertilizer, is not an animal feed additive and is banned from being mixed in, Wang said.
The report said the ministry has been inspecting feed for the chemical since last year, after a Chinese-made pet food ingredient containing melamine that was linked to the deaths of dozens of dogs and cats in the United States and touched off a massive pet food recall.
Last week, the death of 1,500 raccoon dogs in China was blamed on feed tainted with melamine.
It was not immediately clear why the chemical would be added into animal feed. But a food industry expert pointed to the same motivation cited in the current milk scandal and last year's pet food recall: Melamine boosts nitrogen levels, making products seem higher in protein when tested.
Jason Yan, the U.S. Grains Council's technical director in Beijing, said the chemical could have been added by suppliers of animal feed ingredients trying to pass off a normal grade protein ingredient as a higher grade product.
"The price gap between the two grades is high," about several hundred yuan (tens of dollars) per ton (metric ton), Yan said Tuesday. "Some traders may be willing to take the risk by adding melamine to make a lot more profit."
Wang was quoted as saying that there was little available research on the human effects of eating eggs tainted with melamine. Milk formula contaminated with the chemical has given Chinese babies painful kidney stones.
More than 3,600 children remain sick from tainted milk, with three in serious condition, the Ministry of Health said last week. The deaths of four babies were also linked to compromised dairy products.
Hong Kong testers found melamine in the eggs at nearly two times the territory's legal limit for the chemical in foodstuffs. The egg contamination has prompted Hong Kong officials to expand food testing to Chinese meat imports.
Associated Press researcher Xi Yue contributed to this report in Beijing.
When my kids were very young they loved to start the day with scrambled eggs....so I can't help but wonder how many poor little guys who were old enough to escape the formula contamination started their day with a nice glass of melamilk, a plate full of scrambled melaeggs and some nice toast contaminated with talcum powder....
This article also states they are going to test meat products...hmmm...have a feeling already of what they will find ... don't you? >:(
How about our eggs, meat and flour? Has there been testing done to see if its in animal feed, eggs or the flour in this country? Sorry if there is not much trust left when they say our products are safe - the lied about the pet food in this country - how much of our food are we being lied to about?
Over 7,360,000 children in China under the age of 4 living below the poverty level (and likely to have consumed this awful cheap formula)
"developed "crystals" in their kidneys" that don't show up on x-rays (Carol)
"It just took the media a while to release the information." (purringfur)
My heart breaks for the innocent children and the trusting parents of China
whose ordeal has just begun ... There is no question left as to what the
global village of nations should do to raise healthy children.
Kidney stones that show on xrays have calcium in them...that is what makes them radiopaque. The majority of human kidney stones do show on xrays. An IVP is an xray test that injects dye into a vein and then can show where the stone/blockage is even though the actual stone may not be seen...A CT scan without the dye can also be used in an acute setting that will show the obstruction but still not show the stone if it does not contain calcium...so my point is there is no calcium in these stones/crystals apparently and I believe thay are exactly the same "MARF" stones/crystals that we have seen in our pets....
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/10/28/china-quiet-at-melamine-tainted-eggs/
China Quiet at Melamine Tainted Eggs
David Bandurski from China media project notices how the mainstream media in China are quiet about the melamine tainted-eggs issue even though the government stressed its determination on securing food safety.
http://health.asiaone.com/Health/News/Story/A1Story20081028-96688.html
UN calls for China to report on melamine in livestock feed
BEIJING, Oct 28, 2008 (AFP) - A UN agency called Tuesday for China to immediately disclose if an industrial chemical found in dairy products had been used in livestock feed and contaminated the wider food chain.
The recent discovery of melamine in mainland chicken eggs sold in Hong Kong has triggered worries that the chemical was present in a wide range of foods such as farm-raised meats and fish, a UN official said.
Zhang Zhongjun, programme officer with the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation, told AFP that China's agriculture ministry was investigating the possibility that melamine had been mixed into farming feed.
we do not know the details of the investigation... we want them to immediately report to us the results of their findings," Zhang said.
"If the feed is found to be contaminated, then there is the possibility (that pork, chicken, fish and beef could also be contaminated)."
Zhang said that feed producers could have laced their products with melamine to falsely boost protein content, similar to the methods of milk producers in a scandal that has left China's dairy industry in shambles. ...
The dairy scandal has expanded worldwide with governments around the world recalling or banning Chinese products with milk content.
Report from Japan, October 18, 2008:
http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=766082
Japan finds melamine in Chinese egg powder
Agence France-Presse, Page 7, 2008-10-18 01:26 AM
Mitsui imported 20 tons of Chinese egg powder in September, most of which was sold to Q.P. Egg Corp., a unit of Japanese mayonnaise maker Q.P. Corp., the company said.
Some 0.4 tons of egg powder have already been consumed, it said, but no health problems have been reported.
The finding came after Chinese manufacturer Dalian Hanovo Foods informed Mitsui that melamine was detected in its egg powder products and poultry feed.
Mitsui has "recalled all the egg powder products that have not been used and plans to send them back to China or destroy them," it said in a statement.
Separately, the Japanese health ministry said that melamine was detected in frozen fried chicken imported from China.
The fried chicken has not been distributed in the market, according to the ministry
Would this widening of more products containing melamine mean that Trader Joes would not offer for sale foodstuffs from China IMO? It was posted on here that they do sell a lot of food from there.
This is a stumbled-upon opinion post in a blog that I really hope IS NOT TRUE. This post only represents
an individual's opinion, as no citations are given to support it:
http://scienceblogs.com/effectmeasure/2008/09/the_chinese_food_scandal_at_le.php#comment-1127860
"Revere, do you (or does anyone else) know more about milk protein concentrate imports into the US, and if the FDA is checking them for melamine contamination? Milk protein concentrate is basically a filtered milk product that can imported as a non-food item (to evade tariffs) and is added to many foods. Look on the ingredients list for Kraft macaroni and cheese, for just one example. It is virtually unregulated by the FDA and is not approved for use in food.
However, food manufacturers continue to get away with adding it through what I presume to be loopholes in food labeling laws. The FDA has taken some weak action against Kraft, for example, and in response Kraft has changed the way it labels products which contain MPC (calling them "cheese food" instead of "cheese", etc.) in order to abide by labeling laws.
It's apparently very difficult to find out exactly where MPC imports come from. There are little, if any, quality control standards for its production, and it might be re-packaged multiple times before being imported into the US. Too many unknowns. The organic food types have been going on for years about this unregulated additive, and in light of the Chinese melamine problem, I can see why things like unregulated MPC are potentially such a big deal.
Posted by: Edmund | September 27, 2008 2:50 PM"
I would really appreciate research help in trying to pin down the accuracy of this opinion post!
Gulp!!! Remember these guys, itchmo.com?
http://www.itchmo.com/houston-chronicle-criticizes-fda-for-tacit-approval-of-toxic-foods-781
May 20, 2007, Houston Chronicle Criticizes FDA For Tacit Approval Of Toxic Foods
This editorial takes US FDA to task for releasing tainted food into the food supply and raises the alarm on milk protein concentrate.
We'll let the Houston Chronicle speak for themselves:
Unfortunately, some livestock could not be recalled since they were already on their way to your plate.
The Food and Drug Administration's response? Not to worry, there is no scientific evidence that eating melamine is bad for humans,
so no grocery recall is necessary.
Consumers have now unwittingly joined their pets as subjects in a massive food safety experiment.
This is hardly the first case of an illegal byproduct getting dumped into the U.S. food system with the tacit approval of the FDA.
Milk protein concentrate, which enters the United States as an industrial-grade ingredient to make adhesives and which has never been subject to consumer-safety testing or given Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) status by the FDA, is now found in hundreds of adulterated cheese products, candies, chips, nutritional drinks and other processed junk foods.
For powerful corporations like Kraft, it is much more lucrative to import milk protein concentrate to make Velveeta, Mac n' Cheese or Kraft Singles and hope pliant FDA officials turn a blind eye than to pay U.S. family dairy farmers a fair price for real domestic milk
I searched the Houston Chronicle for the editorial and was unable to find it after getting the information the itchmo link was no longer there.
3Cat, I remember that from last year. I was freaking out when I learned about MPC. I think that was the last straw for me and really hardened my resolve against the big companies. I don't think I still have the emails I sent out, but I'm sure my family thought I was nuts at the time. It wasn't too hard to find links about MPC as I recall, especially involving Kraft and their cheese food. Kraft singles are another to look out for, iirc.
After reading up on some of this poo poo, it's amazingly easy to give up processed food and be very afraid of it. Kraft Mac and Cheese was my comfort standby. I don't even miss the poo poo.
The problem is even if US FDA was required to check every domestic food product, it looks like MPC
wouldn't be included, and as an import from China, is it being inspected as an industrial grade ingredient?
From May 2007, cynthiak23
http://itchmoforums.com/your-problems-with-pet-food/milk-protein-concentrate-t557.0.html
Thank you for taking the time to contact us with your concerns.
Our imported Milk Protein Concentrate comes from one supplier, Fonterra, in New Zealand . The remainder is produced in New Mexico .
We have strong food safety and quality systems in place and are confident in the safety of our products and ingredients
From ingredient procurement through finished product, we take a number of precautions to assure the safety and wholesomeness of our products.
If you would like more information about our safety and quality efforts, please visit the Quality and Food Safety section of our website www.kraft.com/responsibility
Please let us know if you have any questions. And thanks again for raising the question.
Best,
Jacqui Link
Kraft Consumer Channel Facilitator
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on October 28, 2008, 11:25:49 AM
The problem is even if US FDA was required to check every domestic food product, it looks like MPC
wouldn't be included, and as an import from China, is it being inspected as an industrial grade ingredient?
From May 2007, cynthiak23
http://itchmoforums.com/your-problems-with-pet-food/milk-protein-concentrate-t557.0.html
from the link you posted - per Kraft: "Our imported Milk Protein Concentrate comes from one supplier, Fonterra, in New Zealand "
Gosh, where have we just been reading about Fonterra??
Sorry, Offy, simultaneous post almost. More clairvoyance from itchmo forum members.
http://articles.latimes.com/2007/apr/14/business/fi-chocolate14
Archive for Saturday, April 14, 2007
The courage of their confections
By Jerry Hirsch
April 14, 2007 in print edition A-1
Note This article includes corrections to the original version.
Calling all chocoholics. Put down the truffles and power up the PC. It's time to weigh in on a fundamental question: What is chocolate?
Two of California's oldest confectioners, See's Candies Inc. and Guittard Chocolate Co., are battling an attempt to loosen government rules that dictate what ingredients go into the sweet stuff.
Legally, the candy that melts hearts and comforts the brokenhearted is made with cocoa butter and, in the case of milk chocolate, whole milk. But the Grocery Manufacturers of America, a trade group, wants to let confectioners substitute cheaper ingredients – vegetable oils and milk protein concentrates.
Must be the emulsified melamine that has been making so many chocolate candy bars taste so bad. If it's "waxy," don't eat it.
I just sent this email through the Kraft website...I'll let you know what they say...or they may come and post here!
Do you still use Fonterra in New Zealand for your milk protein concentrate as told to a fellow blogger May of 2007..here is the link to the response and who from your company supplied the response..
http://itchmoforums.com/your-problems-with-pet-food/milk-protein-concentrate-t557.0.html;msg5524#msg5524
Don't hold your breath, Carol. That's proprietary I bet you.
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/melamltr.html
From the FDA Dear Colleague Letter, October 10, 2008
Milk and milk products that could originate from China include condensed, dried, and non-fat milk, condensed and
dried whey, lactose powder, permeate powder, demineralized and partially demineralized whey powders, caseins,
yogurt, ice cream, cheese, whey protein concentrate, and milk protein concentrate.
Update for the Suspect ingredients list [See page 79]:
condensed whey
demineralized and partially demineralized whey powders
dried milk
dried whey
permeate powder
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/health/28kidn.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Published: October 27, 2008
QuoteA Rise in Kidney Stones Is Seen in U.S. Children
To the great surprise of parents, kidney stones, once considered a disorder of middle age, are now showing up in children as young as 5 or 6.
While there are no reliable data on the number of cases, pediatric urologists and nephrologists across the country say they are seeing a steep rise in young patients. Some hospitals have opened pediatric kidney stone clinics.
. . . . . . . . .
The increase in the United States is attributed to a host of factors, including a food additive that is both legal and ubiquitous: salt.
Forty to 65 percent of kidney stones are formed when oxalate, a byproduct of certain foods, binds to calcium in the urine. (Other common types include calcium phosphate stones and uric acid stones.) And the two biggest risk factors for this binding process are not drinking enough fluids and eating too much salt; both increase the amount of calcium and oxalate in the urine.
This ran in the NY Times and was carried in papers across the US.
While they mention the milk in China tainted with melamine, there is no connection made to the issues in the US. But, it really makes you wonder if they are limiting their research to what everyone assumes is in the food instead of finding out if there is anything else there that possibly should not be.
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on October 28, 2008, 11:51:44 AM
Don't hold your breath, Carol. That's proprietary I bet you.
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/melamltr.html
From the FDA Dear Colleague Letter, October 10, 2008
Milk and milk products that could originate from China include condensed, dried, and non-fat milk, condensed and
dried whey, lactose powder, permeate powder, demineralized and partially demineralized whey powders, caseins,
yogurt, ice cream, cheese, whey protein concentrate, and milk protein concentrate.
Update for the Suspect ingredients list:
condensed whey
demineralized and partially demineralized whey powders
dried milk
dried whey
permeate powder
well, 3cat...I just sent another email to a member of the press who has been covering the melamine crisis since last year and has responded personally to me before so maybe this can get the wheels turning...just never know... ::)
Thank you, PFROP. Not all the kids are obese, but most are. Their diets include junk foods that
have been included in the worldwide Chinese import mela-food recalls. The NIH reports a 30 percent
increase in kidney disease in the last decade in the United States. US national food safety authorities
and the medical profession better start asking some serious questions which the FDA seems to be
ignoring on behalf of kids in the United States.
News media are welcome to give this food contamination the attention it deserves. Thanks for trying,
Carol.
http://www.pharmalot.com/2008/10/the-fda-is-missing-lots-of-deadlines-this-year/
From India:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Mumbai/Chinese_chocolates_are_adulterated_FDA/articleshow/3647668.cms
Chinese chocolates are adulterated: FDA
28 Oct 2008, 0208 hrs IST, Yogesh Naik, TNN
MUMBAI: The state FDA has confirmed the presence of melamine, a synthetic plastic-like polymer, in Chinese chocolates that were seized a week ago.
These chocolates are valued at over Rs 4 crore.
FDA commissioner Dhanraj Khamatkar said, "We confirmed the presence of melamine, which is dangerous for human consumption." Khamatkar said the chocolates were seized from godowns in Kalher village near Bhiwandi. "We tested the chocolates at our food laboratory in Bandra and got misleading results. Finally, we consulted experts from the IIT-Bombay as well as Cipla and concluded that there were large amounts of melamine."
The seized brands are Ginnon Frisky, Ginnou Chocher and Tasty Choco. Khamatkar has appealed to the public to avoid eating them.
What do you know? China shut down dairy producers longer than they shut down melamine scrap
adulterers in the pet food scandal of 2007. But the dairy adulterers are up and running with
melamine scrap teams ready to go because no one has stopped them. It's all fixed now; right? The
Chinese government tells us so. China has vowed (AGAIN) that it's taken care of the problem.
And no one in the US is doing anything to protect the American consumer; still inspecting less than one
percent of the imports:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2008-10/29/content_7152429.htm
Sanlu set to resume production(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-10-29 07:24
Sanlu Group - which is at the heart of the tainted-milk scandal - is ready to resume production,
a senior official of the city where the dairy conglomerate is based said Tuesday
Seven of its affiliate factories in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, have resumed production after
changing their names, Li said. They include those producing milk under the Wahaha and Feihe brands.
Another, which does not use the Sanlu brand, has also resumed operations, Li said.
Of the seven other dairy firms in Shijiazhuang, three have also restarted operations, he added.
"Our guidelines are that (city) dairy companies resume operations before restructuring," Li was quoted
as saying by Hebei Youth Daily.
The Shijiazhuang government has set up a restructuring team headed by a vice-mayor to talk with major players
interested in buying Sanlu - Wandashan and Sanyuan
Guo Xinnian, deputy chief of Shijiazhuang police, told China Central Television yesterday that 43 suspects have
been arrested in the province, of whom 27 have been charged in court.
A "short term issue"? The pet owners of 2007 can tell you that many of these Chinese babies will be suffering
consequences for many, many of the years of their shortened and apparently hundreds of thousands possibly
uncounted poor lives.
http://www.flex-news-food.com/console/PageViewer.aspx?page=20031&source=alerts&contactid=31300
Dairy Prices Seen Weakening, Futures Needed
Source: Reuters
27/10/2008
A tainted baby milk formula scandal in China has contributed to the turnaround, sparking a significant decline in
demand.
"We are still quite positive on the long-term demand growth potential in China but there is now a short-term issue
which will probably cause demand to go down quite significantly over the next 12 to 18 months," Dutch-based Rabobank
analyst Mark Voorbergen said.
Imagine consumers in any country having the gall to demand a food product made of real food, instead of unregulated
industrial-grade ingredients that are cheaper for manufacturers ... what demented unbusiness-friendly government allowed this?
Oh, that's right. It's Canada, not the United States of America
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Financial-Industry/Legal-challenge-to-new-cheese-regulations
Legal challenge to new cheese regulations
By Sarah Hills, 22-Oct-2008
Related topics: Dairy-based ingredients, Food prices
Legal challenge to new cheese regulations
Cheese makers including Kraft Canada have taken legal action against changes to regulations for the way cheese is made,
which is expected to increase the cost processers pay for cheese ingredients by more than $70m.
Kraft along with Parmalat Canada and Saputo jointly filed an application in the Federal Court of Canada challenging the regulations
which they claim will require cheese makers to strictly limit the use of modified milk ingredients. This is likely to result in the use of more
raw milk, which would increase costs.
Yvan Loubier, a spokesman for the three cheese makers, said: "The clear intent of these new regulations is additional revenue for dairy farmers. Unfortunately any gains for dairy farmers will likely be short-lived.
"The new regulations will hurt both cheese makers and dairy farmers. They will increase the price of cheese to consumers, may reduce cheese consumption and threaten the viability of Canada as a cheese making nation.
"Canada's dairy processors are the unique market for the milk produced by Canadian dairy farmers; the less cheese that is eaten by Canadian consumers, the less milk that will be needed from Canadian dairy farmers."
The Dairy Processors Association of Canada (DPAC) had previously said that the move would force dairy processors to purchase
more raw full fat milk to produce cheese by limiting the use of certain ingredients made from milk. These ingredients include whey protein, skim milk powder, milk protein and whey protein concentrates.
They anticipate that the purchase of additional raw milk will increase production costs.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency's cost-benefit analysis showed that cheese producers would see their revenues increase by $187m as a result of the regulations, whereas processors would face a cost increase for cheese ingredients of approximately $72m.
Compositional Standards
The changes to the Food and Drugs Act and the Canadian Agricultural Products Act will come into effect in December.
There they go again. Blaming the "consumers". Excuse me, Mr Big Multi National Producer, but we are citizens first, consumers second. Do your freakin' job and quit blaming us.
Quote
"Canada's dairy processors are the unique market for the milk produced by Canadian dairy farmers; the less cheese that is eaten by Canadian consumers, the less milk that will be needed from Canadian dairy farmers."
That is such a [edited] bull poo poo excuse and it doesn't hold water. I can buy Cabot cheeses in my grocery store for the same price as Kraft and I never notice them using the words "cheese food".
http://www.cabotcheese.com/
Won't more consumption of raw milk cause more competition, thus reducing prices? Isn't that what they always tell us? Any dairy that wants a big contract is going to be competitive. They can just get over themselves trying to make us believe otherwise. They wouldn't be shorting the market of eggs etc so they can get higher prices, now would they, if the demand caused increased pricing. God I'm angry.
LOL Poco - plastic cheese! Is that like plastic margarine? Wonder how much melamine is in margarine as according to the compostion - margarine is one molecule away from plastic. Read on a science site awhile back that if you take a stick of margarine, put it in a bowl and place it in your shed, garage or - that no flies will land on it no bugs will want any of it and it will never rot, mold or anything. People Eat This Stuff everyday!
on Snopes this is posted: Pirates Gold Chocolate Coins are being recalled and pulled from shelves due to melamine being found in the candy.
http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/coins.asp
The AP reported that the eggs were known for one month to be contaminated before they announced it and that egg products are exported to the US..I don't have the link as I am on DH's laptop and have no clue how to get two windows open to paste the link...I found it under google news after I typed in melamine contamination....So now you all know how stupid I really am without my regular computer... ::) I also saw the New York Times picked up the egg delay story in their business section...slowly getting in the mainstream media ... :-\
Melamine in eggs
raises new and more serious questions about how far the chemical at the center of China's
tainted milk scandal has penetrated the nation's food chain. That would possibly include China's food chain in terms of
milk, vegetables, animal feed, meats, and eggs, and every global nation that imports food or processed food
products from China:
http://cmp.hku.hk/2008/10/27/1303/
From the China Media Project By David Bandurski:
"China's latest melamine-tainted food incident — this time affecting chicken eggs and related products — has quietly
emerged over the past ten days. Even as it is beleaguered with recalls from three neighboring economies, however,
China's largest egg products manufacturer, Dalian Hanwei Enterprise Group, has failed to announce its own recalls
or to explain publicly what action it is taking.
This was not the first hint of trouble. Japan's Yomiuri Shinbun reported back on October 17 that importer
Mitsui & Co. had found melamine in egg powder imported from China. And South Korea destroyed 23 tons
of Chinese egg products on October 22 after detecting excessive levels of the chemical. In both cases, tainted
egg products were slated for use, or were used, in a variety of downstream food products, including baked goods.
But neither the Japanese nor the South Korean recalls were reported in China, and so far coverage of Hong Kong's
announcement in China's media is sparse, pointing to possible propaganda directions on reporting (we are in the
process of checking with sources)."
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,24573557-5012768,00.html
correspondents in Beijing
October 29, 2008 09:56pm
CHINA has halted all exports by a major Chinese egg company that sold to Japan and other parts of Asia after some of its
products were found to contain the toxic chemical melamine ... The Dalian city government in northeast China said today it
had ordered Hanwei Group to stop selling abroad.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/081029/world/china_food_safety
... Officials and China's state-controlled press reported on Wednesday that eggs from other suppliers had also been found
to be contaminated with melamine, which can give food the appearance of higher protein levels.
Against this backdrop, some supermarkets in Beijing, Shanghai and other cities announced they were recalling various brands
of eggs, although others appeared unsure what to do with the central government yet to give directives.
A staff member at the Parkson Shopping Centre's supermarket in Beijing said
eggs from Hanwei were no longer on sale. "We will
not put them back until we receive test reports from the company that show the eggs we have do not have the same problems," she said.
In Shanghai, a spokeswoman for the Lotus Supermarket chain said all the
Kekeda brand of eggs from Hanwei had been removed from all its outlets across the city.****************************************************
AT LAST, MAINSTREAM MEDIA:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-melamine29-2008oct29,0,4227714.story?track=rss
Editorial
The melamine-tainted food trail
Food from China should be tested for the dangerous additive.
October 29, 2008The melamine was in the eggs that arrived in Hong Kong, the biscuits in the Philippines, the foil-wrapped chocolate coins sold across
Canada and cookies and candy here in California. The latest round of discoveries of Chinese-produced food tainted with a cheap, illegal
and dangerous additive started with preemptive testing in Hong Kong and spread from there with additional tests in other countries.
The world's hunger for ever-cheaper products has wrought a perpetual state of food-safety alert. Hong Kong is expanding its
melamine tests to include meat, vegetables and processed foods. More countries, including this one, should be taking similarly aggressive protective steps, holding foods from China for testing before they are released to markets and restaurants ...
These products spread globally through the manufacture of processed foods, which mix basic ingredients such as eggs and
powdered milk from around the world. Biscuits made in the Philippines and shipped to Hong Kong were also found to be contaminated with melamine, but it's unclear whether the substance was added in that country or whether it came from Chinese-produced milk. Adding to consumer concerns,
the labels for packaged foods tell only where the food was processed, not where the ingredients originated."Made in China" has come to imply goods produced cheaply by cutting corners, disregarding the environment and dispensing
with consumer safety. Chinese authorities keep promising to bring their country's food up to "world-class" standards, and tests on a majority of products show no violations. Still, given the country's continuing scandals, its food is best considered suspect until proved safe.["over-the-top" pet owners have been waiting to hear this since March 16, 2007. for all the dead furkids] ******************************************************************************************************
You can comment of the LA Times editorial
From Bangladesh:
http://www.stuff.co.nz/southlandtimes/4743433a22356.html
Another melamine blow for Fonterra
Thursday, 30 October 2008
After killing babies in China the chemical contaminant melamine has come back to haunt Fonterra, this time in Bangladesh.
Police and courts in Bangladesh have seized Fonterra milkpowders in a crackdown on its Anlene and Nido brands , as one laboratory's tests indicated they contained melamine.
Six other brands of baby formula have also been seized, even though tests have yet to prove conclusive, and Fonterra told NZPA it was
confident further tests would clear its product.
From Taiwan:
Taiwan bans all protein powder imported from China
Central News Agency Page 3 October 29, 2008
The Department of Health today issued a ban on imports and use of protein powder made by China since Chinese protein
powder in Taiwan has been detected to contain 1ppm to 5ppm of melamine.
Central News Agency
The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday announced a ban on another China-made food ingredient, protein powder, which was found to contain low levels of the toxic chemical melamine.
The protein powder is the fourth food item imported from China that has been banned in Taiwan since a food scare broke out in
Sept. following the discovery that milk powder, creamers and ammonium bicarbonate from China had been contaminated with melamine.
According to Cheng, the tainted protein powder was found during random examinations conducted by local health bureaus in the past few days.
Six of the 13 samples selected tested positive for the toxic chemical at levels of 1.9 to 5.03 ppm (part per million) , he disclosed.
The DOH has instructed the importers to recall product and has directed local health bureaus to seize all of it, he said. ...
Of the 704 tons of protein powder imported this year, 393 tons were from China, 261 tons of which was imported by four local companies and found to be contaminated with melamine, Cheng said.
The four enterprises imported the tainted ingredient from two companies, Dalian Greensnow Egg Products Development Co., Ltd. and
Jilin Jinyi Egg Co., Ltd., located in Jilin and Liaoning provinces in northeastern China, according to Cheng.
Protein powder is a food additive used in the production of ham, vegetarian ham, tempura and cakes, Cheng said, adding that it constitutes about one percent of the content of such foods.
UPDATE OF SUSPECT INGREDIENTS ON FOOD LABELS LIST, Page 79: protein powder
UPDATE OF SUSPECT FOODS, Page 79: tempura and vegetarian ham
From South Africa
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20081025110338895C779010
October 25 2008 at 11:50AM By Sheree Bega and Sapa
The department of health has recalled the popular Chinese-made White Rabbit sweets for containing "unacceptable" levels of the
toxic industrial chemical melamine. ...
In separate independent tests by the National Consumer Forum on local and Chinese products, traces of melamine have been found in a 750g tin of Nestle's Gold Cross sweetened condensed milk.
The condensed milk contains 0.5 parts per million (ppm) of melamine, which falls within the safe "tolerable" level of international countries at 2.5 ppm, or 2.5 milligrams in every kilogram of foodstuff.
"According to international standards, it's quite low," said Thami Bolani of the National Consumer Forum.
"People don't really have to worry, but I think consumers prefer to eat food free of melamine."
He said a second round of more comprehensive testing would now be conducted in a UK laboratory in collaboration with global body
Consumers International on more Chinese and local products, including Nestle foodstuffs
"We'll test more Nestle products. This [result] could be an indication that there is a problem there [at Nestle]."
Nestle spokesperson Theo Mxakwe said the company had noted the forum's findings.
"We were not aware of the tests being done and obviously we just want to engage them on the veracity and the method used
We would never release products onto the market that we know exceed internationally accepted norms."
From Wales, UK:
http://www.walesonline.co.uk:80/news/wales-news/2008/10/28/chocolate-linked-to-baby-illness-in-china-found-in-wales-91466-22130482/
Chocolate linked to baby illness in China found in Wales
Oct 28 2008 by Steffan Rhys, Western Mail
CONFECTIONERY linked to an outbreak of illness in China which made more than 50,000 babies sick has been
found on the shelves in Wales.
Chocolates imported from China have been found to contain the melamine, an industrial chemical used to make
plastic cups and plates. The novelty chocolates have been found for sale in sex shops.
Carmarthenshire County Council's head of public protection Philip Davies said the chocolates had been found to
be contaminated with high levels of melamine.
Mr Davies said: "While not a health risk, the chocolate is being withdrawn from sale. Anyone who has bought any
should take it back to the supplier."
From Bangkok, Thailand:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/291008_News/29Oct2008_news19.php
MELAMINE IN DAIRY PRODUCTS
Chinese chocolates tainted APIRADEE TREERUTKUARKUL
Melamine has been found in milk chocolate smuggled from China for sale at a border market.
The Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found Orphic milk chocolate, manufactured by Tianjin Heijingang
Foodstuff Co, was contaminated with 34.37 milligrammes of melamine per kilogramme, well above the official safe
limit of 2.5 mg/kg.
The product lot manufactured on Aug 5 was randomly picked from a border market in Mukdahan for tests, said
FDA secretary-general Pipat Yingseree.
He accepted it was difficult to track down the importers since the product had been smuggled. The agency therefore
urged consumers not to buy any imported dairy products, which have not been FDA-certified.
''FDA staff asked vendors to withdraw the products, but we don't know if they will put them up for sale again,'' he said.
He said he would also send letters to S&P Syndicate Plc and Mali manufacturers to clarify recent newspaper
advertisements that their products are safe for consumers following the FDA's findings. The FDA has only certified
product lots which have been tested.
Just substitute the word "MELAMINE" for the word bisphenol A in the following critique of FDA risk assessment models on
melamine and I believe every criticism applies except perhaps for the one on heart problems. That one should say KIDNEY
PROBLEMS with regards to melamine:
http://ap.google.com:80/article/ALeqM5irooZMZkEUrHW2eA20P8eEM1--uQD943RJJ00
FDA's conclusion that chemical is safe is flawed
By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR – 15 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration's assurances that a controversial chemical is safe for use
in food containers are badly flawed, an independent panel of scientific advisers concluded in a report released Tuesday.
The chemical, known as bisphenol A, is used to make plastic for food packaging, baby bottles and other consumer and
medical goods. Environmental groups want to ban BPA in products for infants because of concerns that it can interfere
with their development. But the FDA recently said there is no harm from the low doses of BPA that babies, children and
most adults get by eating foods from containers made with the chemical.
Asked by the agency to review that conclusion, a panel of outside advisers delivered what amounts to a scientific rebuke.
"The margins of safety defined by FDA as 'adequate' are, in fact, inadequate," said the report, a copy of which was
provided to The Associated Press. The advisers found that the FDA had not considered all available, credible scientific
evidence, and urged the agency to essentially go back to the lab.
The report came as a welcome surprise to environmentalists and their supporters in Congress. Citing some of the
advisers ties to industry, critics had initially questioned the objectivity of the panel.
"Despite the concerns about their objectivity, (the panel) agreed with the many independent scientists that questioned
FDA's initial assessment on BPA," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., who chairs a committee that oversees the
agency's budget. The report "is reinforcing the position that the FDA should restart the BPA evaluation process."
The report will be discussed at a meeting of the FDA's science board Friday, but what it will mean for consumers was
not immediately clear. With the advisers saying more studies are needed, the FDA is unlikely to move quickly to restrict
the use of BPA. Concerned consumers, however, can reduce their exposure by avoiding plastic containers imprinted
with the recycling number 7, as many of these contain BPA. ...
The advisers' report faulted the FDA for relying on relatively narrow studies in rats to reach its conclusion that low doses
of BPA are safe. Instead, it urged the agency to take into account a much broader range of scientific literature, including
a recent study that raised suspicions about a link to heart problems in adults.
The FDA's approach "creates a false sense of security" and "overlooks a range of potentially serious findings," the report
said.
The advisers also concluded that FDA scientists' margin of safety for BPA was off, too generous by factor of 10 times or
more
http://blogs.consumerreports.org:80/safety/2008/10/chocolate-coins.html
October 28, 2008
Melamine: One treasure you won't want to find ...
This is about the Pirates Gold Coins in Canada, but you can still leave a comment for Consumer Reports
Toxic eggs made it on my local news, and the fact that they've known about it for a month. Kinda weird hearing the anchor saying how the chickens are laying toxic eggs contaminated with an industrial chemical. Dunno, it just sounds so . . . WRONG!
Do we already know from 2007's investigation of hogs and chickens and fish (?) by the FDA of the
ruminant animals fed tainted pet food after the recall at what level in ppms their meat was contaminated with melamine?
Was that info released by the FDA other than to say it was diluted and "safe to eat" by people?
What would you have to feed a chicken in terms of melamine to get the eggs up above the 2.5 ppm "safe" level
to Hong Kong's reported 4.7 ppm?
Good question. They also urinate melamine (that's why it's safe to eat the meat of these animals if I remember the FDA's "logic" correctly) so if they are urinating it out, how much was in their body to also contaminate the eggs to that level? I wonder if anyone has started testing newborn pigs, cause we all know their prob still eating it here. Remember, some feed was coming in contaminated with it before they added the toxic pet food to it.
Pet Connection may have the info from the FDA news conferences they held. Perhaps a search there would turn up what the FDA said. You can revisit our exploding heads!
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/melamra.html
APPENDIX II
Swine and Poultry Exposure Assessment
May 24, 2007
I think this is it, straybaby. However, there are so many assumptions made to arrive at their figures of "safety" that I
don't think I can follow them all. It's interesting to note that the FDA found contamination in meat and feed in 2007,
and think there's an egg in there mentioned at 4.5 ppm, but it was still "safe" to pump this stuff into the US food supply.
I'd need a scientist to unravel it. I don't recall the FDA saying one word about the melamine content of eggs in 2007.
The only thing I'm gathering is that other countries in the world don't think it's so safe or the UN would not be asking
for a report on feed and Hong Kong wouldn't be testing (?) Maybe this isn't new news? 3-egg omlets [at 14.1 or thereabouts]
just dropped off my menu, along with sausage or ham, a piece of toast, and nice glass of milk -- yikes
Picked this link up off of ScienceBlogs:
http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/460.html
Background
Mike Mozart is a product designer who also runs a video blog about new developments in the toy industry.
His reviews are normally light, cheerful affairs and completely apolitical.
If he appears distraught, it's because he is. This is serious.
Mozart has discovered that the US is the ONLY country that still permits potentially melamine-contaminated food on its shelves. Even China has removed these products from its stores.
3-egg omelets . . .{sigh} why the [edited] can't the FDA get a clue that someone might feed a kid a couple eggs, muffins that were made with a mix that contains a dairy powder etc? I realize that at this point in time, they don't think we can eat enough of it even if we eat it with every meal everyday, but give me a freakin' break here! They don't know how much is in our freakin food because they aren't looking for it!! Sending a letter IS NOT FOOD SAFETY.
I REMEMBER ALL THOSE ASSUMPTIONS THEY WERE MAKING AND THEY ARE STILL USING THEM OBVIOUSLY.
oops! sorry for the caps! They also based their model on a 130plus person. Sorry, but some of us are still in the child size range (I can wear youth t-shirts!), some folks are elderly, some folks have health issues and some folks have all of the above. The assumption that everyone weighs enough and has perfectly functioning bodies is absurd, especially because they don't know what the long term effects of different levels of exposure on perfectly weighted functioning bodies are.
I need a drink.
Cheers, Offy and straybaby, I think the seriousness is creeping out there into public
awarness. If there's more on youtube, please post it. It takes me 20 minutes to download
and look at one minute of youtube. So every little press bit helps.
The FDA does know, btw, I think. It's politics, trade, and money that may be keeping a lid on.
Depending on what Hong Kong finds, I believe China may have run out of excuses and meaningless
apologies and empty promises.
I think that there are a lot of pet food companies that need to start publishing their Melamine Cyanurate test results.. not just Melamine, but Cyanuric Acid too
The other shoe might have just fallen...
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/30/asia/AS-China-Tainted-Food.php
BEIJING: Animal feed producers in China commonly add the industrial chemical melamine to their products to make them appear higher in protein, state media reported Thursday, an indication that the scope of the country's latest food safety scandal could extend beyond milk and eggs.
The practice of mixing melamine into animal feed is an "open secret" in the industry, the Nanfang Daily newspaper reported in an article that was republished on the Web sites of the official Xinhua News Agency and the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily.
Publicizing such a problem is rare in the Chinese media and appears to be a tacit admission by China's central government that melamine contamination is widespread.
It is forbidden to deliberately add melamine to food and animal feed, but its apparent prevalence highlights the inability of authorities to keep the food production process clean of toxins despite official vows to raise safety standards.
Unfortunately, lip service was also extended last year to be the predominant safety feature of the U S Government Agencies & Industries , as well as China's, when it comes to food safety for humans and animals.
The only thing they seem to be trying to control is panic from telling the masses the truth about food.. and the current MelaMilk scandal proves that our tax dollars that are being used to support the food safety agencies and the tax breaks to the corporations are being used to betray the people.
And, to not insult China or take one dollar away from Industries in the US that are "trusted" to provide safe food.
It's okay to insult and sicken/kill American citizens and animals ?? That appears to be the bottom line of the truth about food safety?
The other thing is that it's getting really hard to tell our government from China's.. Did the politicians redefine "democracy" in the process?
I've got to look at the map and see if I'm still in America... cos it sure doesn't feel that way.
From Offy's post:
"Chemical plants used to pay companies to treat and dispose of excess melamine, but about five years ago began selling it to manufacturers who repackaged it as "protein powder," the Nanfang Daily report said, citing an unnamed chemical industry expert. Melamine is high in nitrogen, and most protein tests test for nitrogen levels.
The inexpensive powder was first used to give the impression of higher protein levels in aquatic feed, then later in feed for livestock and poultry, the report said.
"The effect far more exceeds the milk powder scandal," the newspaper said"
Those larger "dropped shoes" would include Chinese beef, lamb, pork, chicken, all types of farmed fish, and any food products derived
from livestock, poutry, and fish and all Chinese milk products. Add in all Chinese vegetable products that could have been sprayed with
melamine-degrading pesticides. The Chinese food products smuggled into the US as something other than food. The industrial-grade Chinese
milk protein concentrates imported into the US and not even included by the FDA as products needing regulation. I would think that's pretty
close to 100 percent of all Chinese food imports into the US that are probably/possibly contaminated with melamine ...
Not here in the USA you think? I believe it's just not being looked for:
http://ap.google.com:80/article/ALeqM5gKnKSn2RJcwce1BbdtdWmhkaBTnQD9441Q7G0
China investigates tainted eggs in new food scare
By GILLIAN WONG – 1 day ago
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese authorities said Wednesday they were investigating how eggs came to be contaminated
with the same industrial chemical at the center of a milk scandal that sickened thousands of babies, as more tainted
eggs turned up in Hong Kong and the mainland.
China's fresh eggs are mainly exported to the Chinese territories of Hong Kong and Macau, while processed egg
products are also sold to Japan and the U.S., according to a February egg market report on the Agriculture Ministry's
Web site, the latest available report.
The Hong Kong government said late Tuesday that tests on a second batch of eggs, processed by Jingshan
Pengchang Agricultural Product Co. of China's central Hubei province, also found an excessive amount of melamine.
The Hong Kong eggs from Jingshan contained melamine with a concentration of 2.9 parts per million. The legal limit
for melamine in foodstuffs in Hong Kong is 2.5 parts per million.
The Hong Kong-tested Hanwei eggs contained 4.7 ppm of melamine.
Authorities in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou meanwhile found melamine in eggs produced by a Shanxi company,
the official Hangzhou Daily newspaper reported.
It was unclear how the chemical got into eggs. But a Chinese agriculture official, Wang Zhicai, was quoted by the Beijing
News newspaper Tuesday saying it was highly likely that melamine had been added to the feed given to the chickens
that laid the eggs. Melamine is not an animal feed additive and is banned from being mixed in, Wang said.
From 3cat: "What would you have to feed a chicken in terms of melamine to get the eggs up above the 2.5 ppm "safe" level
to Hong Kong's reported 4.7 ppm?"
Good point, 3cat. Their feed, if it is just the feed... probably drinking run-off water from crop land (fertilized with melamine) used to grow their chicken feed as well. Or drinking river water which is heavily contaminated with the melamine run-off. I don't recall the name of the parent chemical name of which melamine is a part... you know what I mean...
Do we import chicken feed and other animal feeds from China?
.......................
Thank you all for posting these enlightening articles. I'm just popping in and out for a few days. There's so much to read here. Again, thanks for alerting us. Our gov't is sure publicizing very little about what we're doing here to keep the food supply safe.
So, we have DIRECT ADULTERATION with melamine AND INDIRECT, so to speak, by feeding animals (plants/vegetables) adulterated feed or fertilizer (melamine based) which comes out in animal products and is taken up by vegetables' root systems.
The %#&@^s have poisoned EVERY FOOD GROUP! Those who turned away from mela-meat in April 2007 and transformed into full or partial vegetarians are not safe either! Protein powder, eggs, fish...
Something disturbing: What is this "international level" of 2.5 mg? Huh? It should be ZERO!
Thanks again for keeping us informed.
cross-posting:
From Carol:
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/chinese-eggs-found-tainted-with-excessive-melamine-t6747.0.html;msg96268#msg96268
IMO the government of China, multinational food manufacturers, and the US FDA continued to thumb their noses at food safety
for the American consumer by their inaction on Chinese food imports and products ... There is not enough of a safety net
in place and operating in the USA. At least Congress could give the US consumer the minimum protection of a Chinese sourced
ingredients statement on the label. Consumer votes on purchasing would do the rest ... See how simple it would be to make
a basic start at tackling this problem? Our economy is already a shambles. So is the US food safety system. Economics the
consumer can survive. Renal failure, however, from all the accumulated exposures to poison is another question.
cross-posting:
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/shanghai-now-checking-for-melafish-t6781.0.html;topicseen
From Offy:
On & on it goes.. where it stops, nobody knows...
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Shanghai_to_inspect_fish_for_melamine/articleshow/3655249.cms
Shanghai launches fisheries' inspection fearing melamine contamination
BEIJING: Shanghai city authorities have launched a massive inspection in the fisheries industry out of fear that
melamine contamination may spread to the seafood industry
Why did no one listen to us when the pet food poisoning started? I don't understand why everyone seems so surprised now!!! >:( >:( >:(
I wish I knew, catmom. Those who watched painful deaths and illnesses certainly knew after Mar. 16, 2007.
cross-posting:
http://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/AgFeed+Industries+%28FEED%29+Reports+Never+Utilizing+Melamine+in+its+Products+or+Raw+Material/4109679.html
AgFeed Industries (FEED) Reports Never Utilizing Melamine in its Products or Raw Material
AgFeed Industries, Inc. Announces That the Company Has Never Utilized Melamine in its Products or Raw Material
October 30, 2008 11:19 AM EDT
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/30/asia/china.php
9 families sue Chinese milk company
By Edward Wong Published: October 30, 2008
BEIJING: Nine families with babies suffering kidney problems, allegedly because of contaminated milk, have filed separate lawsuits against one of China's largest milk companies, according to lawyers representing the families. They are the latest lawsuits to be filed in China's worst food safety scandal in years.
The lawsuits were filed on Wednesday in the northern city of Shijiazhuang, the location of the headquarters of Sanlu Group, a company at the center of the milk scandal. The lawsuits demand compensation from Sanlu.
The milk scandal and the lawsuits have become politically sensitive matters, and so far no judge has agreed to hear a case in court. At least three other lawsuits had already been filed before Wednesday
http://www.taiwanheadlines.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=139233&CtNode=39
Bakeries sue importer of toxic milk powder
10/30/2008 (CNA)
Taipei, Oct. 30 (CNA) Several bakeries filed a lawsuit Wednesday against New Tai Milk Products Co., seeking compensation for the financial losses they suffered as a result of the company's import and sale of melamine-contaminated milk powder from China.
Representatives of the bakeries, accompanied by Taiwan Solidarity Union Secretary-General Lin Jhi-jia, filed a civil lawsuit with the Taipei District Court in the first legal action ever brought by local bakeries against the importer of dairy products.
One of the bakery representatives, Ho Kuan-ching, said that since the melamine scandal surfaced more than a month ago, there has been no goodwill action from the Taoyuan County-based New Tai -- the Taiwan subsidiary of the New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra.
New Tai is known to have imported 25 tons of the melamine-tainted milk powder from China's Sanlu Group, one of that country's largest manufacturers of dairy products. ...
The government, as the gatekeeper of food imports, was partly to blame for the toxic milk scandal, and should grant national compensation to businesses that suffered losses as result of the incident, he urged. (By Y.L. Kao)
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/239285,melamine-discovered-in-chinese-eggs-authorities-make-first-arrest.html
Melamine discovered in Chinese eggs, authorities make first arrest
Posted : Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:00:36 GMT
Author : DPA
Beijing - Authorities made a fist arrest in the evolving scandal over melamine-contaminated eggs, a Chinese news report said. Melamine, a toxic chemical used for producing plastics and fertilizers, which was previously detected in Chinese milk and dairy products, was detected in eggs in Hong Kong earlier this week.
Investigators believe chicken feed spiked with melamine to boost protein levels is responsible for the contamination and arrested the manager of a feed producer in the province Liaoning, the Xinjingbai daily reported.
It is believed that other producers also added the chemical to their products ...
Well, FDA, answer this question from Oct. 29, 2008:
http://csr-asia.com/weekly_detail.php?id=11519
Never mind the milk; what about drugs?
by Poland Li pli@csr-asia.com
There has been an enormous amount of attention in China and elsewhere on the recent milk scandal that claimed four infant lives and sickened tens of thousands. Now the press is reporting that the scandal has spread to eggs. Product safety is clearly on the agenda in China, and thousands of articles have been written on milk and one presumes soon to be on eggs.
However, there is a bigger issue that has remained virtually invisible to the media outside China. Numerous people die each year as a result of taking drugs that are adulterated, fake or otherwise deadly. The Chinese media reports many of these cases, and this article consists of translations from local media sources that provide an insight into the extent of the problem.
First are a selection of stories reported in 2008. ...
This is from Corporate Social Responsibility in Asia [is that a misnomer in regard to China?] The author goes on to describe
incidents in 2007 and 2006. Just want to alert the FDA to the next area of possible melamine contamination in those pill coatings
to give FDA an advanced start.
Quote from: catmom5 on October 30, 2008, 09:35:03 AM
Why did no one listen to us when the pet food poisoning started? I don't understand why everyone seems so surprised now!!! >:( >:( >:(
Well said...kind of like we all have been screaming in our sleep...or yelling into the wind...you get my drift! I doubt too many here are surprised at this ripple effect of where the melamine et al are showing up... >:( Kind of like we all need to band together and say "I TOLD YOU SO!" >:(
Nobody listened to us last year or even before March when posters here tried to say "something seems off with the food" and even tried to get it tested....but were just ignored....or were told "everything is fine". Well, everything is not fine and I think it is so far reaching that it will be next to impossible to really know where this cwap is. Today I called OmniPet to ask about their new (to me) canned dog food...holisitc...super premium..ya know...the marketing cwap they give us... I wanted to know where the dried egg came from in their product after reading that we import "egg product" from China...well, no surprise...no call back from the detailed message I left...Think of all the processed foods that could be at risk and then the story that the FDA is looking into the egg mess and MAY look into testing more products....I say listen to us for a change...it is in there until proven not so please go looking NOW! >:(
No one in the United States except the injured pet owners of 2007 and a few medical personnel in
renal units and the patients' families have witnessed firsthand the horror and pain of watching an
innocent human being or companion animal trying to drink and not be able to slake its thirst, pee and not
be able to, bloat as its body fills up with toxins its kidneys can no longer eliminate.
No one is listening to "Joe or Jane the food consumer" among China's poor, or Bangladesh's, or Indonesia's, or Malaysia's,
or in the United States. If you don't own your own cattle ranch in Crawford, Texas, tough. Don't you dare interfere
with business profit margins no matter what melamine-contaminated food crap product is offered in the grocery stores.
"Joe or Jane the parent of innocent children" has no voice in government agencies charged with protecting US food safety or
apparently in the Halls of Congress that would dare act to protect the anonymous "Joe or Jane citizens of America."
Thanks, catbird.
cross-posted:
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-found-in-chinesemade-pumpkin-buns-in-japan-t6787.0.html
Don't know if this is in all the gazillion pages of the melamine thread, so thought I would post it separately.
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20081031TDY02307.htm
Melamine detected in Chinese pumpkin buns
Daily Yomiuri Online (Japan) October 31, 2008 ...
I think the melamine could be in the leavening agent (ammonium bicarbonate or powdered baking ammonia), the flour, the milk
(or powdered milk or milk protein concentrate), the pumpkin itself from pesticides, the eggs or egg products, the butter, or each and all of them based on the ingredients described in the melamine China food thread listed on page 79.
Must be how it got up to 41 ppm of melamine content. Wonder how the US FDA would classify that exposure if it were looking at similar bakery products in the US? But of course it's not because the US FDA is only looking at "milk" products.
Here is another article on the KYRGYZSTAN flour from China:
http://www.bakingbusiness.com/news/newsfinder.asp?e=mamarubin@msn.com&Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=535&docId=l:876754261&topicId=14401&start=1&topics=single
Copyright 2008 Asia Pulse Pty Limited
All Rights Reserved
Asia Pulse
October 30, 2008 Thursday 7:34 PM EST
NATIONWIDE INTERNATIONAL NEWS
488 words
KYRGYZSTAN'S FOOD SECURITY JEOPARDIZED BY CHINESE FLOUR
BISHKEK Oct 30
On October 23, the 24.kg news agency reported that Kyrgyzstan Prime Minister Igor Chudinov received information that flour recently imported from China was infected with the khapra beetle, one of the worlds worst stored product pests.
It was discovered by Kyrgyz Agriculture Ministry experts in the course of examining a flour sample from the flour that was brought into Kyrgyzstan from China in June-July 2008. That portion reportedly made 1,200 tons, while another 1,000 tons of flour are expected to be imported in the near future.
To make matters worse, the analysis results indicated that the Chinese flour is also tainted with melamine. The Prime Minister confirmed the fact of flour imports from China, and that the preliminary research revealed that the product is in fact contaminated.
Melamine is a hard synthetic substance. It can be illegally added to food products in order to increase their apparent protein content. The industrial chemical is known to cause kidney failure and urinary problems in humans, so its use in food production is banned.
Earlier this year, it was discovered that Chinese milk-powder producers were selling tainted infant formula as farmers were adding industrial melamine to their milk to boost its apparent protein content, according to timesonline.co.uk.
Last month, the Chinese melamine tainted milk story affected over 50,000 children, caused the deaths of 4 children, while another 100 children remain in the hospital in a grave condition.
However, it is difficult for Kyrgyz specialists to identify contamination levels of imported goods, due to lack of appropriate equipment.
"We will not let any danger occur to our food safety," Chudinov said.
In the meantime, Kyrgyzstan's Financial Police launched a criminal case over the tainted flour portion import, PM Chudinov said.
The flour samples were sent for reanalysis to Russia and Kazakhstan. Now the Kara-Balta town storage facility where the Chinese flour is kept is sealed. However, the Embassy of China in Kyrgyzstan denies the media report.
"The Chinese Embassy in Kyrgyzstan gives our assurances that flour portions imported from China are of high quality and safe for consumption," the statement released by the Chinese Embassy on October 24 said.
The Chinese Embassy in Kyrgyzstan inquired and received all needed documents from the Kyrgyz Resource Company (Kyrgyz flour import company) of analysis results from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The results revealed that flour is of high quality and safe for health, the embassy said.
Expert results from Kazakhstan, China and Kyrgyzstan were presented to the Kyrgyz government and we urge Kyrgyzstan's authorities to officially deny the earlier published information in order to avoid any negative effects, the Chinese Embassy added.
Meanwhile, Chudinov has been advised to seize the possibly contaminated portion, but his decision was not publicly available at the time of publication.
Okay, so flour from China could have bugs, melamine and talcum powder, just for starters?! :o
Yes, I know I'm not supposed to be surprised (not actually), but as President Clinton would say . . .
Give. Me. A. Break.
All we need are some toxic nuts and I think the cycle is complete.
Right now, I'm convinced that dismantling the FDA would be a good thing.
There are millions of people in the US who still believe that their food supply is protected by the millions of dollars in taxpayer dollars going to the food protection agencies. Until they know it's a myth and that they put millions of dollars into the chair sitter pockets instead of into the field workers who do the work there's not going to be as strong a reaction in the US/
Nor do millions of US citizens have the realization that their food safety depends on nobody but themselves and blogs of consumers- not US businesses/industries, not mainstream media and not our government - they don't know they've been betrayed and their food most likely is contaminated with something that the FDA has put a blanket over to hide... and that they're protecting China, not Americans.
we have toxic nuts they are running the fda and the pfi
:o :o :o >:( :o :o :o
Amen to that
:) ;) :D ;D :o
I found an interesting article about MPC.
http://www.innovatewithdairy.com/InnovateWithDairy/Articles/IF_Facts_MPC_062905.htm
Facts About Milk Protein Concentrate
Milk protein concentrate (MPC) is produced from skim milk by a series of processes that includes ultrafiltration, evaporation and drying. MPC contains undenatured forms of both casein and whey protein. The level of protein, lactose and minerals present varies depending on the degree of protein concentration. Ultrafiltration determines the composition of the MPC while evaporation and drying are used to remove only water. The product also is pasteurized to eliminate potential pathogens in raw milk....
...Commercially, MPCs are available in a range of protein levels, from 42% to 85%. Typical MPCs offered are MPC42, MPC70, MPC75, MPC80 and MPC85. As the protein content of MPCs increases, the lactose levels decrease. For example, MPC42 is 42% protein and 46% lactose. MPC80 contains 80% protein and 4.1% lactose. For comparison, skim milk powder contains about 35% protein and 52% lactose....
IMHO, a big food company could decide to "maximize their profit" by buying cheap MPC from outside the United States, and still charge the same price for the final product. It's really easy to see how 42% MPC (the cheapest) could be spiked with waste melamine and sold as 85% MPC (the most expensive).
Sometimes I wonder if there is any milk in the product at all. I wonder if it's chalk with melamine. MPC85 is only one percent lactose.
...MPCs are white to light-cream-colored dry powders....
And, of course, these lovely companies will not tell you from where they bought this lovely ingredient. "Proprietary Information" is their claim. And the FDA supports that. Yanno, when everything has melamine in it, doesn't that blow the hell out of the "dilution factor" theory? I'm sick of hearing 41 ppm, but it's not enough to hurt you.
For the last decade, the food supply has been "globalized" by countries and businesses
with no corresponding food safety net being developed to ensure quality and safety.
China, obviously, at the present time is the most outrageous offender, now capable of
killing pets and babies, and potentially all US food consumers.
The present climate of the US FDA is regarding business interests as the "dear colleagues"
of the October 10, 2008 tepid letter urging business (and presumably China) to do better
and US consumer food safety hardly at all.
I agree with so many of you that neither the attitude of US food safety authorities nor the
actual methods employed by the US government in inspecting food quality and safety are
working. That food safety net on the part of the US is what has to change. As the LA Times
editorial says, until China fixes its own problems, what needs to be assumed right now is that
no food import from China is "safe." It's an issue of US national security that is being
ignored by present US food safety authorities, as are the health consequences to US food consumers.
Those unregulated milk protein concentrates that are considered industrial-grade sure are
seeming to be very threatening melamine contaminators since apparently no one is inspecting
this food additive. But MPCs are hardly the only dangerous food ingredients, as we've been
looking at the large lists of contaminated foods since September 11.
Here's another warning letter from the FDA regarding "undeclared milk allergen" in sea food. I've
seen a lot of those undeclared milk warning letters lately. It may or may not be related. But this is
starting to look like a possibly silent way to cover up some kind of contamination:
http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/s6987c.htm
General list of recent warning letters from FDA:
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/wlcfm/recentfiles.cfm
Well, this pretty much summarizes a lot of my nightmares:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/31/news/china.php
China's contaminated food scandal widens
International Herald Tribune October 31, 2008
Chinese regulators said Friday that they were widening their investigation into contaminated food amid growing signs that an industrial chemical called melamine has leached into the nation's animal feed supplies, posing health risks to consumers.
Companies all over the world that import from China are now beginning to test for melamine. If animal feed supplies are tainted, an even wider array of foods could come under scrutiny for contamination, everything from pork and chicken supplies to bread, cookies, eggs, cakes and seafood.
While China is not a major exporter of dairy products, it has one of the world's fastest-growing dairy industries and it is also one of the world's largest exporters of food and food ingredients, including meats, seafood, beverages and vitamins.
more at link
Somehow I have the feeling that US companies are not among those testing extensively for melamine, based on the reaction of our dear FDA.
The whey protein concentrate looks to have lots of potential for melamine spiking, too.
http://www.innovatewithdairy.com/InnovateWithDairy/Articles/IF_Facts_Whey_062905.htm
Typical Composition of Whey Protein Concentrates
Moisture Protein Lactose Fat Ash
34% WPC 3-4.5 34 48-52 3-4.5 6.5-8
80% WPC 3.5-4.5 80 4-8 4-8 3-4
Actually, this website has a lot of interesting articles and it's only the milk proteins. http://www.innovatewithdairy.com/InnovateWithDairy/Articles/Innovate-With-Dairy-Home
I honestly don't think the FDA is "fixable".
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/magazine/02fda-t.html?_r=1&ref=health&oref=slogin
The Safety Gap:
The agency is responsible for monitoring a third of all imported goods, from eggplant to eyeliner, microwave ovens to monoclonal antibodies, slaughterhouses to cellphones. But with fewer than 500 import inspectors and computer systems so old that repairmen must be called out of retirement to fix them, the agency is increasingly beset by a sense of futility.
Even the F.D.A.'s staunchest defenders now acknowledge that something is terribly wrong. Among them is Peter Barton Hutt, who served as the agency's general counsel during the Nixon administration and is widely considered the dean of the F.D.A. bar in Washington. I've interviewed Hutt dozens of times over the years, and he has always defended the F.D.A. No more. "This is a fundamentally broken agency," Hutt told me earlier this year, "and it needs to be repaired."
The breakdown is not simply about money. This summer 1,442 people around the country were sickened by tainted tomatoes — or possibly jalepeño peppers. Such scares have become familiar, and the inability to quickly find the sources of contamination has been one of the agency's signal failures. A 2002 law requires produce processors and distributors to keep track of where food goes and comes from, but the government has yet to mandate standardized record-keeping. As a result, in response to a scare, investigators must pour over a blizzard of contradictory packing slips and incompatible computer programs as they race to save people.
I agree with Offy and I am afraid that this is so far widespread with potential for melamine in processed foods and feeds...and this article sheds some light on melamine scrap (which could explain why the CA et al may be mixed in) being used until very recently... I have only posted a small part of the article..(having keyboard problems :-[)
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/10/31/news/china.php
Melamine dealers say the government crackdown on the sale to feed producers only occurred this year, after the Sanlu Group dairy company announced that its infant milk formula was tainted with melamine. That announcement in September triggered a nationwide recall and government announcements that other major dairy brands were also selling melamine-contaminated milk.
"Before the Sanlu scandal, we were not banned from selling melamine to anyone. I had heard melamine dealers sell melamine to animal feed companies and food companies; it was common before the Sanlu scandal," Niu Qinglin, manager of Hebei Jinglong Fengli Chemical, said in a telephone interview Friday.
Thanks, Carol, and thanks to David Barboza, who is not letting this story die.
You got to dig in and start somewhere:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/124017.php
Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) announced today it has created a specialized training program to address the current melamine crisis in China. The program will be available in early October and is part of Agilent University, a multifaceted education program for Agilent's customers in China.
The four-day training program will cover melamine-testing methods using new, specialized sample-preparation components on gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (GC/MS), liquid chromatograph (LC), and liquid chromatograph/triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (LC/MS/MS) instruments. The program will be offered in Agilent training centers and customer sites in China.
Until there are more than 500 FDA import inspectors (thanks, Offy) in the US, require anyone importing Chinese food ingredients or
importing Chinese food products to furnish certification to the FDA before sale or use and pay for it themselves?
BFAD in the Phillippines and much of Europe seems to have adopted a similar position. In their cases, however, I believe it's the government that is
doing the testing, but I'm not sure. At least it might eliminate those White Rabbit candies, Koala March Creme cookies, and pumpkin muffins from
ever hitting store shelves...
this "just in" from AP" (we already knew this here) what I highlighted in red seem to contradict each other...
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hud2xejzcnuymvyU35uIkpblGfSAD945KM280
Melamine already in global food chain: experts
By GILLIAN WONG – 26 minutes ago
BEIJING (AP) — First it was baby milk formula. Then, dairy-based products from yogurt to chocolate.
Now chicken eggs have been contaminated with melamine, and an admission by state-run media that the industrial chemical is regularly added to animal feed in China is fueling fears the problem could be more widespread, affecting fish, meat and who knows what else.
Peter Dingle, a toxicity expert at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia, said, however, that aside from the tainted baby formula that killed at least four Chinese infants and left 54,000 children hospitalized just over a month ago, it is unlikely humans will get sick from melamine.
The amount of the chemical in a few servings of bacon, for instance, would simply be too low, he said.
But Dingle and others said China should have cracked down sooner on feed companies that have boosted their earnings by fortifying their products with the chemical, which is normally used in the manufacture of plastic and fertilizers.
Rich in nitrogen, melamine gives low-quality food and feed artificially high protein readings.
"Traders can make a lot of profit by doing it," said Jason Yan, the U.S. Grains Council's technical director in Beijing.
Extremely high levels of melamine — as found in the Chinese baby formula — can cause kidney stones, and in extreme cases can bring on life-threatening kidney failure.
But while scientists say it's not dangerous to ingest small amounts, they cannot be definitive because there have been no tests on melamine's effects in humans. Until the contaminated baby formula became public in September, there was never any reason to.
That leaves consumers worldwide, particularly parents, worried about food products from China, and even those made elsewhere with ingredients imported from Chinese companies.
Among those not taking any chances is Pranee Suankaew, a homemaker in Bangkok, Thailand.
"Let's go, let's go," the 37-year-old mother said as she tugged her 4-year-old away from the candy aisle where he eagerly eyed a bag of M&Ms. "We're getting you fruit and a lollipop. There's no milk in that."
She said she usually gives in to avoid tantrums. "But this time, I told him, no, no, no."
Experts say melamine sometimes accidentally leaches into the food supply in low levels, from things like plastic dinnerware. It can also seep in from some pesticides and fertilizers.
But in China it's become clear that the chemical is deliberately added.
The baby formula set off a global recall of foods made with Chinese dairy products and sparked raids in supermarkets across Asia. Twelve truckloads of candy, yogurt and other dairy-based goods were burned in Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, just this week.
In light of Wednesday reports by state media on the widespread use of the chemical in animal feed, health experts say the government clearly knew melamine was being added for more than a year, since contaminated dog food made it to markets in North America, but didn't crack down on producers as promised.
With the scandal escalating, Chinese leaders are now desperate to clean up the country's image, making dozens of arrests in recent weeks and firing local and even high-level officials for negligence.
John Chapple, a Singapore-based adviser to Sinoanalytica, a food analysis laboratory in the Chinese city of Qingdao, said the decision to allow state media to report on the years of melamine use seems to show the government is ready to be more active in dealing with food safety.
"However, one is not going to change a hierarchical government system overnight," he added. "It is usually going to be slow to start to react to a crisis, but quick to finally nail it."
Though China has vowed to boost inspections for melamine contamination, it will be difficult to monitor the countless small, illegally operating manufacturers found across the country, other experts said.
"It could take five or even 10 years" before some companies stop adding the chemical to food products, said Yan, of the U.S. Grains Council.
Associated Press writer Robin McDowell in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.
In five to ten years, we'll probably all have been killed off--unless imports of Chinese food products are stopped NOW!
QuoteUntil the contaminated baby formula became public in September, there was never any reason to.
.
Excuse me?! Hello!! Wheat Gluten, RPC are
PEOPLE foods. Del Monte had a warehouse full of the poo poo! I can't believe they can even go there. Freakin' common sense says that the amount of melamine tainted items last year was a big clue we have a problem.
And since it's not straight melamine and we KNOW how fast those crystals can grow and do damage . . . . These people are [edited] insane.
Quote from: Carol on October 31, 2008, 11:39:45 AM
this "just in" from AP" (we already knew this here) what I highlighted in red seem to contradict each other...
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hud2xejzcnuymvyU35uIkpblGfSAD945KM280
Melamine already in global food chain: experts
By GILLIAN WONG – 26 minutes ago
BEIJING (AP) — First it was baby milk formula. Then, dairy-based products from yogurt to chocolate.
Now chicken eggs have been contaminated with melamine, and an admission by state-run media that the industrial chemical is regularly added to animal feed in China is fueling fears the problem could be more widespread, affecting fish, meat and who knows what else.
I think it is also important to remember as well that cyromazine which metabolizes into melamine is fed to chickens and cattle as larvadex to keep fly populations under control. There are so many sources of contamination. Then the contaminated chicken "litter" is fed to cattle and used as crop fertilizer.
http://www.efsa.europa.eu/cs/BlobServer/Statement/efsa_statement_melamine_en_rev1.pdf?ssbinary=true
The pesticide cyromazine is partially metabolised to melamine and maximum levels of
0.25 mg/kg of combined cyromazine and melamine (expressed as melamine equivalents)
have been estimated in chicken meat and eggs for layer hens fed a maximum level of 5
mg/kg of cyromazine (Meek et al., 2003). When drinking water is treated with sodium
dichloroisocyanurate for disinfection purposes (rapidly dechlorinated to cyanurate),
exposure has been estimated to be 0.06 mg/kg b.w. per day in adults, 0.19 mg/kg b.w. per
day for children and 0.28 mg/kg b.w. per day for a bottle fed infant (FAO/WHO, 2004).
Recent data reported by the
U.S. FDA showed melamine in wheat gluten and rice protein
concentrate imported from China at levels in the range of 0.2 to 8 % (i.e. 2 to 80 g/kg).
Melamine, cyanuric acid, ammelide and ammeline have also been determined in pet food
scraps (n=57), bakery meal (n=27), swine (n=17) poultry (n=21) and fish (n=7) feed
samples as well as in animal tissues (US-FDA, 2007a).
[remember we were told it was all wheat flour]Different pet food scraps
samples ranged for melamine, cyanuric acid, ammelide and ammeline from 9.4 to 1,952
mg/kg, 6.6 to 2,180 mg/kg, 6.0 to 10.8 mg/kg and 3.0 to 43.3 mg/kg, respectively, were
given.
Although melamine and cyanuric acid have only been found in wheat gluten, rice protein
concentrate and corn gluten used in animal feed, it can not be excluded that melamine
and structurally related compounds have been added to other protein sources intended to
be used for feed or food.
Quote from: straybaby on October 31, 2008, 12:07:51 PM
QuoteUntil the contaminated baby formula became public in September, there was never any reason to.
.
Excuse me?! Hello!! Wheat Gluten, RPC are PEOPLE foods. Del Monte had a warehouse full of the [edited]! I can't believe they can even go there. Freakin' common sense says that the amount of melamine tainted items last year was a big clue we have a problem.
And since it's not straight melamine and we KNOW how fast those crystals can grow and do damage . . . . These people are [edited]ing insane.
Was that the warehouse or airport hanger in Pennsylvania? Does anyone remember that story about the governor holding the product for testing. There was a female reporter working on it, then the stories just dropped out of sight and she stopped answering her emails. I never heard what happened to that and forgot all about it. Does anyone know what became of the gluten?
Quote from: DMS on October 31, 2008, 12:17:15 PM
Was that the warehouse or airport hanger in Pennsylvania? Does anyone remember that story about the governor holding the product for testing. There was a female reporter working on it, then the stories just dropped out of sight and she stopped answering her emails. I never heard what happened to that and forgot all about it. Does anyone know what became of the gluten?
I found this http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_510610.html
from this at itchmo http://www.itchmo.com/contaminated-wheat-gluten-looks-for-other-uses-927
That's the one. Thanks, Carol. I wonder what use they ended up finding for the garbage. I did email Roebuck for a follow up, but never got one. Maybe Gardine is the one to ask. I will try to find an email address.
http://www.allaboutfeed.net/news/id102-71813/30_feed_samples_with_melamine_found_in_us.html
30 feed samples with melamine found in US
// 31 oct 2008
An international diagnostic testing lab in the US, Romer Labs, reports that in the past 4-6 weeks they have found 30 samples of animal feed contaminated with melamine.
According to the company's CEO, Michael Prinster, the feed was all imported to the US from China and came from the same company.
Due to a confidentiality agreement, Prinster could not reveal the name of the company
So far, unable to find details. This must be Halloween ...
same story:
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/united-states/melamine-feed-china-6498.html
I believe the FDA is going to have to abandon the science fiction that exposure to melamine is an isolated event, and therefore
individual exposures under 2.5 ppm are "safe," that there may not well be Poco's unknown tipping point of accumulated melamine exposure
where health effects on human babies, infants, and adults are hazardous and/or lethal.
From the article Carol linked:
Quote"We can think of no cognizant reason that the purposeful contamination was limited to wheat, corn and rice," Gardine said.
Quote from: DMS on October 31, 2008, 12:31:39 PM
That's the one. Thanks, Carol. I wonder what use they ended up finding for the garbage. I did email Roebuck for a follow up, but never got one. Maybe Gardine is the one to ask. I will try to find an email address.
Well, if it's still around, they will prob dilute it a bit more and then feed it to the animals, after all, a little melamine won't hurt anything . . . . ::)
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on October 31, 2008, 12:44:32 PM
http://www.allaboutfeed.net/news/id102-71813/30_feed_samples_with_melamine_found_in_us.html
30 feed samples with melamine found in US
// 31 oct 2008
An international diagnostic testing lab in the US, Romer Labs, reports that in the past 4-6 weeks they have found 30 samples of animal feed contaminated with melamine.
According to the company's CEO, Michael Prinster, the feed was all imported to the US from China and came from the same company.
Due to a confidentiality agreement, Prinster could not reveal the name of the company
So far, unable to find details. This must be Halloween ...
same story:
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/united-states/melamine-feed-china-6498.html
I believe the FDA is going to have to abandon the science fiction that exposure to melamine is an isolated event, and therefore
individual exposures under 2.5 ppm are "safe," that there may not well be Poco's unknown tipping point of accumulated melamine exposure
where health effects on human babies, infants, and adults are hazardous and/or lethal.
i emailed the link to Gina, Lisa McCormick and Susan Thixton...anyone have Elizabeth Weiss's email addy...
I've tried google, ask, about, yahoo, lycos. Found it on silobreaker. Not another word yet.
I have to go do the grandma-thing, to my granddaughters' disgust, with homemade fudge. Happy sleuthing ...
http://us.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/10/31/melamine.china/index.html
Oct. 31, 2008
Chinese shoppers shocked by tainted food scandalStory Highlights
Chinese premier Wen Jiabao says China will try to win back consumers
Report: Adding melamine to feed started in aquatic farming 5 years ago
Some grocery shoppers say to eat fewer eggs and more bean-products
BEIJING, China (CNN) -- Consumers in Beijing's malls and shops are shunning the milk and poultry sections -- for good reasons.
Poultry products, including eggs, may be contaminated with melamine through animal food.
They are shocked and scared by the news headlines: some food produced in China is tainted with melamine. ...
Three minister-level officials have resigned and a government investigation is going on. Whoever is responsible must be brought to justice. We need to protect the Made in China brand," said Chinese analyst Victor Gao.
But the problem could be more pervasive. The state-run Nanfang Daily published an investigative story saying that adding melamine into animal feed has become an "open secret."
The report said adding melamine into feed started in the aquatic farming industry five years ago, as a way of faking higher protein levels. Learn more about chemical melamine »
It then spread into other agro-industries such as poultry. Even more shocking is the allegation that the melamine added is from industrial waste material.
CNN contacted the Ministry of Agriculture about the story, but got no immediate response
Hope the mainstream media picks up the pace a bit in terms of keeping up with the news ...
I just called Rep Rosa DeLauro's office and spoke to the secretary who is sending the link to the person who is in charge of this for the Rep....hopefully she'll be as outraged as we are...It didn't seem to matter that I was not a CT resident! ;)
I found this link on front page Yahoo...woo-hoo...finally where people can see it without knowing enough to go look for it! >:( There are a couple videos too to view... I wonder if Nestle knows more than they are saying publically? Time will tell...and it is Friday!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081031/ap_on_bi_ge/as_china_nestle
Nestle sends experts for melamine tests in China
BEIJING – The head of European food giant Nestle said Friday the company had mounted a "sizable effort" to ensure the safety of its dairy products in China, sending in scientists and specialized machines in the wake of the melamine contamination scandal.
"From the first moment, the first minute we heard about the problem, we mobilized quite a sizable effort," CEO Paul Bulcke said at a news conference to inaugurate a research and development center in Beijing. "We mobilized close to 45-50 people worldwide to be part of the solution and containment of this problem."
QuoteTrace amounts of melamine have been found in Nestle products, including milk powder and candy in Taiwan, Hong Kong and other places, though the amounts did not pose a danger to human health.
"We had never had a product that was unsafe for consumption," Bulcke said.
Bulcke called the contamination "a criminal act" and said he "strongly welcomed" the Chinese government's announcement of new guidelines earlier this month limiting acceptable melamine levels in food products. There had been no previous standards for the amount of the chemical allowed.
Ingesting a small amount of melamine poses no danger, but in larger doses it can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure.
Nestle's long-term practice of directly buying milk from 35,000-40,000 Chinese farmers without going through middlemen gives the company better control over its supply of raw milk, said Patrice Bula, head of Nestle's operations in China.
Bulcke said Nestle remains committed to China and said he is confident the government's recent moves to increase oversight in the dairy industry will help shore up consumer confidence.
Sorry, but
ANY amount of melamine is unsafe. It has never been proven otherwise. Nor would that explain all the sick/dead pets and sick/dead babies.
I'd love to know how much "control" they have over 35-40,000 milk producers! Wonder if they're willing to share their secret with other producers/governments who don't seem to be as able . . . .
Why do they keep insisting small amounts are safe when there is such a lack of control over our food system? Drives me freakin'
NUTS! What about the 30% increase in kidney problems? What are those people supposed to eat? Or the child transitioning to "big people" food? I don't know what I would do if I had to go back to feeding my pets grocery store meats and mass produced eggs. Most of my cats only weigh 8-10lbs. {sigh}
Well, I wasn't thrilled to read:
"Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, said it was unlikely humans would get sick from eating meat from animals raised on melamine-tainted feed, because the amount of chemical in a few servings of meat would not be harmful.
However, she added: "It shouldn't be in the food supply at all. It's fraudulent. And the animals really can't use it for nutrition, so it's not good for the animals."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Shanghai_to_inspect_fish_for_melamine/articleshow/3655249.cms
A few servings of meat, glass of milk, cookies, crackers, flour, bread, baked goods....??? I somehow thought she'd be the last person to put blinders on and look at one item as if it were one isolated item that was contaminated. It's not good for the animals and it's not good for humans, especially from a wide variety of sources.
If you have a glass of milk with 2.5, a steak with 2.5, veggies with 4.7, packaging for each .07?.. gosh. are we at the 41 ppm limit for the DAY? or is this 41x365days?
How about a toddler? Are they human? *&%#!
I can't believe the blithering in the press...
seems even the esteemed "experts" can say it's safe in small amounts for humans but not good for the animals.. Hypocrisy? Contradictory? I'm speechless for the rest of the evening... :-X
Thanks, Sandik:
cross-posting:
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/everlasting-distributorsrecall-of-fresh-and-crispy-jacobina-biscuitsmelamine-t6802.0.html;topicseen
FDA Voluntary Recall Notice:
http://www.fda.gov/oc/po/firmrecalls/everlasting10_08.html
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- October 29, 2008 -- Everlasting Distributors Inc., Bayonne NJ is initiating a nationwide recall of all their 3.88oz (110gm) packages of Fresh and Crispy Jacobina Biscuits because it may be contaminated with Melamine.
While this unreported story
could just be a mistaken blip in the internet rumor mill, it just seems curious to me that an
animal feed company would have itself pre-certified melamine-free:
Quotehttp://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-discovered-in-animal-feed-in-vietnam-t6798.0.html
In fish meal used to make animal feed.
Melamine discovered in animal feed
Thanh Nien Daily (Vietnam) October 31, 2008
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-suspected-chinese-officials-say-baby-formula-tied-to-kidney-stones-t6256.0.html;msg96358;topicseen#msg96358
Quotecross-posting:
http://www.streetinsider.com/Corporate+News/AgFeed+Industries+%28FEED%29+Reports+Never+Utilizing+Melamine+in+its+Products+or+Raw+Material/4109679.html
AgFeed Industries (FEED) Reports Never Utilizing Melamine in its Products or Raw Material
AgFeed Industries, Inc. Announces That the Company Has Never Utilized Melamine in its Products or Raw Material
October 30, 2008 11:19 AM EDT
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-suspected-chinese-officials-say-baby-formula-tied-to-kidney-stones-t6256.0.html;msg96622#msg96622
Quotehttp://www.allaboutfeed.net/news/id102-71813/30_feed_samples_with_melamine_found_in_us.html
30 feed samples with melamine found in US
// 31 oct 2008
An international diagnostic testing lab in the US, Romer Labs, reports that in the past 4-6 weeks they have found 30 samples of animal feed contaminated with melamine.
According to the company's CEO, Michael Prinster, the feed was all imported to the US from China and came from the same company.
Due to a confidentiality agreement, Prinster could not reveal the name of the company
Perhaps someone with more trading/financial knowledge than me can shed more light on this, but look what has happened to milk powder prices since August:
http://www.dailydairyreport.com/data/ddr101308.pdf
POWDER CRASH WILL PULL DOWN MILK PRICES
Weaker NDM markets are putting downward pressure on milk prices
in the Federal Orders and California. In the last 10 weeks, NDM prices
in the Western region are down about 43.5¢, according to USDA's
Dairy Market News (see chart).
Therefore, the crash of the milk powder market could knock more than
$3.70 off milk prices in the affected classes, once lags in pricing
mechanisms flow through the formulas.
NDM futures for DEC08 and JAN09 slid to new lows of 96¢. Class IV
futures for the first quarter 2009 all settled at $13.00.
The graph on this link really illustrates the dive, but I can not copy it for some reason--probably my astute computer skills. Wouldn't you think American milk powder would be in even higher demand due to the Asian and NZ melamine contamination?
http://www.ah.novartis.com/products/en/larvadex_flycontrol.shtml
Product information on this website is for Non-U.S. residents only and is provided by Novartis Animal Health Inc. for general purposes only.
Description
Product Type
Insect growth regulator for the control of fly larvae in poultry manure by feedthrough application.
Description and Composition
LARVADEX is available as
LARVADEX 1 FAP, a feed additive premix containing 10 g of cyromazine per kg
LARVADEX 10 TK, a technical concentrate containing 100 g of cyromazine per kg
Properties
Cyromazine, the active ingredient of LARVADEX, is an insect growth regulator belonging to the group of triazine derivatives. Cyromazine interferes with the chitin metabolism of the insect. Treated larvae will not molt to the next stage and thus the cycle of the fly will be interrupted. The molecule also shows a high specificity for fly larvae.
First instar larvae are much more susceptible to cyromazine than second and third instars. The effect on the fly population becomes visible approx. 2 weeks after first inclusion of LARVADEX into the feed.
Indications
LARVADEX is an insect growth regulator feed premix for the control of fly larvae in poultry manure.
Dosage and Administration
LARVADEX 1 FAP: Mix 500 g per ton feed.
LARVADEX 10 TK: Mix 50 g per ton feed (after preparation of premix).
Start treatment when flies become active and continue treatment for 4-6 weeks or until fly population is under control. Then discontinue LARVADEX and repeat the treatment when flies re-establish themselves. The use an adulticide is recommended after each treatment, in order to control the influx of adult flies. It is very important to establish a homogenous mixture of cyromazine in the feed. Therefore LARVADEX 10 TK should only be included into the feed after a premix has been prepared.
Special Precautions and Warnings
Avoid contact with eyes and skin.
Do not contaminate water supplies when cleaning equipment or disposing of surplus waste.
Formulations and Packages
LARVADEX 1 FAP
Drum Fiber 45 kg
LARVDEX 10 TK
Drum Fiber 30 kg
Cross-Bottom Sack 10 kg
http://www.ah.novartis.com/products/en/neporex_flycontrol.shtml
Neporex® (Cyromazine)
Product information on this website is for Non-U.S. residents only and is provided by Novartis Animal Health Inc. for general purposes only. The information summarizes the current status of our knowledge and may differ from the legally binding, country specific use instructions provided with the product. Novartis Animal Health Inc. is not liable for damages or injury caused by the use of its products different from those specified on the pack label.
Product Label
Support Material
Product Type
Insect growth regulator for the control of fly larvae by topical treatment of breeding sites.
Description and Composition
NEPOREX is available as
NEPOREX 2 SG, a soluble granulate containing 20 g of cyromazine per kg
NEPOREX 50 SP, a soluble powder containing 500g of cyromazine per kg
Properties
Cyromazine, the active ingredient of NEPOREX, is an insect growth regulator belonging to the group of triazine derivatives. Cyromazine interferes with the chitin metabolism of the insect. Treated larvae will not molt to the next stage and thus the cycle of the fly will be interrupted. The molecule also shows a high specificity for fly larvae.
First instar larvae are more susceptible to cyromazine than second and third instars. The effect on the adult fly population becomes visible approx. 2 weeks after first application of NEPOREX.
Indications
NEPOREX is used for the control of fly larvae in animal houses and public hygiene.
Dosage and Administration
Apply 0.5 g of a.i. / m2 directly on manure or on other fly breeding sites. This corresponds to :
25 g of NEPOREX 2 SG per m2
1 g of NEPOREX 50 SP per m2
NEPOREX 2 SG can be dry scattered, poured or sprayed.
NEPOREX 50 SP has to be diluted before spraying or watering.
Two to three treatments at fortnightly intervals are usually sufficient to get fly population under control. The simultaneous use of an adulticide is recommended, in order to control the influx of adult flies.
Special Precautions and Warnings
Avoid contact with skin and eyes.
Formulations and Packages
NEPOREX 50 SP is available in bulk and 250 g jars or 1 kg jars.
NEPOREX 2 SG is available in bulk and 5 kg bags.
SWX
NYSE
NOVZn
58.40 +2.80 (+5.04%)
Oct 31, 17:30 CET
Information for investors
NVS
50.81 +1.26 (+2.54%)
Oct 31, 14:59 EST
Information for investors
Fly Control
Learn more about fly control using the Fly Control Program developed by Novartis.
Fly Control Program
The Major Pest
The common house fly, Musca domestica, is the major pest species associated with confined livestock production.
Learn more about the common house fly
http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPP/Pesticid/JMPR/Download/92/Cyromazi.PDF
Cyromazine was evaluated by the JMPR in 1990 and maximum residue limits were proposed. At the 22nd
(1991) and the 23rd (1992) Sessions of the CCPR some delegations were concerned that the definition of the
residue did not include the main metabolite melamine, and the JMPR was asked to reconsider the possibility
of including melamine in the definition. The Meeting has received arguments for including and not including
melamine.
The Meeting also received residue data from trials on peppers to support a proposed increase of
the residue limit from 1 mg/kg to 2 mg/kg.
Peppers. Supervised trials were carried out in The Netherlands, Spain and the USA. Residues of cyromazine
and melamine were determined in all the trials. In The Netherlands the application rate was 0.4 kg ai/ha with
5-10 applications. Residues 3 days after treatment were 0.85-2.7 mg/kg for cyromazine and 0.09-0.37 mg/kg
for melamine. In one experiment in Spain with the registered use rate residues 2 days after application were
0.72 mg/kg of cyromazine and 0.05 mg/kg of melamine. In experiments in the USA carried out in California
and Texas application rates were 0.14-0.28 kg ai/ha with 11-12 applications. At day 0 residues of cyromazine
were <0.05-0.57 mg/kg, while residues of melamine were 0.15-1.7 mg/kg. After 2-3 weeks residues of
cyromazine were at about the same level, while residues of melamine were normally increased (Table 1).
Nearly all the residue data submitted to the JMPR in 1990 were on both cyromazine and its main metabolite
melamine. Residues of melamine were in many cases of the same order as those of cyromazine. At the CCPR
in 1991 and 1992 some delegations were concerned that melamine was not included in the residue definition.
The 1990 JMPR decided not to include melamine mainly because it is considered to be less toxic than
cyromazine. Arguments for including or not including melamine have now been submitted to the Meeting
from The Netherlands, the USA, and the manufacturer of cyromazine.
The Meeting has considered the above arguments and has decided to maintain the definition
established in 1990. [to not include/consider melamine] The main reasons are that melamine is considered to be less toxic than cyromazine, and
that melamine in a sample may have originated from sources other than cyromazine. [now we know better] Nevertheless the Meeting
recognizes that the monitoring of good agricultural practice in growing mushrooms under certain conditions
is not possible when the metabolite is omitted from the residue definition.
===================================
How nice for us all...Perhaps The Meeting will reconsider now.
====================================
Here is the EPA equivalent:
http://ntp-server.niehs.nih.gov/index.cfm?objectid=03612A12-9F5F-C336-79B4709B8013F338
How NTP Studies are Used to Protect Human Health
Proposed Rule Melamine EPA proposed rule to delete melamine from list of toxic chemicals for which toxic chemical release reporting is required under SARA Section 313.
And I wonder what happens with those veggies that have a tolerable cyromazine residue level of 10mg:
http://www.epa.gov/EPA-PEST/2003/August/Day-06/p20014.htm
EPA has received pesticide petitions (PP 2E6507 and PP 2E6510) from
IR-4, 681 U.S. Highway #1 South, North Brunswick, NJ 08902-3390
proposing, pursuant to section 408(d) of FFDCA, 21 U.S.C. 346a(d), to
amend 40 CFR 180.414 by establishing tolerances for residues of
cyromazine, (N-cyclopropyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine) in or on the
following raw agricultural commodities:
Leek; onion, green; onion, potato; onion, tree; onion, welsh; and shallot, fresh leaves at 3.0
parts per million (ppm)
(2E6507), garlic, bulb; garlic great-headed,
bulb; onion, dry bulb; rakkyo, bulb; and shallot, bulb at 0.2 ppm
(2E6507), vegetable brassica, leafy, group 5, except broccoli at 10 ppm
(2E6510), broccoli at 1.0 ppm,
turnip, greens; cabbage, abyssinian; cabbage, seakale; and hanover salad, leaves at 10 ppm,
and kidney of cattle, goats, hogs, horses, and sheep at 0.2 ppm,
and meat byproducts of cattle, goats, hogs, horses, and sheep at 0.05 ppm (2E6510).
IR-4
also proposed that tolerances for residues of cyromazine in or on
dry bulb onion at 2.0 ppm and green onion at 0.1 ppm established under 40
CFR 180.414(a) and Chinese cabbage and Chinese mustard at 3.0 ppm
established under 40 CFR 180.414(c) be deleted when the proposed
tolerances are established. Chinese cabbage and Chinese mustard are
included in the Brassica leafy vegetable group. EPA has determined that
the petitions contain data or information regarding the elements set
forth in section 408(d)(2) of the FFDCA; however, EPA has not fully
evaluated the sufficiency of the submitted data at this time or whether
the data support granting of the petitions. Additional data may be
needed before EPA rules on the petitions. This summary has been
prepared by the Syngenta Crop Protection Incorporated.
A. Residue Chemistry
1. Plant metabolism. The metabolism of cyromazine in plants is
adequately understood for the purposes of these tolerances...
The data collected support the proposed tolerances of 10.0 ppm
for Brassica leafy vegetables, 10.0 ppm for turnip tops and 3.0 ppm for
bulb vegetables.
Dietary exposure--Food. For the purposes of assessing the
potential dietary exposure under the proposed tolerances, Syngenta Crop
Protection has estimated aggregate exposure from all crops for which
tolerances are established.
============================
Now I was just wanting to point out that as residues of cyromazine decrease, those of melamine generally increase per the first article. I would assume this is due to plant metabolism. So if 10ppm of cyromazine is a tolerable residue for some crops, and melamine is not required to be measured, but is shown to generally increase, what is that melamine level? Who can really say? The EPA, Syngenta? Perhaps they should say.
I believe this is the final rule for cyromazine--and the inferred accompanying melamine--residues set by the EPA final decision in 2003. They had been going back and forth before then for a long time.
http://www.epa.gov/EPA-PEST/2003/September/Day-24/p24012.htm
The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally
provides that before a rule may take effect, the Agency promulgating
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule,
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this rule and other
required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior
to publication of this final rule in the Federal Register. This final
rule is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).
List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 180
Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure,
Agricultural commodities, Pesticides and pests, Reporting and
recordkeeping requirements.
Dated: September 10, 2003.
Debra Edwards,
Director, Registration Division, Office of Pesticide Programs.
? Therefore, 40 CFR part 180 is amended as follows:
PART 180--[AMENDED]
? 1. The authority citation for part 180 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 21 U.S.C. 321(q), 346(a) and 371.
? 2. Section 180.414 is amended as follows:
? a. By revising the commodities cattle, goat, hog, horse, and sheep meat
byproducts in the table in paragraph (a).
? b. By revising the commodities onion, dry bulb and onion, green in the
table in paragraph (a).
? c. By alphabetically adding commodities in the table in paragraph (a).
? d. By removing and reserving paragraph (c).
Sec. 180.414 Cyromazine; tolerances for residues.
(a) * * *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Parts per
Commodity million
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * *
Broccoli................................................... 1.0
Cabbage, abyssinian........................................ 10.0
Cabbage, seakale........................................... 10.0
* * * * *
Cattle, kidney............................................. 0.2
* * * * *
Cattle, meat byproducts, except kidney..................... 0.05
* * * * *
Garlic, bulb............................................... 0.2
Garlic, great-headed, bulb................................. 0.2
* * * * *
Goat, kidney............................................... 0.2
* * * * *
Goat, meat byproducts, except kidney....................... 0.05
Hanover salad, leaves...................................... 10.0
* * * * *
Hog, kidney................................................ 0.2
* * * * *
Hog, meat byproducts, except kidney........................ 0.05
* * * * *
Horse, kidney.............................................. 0.2
* * * * *
Horse, meat byproducts, except kidney...................... 0.05
* * * * *
Leek....................................................... 3.0
* * * * *
Onion, dry bulb............................................ 0.2
Onion, green............................................... 3.0
Onion, potato.............................................. 3.0
Onion, tree................................................ 3.0
Onion, welsh............................................... 3.0
* * * * *
Rakkyo, bulb............................................... 0.2
Shallot, bulb.............................................. 0.2
Shallot, fresh leaves...................................... 3.0
* * * * *
Sheep, kidney.............................................. 0.2
* * * * *
Sheep, meat byproducts, except kidney...................... 0.05
* * * * *
Turnip, greens............................................. 10.0
Vegetable, brassica, leafy, group 5, except broccoli....... 10.0
* * * * *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
* * * * *
(c) Tolerances with regional registrations. [Reserved]
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 03-24012 Filed 9-23-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-S
for more information on history of cyromazine regulation:
http://nlquery.epa.gov/epasearch/epasearch?typeofsearch=area&querytext=cyromazine&submit=Go&fld=fedrgstr&areaname=EPA%27s+Federal+Register+Documents&areacontacts=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.epa.gov%2Ffedrgstr%2Fcomments.htm&areasearchurl=&result_template=epafiles_default.xsl&filter=samplefilt.hts
I read this article after seeing at PC..
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/01/world/asia/01china.html?th&emc=th
"In the United States, worried consumers frantically sent e-mail messages to one another on Thursday and Friday about the possibility of melamine-tainted Halloween treats following a spate of news reports that some candies and chocolates made in China or made with Chinese ingredients had tested positive for high levels of melamine or had been destroyed in recent weeks as a cautionary measure.
On a list by the Food and Drug Administration of products that may be tainted with melamine, White Rabbit Candies were the only item that might be handed out on Halloween. Earlier this month, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled 30-ounce containers of Sherwood Brands Pirate's Gold Milk Chocolate Coins.
A spokeswoman for the F.D.A. said that the agency was constantly adjusting a nationwide sampling of products being tested for melamine as new potential threats were brought to its attention. The F.D.A. and state and local authorities have been sampling products in Asian food markets across the United States since mid-September for traces of melamine.
"Thus far, most of F.D.A.'s testing of milk and milk-derived ingredients and products from China focused on human foods, but have included animal feeds as well," said the spokeswoman, Stephanie Kwisnek. "The F.D.A. is currently re-evaluating its overall approach to keeping these products out of the U.S. market."
....
"Kidney experts said there had been very little research into how melamine disrupts kidney function. Dr. Fredric L. Coe, a professor of medicine at the University of Chicago, said that melamine is likely to be concentrated in the kidneys in the form of crystals that the body cannot dissolve. Those crystals clog many of the kidney's nearly one million nephrons, which are tiny filtering units, Dr. Coe said. Urination slows or ceases, and patients suffer acute kidney failure, he said.
Some food safety experts are perplexed as to how melamine was allowed to seep into China's food supplies after melamine-tainted pet-food exports from China were blamed last year for sickening dogs and cats in the United States, touching off international trade and food safety disputes between the countries.
"A year ago, everybody should have been in a complete panic about it and done something then," said Marion Nestle, a professor of food studies and public health at New York University and the author of "Pet Food Politics: The Chihuahua in the Coal Mine." "Someone should have required that melamine not be in any food product."
...
"Melamine dealers say the government crackdown on the sale to feed producers occurred only this year, after Sanlu Group announced that its powdered infant milk formula was tainted with melamine. That announcement, which came in September, set off a nationwide recall and government announcements that other major dairy brands were also selling melamine-contaminated milk.
"Before the Sanlu scandal, we were not banned from selling melamine to anyone" Niu Qinglin, manager of the Hebei Jinglong Fengli Chemical Company, said in a telephone interview on Friday. "I had heard melamine dealers sell melamine to animal feed companies and food companies. It was common before the Sanlu scandal."
Mr. Niu said, however, that he never sold melamine or melamine scrap to food or feed producers. And he noted that regulators had moved in on the trade. "Now," he said, "the government regulates that melamine cannot be sold to any animal feed manufacturers or food processing companies."
The pet food case led to a vast recall in the United States and in other parts of the world, and it also incited a lengthy food safety crackdown in China, with regulators boasting that they had closed down thousands of illegal or substandard food factories and slaughterhouses."
Here is the link to the 2007 March commenting section of an EPA docket for reviewing regulations of cyromazine. The date coincides with the pet food poisoning.
http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocumentDetail&o=090000648021b503 (click on docket)
There are many good comments:
Comment submitted by Samuel J. Jackling, NY State Department of Environmental Commission
The Department received and reviewed data which was submitted in support of
registration of cyromazine in New York State. According to our review, the Florida groundwater
study showed that cyromazine was found in the soil at 13.2 to 24.3 ppb 157 days after last
application and melamine at 23.2 to 33.2 ppb. (once again, melamine persists beyond the cyromazine.)
Upon reading the above-referenced Federal Register, the only mention of melamine is the
following which is found in the summary section: "This final rule also removes melamine, a
metabolite of cyromazine from the tolerance expression since it is no longer considered a residue
of concern."
There is no discussion as to why melamine is no longer considered a residue of concern.
This issue should be clearly addressed.
In summary, The Department has concerns regarding the use of cyromazine in manure and
as a feed through fly control for livestock and poultry. There appears to be a high potential for
cyromazine and melamine to accumulate in soils where cyromazine treated manure is applied as
fertilizer, due to cyromazine's persistence and high solubility. Treated manure can be applied to
the same areas without limit, thus increasing the potential for cyromazine and the degradate
melamine to accumulate and contaminate surface and ground waters. This issue is not discussed
in the existing docket but should be thoroughly addressed as part of the USEPA's Registration
Review of cyromazine.
The Department also has concerns regarding the general metabolism of cyromazine.
Recently, melamine was identified as being present in contaminated pet food. The metabolism of
cyromazine (melamine) should be thoroughly researched in order to determine whether it
accumulates in chickens as cyromazine and/or melamine. In light of the recent pet food
problems, all sources of contamination should be investigated.
-------------------------------------------------
Editted to answer the comment/question submitted by Samuel J. Jackling, NY State Department of Environmental Commission which was:
"There is no discussion as to why melamine is no longer considered a residue of concern.
This issue should be clearly addressed."
Here is the EPA answer, found by clicking on the first link listed, the docket:
Cyromazine Final Work Plan for Registration Review - 8/2007 09/07/2007 SUPPORTING & RELATED MATERIALS
"Melamine was removed from the World Health Organization as a residue of concern for cyromazine, and is no longer a part of the tolerance expression because melamine is no longer considered to be a carcinogen."
=========================================
It really makes for some fascinating reading. But we do know that melamine causes kidney stones and crystals which cause kidney damage. That isn't mentioned here.
And then there is this indirect? link to bladder cancer, which isn't blamed on melamine per se, but rather the stones caused by melamine! ???
http://www.epa.gov/EPA-PEST/1999/September/Day-15/p24047.htm
Melamine produced bladder tumors only in the male rat urinary bladder at very high doses i.e., at a threshold effect > 10,000 ppm in the diet. These tumors were due to the accumulation of stones (hard crystalline solids) which caused irritation and secondarily resulted in the formation of tumors; therefore melamine is not considered to be a direct carcinogen by the Agency.
========================================
And I would propose that that rate of 10,000ppm should be lowered in light of recent events.
Where the [edited] was the EPA in the summer of 2007?! Just because thousands of pets didn't die from melamine induced cancer doesn't make it safe . . . . That anyone can say any amount of melamine is safe and/or remove it as a "residue of concern" is just NUTS.
When melamine becomes active and starts forming crystals, is it an organic crystal? Or an industrial plastic crystal? I'm tempted to get some kind of body scan to see if I have plastic lined organs.
DMS, bravo for reports on the pesticide Cyromazine and its accompanying reside melamine in soils and vegetables. The EPA and the FDA deserve to be shot I think for their criminal negligence and persistence in trying to identify isolated safe levels of 2.5. Broccoli and cabbage at 10 ppm is enough for me, let alone the others. When I stop screaming, I will add the veggies you list to the suspect food list on page 79.
Feed lot fly spray and feed additive Larvadex (Novartis) (Non- U.S [?], Neporex (Novartis) (Cyromazne fly larvae control by topical treatment of breeding sites) [Non-U.S. ?]. Well, that's how the melamine got added to on chicken and beef feed lots in China and
elsewhere I would assume.
From Carol's article: Some food safety experts are perplexed as to how melamine was allowed to seep into China's food supplies
You mean outside of the feed lot fly sanitation, the melamine scrap feed fed to meat producing and milk producing and egg producing
animals, which also seeps into their consumable meat, the soils and the pesticides which coat Chinese vegetables and fruits? Gee, I don't see how
it got in there either, you short sighted #$%&^S
There are numerous articles about these chickens in China being "culled" daily on a massive scale. Between the melamine found in
fish meal (Vietnam) and the number of chickens being slaughtered in China, pet owners better look twice at their pet foods being
contaminated again I think. I'm not sure if that's Asian pet owners, or Asian and U.S. pet owners.
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/china/chickens-slaughtered-melamine-crisis-china-6536.html
http://www.flex-news-food.com/pages/20161/Chemical/China/UK/uk-christmas-halloween-chocolate-pop-products-withdrawn-melamine-contamination.html
UK: Christmas and Halloween Chocolate Pop Products Withdrawn on Melamine Contamination
Source: Food Standards Agency (FSA), UK
31/10/2008
London, 31 October 2008 - Lucky Dip (Nottingham) Ltd has withdrawn some batches of its own brand Christmas and Halloween Chocolate Pop products because they have been tested in the UK and found to be contaminated with melamine.
Daily News Alerts
The Agency has issued a Food Alert for Information.
Product details The withdrawn products are:
* Lucky Dip Delicious Christmas Treat Chocolate Pop, 25g
Batch code: 228
Best before: 30 September 2009
* Lucky Dip Delicious Halloween Treat Chocolate Pop, 25g
Batch code: 358
Best before: 30 September 2009
* Lucky Dip (Nottingham) Ltd has removed the affected products from sale and issued point-of-sale notices explaining why the products have been withdrawn ...
The levels of melamine in the Christmas and Halloween Chocolate Pop products were 28.9mg/kg and 46.2mg/kg respectively. However, these products are not considered to be a risk to health.
On 22 October, another UK import company, Spencer and Fleetwood, withdrew certain varieties of chocolate novelty products also made by Le Bang Chocolate Food Company that had been tested in the UK and found to be contaminated with melamine. The affected products were certain batches of Fifi's Boobies, Lollipop Boobs, and Cheeky Chocolate Milk Chocolate Bottoms.
On 17 October, Scobie (Llarn) Ltd withdraw some of its imported chocolate novelty problems, also manufactured in Zhongshan by Le Bang, which the importer sold to a number of Ann Summers shops in the UK. They included a chocolate flavoured willy spread and chocolate flavoured nipple spread.
There's very little humor left in this topic ...
QuoteThe levels of melamine in the Christmas and Halloween Chocolate Pop products were 28.9mg/kg and 46.2mg/kg respectively. However, these products are not considered to be a risk to health.
Not a health risk?! I wonder how many a 3yo can consume over the period of a couple days and not have their kidneys shut down?! And of course, that's *assuming* all their other food isn't overly toxic . . . .
I'm sitting here trying to figure out who's losing their mind, them or me . . . .
ETA: Thanks for that link Poco!
Where is the common sense? Thousands of pets DIED. Over 50,000 infants with various stages of kidney failure and at least 4 DEAD. How far do they want to take this forced Melamine Experiment before the plain facts become obvious to them? How much more "science" do they need?!
Not a 'health risk' - does that mean only if a small child eats any of this candy? or anyone ?
I think we heard this last year, that melamine was banned, and it obviously was a lie...
China overhauls feed makers after tainted milk, egg scandals
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-11/02/content_10294912.htm
BEIJING, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- China has carried out inspections on feed manufacturers nationwide to root out those found using excessive amounts of the chemical melamine after exposure of tainted milk and eggs scandals.
The Agriculture Ministry has sent more than 369,000 inspectors to 250,000 feed producers. Inspectors clamped down 238 illegal feed makers and investigated 278 illegally-operating companies and farms, said Wang Zhicai, director of the ministry's husbandry and livestock division.
A total of 3,682 tons of substandard feed were confiscated and destroyed, he said.
A ministry rule issued on June 1, 2007 banned the use of melamine in feed production, he said.
Offy, I think an earlier post saying it will take 5 to 10 years to phase the melamine out of food is more likely, and probably overly optimistic. But one thing all governments can do is test the food so we can avoid eating anything that is contaminated. Arrest the perpetrators as they catch them. Weed them out little by little. As well as those who try to hide the danger from unsuspecting consumers--which leads me to Poco's post. This is criminal as well!!!!!:
"The report said government scientists had identified the disease in late 1995, but waited six months to inform the public because of fears of causing anxiety and damaging British trade."
What a load of BS minus the E! The most ridiculous excuse I have ever heard--that is no way to lessen the anxiety, hiding the truth only makes it worse. And the self-serving trade protection is unforgivable as well. When will they all realize that things like food and environmental contamination can not/should not be hidden from the public any more? Not for ever....not for long. Not for a second. And now we have a trust issue on top of the original concern. Just like with this melamine. We are all grown ups here. We can handle the truth and deserve it.
Thanks, Poco, for the RFK Jr. speech. Explains why about 3 weeks ago now only two or three stories
per day suddenly appeared in the press regarding coverage of this Chinese melamine scandal except in a very
few sources, why the numbers of countries rejecting Chinese imports were never covered, why reports
of the extent and danger of the melamine contamination in the US food supply have been so limited, why
the real numbers of children affected in China have never been counted, and why the pet food recalls of
2007 were so lied about -- all in one eloquent package.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20081102-169862/No-melamine-in-milk-powder--Japan-firm
No melamine in milk powder--Japan firm
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 21:47:00 11/02/2008
TOKYO--A major Japanese dairy product firm Sunday vehemently denied allegations that milk powder shipped to Burkino Faso as aid for malnourished children was contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine.
"It is impossible that melamine is detected in our company's products," Morinaga Milk Industry Co. said in a statement.
A health official in the West African country said on Saturday that milk powder sent from Japan was found to be contaminated with melamine at eight times the level permitted by law.
Daouda Traore, the director of Burkina Faso's National Laboratory for Public Health (LNSP), also told journalists in Ouagadougou that the milk came from a gift made to a children's health center which came from Japan.
"If the translation (of the labels) that we were given are correct it is the Hagou Koumi brand from the Morinaga company," the LNSP director said.
Traore said that five boxes -- each containing 12 cans of tainted milk -- were seized in the western town of Bobo Dioulasso on October 20 and analyzed later.
Morinaga said it had shipped milk powder, produced in Japan and named Hagukumi, to Burkina Faso through a Japanese charity organization, named the Japan Overseas Missionary Activity Sponsorship (JOMAS).
"We are in the process of verifying the reported case through JOMAS but it has yet to be verified that the reported product is our company's product," the Morinaga statement said.
It added that the company had not detected any melamine in Hagukumi milk through tests.
Four infants have died in China and 53,000 have become ill after consuming milk laced with melamine, an industrial chemical usually used in the production of plastics.
The ensuing scandal has rocked global confidence in Chinese-made foodstuffs and lead to import bans in a number of countries, including Burkino Faso.
However, a Morinaga spokesman said Hagukumi was not produced at its factory in China
Chinese government reports of its ability to crack down and control the melamine food contamination in its own country and in Chinese exports
in my opinion are highly exagerated and without merit, just reflective of US press spin ...
... and Chinese government official press organs, too!
cross-posting (thanks, catbird):
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/now-melamine-may-be-in-potato-chips-europe-t6813.0.html;topicseen
QuoteFrom a friend of the forum:
http://www.freshplaza.com/news_detail.asp?id=32000
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20081031/local/warning-over-ajs-potato-chips
The Times of Malta October 31, 2008
Warning over AJ's potato chips
"The public is being urged to avoid consuming cheese- and onion-flavour potato chips produced by AJ's and suspected of being tainted with the toxic chemical melamine.
"The warning follows a large-scale contamination of Chinese milk and milk-based products, which emerged after 53,000 children who consumed contaminated milk powder in China fell ill."
No doubt in the milk products used in the cheese and sour cream flavorings.
Another food to beware here, too. Anything with "cheese" flavor or "sour cream" flavor.
Not great news department:
http://www.bt.com.bn/en/international_business/2008/11/01/nestle_to_use_more_traditional_china_ingredients
Nestlé to use more traditional China ingredients
Saturday, November 1, 2008
SWISS food giant Nestlé yesterday said it was hoping to use more traditional Chinese ingredients in some of its products, as it expressed confidence in its Chinese-made food amid a toxic chemical scare.
A new research centre in China will look into
adding Chinese ingredients such as wolfberry and dried fruits into foods to be sold in the fast-growing emerging markets, Nestlé Chief Executive Officer Paul Bulcke said.
http://www.bt.com.bn/en/classification/business/2007/04/13/nestle_to_buy_gerber
Nestle to buy Gerber
LONDON Friday, April 13, 2007
NESTLE SA is expected to announce a US$5 billion deal to acquire baby-food maker Gerber, a household name in the United States, from Novartis AG, sources familiar with the situation said. ...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122539286416784997.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
OCTOBER 31, 2008 Hong Kong Adds Tests For Melamine in Food
By SKY CANAVES
More than 90% of China's exports of egg products went to Asian countries in the first eight months of the year, according to government data; 6.5% went to North America.
Following previous food-safety scares involving eggs, mainland authorities already require eggs to be certified prior to export as free of avian influenza and Sudan red dye.
About 60% of the 1.6 billion eggs consumed annually in Hong Kong come from mainland farms, according to Hong Kong's Dr. Chow. City officials also are investigating the one-month lag between melamine-tainted eggs initially being reported to local officials in north China and Hong Kong's own Oct. 25 finding of melamine in eggs.
Without explanation, the FDA continues to study only a sampling of Chinese food imports. Will that do it for eggs, FDA? And baked goods? And frozen foods? And any packaged processed foods containing eggs or egg products? How about bread?
http://technorati.com/blogs/melamineblog.blogspot.com?posts
Reactions to story from No More Melamine In Our Food
Food Task Force Created by FDA
http://melamineblog.blogspot.com/ 2008/ 10/ task-force-created-by-fda.html
http://technorati.com/posts/4JRVYeozOusNs%2B4tJQuIs1iLXMup7%2Bd6TP544GRc2Cw%3D
Food Task Force Created by FDA Article from Medpagetoday.com FDA Creates Task Force on International Food Contamination By Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today Published: October 31, 2008 GAITHERSBURG, Md., Oct. 31 -- Pointing to the hazards of melamine-containing products from China, the FDA said today it is creating an internal science and policy workgroup to keep a critical eye on the international food supply. Detecting contamination in the increasingly international food supply is "a necessary job of the FDA," said Randall Lutter, Ph.D., the agency's deputy commissioner for policy, at a meeting of the agency's science board. ...
The workgroup will have the assignment of pinpointing companies that appear to be at a high risk for contaminating the food supply with chemicals.
"There is a fundamental need for us to understand better the economic incentives and cultural norms in other countries," said Dr. Lutter. This, he added, means recognizing when spiking the food supply with chemicals is likely when it means enough extra profit for a manufacturer so that it offsets any potential penalties.
During the recent melamine outbreak, FDA officials suspect that melamine may have been added to infant formula to inflate protein levels cheaply.
In some sectors of the food industry in China, manufacturers are paid by the amount of protein in a product. Melamine costs about $1.20 per each protein count per ton, while legitimate protein costs about $6 per protein count per ton.
Melamine, which is used in some pharmaceuticals, dyes, glues and plastics, is normally not harmful to humans, but when it commingles with cyanuric acid, it becomes insoluble and can cause kidney failure.
"The suggestion is that some clever scientist used a high-quality melamine that did not have cyanuric acid," said Dr. Lutter. "It was only later that the melamine was commingled with the cyanuric acid."
But "forecasting economic infiltration is hard," Dr. Lutter said, and food coming across U.S. borders is shipped from countries with disparate regulatory requirements.
The United States virtually eliminated problem of economically motivated contamination of food produced in its own borders, largely through the creation of the FDA, Dr. Lutter said.
"It's an old problem, but fortunately it was successfully remedied during the early part of the 20th Century," he said.
But then came globalization of the food market.
"It's a symbol that the world we lived in changed, and there is a new vulnerability," Dr. Lutter said.
President B ush signed an executive order last year to establish a task force that recently issued an import safety action plan, Dr. Lutter said.
Dr. Lutter declined to comment on the specifics of the workgroup, but said it will consist of FDA employees. It is unclear whether the workgroup will also monitor possible contamination of foreign drugs.
Tagged: food imports, FDA, exports, contamination, China, food safety, melamine
US-China agreements from 2007:
http://www.feedindustrynetwork.com/ViewArticle.aspx?id=24382
Date: 2008-01-01
U.S. signs agreement with China for enhanced feed, food safety
by Lori Weaver
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2007/12/03/US_China_to_sign_import_agreements/UPI-41111196743189/
U.S., China to sign import agreements
Published: Dec. 3, 2007 at 11:39 PMOrder reprints | Feedback
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Efforts to ensure Chinese products exported to the United States are safe would get
a boost under agreements the two nations are expected to sign soon.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington Monday
he will travel to China next week with the intent of getting Chinese leaders' signatures on two pacts dealing with food,
animal feed, drugs and medical devices, the Voice of America reported.
"Any country who desires to produce goods for American consumers needs to produce them in accordance with
American standards -- American standards of quality, American standards of safety," Leavitt said.
Chinese manufacturers are under critical scrutiny as a result of a series of recalls involving hazardous toys, and
chemically contaminated seafood and toothpaste.
Leavitt noted the issue isn't limited to China since U.S. consumers buy $2 trillion worth of imported products annually.
He said with so many goods coming into 300 U.S. ports, the federal government cannot inspect everything at the border.
"It is not possible, nor should we try to inspect our way to import safety," he said. "Everything needs to be safe, but our
strategy has to change."
Nor can you leave China in charge of the chicken coop, Mr. Leavitt, not right now. You're going to have to get the FDA
out there dirty and busy inspecting really, really fast ...
I don't know if it's as good as it sounds, but look what Malaysia is doing:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/11/2/focus/2436084&sec=focus
In light of melamine-tainted food being uncovered almost daily in many countries, the Malaysian government says it is doing all it can to ensure safety of food here.
AT any other time, the UnipeQ laboratory in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Bangi is but one of the 264 facilities accredited by the Department of Standards Malaysia as a testing laboratory.
Then the melamine issue reared its head, and as one of the four private facilities recognised by the Health Ministry for melamine testing, the laboratory is simply buzzing with activity.
In the past week alone, it has been swamped with requests to test for the chemical – sometimes more than 100 items a day.
The lab has been receiving – among others – biscuits, snack foods and also raw ingredients such as eggs and ammonium bicarbonate. Some food processing companies have even voluntarily sent in processing equipment and packaging materials to be tested, just in case of cross-contamination.
However, Dr Ismail assures that the Malaysian government is doing all it can to ensure that the food sold in the country is safe to eat.
Currently, all products from China imported into the country before Aug 6 this year are subject to inspection.
"We are fully aware. Do not panic. The ministry is taking necessary steps to make sure food being sold is safe for consumption. We will seize and test before releasing it," he says.
Idris says the authorities try to allay the fears of the public by announcing that the levels of melamine in certain foods are within "permissible levels" but reckons this term should be questioned.
"Melamine is a synthetic chemical. It does not occur naturally in food. Should permissible levels be set for substances that are not naturally occurring in food?" he asks.
"By law, there should be zero tolerance for melamine as well as other synthetic toxic chemicals in food, rather than waiting for all the evidence to come in, which might be too late. Harm would already be done, sometimes irreparably," adds Idris.
But it is almost impossible for the public to take any realistic precautions themselves when it comes to products on the shelves, as it is impossible for people to know which foods contain melamine, says Idris.
http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/files/MelamineCyanuricAcid_concept_508.pdf
Considering the facts outlined above, it can be concluded that, on a worldwide scale, the adulteration of feed or feed ingredients with melamine and derivatives has been practiced for at least the past 29 years.
http://melamineblog.blogspot.com/
Finally:
"...the possibility that the human food chain may be indirectly or directly
contaminated with these triazines cannot be ignored. This possibility is of particular concern given the fact that in the US an estimated 13% of adults aged 20 or older present physiological evidence of chronic kidney disease (18) and as such may be particularly susceptible to such an exposure."
and
"It is critical for the FDA agencies to develop a good basic science understanding of the nephrotoxic potential of the concurrent human exposure to melamine and cyanuric acid."
FDA. What will they do next?
One whole hell of a lot more than the FDA is doing presently it is hoped by all US consumers and all US parents
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on November 02, 2008, 01:52:12 PM
http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/files/MelamineCyanuricAcid_concept_508.pdf
Considering the facts outlined above, it can be concluded that, on a worldwide scale, the adulteration of feed or feed ingredients with melamine and derivatives has been practiced for at least the past 29 years.
Note how closely this correlates with the pronounced rise in the number of kidney problems in the US over the past
30 years--especially stones. :(
Here's a good one, the opening statement on this trade document:
http://www.importsafety.gov/report/actionplan.pdf
We will continually improve the safety of imported products
in a manner that expands global trade and protects the
health and safety of every American.
President George W. [edited]
November 2007
and another one by the same guy: http://hongkong.usconsulate.gov/uploads/images/tSBa2T0VAShckdZNzWdQbw/uscn_t_others_2008070103.pdf
While we have strong food and product safety standards,
we need to do more to ensure that American families
have confidence in what they find on their store shelves.
They have a right to expect the food they eat,
or the medicine they take,
or the toys they buy for their children
to be safe.
—President George W. [edited]
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/03/2408563.htm?section=world
Melamine scare highlights food chain risks
Posted 2 hours 39 minutes ago Updated 1 hour 39 minutes ago [Nov. 2, 2008]
The discovery of the toxic chemical melamine in eggs has raised concerns that it could be in many other Chinese foods.
(AFP: Peter Parks)
Hong Kong mother Shirley Lo stocked her refrigerator with soy milk and switched to buying imported chocolates for her son after melamine was found in baby formula and milk products in China.
But when eggs from China tested positive for melamine in Hong Kong late last month, Ms Lo threw up her hands in despair.
"It's horrifying," she said.
"It's clear it has gone into basic foods and into our food chain.
"My son has been trying to comfort me, saying he must be very strong because his body must be full of this stuff and yet he is not sick."
The discovery of melamine in eggs as well as in baby formula, milk products, biscuits, chocolates and other foodstuffs containing milk derivatives confirms what experts have long suspected; that the chemical is deeply embedded in the human food chain.
And it is not just melamine. Heavy metals such as lead and mercury which can cause brain damage, as well as cadmium, a compound used in batteries, pesticides, and antibiotics, are all present in the human food chain.
China is a major transgressor as carcinogenic chemicals are regularly used as food colouring agents or as preservatives, experts say.
"In China, food safety is not a concern and all sorts of things like Sudan red, Malachite green are added in food, so food contamination is widespread," said Peter Yu, professor of biology and chemical technology at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
"We also have environmental contamination from pesticides, formaldehyde (to kill bacteria)," Professor Yu said, citing the use of Malachite green, a carcinogenic agent that in 2006 was found in fish from China. It had been added to eradicate fungal disease in the fish.
Leading food manufacturers regularly test their ingredients and final products for many of these contaminants, but experts say it is impossible to keep up with all the foreign compounds that land up on the dinner table, especially in China where regulation is lax and difficult to enforce.
In the wake of the melamine scandal, China is reviewing a tougher draft food safety law following criticism from the United Nations for its sluggish response to the tainted milk scandal.
Human food chain
The melamine saga has surprised even some food producers, who say they find it hard to keep up with strange additives that are added to food.
Melamine, for example, was added to baby formula to cheat protein level tests.
"How did we come up with cadmium or heavy metals? Because we know they would kill people. That's why we test for them. But we didn't know melamine would even be in food," a manager who works for a major foreign food producer with factories in China said.
"We never had melamine in our specifications (contaminants to look out for). If it is melamine today, it will be something else tomorrow. We can't possibly test for every toxin in the world," said the manager, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak to reporters.
Tens of thousands of children in China have fallen ill with kidney problems in recent months, and at least four have died, after being fed infant formula that was later found to have been mixed with melamine.
Subsequent tests found melamine in a variety of Chinese-made products from milk and chocolate bars, to yoghurt and other products exported around the world, leading to items being pulled from shop shelves and massive recalls.
But with the discovery of melamine in eggs, apparently due to contaminated feed given to chickens, the chemical appears to be far more entrenched in the human food chain than first thought.
Melamine and its derivatives are widely used in animal feed and pesticides in China but no one knows how harmful they can be to people after prolonged exposure.
Hong Kong imposed a cap on melamine in September to no more than 2.5 milligrams per kilogram, while food meant for children under three and lactating mothers should be no more than one milligram per kilogram.
Experts say the limits are arbitrary and called for more tests and science when imposing safety limits.
"The limits are derived from animal studies but we don't know what our exposure is. What if we are accumulating more than is safe?," biochemistry professor at the Chinese University, Chan King-ming, said.
"There should be surveys to find out what foods have melamine and their concentrations. Then we know how serious it is."
A World Health Organisation official said this week some of the affected children in China, most of whom are believed to be under the age of three, have "crystals" in their kidneys. Some might need surgery to avoid potentially deadly kidney failure.
Melamine tests
In Hong Kong, parents have thronged public clinics to get their children tested for melamine by laboratories that analyse urine samples with sophisticated spectrometers.
"Melamine is not soluble. But if it is very concentrated as in the case of these Chinese kids (whose diet was mostly formula), it forms into crystals," associate professor of chemical pathology at the Chinese University, said Allen Chan.
Permanent liver damage can be caused when crystals suddenly form into large numbers of tubules in the kidneys of children that have consumed melamine, causing chronic kidney failure and requiring dialysis and even kidney transplants later on in life.
The WHO plans to make a detailed assessment of the risks of long-term consumption of melamine. It has asked China to provide information for a meeting of experts in December.
Anthony Hazzard, WHO's regional adviser for food safety, said experts needed information on the levels of melamine detected in the affected children, details on length of exposure and treatment and the age groups of the worst affected children.
"We understand that they will participate and provide data so we don't at this moment fear any cover up ... so we expect full cooperation," Mr Hazzard said.
Melamine contamination is the latest in a long list of food scandals involving China.
Experts say it is a wake up call for governments to strictly enforce food safety laws and for food producers and manufacturers to tighten quality control.
"The ethics lie in the businesses. They must make sure their supply chains are supplying ingredients that are safe. The role of government is to enforce and ensure companies are implementing good manufacturing and hygienic practices," Mr Hazzard said.
- Reuters
Tags: health, food-safety, china
2008 ABC Privacy Policy
deaf, dumb, and mute, business after the pet food recalls of 2007, still claiming faulty "radar screens" [empty mea culpa]
deaf, dumb, and mute, food safety authorities in the USA after the pet food recalls of 2007
deaf, dumb, and taking no action, the government authorities of the USA
fed up and totally disgusted, as they munch down the evidence of melamine contamination, as in the 2007 pet food recalls -- AMERICAN CONSUMERS
and the ladies and gentlemen of the Free Press?
Quote"My son has been trying to comfort me, saying he must be very strong because his body must be full of this stuff and yet he is not sick."
That's just so damn sad. And what's worse, her soy milk and imported chocolate may not be safe.
It does sound like we aren't the only ones wondering how much, if any, is safe. I can't believe they don't have other people included in group that should not be able to tolerate it. Just because we aren't living on formula, doesn't mean we aren't getting a steady diet of it. Especially in Asia and places that get a higher concentrate of food/ingredients out of China.
Soymilk - sheesh feel so sorry that this woman had to go from milk to soy which is 89% genetically modified. So instead of plastic its franken food.
And since she's in Honk Kong, it's prob been jacked with melamine . . .
I'm so irritated, frustrated and upset with our "government".. I sent the FDA/CVM all emails(plus the PFI/APPMA/AAFCO) with the Romar article in All About Feed showing they'd found Melamine in US Feed.... sigh, like it will do any good :'(
Offy, the Romer Labs article has not been picked up by the press at all. So either it's not true, or the
press doesn't dare publish it. There's little question that melamine is present in everyone's food
supply. Has been somewhere between 30 and about 10 years. There's no question the FDA with
under 500 import inspectors can't do much about it at the present time and as presently structured.
There are even theories out there that the US drug and food industries would collapse if Chinese
imports were banned because of how much our third largest trading partner sends the US.
(See:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/magazine/02fda-t.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&ref=magazine&pagewanted=all
The Safety Gap by Gardiner Harris)
The idea that interception of contaminated food products at the US borders is not the sanest policy the US could
implement for the immediate future and safety of American consumers, coupled with immediate testing and recall of
all contaminated food products already here in the US -- the lack of those solutions is what I don't get.
In 2005, drug manufacturers started paying drug approval fees to the FDA to rush product to market.
In 2008, food manufacturers and Chinese ingredient importers need to immediately start paying food import and
inspection fees to the FDA for testing and examination purposes it seems to me. Might change the desirabiliy
of Chinese food imports, among others, and the ultimate costs, and benefit our consumer safety.
This is at CNN this morning, sorry if this might be a repeat.....:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/11/02/china.melamine/index.html?iref=newssearch
(CNN) -- Still reeling from news of melamine-tainted eggs and dairy, China launched a massive inspection into animal feed manufacturers -- seizing more than 3,500 tons of tainted feed, state-run media reported Sunday.
Poultry products, including eggs, may be contaminated with melamine through animal feed.
The Agriculture Ministry deployed 369,300 agricultural experts and law enforcement personnel to inspect 250,400 animal feed producers and farms, the Xinhua news agency reported.
Wang Zhicai, the ministry's director of husbandry and livestock, said the inspectors confiscated and destroyed 3,682 tons of melamine-tainted feed, shut down 238 feed producers and investigated 278 other companies and farms suspected of illegal activity, Xinhua reported.
Some 22,700 batches of animal feed were checked for melamine and nearly 98 percent met government standards, Xinhua reported, citing the Agriculture Ministry.
It remains unclear how much tainted feed has entered the food chain.
In the aftermath of the melamine-tainted milk scandal, "there has been a national focus on the discovery of melamine in animal feed and its component ingredients, and there have been particular movements to achieve quality and safety in animal feed," Wang said, according to Xinhua. Watch more about the tainted food scandal »
Wang said the ministry issued a rule in June 2007 that banned the use of melamine in feed production, Xinhua reported.
However, the state-run Nanfang Daily published an investigative story last week, saying that adding melamine into animal feed has become an "open secret."
The report said adding melamine into feed started in the aquatic farming industry five years ago, as a way of faking higher protein levels. It then spread into other agro-industries, including poultry. Learn more about chemical melamine »
Two years ago, reports revealed pet food exported from China to the United States was spiked with melamine and had sickened and killed dogs.
Several weeks ago, the food scandal spread to milk, biscuits and candies. Then, it was tainted eggs. So far, no illnesses or deaths have been linked to eggs.
Tests in Hong Kong in October showed eggs exported by a Chinese company are contaminated with excessive levels of melamine. In recent days, three other brands of eggs have also been found to contain the chemical.
Ingesting melamine in large doses over an extended period of time could cause kidney stones and other illnesses, though small amounts pose no such danger, agriculture and health experts say.
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on November 03, 2008, 07:16:06 AM
Offy, the Romer Labs article has not been picked up by the press at all. So either it's not true, or the
press doesn't dare publish it. There's little question that melamine is present in everyone's food
supply. Has been somewhere between 30 and about 10 years. There's no question the FDA with
under 500 import inspectors can't do much about it at the present time and as presently structured.
There are even theories out there that the US drug and food industries would collapse if Chinese
imports were banned because of how much our third largest trading partner sends the US.
I also included some reporters and the Canada Free Press contact.. I guess it won't hurt even if it doesn't help.
Where's the FDA, Where's the Recall, Where's the Market Withdrawal, Where's the Animal Feed Industry? Where's the PFI?
eta: Collapse? They'd maybe be looking to invest in American businesses instead of paying subsidies to keep American businesses from actually making anything. Paying them to NOT produce is what we've come to... A Collapse might be good for jobs in America again.
Quote from: Offy on November 03, 2008, 06:44:20 AM
I'm so irritated, frustrated and upset with our "government".. I sent the FDA/CVM all emails(plus the PFI/APPMA/AAFCO) with the Romar article in All About Feed showing they'd found Melamine in US Feed.... sigh, like it will do any good :'(
well, I did phone Rep DeLauro's office last friday afternoon and the secretary
did say she would forward the webiste info and the link to the person that is in charge of the melamine/FDA problem...let's hope that something may be happening...maybe ::)
Maybe it needs to 'collapse' and start all over with new ideas, rules not made to be broken and people truly concerned with the food their own families and themselves will eat.
I couldn't agree more that the USA needs to start over with a food inspection standards agency that puts
consumer health first. But the government just let all our kids munch down most likely contaminated candy
without doing a test or saying a word. So not going to happen under Leavitt, von Eschenbach, and Sundlof,
is it? not to mention the lame duck whose policies have systematically destroyed all forms of consumer protection.
Watch the Diana Levine case in the Supreme Court this week.
More fuel for the addition of formaldehyde as a fish and meat preservative, and more reason to be worried about
pet food. Lancelet, I take it, is a fish, but there's no reason to assume it's not an alternative approach to unrefrigerated
meat and/or fish:
http://news.xinhuanet.com:80/english/2008-11/03/content_10301888.htm
Half samples of lancelet tested to be contaminated in Hong Kong
www.chinaview.cn 2008-11-03 23:22:19 Print
HONG KONG, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Center for Food Safety of Hong Kong (CFS) said on Monday that half samples of lancelet collected from retail outlets contained formaldehyde.
According to a recent test by CFS, five out of the ten samples of lancelet taken contained formaldehyde at levels ranging from 170 to 570 ppm (part per million).
A place to start?:
http://www.huliq.com/1/72100/nader-calls-ban-imports-china-until-assurances-met
Nader calls for ban on imports from China until assurances met
Ralph Nader calls for ban on consumer imports from China until minimum assurances can be met.
The Nader/Gonzalez campaign condemns the increasingly dangerous assaults on the American consumer from Chinese imports that include defective tires, poisonous pet food, toxic toys, faulty electronics, caustic cosmetics, feces tainted seafood, cancer causing shrimp, Colgate containing antifreeze, salmonella-infected toddler snacks, contaminated food, and unsafe drugs.
While China has made a public showing of addressing U.S. consumer concerns, including the brutal execution of the former director of its agency for food and drug safety, this does not address the root of the problem, which is a lack of monitoring and enforcement of consumer product safety standards.
Independent Presidential Candidate, Ralph Nader has called for an immediate ban on all imports from China until the following three things happen:
1. Full deployment of US product inspectors that use our standards at Chinese factories, food and drug production facilities.
2. Negotiation of a Consumer Protection Treaty between the USA and China.
3. Admission by the Chinese that they have a real problem with consumer product safety and health standards.
"It's time to stop shipping good American jobs overseas in exchange for dangerous Chinese consumer goods that choke, burn, poison and take the lives of the citizens of our country," Ralph Nader said. "We need to have a coherent consumer protection system for the 21st century that covers the full farm-to-fork table, or producer to consumer, global supply chain."
Posted November 4th, 2008 by admin_hul
Lancelet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The lancelets (subphylum Cephalochordata, traditionally known as amphioxus) are a group of primitive chordates. They are usually found buried in sand in shallow parts of temperate or tropical seas. In Asia, they are harvested commercially for food for humans and domesticated animals. They are an important object of study in zoology as they provide indications about the origins of the vertebrates. Lancelets serve as an intriguing comparison point for tracing how vertebrates have evolved and adapted. Although lancelets split from vertebrates more than 520 million years ago, its genome holds clues about evolution, particularly how vertebrates have employed old genes for new functions.[1]
Nader is asking for what we all want on here after the pet food toxic that still continues - to put a stop to the importation of products, foodstuffs that harm and sicken and also kill (4 that we know of over there). This may not happen in our lifetimes maybe our grandchildrens'?/but until that happens one should think twice, three times and again before putting things that may just well sicken you, your children or your pets in the shopping cart IMO.
JJ, we don't even know as consumers what may contain unsafe food ingredients based on current labelling.
Consumers don't even have that choice presently, and there's only a limited supply of organic to USA increasingly
meangingless standards food out there. The whole global system is just a shambles and dangerous to everyone.
China is right now the worst offender, but not the only offender.
Even Mr. Nader's idea that we can put food inspectors in every food facility around the world from China to
Fiji seems a little less than practical to me. Announced food import standards and truly independent food product
testing in government certified labs sounds a little more like something achievable right here in the US to me. I
bet with advance understanding of the import requirements, most manufacturers/importers wouldn't even take
one shipment to figure out how not to miss a profit.
Am I missing something? I usually am. But I don't want to wager any more on a Russian roulette food supply.
3cat what an excellent way to put that - Russian roulette food supply. Now that is exactly what it has become and so true that China is not the only place exporting dangerous food and products. I know we can't put inspectors all over but if we made it a requirement that testing results accompany each shipment from another country that was done just before it was loaded on a ship and attached to every skid/box/crate etc. from a lab that was co set-up in that importing country that may help take the load off of other places too. And we need to quite possibly limit the food imported into this place to a few ports that would be easier to control inspecting more than the 1-2% that is now inspected.
OK, so today for some reason I decided to look at the ingredients on the Biotene Oral Gel we are using on Sophers and to my dismay it has friggin lactoferrin in it! Seeing how this is an ingredient involved in some recalls in China and elsewhere I called the company and asked where they get their lactoferrin from and they checked and said they get theirs from the Netherlands......does anyone have any info about netherlands being involved in any recalled lactoferrin? Ive checked and cant find anything other than New Zealand....
OK got some help from our little birdie on the question of lactofferin, thank you widdle burdie!
It looks like the lactoferrin is there to get rid of bacteria.
http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN71737811/
Interventions--3. Standard preterm formula with addition of dairy lactoferrin (Vivinal Domo, the Netherlands, containing lactoferrin 90%, protein 97%, moisture 1.5%, minerals 1.5%)
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Industry/Dutch-group-increases-stake-in-lactoferrin-producer
Dutch Group increases stake in lactoferrin producer
21 May 2004
Netherlands-based Pharming has increased its stake in Australian company ProBio and is now hoping to accelerate the commercialisation of recombinant human lactoferrin in Asia, writes Phil Taylor.
Other lactoferrin producers, also from the Netherlands, include DSM and DMV.
http://www.answers.com/topic/the-campina-group
The Campina Group
Type: Cooperative
Address: Hogeweg 9, NL-5301, LB Zaltbommel, Netherlands
Web: http://www.campina.com
The Industrial Products division includes butter and other food ingredients for the industrial food industry, dairy derivatives (notably lactoferrin, protein hydrolysates, and lactose) produced by the company's DMV International operation for the pharmaceutical and health industries.
While Campina gradually became the cooperative's flagship consumer brand, the DMV name became associated with the group's actively developing industrial ingredients operations. These included the production of butter and other dairy products for the professional catering and food processing industries, as well as such products as lactose (milk sugar) and protein hydrolysates, bioactive peptides, and lactoferrin.
Whey-hey! Humble dairy by-product makes good : Food News & Comment
DMV International (based in Veghel, the Netherlands), one of the largest producers of lactoferrin, has meanwhile formed a joint venture with US Farmland ...
Sorry, don't know the age of this article--you have to be a subscriber to get all of it.
http://food-decision.com/Financial-Industry/DMV-and-Arla-food-ingredients-to-merge
DMV & Arla To Merge 9 December 2004
Among DMV's range, that contributed €500m to Campina's €3.7 billion turnover, is its natural milk protein lactoferrin product, a leading player in the burgeoning value-added whey fractions market currently enjoying strong growth, in some parts of the world hitting 20 per cent per year.
http://members.ift.org/IFT/Pubs/Newsletters/weekly/nl091703.htm
Beef company to use lactoferrin treatment
Farmland National Beef Packing Co., the U.S.'s fourth-largest beef packer, announced that starting next month they will spray all of their products with activated lactoferrin. Lactoferrin received government approval last month for use as a wash that detaches harmful bacteria from cattle carcasses. aLF Ventures is a joint venture between Farmland National Beef and DMV International, a unit of the Netherlands-based dairy company Campina and is marketing and selling the activated lactoferrin. The company says lactoferrin is a naturally occurring substance that inhibits more than 30 strains of harmful bacteria.
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/fs/food/news/aug2803lactoferrin.html
Aug 29, 2003 (CIDRAP News) – After getting a green light from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a Salt Lake City company says it will launch the use of lactoferrin, a milk protein, as an antimicrobial treatment for beef carcasses in October.
The FDA announced last week that it sees no safety problems with the use of lactoferrin in antimicrobial sprays to prevent Escherichia coli O157:H7 contamination on beef carcasses. The agency said it has no objection to plans by aLF Ventures, Salt Lake City, to market lactoferrin for that use.
"We'll be launching this process aid beginning October 6," David R. Hall, senior vice president of aLF Ventures, told CIDRAP News. "National Beef in Kansas City [Mo.] will be placing this on 100% of their carcasses." ALF Ventures is a joint venture of Farmland National Beef, based in Kansas City, and DMV International, which is part of the Netherlands-based dairy company Campina Melkunie. Hall said Farmland National Beef accounts for about 10% of the US retail beef market.
Lactoferrin is an iron-binding protein found in milk and many other bodily secretions, according to medical reference books. In neutrophils (a type of white blood cell), it is believed to combat ingested bacteria and fungi by depriving them of iron.
Hall said the company's formulation, called activated lactoferrin (trade name Activin), doesn't kill bacteria but removes them from the surface of meat. He couldn't give a percentage reduction in bacteria effected by the lactoferrin treatment, but he said, "In the testing we did, once you put meat through the current interventions and then added lactoferrin as an incremental step, we couldn't detect any remaining bacteria on the meat."
He cautioned, "We don't want people to say this is the silver bullet" that makes beef totally safe. "This is another incremental intervention that continues to take the pathogen level as low as it can possibly be."
Craig Hedberg, PhD, a food safety specialist at the University of Minnesota, commented that lactoferrin "serves to inhibit the growth of the organism, but there's not a lot of published literature looking at the efficacy of lactoferrin as a potential treatment. What is out there suggests that it may be in the ballpark of a 1-log [90%] reduction, which isn't a tremendous gain over other existing technologies." Hedberg is an associate professor of environmental and occupational health in the university's School of Public Health.
In a news release, the FDA said, "Although aLF Ventures was not required to seek approval from FDA before it marketed lactoferrin, aLF Ventures provided FDA scientific data supporting the firm's conclusion that lactoferrin is 'generally recognized as safe' (GRAS)." The substance is safe for the general population, including people who are allergic to milk, the statement said. A food ingredient is "GRAS" if generally available scientific data lead experts to conclude that the substance is safe for its intended use, the agency said.
In its notice to the FDA, aLF Ventures said the amount of added lactoferrin that remains on beef carcasses after spraying is comparable to the amount that occurs naturally in beef, the FDA said.
Because the residual amount is very small, the use of lactoferrin as a spray for carcasses does not require labeling of meat products from those carcasses, according to Hall and Andrea McNally, a spokeswoman for the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service. Hall said aLF Ventures earlier received approval from the FDA and USDA to market lactoferrin for other uses that would require labeling of the treated meat. "For carcass application they deem it as a process aid, so there's no labeling requirement for that," he said.
Hall said aLF is studying the use of lactoferrin as an antimicrobial treatment for "subprimal" cuts of meat (large pieces that are cut up further in retail stores), finished cuts, and ready-to-eat meats. Those uses would require labeling of the products, he said.
http://ift.confex.com/ift/2004/techprogram/paper_21004.htm
Technological properties and applications of lactoferrin
J. M. STEIJNS, II, R&D Center, DMV International, PO Box 16, Wageningen, 6700 AA, Netherlands
Milk, by the virtue of its natural origin and purpose, is a wealthy source of substances known to be beneficial for the health of the neonate. Apart from essential nutrients for growth and maintenance, milk also contains components for defense against potentially harmful environmental invaders like micro-organisms. Lactoferrin, an iron-binding glycoprotein identified in high concentrations in human breast milk more than 40 years ago, plays an important role in this defence system. Lactoferrin has also been identified in the milks of the cow, pig, horse, buffalo, goat and mouse. On a commercial basis lactoferrin is isolated from cow's milk, in which reported levels range from 20 to 200 mg/ml. The production from cow's milk , or the whey from cheese factories, is mainly due to the economy of scale in the dairy industry together with industrial developments in chromatographic separation technology . Worldwide production of bovine lactoferrin has increased tremendously the last decade with current estimates ranging from 50 to 100 metric tonnes per year for product purities over 90%. The first major application of bovine lactoferrin was the addition to infant formulas to further humanize breast milk replacers. Many other applications followed in line with new insights from lactoferrin science. Nowadays lactoferrin is applied in a.o. nutritional iron supplements and drinks, fermented milks, chewing gums, immune enhancing nutraceuticals, cosmetic formulas and feed and pet care supplements. Dosage per 100 g product ranges from 10 mg till 100 mg. This broad application range requires knowledge on effective incorporation of this bioactive component based on the prediction of its properties during processing , storage and consumer use. Physical-chemical properties like heat stability, pH sensitivity, iron release and enzyme sensitivity are relevant in this respect. Some selected examples will be presented to illustrate this.
Liddle Burdie thinks more than likely the source of the lactoferrin in the oral gel would be DMV, as they seem to be working with a lot of it for a lot of different applications.
Look at the attitude... This first quote is from a Chinese embassy official last year. Does anyone here think the Chinese businesses are going to clean up their acts or regulatory agencies there will start doing their jobs when government officials speak this way? I don't think much has changed at all.
I fear it will only get worse as more factories close there and people are scrambling to sell their "raw" ingredients to make a sale. We're already blamed for their decrease in exports, which is true in part. But the other part of the equation is that the factory workers asked for raises, and factories cannot meet price points to produce cheap products for us AND afford pay hikes to satisfy workers. The spending habits of the Chinese middle class just cannot fill the monetary void of fewer exports to the U.S. & other countries with contracted economies.
"A Chinese embassy official in Washington told the WSJ last year that "Americans should deal with flaws in their own system before criticizing China," noting U.S. problems with spinach, lettuce and peanut butter."
and
"Last week, Japanese soy sauce and wasabi</strong> were found to be contaminated with chemicals. This week they've found more tainted Japanese products, including soybean sauce laced with arsenic and copper-containing coffee.
And product safety officials announced Tuesday that in the first seven months of this year, they had saved Chinese consumers from 2,700 shipments of potentially contaminated food and cosmetic imports, including infant formula from Australia, 36 tons of almonds and two tons of cheese, according to today's China Daily."
Nov. 6, 2008
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinajournal/2008/11/06/amid-domestic-product-safety-crisis-china-plays-up-problems-from-abroad/
It looks as though China is now trying to embarrass Japan because Japan called China out for melamine products. Let's see how this turns out.
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/china-says-japanese-produced-seasoned-soy-sauce-coffee-tainted
Purringfur, I noticed that too in the book I read Pet Food Politics. Right after the recalls, China vowed to make their food safer, what happened to that? This year we have the same exact problem going on albeit a different product but once again the same vow from China. If they were at all willing to take suggestions, mine to them would be, keep track of your own house first before pointing fingers at other's houses.
Sandi, lactoferrin was reapproved this year in October by FSIS for use on beef carcasses. See:
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-suspected-chinese-officials-say-baby-formula-tied-to-kidney-stones-t6256.0.html;msg93606;topicseen#msg93606
I'd be highly suspicious of any product containing it even if thought to be from the Netherlands.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/11/06/2412698.htm?section=world
Aust milk products fail quality standards, say China
By China correspondent Stephen McDonell
Posted Thu Nov 6, 2008 10:16pm AEDT
China has named two Australian-produced infant milk brands as failing to meet quality standards.
According to a Chinese Government website, local authorities intercepted 191 batches of problem foreign goods in July.
Amongst the list is milk powder from Australia. According to China's quarantine service, nine tonnes of Ausnutria milk powder produced by Tatura Industries failed a standard for E sakazaki bacteria.
More than 14 tonnes of Pauls brand milk power also failed a bacteria standard, the site says.
Some analysts say China could be naming foreign companies to deflect criticism of Chinese powdered milk, which has killed at least four children after the harmful chemical melamine was added to it to artificially boost protein levels.
For years the food supply focus has been maximizing profits in the global food supply with little to no attention paid to food quality
and food safety. Witness how many countries across the world could not even test within their own countries due to lack of the
necessary equipment for melamine testing in the 2008 China scandal. China is one country, not the only country, where the cultural bent
seems to be make money at all costs. I don't believe after the Asian pet food scandals of 2004 and the US pet food recalls of 2007
that China or any other country in the world thought the addition of melamine scrap to food was not dangerous. There continues
to be a total lack of concern for food safety, with admitted holes and gaps in import inspection by almost all countries across the
globe. China's continual denial of problems with its food supply in the face of 2007 and 2008 make China definitely the most
dangerous food and drug supplier currently. Even the catastrophe caused to its own children does not seem to have been
recognized by the Chinese government.
Our own FDA continues to procrastinate and attempt to deny its own science failings even in view of its own Science Board's
critique of the agency in the fall of 2007. The gaps and holes in US food supply inspection and safety considerations are simply
inviting the same catastrophe for US consumers and can no longer be tolerated. I've come to believe we're almost as threatened
by US food producers as by the Chinese [I said almost]. There simply is no excuse for not recognizing and reacting to the threat
with much more attention to food safety and food quality.
I wonder if all these Oasis chocolate refusals are truly, as implied by the violation codes, in August and September of 2008 related
to labelling, colorings, and flavorings, or if it's possible they might be related to something else:
http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/8/ora_oasis_i_34.html
http://www.fda.gov:80/ora/oasis/9/ora_oasis_i_34.html
Now that our hardware hiatus seems to be over, here's a very worrisome post about
birth defects possibly caused by long term consumption of melamine:
Now I am really worried, and so should the US FDA be worried:
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/china/melamine-birth-defects-6811.html
Melamine Contaminated Food May Cause Birth Defects Epoch Times Staff Nov 6, 2008
The long term impact of such melamine contamination and its effect on future generations remains unknown.
From the article cited in 3cat's post #1311:
"Over the past year as many as 15 percent of newborns in Guangzhou City were diagnosed with birth defects such as multi-toe, Palestinian child's edema, congenital heart disease, and cleft lip and palate. The birth defects were caused by many factors, including environmental pollution, lead paints used in homes, home furnishings, poor lifestyle choices, and malnutrition."
Fifteen percent is a large percentage!
For those that have not seen these...I am going to try to contact him..
just don't know how to yet.. ???
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3dbBQPIFf0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUB79WJ9ktQ
Afraid I have no tears for these people and their business losses; only the parents and children of China and
around the world. All companies who act against consumer health and product qualiy as first concerns in food
and drug products distributed globally should end up out of business, not just with upset shareholders:
http://www.industrysearch.com.au/News/NZFarmers_concerns_that_Fonterras_reputation_is_at_risk-35449
NZ:Farmers concerns that Fonterra's reputation is at risk
... Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd has been named to a list of the world's largest companies most criticised for their impacts on the environment, health and communities, by Swiss -owned RepRisk, a consulting firm that analyses companies' exposure to controversial issues and news.
Fonterra along with Sanlu Group Co and big Chinese rival Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co have both been included on in the RepRisk "top 10" after 22 producers were found to have sold milk containing toxic melamine.
In New Zealand, the shareholders said it was sensible to invest in China, but "it seems subsequent resourcing did not improve the co-operative's ability to impact the operations of the business".
While $139 million of the Sanlu investment had formally been written off, the full cost was still to be quantified.
Another suspicious FDA voluntary food recall, strawberry flavored:
http://www.fda.gov:80/oc/po/firmrecalls/nestle11_08.html
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- November 7, 2008, Glendale, CA -- Nestlé USA is voluntarily recalling two (2) production codes of Nestlé Nesquik Strawberry Powder 21.8 ounce that may contain small fragments of aluminum.
The recall only includes two (2) production codes of 21.8-ounce containers of Nestlé Nesquik Strawberry Powder. Printed on the bottom of each plastic container is a production code of "82255880" or "82265880" with a best by date of "August 2010."
Anyone know if there is any requirement by the US FDA that the reason for the voluntary recall be truthful?
If you doubt melamine is still pouring into the United States in our 97 to 99 percent of uninspected food imports, see these Oasis refusals
for October 2008, where there is no doubt about the adulterant [thanks, catbird]:
http://itchmoforums.com/news-recall-related/oasis-refusals-october-2008-t6820.0.html
This is from Nov. 11, 2008's Washington Post and is a repeat of information posted earlier in this thread,
but seemingly just appearing in mainstream media, The Mathematics of Melamine:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thecheckout/2008/11/the_mathematics_of_melamine.html?nav=rss_blog
The following excerpt is from an article that ran in Chemistry World, a publication of the Royal Society of Chemistry based in the UK.
Industrial melamine costs about 12,000 yuan (US$1,765) per ton, much higher than the price of milk - 1,200-1,800 yuan per ton. But the practice of adding melamine to milk is profitable because just one gram of melamine per kg of milk is enough to lift the apparent protein content of milk from less than 27 grams of protein per kilogram (the cheapest grade of milk in China) to greater than 31 grams per kilogram - the most expensive grade.
So for 0.012 yuan (0.0018 US cents), producers can illegally boost the price of a liter of milk from 1.2 yuan (17.6 US cents) to 1.8 yuan (26.5 US cents) per kilogram. If the milk is diluted, the resulting profits can be even greater.
That sort of return is hard to beat. And while Chinese officials have tried to minimize how widespread melamine use is, those numbers show why it's been hard to squash economic adulteration.
The message here for the US FDA is very clear. You have to replace the 100 year old nitrogen sum protein test you're using on food
products to determine the individual sources of the food's protein content. The use of this antiquated test promotes the use of melamine in the food supply around the world, and it's very unsafe for the food consumer.
See, from July 15, 2007[thank you Offy, menusux, and countless other contributors to the itchmoforums, who knew this shortly after March 16, 2007]:
http://itchmoforums.com/news-recall-related/pet-food-recall-it-could-have-been-prevented-one-pet-owners-opinion-t1118.0.html
QuoteThis means if the pet food industry cared about protein content, usable protein and the prices, they could have recognized this and prevented this whole melamine NPN issue from ever happening. They'd have also caught on to why it was so cheap to buy the ingredients in the first place.
Quote
http://www.holsteinusa.com/html/trueweb.html
The new Federal Milk Marketing Orders, which went into effect January 1, 2000, pay for protein on a true-protein scale instead of the crude-protein scale that had been used previously in many parts of the country. The change was made because true protein is more accurately measured in the lab and is more reflective of the nutritional and manufacturing value of milk....While this change does not affect the price you receive for your milk (unless you have unusually high or low levels of non-protein nitrogen in your milk), it does affect the protein level that you see with your milk payment.
If the Dairy Industry could do in 2000, there is no reason the Pet Food Industry could not have done it. After all, they are responsible for the nutritional value of the pet foods and the safety of those foods. They are supposed to know the nutritional value of the pet foods.
Cheating the standard protein tests is easy, but industry hesitates on alternatives.. July 15 2007 Scientific American.com Alison Snyder
http://www.sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=ACB480D7-E7F2-99DF-386D411734605ECC
After hundreds of dogs and cats fell ill this past spring, government officials traced the source to melamine, a nitrogen-rich compound found in plastics and fertilizer that, when ingested by the animals, crystallized in their kidneys and caused renal failure. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration later announced that producers may have deliberately added the compound to wheat gluten and rice protein concentrates to inflate the measured amount of protein. The greater the protein level in the concentrates, the higher the market price the products fetch. Regardless of whether its addition was deliberate or accidental, melamine snuck past standard industry protein analysis, suggesting that the century-old test methods should be reevaluated. Several alternatives exist, but the food industry has yet to make a switch.
(snip)
Thus far pet food makers and other processors have not decided whether to adopt new methods. "We're in the process of building a feed safety protocol," says Ron Salter, a vice president at feed distribution company Wilbur-Ellis in San Francisco. He adds that the company will be looking into feed sampling and testing procedures. In the meantime, nitrogen-based methods will likely remain top dog among protein-testing techniques.
Hmmmm, 80 percent fall in Hong Kong's egg supply from a month ago:
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_World&set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=nw20081110113206123C615642
Egg-fried rice off Hong Kong menus
Supplies from China are believed to have fallen by 80 percent in recent weeks after the discovery in October of the same chemical in eggs that caused a nationwide milk scare a month earlier.
6.5 percent of China's egg production is exported to the United States.
Has that been tested lately by the US FDA?
Think of all the products on our shelves that have egg on the ingredient list. Egg, powdered milk. How long has the American public been consuming melamine in varying amounts? How many health problems are directly related to this? We'll never know. There are probably some posts on this thread I have missed, and it has probably already been discussed, but has the FDA checked infant formula here in our own country?
Here's someone else's unofficial list of melamine-contaminated foods:
http://creativeherb.com/2008/10/30/unofficial-melamine-contaminated-food-list/
One really does have to wonder about the strawberry mix recall. There were certainly a number of strawberry-flavored products recalled around the world already: cookies, sour milk, pretzels, ice cream, etc.
Carolo, I also worry about the eggs, powdered eggs in addition to fresh. Some bakeries & restaurants use the powdered form to save some money. Yikes!
I think Mike Mozart, who does the melamine/poisonous food videos on youtube, has 3 videos total. Is that correct? I hope everyone here has viewed them. I wonder if Mike can gather a collection to have some of his Chinese-made candy tested for melamine.
Did we already see this about disposing of the melamine-contaminated milk?
...Tried to dispose of 18 tons and 6 tons ended up spilling into the river. Citizens worried over the drinking water being contaminated, but were assured the levels were within the safe range...
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2008-11/05/content_7174437.htm
"Melamine-free ads banned in Burma:
http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/1266-melamine-free-ads-banned-in-journals.html
This is a newspaper opinion piece which will undoubtedly upset some folks, but ties together events of
October 3, 2008, the day the FDA declared an acceptable standard for melamine being present in the
American food supply and issued its scientific risk assessment, the day Congress passed a $700-billion Wallstreet bailout.
and how China figured into both. From Jamestown, NY:
http://post-journal.com:80/page/content.detail/id/516286.html
For Sale: The U.S.A.?
POSTED: November 11, 2008
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/12/asia/AS-Hong-Kong-Tainted-Food.php
The Associated PressPublished: November 12, 2008
HONG KONG: Hong Kong says it has found the industrial chemical melamine in a sample of fish feed from mainland China.
The Center for Food Safety says that the feed contained melamine at a concentration of 6.6 parts per million. It says a Hong Kong fish farmer bought the feed in mainland China and delivered it to the city.
Melamine is found in plastics and fertilizer. The chemical has recently turned up in dairy products and other foods. It has been blamed for the deaths of four infants and for sickening more than 50,000 in mainland China.
The statement issued Tuesday says eight fish at four farms that have used the contaminated feed were tested. No ill effects were found. It was not clear if any fish that ate the tainted feed had been sold to markets.
This article shows the testing for melamine in milk powder...wonder if it is applicable to all food/feedstuffs?
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/zNoseR-Detects-Melamine-Milk-Powder/story.aspx?guid=%7BE5247EAA-1F2B-4C56-9FFD-C26E0221A3AB%7D
NEWBURY PARK, Calif., Nov 12, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Electronic Sensor Technology (EST) , a leading provider of innovative homeland security and environmental solutions, announced it has developed a procedure for detecting melamine in milk powder using the fast zNose(R).
Dr. Teong Lim, Chairman and CEO, reports that a method for detecting and measuring melamine without the need to derivatize or modify the sample has been created. Current cost per sample range around $120 in the US to $145 in China. The FDA method (Bulletin No. 4423) requires 85 minutes of preparation before the 20 minute GC-MS run. Even the fast-screen method (LC/MS) takes 14.5 minutes after sample preparation. EST's method does not require this preparation time and can do a sample run in less than 3 minutes. This significant savings in time will reduce sample testing costs by using the zNose(R) as a prescreening tool. Only samples that indicate melamine are subjected to the costly testing methods.
The presence of melamine in milk powder has been linked to over 53,000 infant illnesses and 4 infant deaths as well as pet food problems and egg contamination. The use of melamine to cheat the nutrition tests has been a practice in many areas and there is no way to contain the contamination without the use of detection tests. Reducing the time and costs of the test with the use of the zNose(R) could help save infants from illness and more.
For more information visit EST's website: http://www.estcal.com
SOURCE: Electronic Sensor Technology
Electronic Sensor Technology
Shareholder and Investors
William Wittmeyer, 650-574-1257
So now we have Romer Labs and "ZNose" with fast testing kits. Anyone aware of any others?
Melamine since 1999? Scientists involved in teaching greed before safety?
Greater China Nov 14, 2008
Greed, mad science and melamine By Stephen Wong
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/JK14Ad01.html
"While unscrupulous milk and fodder producers - and subsequently the government - came under public accusations for making and covering up melamine-contaminated products, angry Chinese consumers are now pointing fingers at scientists.
The prestigious, government-funded CAS was among the first to be linked to the chemical.
Last month, Chinese bloggers exposed that as early as in 1999, a CAS institution placed advertisements for an additive to cattle feed called "DH Composite High-protein Fodder Supplement". The advertisement claimed that the technology could be used to manufacture "high protein fodder using organic nitrogen and special catalysts".
The technology was sold by the Appliance Technology Institute of CAS for 10,000 yuan (US$1,466) plus an extra 5,000 yuan ($700) for training, according to the advertisement. The online ad was soon posted on major websites and forums. Many believed that "DH Composite High-protein Fodder Supplement" was based on melamine."
God in Heaven, Offy, that certainly corresponds to the same decade there's been
a 30 percent spike in kidney disease in the United States, doesn't it?
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-suspected-chinese-officials-say-baby-formula-tied-to-kidney-stones-t6256.0.html;msg92169;topicseen#msg92169
Their own children of China, and they don't care, a whole generation ...
Does the United States?
Never happier to cross-post a link. It's a good start, US government food safety authorities, until this situation can be controlled
on food imports from China, but just a start as to what needs to be done. It's a lot more than milk products. Too late for my
three beloved pets, but perhaps not my grandchildren:
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/111208-fda-detain-notice-includes-pet-foods-t6890.0.html;msg98239
FDA analyses have detected melamine and cyanuric acid in a
number of products that contain milk or milk-derived
ingredients, including candy and beverages. In addition,
information received from government sources in a number of
countries indicates a wide range and variety of products
from a variety of manufacturers have been manufactured using
melamine-contaminated milk or milk-derived ingredients,
including: fluid and powdered milk, yogurt, frozen desserts,
biscuits, cakes and cookies, taffy-like soft candy products,
chocolates, and beverages. These products appear to contain
at least one milk-derived ingredient and they are of Chinese
origin. Reports of contamination have come from more than
thirteen countries in Asia, Europe, and Australia, in
addition to the United States. Additional products from
various manufacturers continue to be found to be
contaminated with melamine.
The problem of melamine contamination in Chinese food
products is a recurring one. In 2007, bulk vegetable protein
products imported from China were contaminated with melamine
and melamine analogs, apparently from deliberate
contamination.
Aloha,
I've been folowwing your threads on the Melamilk from China. I wrote to Kraft a week ago to see if they use any Chinese products in their food. I had given up eating Mac & Cheese and Oreos because of all the melamine going around in China. This is their reply:
Thank you for visiting http://www.kraft.com/.
We appreciate you taking the time to contact us and inquire about the recent events in China. We would like to reassure our valued consumers about the safety of Kraft products, especially those containing milk ingredients.
Kraft does not use Chinese milk ingredients in U.S. products or in any products made outside of China. Of the products we make in China, most do not contain milk ingredients from that country. If they do, the level of milk ingredients is very low. And we're testing these ingredients to ensure their safety. Kraft does not export any products containing Chinese milk ingredients into North America, Latin America or Europe.
There have been questions about the ingredients used in our Oreo products made in China. Oreo products do not contain Chinese milk ingredients, no matter where they are made or sold.
We have full confidence in our food safety standards and systems. As always, our highest priority is to ensure the safety of our products and consumers around the world.
Again, thanks for contacting us, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy our products.
Collies Anderson
Executive Representative
Nice to know one company is being proactive!
thanks Mary...
I too emailed them over a week ago and even included a thread here showing they got their milk protein concentrate from Fonterra in New Zealand and how now that was a concern for me...but no reply to me yet! I posted the email here somewhere--just don't remember right now (but I'll find it! ;)) I guess your email may hve been easier to answer!!
eta...found it! :D http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-suspected-chinese-officials-say-baby-formula-tied-to-kidney-stones-t6256.0.html;msg95925#msg95925
Welcome mary blonde and thank you for sharing Kraft's response.
I thank you, too, mary blonde, for sharing the response you got. I would like to
see Kraft's response to Carol, too.
Manufacturer integrity has become a big issue on this forum, and I hope you can
bear with the skepticism developed since March 16, 2007. Better than an e-mail
from any company would be posted testing results by testing method, test sensitivity,
UPC code, manufacturing plant, and batch number, from Kraft to "ABC Mom & Pop
Company" anywhere in the world.
The US FDA must have some reason for doing this Import Alert based on its test results that
have so far not been shared with the American consumer.
But keep sending letters to manufacturers, mary blonde, asking questions to let them know
you are concerned and want more information to make informed consumer choices.
Aloha nui from Laie
Mary blonde,
Welcome to the forums. Thanks for sharing Kraft's response.
Unfortunately, we've learned the hard way that such information is "for public consumption" only.
Food companies' pay public relations firms to prepare a script for their customer service personnel to recite. The information has nothing to do with the facts.
For example, Nestle told me that they don't use milk products in their Coffee-Mate. So why does the Coffee-Mate label say "sodium casenate - a milk derivative"? I found out that their sodium casenate is sourced from Australia, but I'm STILL waiting for someone to call me back to explain what testing is done. Is it tested for melamine? Still waiting for an answer.
When you talk with food companies, you have to ask about specific ingredients: Where do they originate; How are they tested.
In my experience (and I've called dozens of food companies), they can't tell you, and they can't get you off the phone soon enough.
5CatMom
=^..^=
Welcome to Itchmo, Mary Blonde. Thank you for posting Kraft's response to your queries about the safety of their products. At 5CatMom said, we should take a company's assurances of the safety of their food with a grain of salt. Unfortunately sometimes, it is all we have to go by until actual products are tested.
Chinese milk products banned in USA and promises of testing for melamine reported in Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/13/AR2008111303798.html?hpid%3Dsec-health&sub=new (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/13/AR2008111303798.html?hpid%3Dsec-health&sub=new)
I found it strange that the article reports "melamine in finished products would likely cause no harm." Or something along those lines. Since when???
Hmm, I seem to remember some definite harm caused by melamine in "finished products"...like pet food.
isn't infant formula also a "finished product'? Isn't the infant formula illnesses what sparked this import alert?
How stupid do they think we are?! :o :o >:( >:(
They think we're totally spaced out, and perhaps most are exactly that. How many people do you know who actually have added 2+2 and even give a thought to baby formula here in USA? The majority of consumers are blissfully unaware. I have a friend who is tube feeding a puppy w/ a formula for dogs. The first thing that crossed my mind was "I wonder if this is safe or why wouldn't it contain melamine" and was so tempted to suggest she make her own formula starting w/ goats milk. It would be awful to feed poison to a puppy that was already in distress.
A little birdie found this and sloooooow me is just now posting it, sorry!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/07/AR2008110703562.html
Washington Post November 8, 2008
Retracing the Path Toxic Powder Took To Food in China
Xue Jianzhong never posted a sign on his ground-floor shop, but somehow everyone knew what he was selling. Customers from all over this dairy farming region in the northeastern province of Hebei flocked to Xue's dusty street to buy special concoctions that he said would make milk more nutritious -- and more marketable.
Advertised as a "protein powder," the substance was sold in 44-pound bags and was tasteless, odorless and white, like talc. It wasn't cheap, about $1 a pound, but it could be mixed into inferior milk or even with specially treated water and the result would be a milklike liquid that would pass government quality tests.
It wasn't until September, when Xue was arrested in connection with the investigation into the poisoning of tens of thousands of babies across China, that it became clear his secret ingredient was a toxic industrial chemical called melamine.
Melamine can mimic protein in nutrition tests for milk and in products such as wheat gluten and chicken feed. But when ingested in large amounts, it can cause kidney stones or death in children and animals.
The problem is not just a domestic one. Melamine has surfaced in foods sold across Asia and, earlier, in pet food that poisoned animals in the United States, tainting China's reputation as the world's factory.
How the same substance that had killed pets and was officially banned in China as an additive in food just last year wound up in baby formula and so many other food products is a story of desperate farmers, complicit chemical companies, and government officials who looked the other way. All were part of a system that allowed the network of melamine dealers to thrive.
Farmers and companies involved in food and feed production said that the doctoring of their products was an open secret in the countryside but that the salesmen had told them it was harmless.
"Actually, every milk collection center bought a lot of melamine," said Wang, a 60-year-old farmer in the village of Yudi, in the Shijiazhuang area, who would not give his full name because he feared arrest. "Everybody did this."
China's melamine trade is run by a criminal syndicate that has relied on chemical companies and underground laboratories for its supply. The trade has been supported by a customer base so eager for the substance that for years it turned a blind eye to its potentially deadly effects. Traditionally used in the manufacture of plastics and leather, melamine has made its way into the food supply in a way that was never supposed to happen.
Initially covered up by officials afraid of losing their jobs and besmirching the Beijing Olympic Games, the melamine contamination began with infant milk formula, killing at least four infants and sickening 54,000 babies. It soon spread to candy, instant coffee, yogurt, biscuits and other products made with Chinese milk, prompting bans or recalls in 16 countries.
In recent weeks the toxin has been discovered in eggs and in animal feed, sparking fears that tainted foods go well beyond dairy products and may include fish, shrimp, beef and poultry.
"Almost all the animal feed companies I know added protein powder to their product until this September. So did our factory," said a sales manager surnamed Li, in a branch factory of the Liuhe Group, a large animal feed company in Shandong province. "Of course, no one dares to add it now."
The problem of melamine was supposed to have been fixed long ago.
When Chinese authorities discovered in the summer of 2007 that the chemical was behind the poisoning of thousands of cats and dogs in the United States, it was explicitly banned from both food and feed. Melamine is now considered a controlled substance in China, and its production and use are supposed to be strictly supervised by the government.
The government has bragged about its efforts to overhaul its regulatory system, shutter tens of thousands of factories and step up inspections. But it is clear that loopholes remain.
Xue's shop is in Xingtang County, just 30 miles north of the Shijiazhuang headquarters of the Sanlu Group, the dairy company whose milk powder is at the center of the widening scandal. Xue, who pocketed $150 for every ton of powder he sold, was part of a semiprofessional business that operated like any other start-up, according to farmers and other potential customers who were solicited by melamine dealers.
There were legitimate-looking stores, representatives at milk collection centers and even door-to-door salesmen. Customers with questions about how to use the melamine knew that technical assistance was just a phone call away.
In the impoverished countryside, farmers said they were quick to embrace the magic offered by con artists such as Xue, as the price of raw materials soared and government price controls squeezed their profits. During a recent program on state-run CCTV, Xue said that he himself drank only fresh milk, not the mixed kind, and that he knew melamine was harmful. He acknowledged that he sold it "to make more money."
While the income of China's rural residents has skyrocketed in recent years, the increase has not matched the pace of growth in the gross domestic product. Several dairy farmers said that over the past year, they have barely broken even.
The promise of greater profits was enticing, though not everyone was convinced.
"Last year, I got calls from people who said they could increase the protein in my feed by 50 percent, but I didn't believe them. It's impossible, unless you're cheating," said Sun Qingqing, sales manager of Hongsheng Feather Powder Factory, an animal feed company. "After the scandal, they disappeared or moved underground. I don't know how much they make, but those people drove Mercedes-Benz cars and BMWs."
Until recently, the salesmen would come every few months to Guo Junfeng's dairy farm in Shanxi province. "Even if you don't have milk, mix this substance with water and you will have something that is just like milk!" Guo remembers one of them telling him.
The salesmen were hawking two grades of the powder. The first contained whey protein, which can be collected from cheese made from cow's milk. That was the cheaper type and cost about $44 a bag, but it didn't always work perfectly. The second kind, which cost roughly $118 a bag, was more mysterious. The bag had some English writing on it that Guo could not decipher. The vendors said they couldn't read the letters either, and they could not explain what exactly was in the mix. But they said you could use the powder to create milk from any liquid.
Many of Guo's fellow farmers in the province were dazzled by the idea of increasing their profits as much as 300 percent, he said.
But Guo said he knew it was too good to be true. "I'm usually a very suspicious person," he said. "They said it was nothing dangerous, but I couldn't be sure."
Dairy industry analysts who have inspected the melamine powder said it appeared to have been created by sophisticated chemical technicians. Qiao Fuming, a dairy consultant in Beijing, said it was impossible to take raw melamine and mix it with milk because it won't dissolve. The melamine had to be converted into a form that could be mixed with liquids, he said. How melamine became popular in the countryside has as much to do with greedy chemical companies as with poor farmers.
As China's chemical industry began to take off in the late 1990s, so many factories were eager to get into the business that it created excess supply of certain substances.
The use of industrial ingredients in food did not start with melamine. When Chinese authorities began spot inspections as part of the crackdown in 2007, they found that poisonous dyes, mineral oils derived from the processing of petroleum, paraffin and other chemicals were being used to make candy, pickles, crackers and seafood.
The excess melamine supply peaked in 2006, and soon the melamine was coming to China's dairy-producing regions by the truckload.
Some dealers bought professional-quality melamine from chemical factories at almost $1,500 a ton.
Others bought melamine scrap, a byproduct from other processes and potentially even more hazardous when added to food products, for less than $50 a ton. It wasn't long before a group of middlemen, led by engineers, emerged to help market the scrap.
They had no trouble finding customers.
Jia Yazhou, a manager at a chemical company, said that last year he received several phone calls from people interested in buying melamine scrap.
"They said they would use it to make animal feed directly," said Jia, who works at Huixin Chemical Co., in Shijiazhuang's Wuji County. Jia said he refused, saying that his factory recycled the scrap and that he "didn't know what price to offer."
But he wasn't surprised by the calls. "The industry is so uncontrolled," he said.
Other sales managers at a chemical plant said they didn't dare ask why customers, including a large fish farm, wanted the melamine scrap. "I don't know if my customers tell me the truth or not. I didn't ask for what purpose they buy it," said Liu Qiujiang of Jinglong Fengli Chemical Co. in Hebei's Ningjin County.
Wu Jianping, a salesman at the Lixia chemical factory in Shandong province, said it was clear that some of his company's customers were not in industries that traditionally use melamine. But, he added: "We never ask what they use melamine for. If we ask, they say, 'You don't need to ask. You want to sell it. We want to buy it. That's all you need to know.
Blissfully unaware no thanks to our government and media. I mean, we were pretty much told not to buy formula from China, end of story. I also think that even though we've had so many food safety problems lately, it's hard to shake the belief that our food is safe. Many of us have grown up our whole lives believing that. In more recent years, "process food is bad for you" was about nutrition/health, not toxicity. It's really hard to wrap your head around the fact that everything in the center aisles could be toxic. And for that matter, even the outer aisles. And then we have our dishes and kitchen items posing a whole new problem. {sigh}, what's a person/family to do? Many people aren't used to cooking from scratch. Getting goats milk and making their own formula? Making their own pet foods? Kinda intimidating for many and that feeling was reinforced during the pet food recall with the "experts" telling us we're not capable long term ::)
I do think awareness is growing though. And kitchen skills ;) Cooking, eating local/sustainable/organic are growing in popularity. My CSA sold out early this year and that was including a new location. Part of that is from just the growing awareness of sustainable living and also nutritional awareness. But I'm sure all the toxic food has added to it. But many people still don't read the labels on everything, so their awareness as to what's good and bad isn't complete. Milk with added hormones got a lot of press, but how much press does Krafts fake cheese slices get? Most people aren't grabbing those cheese slices thinking they need to read the label. It's cheese for god's sake! The big tomato screw up prob also helped to raise some awareness as far as fresh food goes. Kinda helped that they weren't sure what was making people sick as it kept it in the news longer and showed what a mess everything is, lol!~ Oh, the irony.
Carolo and everyone, I couldn't agree with you more that some continue to misassess the danger of melamine contamination.
Here's a repeat, though, of what Carolo posted from the Washington Post, along with three other articles from November 13, 2008.
For giving it that much coverage, I do really thank the "Watergate" Washington Post. At least they're covering it, and not all agreeing
with the author of the blog Carolo posted:
Thank you, Washington Post!:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/13/AR2008111301918.html
Health Highlights: Nov. 13, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008; 12:00 AM
Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:
U.S. to Detain Milk Products From China
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/13/AR2008111301791.html
Lawyers plan collective lawsuit over tainted milk
By GILLIAN WONG
The Associated Press
Thursday, November 13, 2008; 12:27 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/13/AR2008111303077.html
U.S. bans melamine-tainted Chinese dairy products
Reuters
Thursday, November 13, 2008; 5:48 PM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States issued an import alert for Chinese-made food products on Thursday,
calling for foods to be stopped at the border unless importers can certify they are either free of dairy or free of melamine.
(Posted by Carolo, page 89)
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thecheckout/
Posted at 02:22 PM ET, 11/13/2008
All Chinese Food Imports Containing Dairy Held Up at U.S. Border
The Food and Drug Administration has begun stopping imports of Chinese dairy and dairy-based products from
entering the country in an effort to keep out food contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine.
[Read the comments here on banning all food products from China]
This story has even made it's way to USC's China Institute:
http://uschina.usc.edu/(A(6jWlD4x8yQEkAAAAZmJiZGJmYTEtZGYzNS00ZjhhLTg3YTUtNzk2MWEwMDExNTUz4YQvtmWFh2v4A4mFbOJDr-2tDuM1)S(x4eqoqeuqldhsn553ycs5n55))/DailyUpdates.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
http://www.timesonline.co.uk:80/tol/news/world/asia/article5152668.ece
From Times OnlineNovember 14, 2008
US places ban on Chinese food imports
... Such a broad ban by the Food and Drug administration on goods from an entire country rather than from a new rogue manufacturer is unusual and reflects the level of concern
over how widespread the problem is in China.
Importers to the United States must now certify that food products are free of dairy or of the industrial chemical melamine that has been found in a vast array of Chinese products
– from baby powder to milk powder to creamy confectionery. Failing that, the goods will be stopped at the border.
The FDA order said: "The problem of melamine contamination is not limited to infant formula products. Chinese government sources indicate contamination of milk components,
especially dried milk powder, which are used in a variety of finished foods." These are believed to spread throughout the food chain in China. ...
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/melamltr.html
From October 10, 2008, FDA to "Dear Colleague" Letter to the United States Food Manufacturing Industry, Regarding Melamine
"Milk and milk products that could originate from China include condensed, dried, and non-fat milk, condensed and dried whey,
lactose powder, permeate powder, demineralized and partially demineralized whey powders, caseins, yogurt, ice cream, cheese,
whey protein concentrate, and milk protein concentrate."
This US consumer is counting on the FDA to enforce this ban with regard to whey protein concentrates and milk protein concentrates. I hope this trust is not misplaced yet again ...
Our consumer list of suspect label ingredients, culled from news reports all over the world since September 11, 2008, is considerably longer.
Please, FDA, review it and add to your suspect list:
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-suspected-chinese-officials-say-baby-formula-tied-to-kidney-stones-t6256.0.html;msg95656;topicseen#msg95656
QuoteThe United States issued an import alert for Chinese-made food products on Thursday,
calling for foods to be stopped at the border unless importers can certify they are either free of dairy or free of melamine.
This falls so short. What about products coming out of other countries containing Chinese ingredients? Are they looking at ingredient track backs to prove items are China free? And if this ban was from testing and finding positive results, where are the recalls for items already on shelves and in homes? Is this "alert" just a way of sweeping the bigger issue under the rug? Kraft is still saying they get their poo poo from NZ . . . .
I have a feeling, straybaby, the problem may take care of itself. I think the world has about had it with
trying to deal with China's internal food problems, problems which China itself apparently can't deal with:
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/241614,vietnam-finds-three-more-melamine-tainted-milk-products.html
Hanoi - Vietnamese health authorities have found the industrial chemical melamine in three brands of powdered milk imported from Australia, health officials said Friday. Nguyen Thi Khanh Tram, deputy director of Vietnam's Food Safety and Hygiene Department, said the new discoveries brought the number of melamine-tainted products found in Vietnam to 32.
The three types of powdered milk were listed as Golden Food toddler formula, Happy IQ, and a generic Australian brand.
...Tram said the actual number of melamine-tainted products purchased for import into Vietnam was higher than 32, as some shipments had been tested at customs and sent back without entering the country. The country has 29 testing centers working on the melamine problem.
"We don't know when it will stop," Tram said
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/389818/1/.html
China milk inspectors beaten over tough checks
Posted: 14 November 2008 1457 hrs
BEIJING: Two milk inspectors for a major China dairy firm were severely beaten in an attack blamed on suppliers angry at tough new safety checks following a tainted milk scandal, state media said Friday.
The two men were working in the northern city of Tangshan as inspectors for Mengniu, one of China's largest dairy companies, which has implemented strict new safety inspections, the China Youth Daily reported.
The attack occurred November 5 after inspector Li Zhongping had confronted an outside dairy supplier over a batch of milk he was selling that appeared not to confirm with new standards, it said.
"According to an initial analysis, this incident was triggered by (Li's) decision that this truck's milk was not in compliance," it quoted an unnamed Mengniu official as saying.
Li and another inspector, Zhang Liwei, were set on by a group of about five club-wielding men as they left work later that day.
Li was badly beaten, suffering numerous injuries over his body, including fractured vertebra, and was in a coma for "a long time", the paper said, without specifying Li's current condition.
http://www.ippmedia.com/ipp/guardian/2008/11/14/126348.html
Chinese milk sold in Tanzania poisonous
2008-11-14 11:47:47 By Lydia Shekighenda
The Tanzania Food and Drug Authority (TFDA) has embarked on a process of screening all imported milk powder and other dairy products so as gauge the magnitude of the problem of products tainted with Melamine.
The decision came after an investigation conducted recently, whose results were officially made public yesterday, showed that some samples of Chinese milk impounded in Tanzania after the outbreak and sent abroad for tests had been found to contain a highly poisonous melamine chemical.
``We are going to screen all diary products irrespective of where they come from, so that we can be sure with the safety of the products,`` said TFDA Acting Director General Charys Ugullum when she addressed journalists in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
``In other countries, melamine had been found in products like chocolate and mixed coffee. It is high time we carried out the screening of other dairy products to detect melamine,`` Ullugum said. ...
Ullugum identified the milk brand which was found to be tainted with 7.1mg/kg melamine as Golden Bell Full Creamed Milk
Cwrap, Nancy Nord appears again:
http://www.industryweek.com/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=17811&SectionID=23
U.S., China, EU Product Safety Meeting Set in Brussels Monday
Recent spate of unsafe Chinese goods spurs talks.
By . Agence France-Presse
Nov. 14, 2008 --
U.S., EU and Chinese officials will on Monday hold landmark talks on consumer product safety, following a string of problems involving the burgeoning imports from China. "Every week there are alerts which remind us that we must never allow safety issues to slip from the very top of the political agenda," EU Consumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva said in a statement. It will be the first such high-level meeting between the three trade powers on the issue of product safety with Kuneva hosting Wei Chuanzhong, vice-minister in China's quality supervision and inspection administration (AQSIQ) and Chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Nancy Nord. In September, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao vowed to ensure the "Made in China" brand was safe for consumers at home and abroad, as Beijing scrambled to restore confidence amid a toxic milk scandal. Last year the focus for concern over unsafe Chinese goods focused on the toy sector. Tens of millions of Chinese-made toys were recalled amid concern they could be dangerous, in what became a new flashpoint in trade relations between the Asian economic giant and Europe and the United States. Everything from pet food to pharmaceuticals have also sparked safety fears in the recent past. Copyright Agence France-Presse
http://www.pacificmagazine.net/news/2008/11/15/guam-customs-seizes-hong-kong-food-shipment
Guam Customs Seizes Hong Kong Food Shipment
Saturday: November 15, 2008
(Pacific Daily News)
Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency officials have seized a shipment of food products from Hong Kong suspected of containing melamine, the Pacific Daily News reports.
http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/united-states/fda-chinese-milk-product-melamine-contamination-7105.html
Melamine contamination found in many products
By Genevieve Long and Mimi Li
Epoch Times Staff Nov 13, 2008
'Step in the right direction'
"It's a step in the right direction, but it took them two months to get to this point," said Tony Corbo, a lobbyist with Food and Water Watch, a national consumer advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.
Corbo says that the range of products found contaminated with melamine is also a concern.
"It seems that this whole thing is systemic, with the spiking of different food products [with melamine]," says Corbo. Melamine is added to milk or milk-derived products to make the protein level appear higher.
Corbo notes that he hopes the FDA will also start to look at other products from China, notably egg-derivatives. Recently cases of melamine-contaminated eggs and fish feed imported from China have been found in Hong Kong.
"
We'll see how long it takes them [the FDA] to deal with eggs or anything with egg products from China," says Corbo.
Now that the FDA has started down this road and recognized the problem, let's hope it has the guts to drive the point home:
the US is fed up and so are consumers everywhere, even in a tiny place like Guam, with no testing equipment ...
no one wants to be poisoned by Chinese food imports
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-11/15/content_7207889.htm
US seizes Chinese dairy food(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-11-15 10:02
Neither the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine nor the Ministry of Commerce had any comment yesterday on the FDA announcement. ...
Chinese exporters said the latest move by the FDA came as no surprise.
Tong Xun, a senior manager with the Zhangjiagang-based Liangfeng Food Co, said on Friday: "Compared to other countries that banned China's dairy products completely, US authorities seem to be more understanding of China's situation."
[censored] [unprintable] [WTH?]
China's out of excuses. There is no "dilution factor" big enough to be safe. The US consumer is past fed up.
US authorities need to get their priorities straight.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/6114367.html
Deaths in China milk scandal go uncounted
By CHARLES HUTZLER Associated Press Writer © 2008 The Associated Press
Nov. 15, 2008, 12:18PM
I do not wish to understand this country; I already know I don't. I have no value system in common with
at least the communist party government.
I want the US to protect my children and grandchildren.
Deaths in China milk scandal go uncounted
By CHARLES HUTZLER Associated Press Writer © 2008 The Associated Press
Nov. 15, 2008, 12:18PMShare Print Email Del.icio.usDiggTechnoratiYahoo! BuzzLITI VILLAGE, China — Li Xiaokai died of kidney failure on the old wooden bed in the family farmhouse, just before dawn on a drizzly Sept. 10.
Her grandmother wrapped the 9-month-old in a wool blanket. Her father handed the body to village men for burial by a muddy creek. The doctors and family never knew why she got sick. A day later, state media reported that the type of infant formula she drank had been adulterated with an industrial chemical.
Yet the deaths of Xiaokai and at least four other babies are not included in China's official death toll from its worst food safety scare in years. The Health Ministry's count stands at only three deaths.
The stories of these uncounted babies suggest that China's tainted milk scandal has exacted a higher human toll than the government has so far acknowledged. Without an official verdict on the deaths, families worry they will be unable to bring lawsuits and refused compensation.
So far, nobody is suggesting large numbers of deaths are being concealed. But so many months passed before the scandal was exposed that it's likely more babies fell sick or died than official figures reflect.
Beijing's apparent reluctance to admit a higher toll is reinforcing perceptions that the authoritarian government cares more about tamping down criticism than helping families. Lawyers, doctors and reporters have said privately that authorities pressured them to not play up the human cost or efforts to get compensation from the government or Sanlu, the formula maker.
"It's hard to say how the government will handle this matter," said Zhang Xinkui, a Beijing-based lawyer amassing evidence of the contamination for a possible lawsuit. "There may be many children who perhaps died from drinking Sanlu powdered milk or perhaps from a different cause. But there's no system in place to find out."
In the weeks since Xiaokai's death, her father and his older brother have talked to lawyers and beseeched health officials, with no result.
"My heart is in pain," said her father, Li Xiaoquan, a short, taciturn farmer with hooded eyes. From a corner of his farmhouse courtyard in central China's wheat and corn flatlands, he pulls a worn green box that once held apples and is now stuffed with empty pink wrappers of the Sanlu Infant Formula Milk Powder that Xiaokai nursed on. "We think someone, the company, should compensate us."
In coal-mining country 450 miles to the northwest, Tian Xiaowei waits for his wife to leave the newly built house before removing five small photos of a wide-eyed baby boy from a brown plastic document folder. "She breaks down when she sees them," Tian said. The photos are the only mementos left of year-old Tian Jin, who died in August.
"I want these people who poisoned the milk powder to receive the severest punishment under law. I want an explanation and I want consolation for my dead child," said Tian, a broad-shouldered apple farmer and part-time truck driver. "I feel like we could die from regret. If we knew that it was contaminated, we would never have fed him that."
Since September, when the scandal was first reported, Beijing has said that Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group Co., the dairy, knew as early as last year that its products were tainted with melamine and that company and local officials first tried to cover it up.
The government has promised free medical treatment to the 50,000 children sickened, and unspecified compensation to them and families of the dead. The Health Ministry, which is coordinating the government's response, declined to answer questions about the compensation plan and whether it was investigating deaths and illnesses not yet counted by the government.
Melamine, a chemical used as a flame retardant and binding agent to make cooking utensils and industrial coatings, is rich in nitrogen. As such, it makes an attractive low-cost additive to milk and other foods; nitrogen registers as protein on many routine tests.
Though melamine is not believed harmful in tiny amounts, higher concentrations produce kidney stones, which can block the ducts that carry urine from the body, and in serious cases can cause kidney failure.
All eight babies who died were diagnosed with kidney failure, according to the families, medical records or state media accounts. All also supposedly drank Sanlu infant formula or powdered milk.
The fathers of Li Xiaokai and Tian Jin both wave inch-thick sheaves of medical reports and tests from their children's stays in hospitals. Xiaokai, a twin older than her sister Xiaoyan by three minutes, was fed with Sanlu formula while the younger girl nursed on breast milk because their mother did not have enough for both, family members said.
An ultrasound examination of Xiaokai's kidneys at the Zhengzhou Children's Hospital on Aug. 21 found a stone in each kidney that was about the size of a small marble and 2 1/2 times larger than what doctors consider a critical threshold.
Tian Xiaowei, the apple farmer, sent bags of Sanlu infant formula to a government laboratory in September. The Xi'an Product Quality Supervision Institute's report, dated Oct. 8, found melamine levels of 1,748 milligrams per kilogram, more than 800 times the government-set limit.
Then there's Wang Siyu, the daughter of an accountant and proprietor of an Internet cafe in the central city of Shangqiu. Siyu was fed Sanlu products from birth and developed recurring kidney problems in May last year, at age 3, said her mother, Li Songmei.
Twice hospitalized, she was taken off Sanlu milk and started to recover, only to fall ill again when the family began to give her Sanlu products, Li said. Sick for a third time and swollen, she died of kidney failure at the Zhengzhou Children's Hospital on May 2, said Li.
"Ever since she was born, she had been using Sanlu milk. Only when she felt sick and couldn't eat did she stop taking Sanlu," said Li.
Others among the five include an infant in far western Xinjiang province, whose story was posted on the provincial government Web site, and a 6-month-old boy in southeastern Jiangxi province, reported by the New Legal Daily. A reporter who worked on the article and would give only his surname, Liu, said the newspaper was careful not to blame Cai Cong's death on Sanlu formula because "the local government has not yet reached a verdict."
Medical experts say kidney stones in infants are rare. Doctors in several parts of China first noticed a rise in cases in the past two years. Pediatric urologist Feng Dongchuan tried to sound an alarm, posting an item on his blog in July about a spike in cases at his hospital in the central city of Xuzhou and in nearby Nanjing city. Feng pinpointed infant formula as the likely cause.
Feng at first refused requests for interviews, then responded in a terse e-mail: "The chance for infants or small children to come down with kidney stones is very small, and having stones that obstruct both kidneys is even more rare."
Like the others, the Li family grew distressed when Xiaokai started to become fussy in July. With their two-acre farm in Liti Village, her parents never had much money and already had a child, a son. But they wanted a larger family, bucking the one-child family planning limits. Xiaokai was "the more active" of the twins, said her 70-year-old grandmother, Li Xuan.
By August, Xiaokai was running a high fever, unabated by ever higher doses of medicine. Alarmed after she stopped eating and urinating, the family took her to the nearby Runnan county hospital on Aug. 18. The doctors diagnosed kidney failure and rushed her overnight by ambulance to Zhengzhou Children's Hospital, three hours away and the best in Henan province.
"They knew right away," said the father, Li. Xiaokai was run through tests and put on intravenous solutions to try to shrink the kidney stones. Unable to stay with her or afford a hotel, Li and his mother slept on the pavement outside the hospital. After five days, the hospital said it could do no more.
"The doctors wouldn't operate because they said 'she's too small,'" said Li. They suggested taking Xiaokai to Beijing or Shanghai. Hospital officials declined comment and refused to make Xiaokai's doctor available.
The hospital stay in Zhengzhou cost 7,331 yuan, or $1,070 — about a year's cash income for the family — and they had already borrowed money to pay for Xiaokai's care.
So Li brought Xiaokai home to die. They took her to a traditional medicine doctor in the village, who gave her an herbal medicine and confirmed the grim prognosis. "The old doctor told us 'the child will die in 10 to 18 days,'" Li said.
Early on Sept. 10 while it was still dark, the grandmother called Li into the side room where she and Xiaokai slept. "Her stomach was puffy" — a sign of kidney failure — "and she wasn't breathing," he said.
In many parts of north China, the death of a child is considered a misfortune that can bring bad luck on a family and is best suppressed. Accordingly, Li Haiqin, a cousin, and three other men took Xiaokai to a creek on the far side of the village fields. They put a brick in the blanket with the body and placed it in a shallow hole under a path between rows of poplar trees. Then they walked back in silence beneath a gray dawn and a light rain. No close family members were there and none was told where the grave is.
Xiaokai's family says Beijing had waived regular inspections of Sanlu because its quality controls were said to be excellent. "The government should shoulder its responsibility. This was a national brand, inspection-exempt products," said Xiaokai's uncle, Li Shenyi.
Since the death, Li Shenyi approached the Runnan county Health Bureau to classify Xiaokai's death as caused by tainted formula. "They said the upper levels (of government) were working on it," he said.
The county health bureau referred calls to its supervisors in Zhumadian city, who said ultimately it was up to Beijing.
"Right now, the Health Ministry has no clear explanation on how the victim's families should be compensated," said a Ms. Shang at the Zhumadian Health Bureau's medical affairs office. "Nobody knows."
I don't understand our country, either. Why has it taken them so much longer to act than other countries? Halloween sales vs. the Olympics? Time to eat, sell, clear the shelves of inventory? Evidence? Now candy is going to be inspected, and cocoa, and breakfast cereal, etc, etc. Surely they understood the risk if others did. What are this country's motives?
Why did it take until November 12? The Chinese admitted a problem way before then. The US government knows what food we import from where. The US government has the ability to test for melamine and its analogs. The US government has had experience with this exact type of contamination before regarding animal feed and pet food. Now it is people food as well. Not completely unexpected by many aware of the situation before. Why did it take this long? Why wasn't this risk being continually monitored by FDA, considering the past? Why did they ignore the threat to our food supply and health when most of the world was taking defensive steps to protect their people? Why, when the US government certainly did and does know our imports must be at risk for melamine contamination just like all the others. How can that be justified or even defended? Surely they could have had the "evidence" they say they required very easily and before now.
Our numbers go uncounted and unknown as well. Who knows who has been injured? Who really knows?
How long has the US been importing contaminated milk powder or finished products without any inspection? How much has the average person eaten at what level of contamination? Where are the statistics of what FDA has found?
What else are we importing that may be contaminated with who-knows-what?
No one really knows.
from another thread by Offy:
http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/ora_import_ia9930.html
GUIDANCE: Districts may detain without physical examination all milk
products, all milk derived ingredients, and finished food
products containing milk from China.
=========================================
Is that may or must? I hope that is just fancy legal jargon for "must." Is this voluntary or mandatory?
and more:
In order to secure release of an individual shipment
detained pursuant to this Import Alert, the importer should provide either:
===================================
Should or must?
And finally:
2. Documentation supplied in English which shows there
are no milk or milk-derived ingredients in the
product, to include product formulation and product
labeling (for example; process or batch records from
the manufacturer, and the actual product labeling or a
facsimile of the product labeling).
======================
Shouldn't that documentation by verified for integrity? Look how many recalls we have for accidental unlabelled milk ingredients. Hello. We are dealing with some real manufacturing integrity issues here. Is a document really good enough anymore? Worth any more than the paper it is written on? Is milk the only ingredient of concern, even?
Are these safeguards stringent enough? Or do we need physical evidence at this point in the game?
More from the FDA Detain Notice:
a firm, shipper or importer wishes to request removal
from detention without physical examination, they should
forward information supporting their request to FDA at the
following address:
Food and Drug Administration
Division of Import Operations and Policy (HFC-170)
5600 Fishers Lane, Room 12-36
Rockville, MD 20857
The request should include information for FDA to adequately
assess whether a manufacturer has appropriate controls and
processes, including:
1. Documentation showing a minimum of five (5)
consecutive non-violative shipments have been released
by FDA based upon results of third party laboratory
analyses, using methods found acceptable to FDA of a
representative sample of the lot, that verify the
products do not contain melamine or cyanuric acid. (to me, this only speaks to the safety of those 5 shipments. Things can change any time.)
AND
2. Documentation from a third-party, in whom FDA has
sufficient confidence, which demonstrates controls are
in place such that products will not be contaminated
with melamine and melamine analogs. To gain
sufficient confidence in a third party, FDA may
determine it needs to conduct a paper or on-site
review of the work of the third party. (where is this third party facility, how thorough is any paper review?)
AND
3. Documentation that the firm is in compliance with all
Chinese government requirements for exporting the
products to the U.S. Documentation should include
copies of any registration that may be required by the
Chinese government.
All requests for removal from detention without physical
examination will be referred by DIOP to CFSAN (HFS-606) or
CVM (HFV-232) for evaluation.
http://www.bakingbusiness.com/news/headline_stories.asp?ArticleID=98012
(Bakingbusiness.com, November 13, 2008)
"F.D.A. analyses have detected melamine and cyanuric acid in a number of products that contain milk or milk-derived ingredients, including candy and beverages," said the agency. "In addition, information received from government sources in a number of countries indicate a wide range and variety of products from a variety of manufacturers have been manufactured using melamine-contaminated milk or milk-derived ingredients ..."
Foods that will be most affected include bakery products, snacks, beverages and chocolates, according to the agency.
Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut took the F.D.A. to task for its delayed response to the problem.
"Clearly, the problems involving melamine in China are significantly deeper than F.D.A. would have us believe," Ms. DeLauro said.
"The F.D.A. should have acted sooner to ban these milk products from entering the country. It is disappointing that the ban did not apply to egg and fish products given that animal feed has been found to be contaminated with melamine."
============================
At least one government official gets it.
This is interesting. Not sure if it has been posted already. But once probably isn't enough, anyway. It appears the government did recognize the risk to dairy products:
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/agroter8.html
June 2008
Protein Surveillance Assignment (PSA) Summary Report
The Protein Surveillance Assignment (PSA) is the latest food defense related FDA field activity. The PSA was designed as a proactive effort to review protein sources being imported and in response to the investigations of the pet deaths in the United States (U.S.) that were associated with the consumption of pet food contaminated with melamine, cyanuric acid, ammelide, and ammeline. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) noted that the same protein sources being used for pet foods could also be used as protein sources for human food. Thus, the FDA took this proactive measure to help ensure the safety of the U.S. food and feed supply. This was the first food defense related FDA field act ivity that concurrently looked at both the food and feed supply. It was planned and conducted jointly with several FDA operational divisions (Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA)), as well as the Food Emergency Response Network (FERN) Laboratories. PSA activities began on May 1, 2007 and continued until June 30, 2007. The assignment focused on imported vegetable protein extracts and finished food and feed products in domestic status. PSA activities ran concurrently with the pet food field investigations and ORA's Prior Notice Center (PNC) issuing additional directed assignments for both ingredients/pr oducts of interest in import status based on Import Alert #99-29 as well as incoming imports of those products identified in this assignment.
The over-arching goals of this assignment were to:
Examine, through inspection and sample analysis, ingredients and finished products imported from China (or transshipped from China) for the presence of melamine, cyanuric acid, ammelide, and ammeline ;
Launch an educational campaign to make the food and feed industry more aware of the issues in light of the recent pet food recalls involving wheat gluten, rice protein concentrate and corn gluten;
Deter intentional contamination of food and feed through heightened and targeted preventive activities at various points in the chain of supply;
The PSA was originally scheduled to run for thirty days but activities were continued for another thirty days in order to gain additional confidence in the safety of the human food supply. During the PSA, FDA's field personnel were tasked with conducting records examinations and inspections as well as collecting and analyzing domestic and import samples for the presence of melamine, cyanuric acid, ammelide, and ammeline. Throughout the duration of the assignment, over 200 inspections were made throughout the country and over 220 samples were analyzed....
However, FDA believed t hat in the interest of being proactive and raising awareness it was important for the FDA to conduct an assignment looking at a wider scope of domestic and imported products and to complement other actions being undertaken through the pet food field investigations and the Import Alert put in place by ORA's Division of Import Operations.
SCOPE
The PSA provided an opportunity for multiple components of the FDA and the Food Emergency Response Network (FERN) laboratories to work together in a proactive approach to ensure the safety of the U.S. food and feed supply. The planning group (CFSAN, CVM, ORA, and FERN laboratories) worked together to make decisions and develop a strategy for the assignment. The assignment focused on tiering imported food and feed commodities to determine where the greatest risk for adulteration might lie and then effectively implementing a plan to investigate and sample those commodities. The criteria for tiering included: country of origin, protein content and intended populations. The planning group de veloped an eight week schedule to examine products of interest which included both imported ingredients as well as food and feed products already in the U.S. Additionally, representatives from CFSAN, CVM and ORA modified the targeting rules employed by PNC to identify suspect products of interest. For example, the product codes targeted in the PSA were included in the targeting rules, as well as products that may have been transshipped from China.
The PSA included information on specific firms that received or produced the products of interest. FDA inspectors were asked to visit these firms and complete the following tasks:
Conduct food safety inspections
Disseminate and discuss ALERT food defense awareness information
Collect and submit trace back/trace forward information for the products of interest
Collect a sample of the products of interest and send to a participating FERN lab for analysis
A critical component of the PSA was the ability of the FERN Laboratories to:
Identify and/or validate methods and ensure matrix compatibility for analysis of melamine, cyanuric acid, ammelide, and ammeline
Conduct physical sample analysis and screen for other contaminants
Complete analysis and report results within two working days
Products of Interest Product Codes Examples of products that were identified as products of interest for the Protein Surveillance Assignment
Whole Grain/ Milled Grain Products/ Starch- 02 Soybeans, whole grain, wheat flour, rice flour, soybean flour, soybean meal, soybean powder, rice, corn (whole or grain), wheat germ, wheat gluten, wheat meal,
Milk/ Butter/ Dried Milk Products- 09 Acid (lactic) casein
Vegetable Protein Products- 18 Soybean protein powder, soy fiber, wheat protein, cereal base meat extenders
Gelatin/ Rennet/ Pudding Mix/ Pie Filling- 35 Agar (Gelatin Product), Pudding (Pie Filling) Mix, Gelatin, Plain
Baby Food Products- 40 Milk Base Formula Product, Infant formula pre-mix bulk product
Dietary Conventional Food/ Meal Replacements- 41 Foods with Supplemental Nutrients Added, with or without artificial sweeteners, Dietary Conventional Foods, Foods (including Water) with Excessive Nutritional Claims, Nutritionally Complete Formulations, Meal Replacements (Not labeled for treatment of disease), Medical foods
Vitamin/ Mineral/ Protein/ Unconventional Diet (Human/Animal)-54 Vitamin, Mineral, Proteins and Unconventional Dietary Specialties For Humans and Animals, protein
Animal Feed (Non-Medicated)- 70 Soybeans, Soybean Meal Whole/Ground Grains Animal, Animal feeds, Wheat Whole/Ground Grains Animal, Mixed Feed Ration For Animals, Domestic Aquaculture
Byproducts for Animal Foods- 71 Rice Mill byproduct, Oilseed byproduct, poultry byproduct, marine byproduct, dairy byproduct
The PSA utilized a proactive approach for FDA to examine ingredients and finished products imported from China (or transshipped from China) for the presence of melamine, cyanuric acid, ammelide, and ammeline. FDA investigators were able to visit over 200 different firms throughout the United States within the time period of this specialized assignment and make members of the food and feed industry more aware of adulteration issues through the dissemination of the ALERT messages. Inspections were performed at various points in the supply chain including, importers, warehouses, and manufacturers. Samples were collected primarily during visits to domestic food manu facturers or in the case of imports, at the point of entry.
Eight nationwide FERN Laboratories were able to analyze over 220 samples of different products of which four were found to be positive. The four positive samples were found to be below the level of concern and unlikely to pose a human health risk based on the Interim Melamine and Analogues Safety/Risk Assessment. All of the laboratory results were analyzed and reported with the established timeframes.
CONCLUSION
Overall, the PSA demonstrated the collaborative ability and willingness of all participants to respond to an identified food safety concern.
I never was sure whether the samples collected and referred to here were soley for pet food, or just any protein samples. Look how many were contaminated:
http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/ora_import_ia9929.html
IA #99-29, 1/7/08, IMPORT ALERT #99-29, "DETENTION WITHOUT PHYSICAL
EXAMINATION OF ALL VEGETABLE PROTEIN PRODUCTS FROM CHINA FOR ANIMAL OR HUMAN
FOOD USE DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF MELAMINE AND/OR MELAMINE ANALOGS"
NOTE: This alert has been revised to update the language of the
alert. Changes are bracketed by asterisks (***).
TYPE OF ALERT: Detention Without Physical Examination (Countrywide)
(Note: This import alert represents the Agency's current
guidance to FDA field personnel regarding the
manufacturer(s) and/or products(s) at issue. It does not
create or confer any rights for or on any person, and does
not operate to bind FDA or the public).
PRODUCTS: Wheat Gluten
Rice Gluten
Rice Protein
Rice Protein Concentrate
Corn Gluten
Corn Gluten Meal
Corn By-Products
Soy Protein
Soy Gluten
Soy Meal
Mung Bean Protein
PRODUCT
CODES: 02G[][]08 Soy Bean Meal/Powder/Gluten/Protein Isolate
18E[][]03 Soy Protein Powder
71L[][]07 Soybean Meal
02F[][]08 Wheat Gluten
02E[][]06 Wheat Flour Gluten
71M[][]01 Wheat Gluten
02D[][]12 Rice Protein
02D[][]13 Rice Gluten
71I[][]03 Rice Protein
71G[][]02 Corn Gluten
02B[][][][] Milled Rice Products
PROBLEM: Poisonous or Deleterious Substance
Unfit For Food
Unsafe Food Additive
PAF: PES
COUNTRY: China (CN)
MANUFACTURER/
SHIPPER: All
CHARGES: "The article is subject to refusal of admission pursuant to
section 801(a)(3) in that it appears to bear or contain a
poisonous or deleterious substance, which may render it
injurious to health [Adulteration, section 402(a)(1)]"
and/or
"The article is subject to refusal of admission pursuant to
Section 801(a)(3) in that it appears to bear or contain a
food additive that is unsafe within the meaning of section
409 [Adulteration, section 402(a)(2)(C)(i)]"
and/or
"The article is subject to refusal of admission pursuant to
section 801(a)(3) in that it appears to be unfit for food
[Adulteration, 402(a)(3)]"
RECOMMENDING
OFFICE: Division of Import Operations and Policy, HFC-170
As of April 26, 2007, FDA had collected approximately 750
samples of wheat gluten and products made with wheat gluten
and, of those tested thus far, 330 were positive for
melamine and/or melamine related compounds. FDA had also
collected approximately 85 samples of rice protein
concentrate and products made with rice protein concentrate
and, of those tested thus far, 27 were positive for melamine
and/or melamine related compounds. FDA's investigation has
traced all of the positive samples as having been imported
from China.
QuoteAs of April 26, 2007, FDA had collected approximately 750
samples of wheat gluten and products made with wheat gluten
and, of those tested thus far, 330 were positive for
melamine and/or melamine related compounds. FDA had also
collected approximately 85 samples of rice protein
concentrate and products made with rice protein concentrate
and, of those tested thus far, 27 were positive for melamine
and/or melamine related compounds. FDA's investigation has
traced all of the positive samples as having been imported
from China.
I remember this {picture me running around the kitchen, reading labels and tossing food}. This is why the current situation makes no sense on the waiting to detain directive, lack of recalls etc. How could they be dumping that much poo poo into so many products and we (major importers) have so few recalls? If it's because the companies are testing, why haven't they been more transparent about it? And then there is the Kraft issue. They are getting ingredients from a supplier that had contaminated ingredients, right? Some things just don't add up, and that's based on experience, not assumption . . . . Does they FDA have to be transparent with their testing that they did that caused the most recent detention alert?
Somebody in the FDA needs to clarify exactly what they knew/know about what and when.
The FDA is certainly not transparent to the public.
But thanks so much for adding these incredibly confusing/conflicting results from an agency
that's supposed to be working for food safety and consumer health. Now if they just
published everything they've tested since March 16, 2007, and the results on one central
melamine contamination site, maybe consumers would have a guide they could use. So sick
of this and the games ...
Do they even cae about their own babies?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081115/ap_on_re_as/as_china_tainted_milk_toll;_ylt=AijZFiSBnK.HctDY7SjHuQ39xg8F
Deaths uncounted in China's tainted milk scandal
Sat Nov 15, 1:49 pm ET AP – Li Xiaoyan sits on the lap of her mother Li Aiqing at their home in Liti village, near Runan, in China's ... LITI VILLAGE, China – Li Xiaokai died of kidney failure on the old wooden bed in the family farmhouse, just before dawn on a drizzly Sept. 10.
Her grandmother wrapped the 9-month-old in a wool blanket. Her father handed the body to village men for burial by a muddy creek. The doctors and family never knew why she got sick. A day later, state media reported that the type of infant formula she drank had been adulterated with an industrial chemical.
Yet the deaths of Xiaokai and at least four other babies are not included in China's official death toll from its worst food safety scare in years. The Health Ministry's count stands at only three deaths.
The stories of these uncounted babies suggest that China's tainted milk scandal has exacted a higher human toll than the government has so far acknowledged. Without an official verdict on the deaths, families worry they will be unable to bring lawsuits and refused compensation.
Quote from: Offy on November 13, 2008, 04:04:57 AM
Melamine since 1999? Scientists involved in teaching greed before safety?
Greater China Nov 14, 2008
Greed, mad science and melamine By Stephen Wong
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/JK14Ad01.html
"While unscrupulous milk and fodder producers - and subsequently the government - came under public accusations for making and covering up melamine-contaminated products, angry Chinese consumers are now pointing fingers at scientists.
The prestigious, government-funded CAS was among the first to be linked to the chemical.
Last month, Chinese bloggers exposed that as early as in 1999, a CAS institution placed advertisements for an additive to cattle feed called "DH Composite High-protein Fodder Supplement". The advertisement claimed that the technology could be used to manufacture "high protein fodder using organic nitrogen and special catalysts".
The technology was sold by the Appliance Technology Institute of CAS for 10,000 yuan (US$1,466) plus an extra 5,000 yuan ($700) for training, according to the advertisement. The online ad was soon posted on major websites and forums. Many believed that "DH Composite High-protein Fodder Supplement" was based on melamine."
This has been going on since 1999!!!! No wonder my dogs who would not have died so soon had the kidney problems, damn them all! Now they ramped up the amount and instead of a cumulative effect that poisons the kidneys over a longer period of time til they are no longer any good - the amount is enough to kill and create medical problems for humans and pets for the rest of their lives? WTF is wrong with this picture? Did our own officials here know about this and look the other way while they did not eat any of this food that has been quite possibly contaminated with plastic since 1999?
People wake up and think about when your kidney problems (those of you who have them) started. And your pets. This is so sickening and disgusting - we really do need the vomiticus emoticon. And the red faced, so angry one too!
Just say no to processed foods as much as you can afford to. Cook it from scratch not a box, jar or package as it might just be loaded with added plastic.
What the European Union has known for years:
http://firedoglake.com:80/2008/11/15/after-the-melamine-cows-slip-past-has-the-bushie-fda-really-closed-the-barn-door-on-chinas-toxic-food-exports/
After The Melamine Cows Slip Past, Has The B shie FDA Really Closed The Barn Door On China's Toxic Food Exports?
By: Kirk James Murphy, M.D. Saturday November 15, 2008 7:23 pm 17
This week the B shie FDA announced they'll finally begin screening food imports from China for the toxic chemical melamine.
Last year's news? Nope: last year our pets were dying from imported wheat gluten Chinese producers had deliberately adulterated with melamine. This year there's an epidemic of kidney failure among Chinese babies and children from dairy products with deliberate melamine contamination.
Of course, melamine-induced death and illness is a tragedy wherever it strikes. For the US, the tragedy may have a silver lining: the B shie FDA has belatedly been forced into massive inspections of Chinese food imports. Yep: mass food inspections before the imported ingredients may enter US commerce. In other words, this week the B shie FDA implemented the precautionary principle on a massive scale. Of course, being Bshies, they're still screwing it up. The mass inspections won't test for melamine in all food imports from China: the B shies will only screen for dairy products. Wheat gluten is so 2007.
Testing imported foodstuffs before allowing them into America's food supply is just business as usual, right? Nope: in the bizzaro deregulation world, the FDA inspects less than 1% of all the imports that end up in our food. The Bshie FDA is so anti-inspection that last year they even tried to shut down nearly half of our remaining inspection capacity. After all, by last summer we all knew how well deregulation worked for finance, right?
Besides, the Bshie FDA -- acting as a wholly-owned industrial servant -- has fought off "prospective" testing. On behalf of industry, the Bshies, the Rethugs, and the DLC have all fought hard against testing for toxins before they make us ill...or even dead. Instead, B shco maintained the "body count" chaos that only sets out to find dangerous chemicals after we start getting sick and dying. That's why even the flawed inspection system the FDA announced this week is so important. Finally, the FDA is implementing the precautionary principle for food safety: testing products before they make us sick.
What's the precautionary principle? Over the long term, the principle is our refuge from toxic food, water, and air. The principle demands that all new technologies and chemicals be assessed for harm before they hurt us -- not after we're already suffering.
When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically. In this context the proponent of an activity, rather than the public, should bear the burden of proof.
We're not free yet: the toxins already running around our planet will be here for decades. Yet the power of the precautionary principle is that it will slow and ultimately stop industries from using us, our families, and our biosphere as a vast colony of lab test dummies.
That's why the fact of the B shie EPA adopting the precutionary principle is a de facto revolution in Federal safeguards protecting us from toxic substances.
What's not to like about the EPA plan? Well, like all B shie plans, it leaves out so much it looks brain dead. We find melamine in the imported wheat gluten and milk products we buy from China because the industrial chemical melamine "fools" protein tests into falsely measuring more protein than a food actually contains. Who cares? Well, all protein-rich foods will give false readings with melamine contamination: the FDA's testing program only looks at milk/dairy products. The only effective way to keep China's melamine-contaminated food exports out of our bodies is to test all protein-rich foodstuffs imported from China.
Despite this glaring flaw, this week's FDA announcement is still good news. Now that even the B shies incorporate the precautionary principle into Federal food safety, how could Team O bama possibly do less?
Bon appetit.
http://www.chicagotribune.com:80/news/opinion/chi-1115edit2nov15,0,6221298.story
It's a question of trust
Chicago Tribune, November 15, 2008
... Because unless the country convinces the world that its products are safe, China Inc. risks becoming a manufacturing has-been.
There is no China to trust for US consumers. No promise has been kept.
Our families are not lab test dummies. Save the expense of opening field
offices in Beijing and start inspecting all Chinese imports or prevent them
from entering the USA.
And stop sending US food products to China for processing and eventual return here after being exposed to possible contamination or adulteration! I'm so weary from checking labels, calling companies, writing emails, worrying about what Jake and his people might consume that would be harmful.
Amen, Carolo. Me too. I don't even like going to the grocery store any more and
keep looking for country of origin on everything's labels. I'm not interested in
"Distributed by" labels with names of US companies on it. Even I'm not that stupid
any more. I know that probably means it comes from a country outside the USA,
most likely MIC. That one is not going to fool US consumers.
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on November 16, 2008, 04:56:09 PM
Amen, Carolo. Me too. I don't even like going to the grocery store any more and
keep looking for country of origin on everything's labels. I'm not interested in
"Distributed by" labels with names of US companies on it. Even I'm not that stupid
any more. I know that probably means it comes from a country outside the USA,
most likely MIC. That one is not going to fool US consumers.
Ran into a friend at the local farmers market. She's forwarding a disturbing email to me tomorrow re: labeling. Apparently companies are now REMOVING the "Made in China" label from their products because consumers are starting to catch on. They have some type of barcode system set up instead. The email she's sending me is supposed to show the barcodes and what they mean. Will post as soon as I get it.
This sounds REALLY scary. I live in Hawaii with quite a bit of food here coming from the Asian countries, esp. China. Just got LOTS of people to start checking labels. (I work at the local newspaper, so I talk to quite a few people every day). Now this!! WTF is wrong with these companies???
Welcome Mary and thanks for info on the bar codes. Will look forward to your post back as to what they mean.
Thanks Mary Blonde...welcome to itchmo! We just may have someone from every state in the nation now! lol...Your post got me to searching and I found this... (If you click on the link you can scroll through the countries)
http://www.morethanyouthink.com/shopping/countrycodes.html
The barcode is made up of 12 digits, in various groups. The first two show the country that issued the barcode. The next four digits indicate the manufacturer. Some countries have a three digit country code, so they only have three digits for the manufacturer code.
The final six digits are a product code that the manufacturer assigns. Every product has a separate code. Even different sized boxes of the same product must have a different code.
There are some quirks in the system. Often books, which have the code 978, actually start the code with 78, so that there are enough digits left in the code to add the complete international book number. Sometimes the missing nine is simply printed in front of the code.
"The barcode is made up of 12 digits, in various groups. The first two show the country that issued the barcode. The next four digits indicate the manufacturer. Some countries have a three digit country code, so they only have three digits for the manufacturer code."
It would be great if we could read the barcode & know which country actually made whatever it is but this is not the case. "The country issuing the barcode" doesn't tell you a thing about where the product was made or where the ingredients are from. That's just as murky as "distributed by" as far as I'm concerned. :-\
I believe Jan's correct. Susan Thixton recently published an article on bar codes. The most as I understand
it they will reveal is the manufacturer who produced it, not the source of the ingredients. Online you can
go here, after registering (free), enter the bar code, and whatever info is available comes up:
http://www.cproductinfo.com/index.asp?Page=112
So if you have your web-capable cell phone, you can look up while shopping. Tells you only who processed it.
Otherwise, after two years of beating my head against this blank concrete wall of FDA failure to enforce COOL
and manufacturer stupidity, you're on your own as a consumer.
JJ and straybaby are right; purchase local and don't purchase processed foods if possible. If the single ingredient
item does not indicate the country of origin, you're pretty much own your own.
Until manufacturers post testing methods, sensitivity levels of testing, by UPC, plant codes, and batch expiration
dates either in the grocery store or on internet web sites, you are playing Russian roulette with the processed food supply
in this "global food supply" village. Let's hope Team O bama changes that as soon as possible.
In the mean time, pick manufacturers with deep pockets if you do purchase processed foods so you can sue them
for the damage they're doing. >:( >:( >:( Heck of a way to grocery shop, isn't it?
The US FDA cannot fix China's food safety problems. Time to give up that flawed polcy, even
as FDA office openings waste our tax money in China:
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_303340.html
Nov 17, 2008
Chinese wary after scandal
... Mr Rao Pingfan, an internationally respected food scientist, said another major problem was that small manufacturers, many of whom lack safety training, dominated China's food industry.
'Illegal dealers use cheap substitutes with low nutritional value, you can see the greediness in their eyes. Total ignorance makes them fearless,' said Mr Rao, who teaches at Fuzhou University.
Mr Rao said the milk crisis proved an absence of standards and enforcement was a huge problem throughout the food industry.
'Fraud and corruption often thwart the effectiveness of legislation and government supervision,' Mr Rao said. 'Milk companies knew money could buy them exemptions from quality checks.' ...
QuoteThe first two show the country that issued the barcode.
This basically means nothing. It is where the company is (US company, Canadian company etc). When I do bar codes, the first six numbers never change for the company, doesn't matter where it's manufactured.
http://www.irishnews.com/break.asp?tbrk=brk&par=brk&catid=5834&subcatid=642&storyid=386691
Breaking News17:39 WORLD: China tops 'safety alerts' imports tableview list
17/11/2008
China remains the biggest source of imported consumer goods which trigger safety alerts across Europe, new figures showed today.
In all, 56% of all goods put on alert were from China – 615 alerts in all across all imported goods categories compared with 472 reported problems from China (47% of the total) in 2007.
A Commission statement said: "This increase was partially caused by the fact that many of the products that had been notified in the past from unknown origin were, due to more effective market surveillance activities, notified in 2008 as products of Chinese origin."
Big European, US, Chinese product and food safety conference this week in Belgium. Nancy Nord is representing the US (whoohoo). At least the Europeans are admitting that the problem coming from China is even bigger than they originally thought. Sounds like the advice
being given is along the lines of "Tut, tut, China, now do better." Isn't exactly confidence inspiring.
eta: article on European safety meeting. I really hope contact with the US and China does not bring European Union safety standards down, but
rather raises those of the backwards US:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/17/business/safety.php
Quote from: straybaby on November 17, 2008, 11:21:51 AM
QuoteThe first two show the country that issued the barcode.
This basically means nothing. It is where the company is (US company, Canadian company etc). When I do bar codes, the first six numbers never change for the company, doesn't matter where it's manufactured.
bummer...I removed the other two threads that I copied the link to...knew it was too good to be true... :-\
International Herald Tribune is the international edition of the New York Times. Nice to see
in mainstream media print what everyone on Itchmo has been saying since about June of 2007:
http://www.iht.com/bin/printfriendly.php?id=17862064
China, America and melamine
By James E. McWilliams
James E. McWilliams, a history professor at Texas State University at San Marcos, is the author of "American Pests: The Losing War on Insects From Colonial Times to DDT."
Sunday, November 16, 2008
AUSTIN, Texas:
China's food supply appears to be awash in the industrial chemical melamine. Dangerous levels have been detected not only in milk and eggs, but also in chicken feed and wheat gluten, meaning that melamine is almost impossible to avoid in processed foods. Melamine in baby formula has killed at least four infants in China and sickened tens of thousands more.
In response, the United States has blasted lax Chinese regulations, while the Food and Drug Administration, in a rare move, announced last week that Chinese food products containing milk would be detained at the border until they were proved safe.
For all the outrage about Chinese melamine, what American consumers and government agencies have studiously failed to scrutinize is the place of melamine in America's own food system. In casting stones, we've forgotten that our house has its own exposed glass. ...
But these figures obscure more than they reveal. First, while adults eat about one-fortieth of their weight every day, toddlers consume closer to one-tenth. Although scientists haven't measured the differential impact of melamine on infants versus adults, it's likely that this intensified ratio would at least double (if not quadruple) the impact of legal levels of melamine on toddlers.
This doubled exposure might not land a child in the hospital, but it could certainly contribute to the long-term kidney and liver problems that we know are caused by chronic exposure to melamine.
On a more concrete note, melamine not only has widespread industrial applications, but is also used to buttress the foundation of American agriculture.
Fertilizer companies commonly add melamine to their products because it helps control the rate at which nitrogen seeps into soil, thereby allowing the farmer to get more nutrient bang for the fertilizer buck. But the government doesn't regulate how much melamine is applied to the soil. This melamine accumulates as salt crystals in the ground, tainting the soil.
A related area of agricultural concern is animal feed. Chinese eggs seized last month in Hong Kong, for instance, contained elevated levels of melamine because of the melamine-laden wheat gluten used in the feed for the chickens that produced the eggs.
To think American consumers are immune to this unscrupulous behavior is to ignore the Byzantine reality of the global gluten trade. Tracking the flow of wheat gluten around the world is like trying to contain a drop of dye in a churning whirlpool.
More ominous, the United States imports most of its wheat gluten. Last year, for instance, the FDA reported that millions of Americans had eaten chicken fattened on feed with melamine-tainted gluten imported from China. Around the same time, Tyson Foods slaughtered and processed hogs that had eaten melamine-contaminated feed. The government decided not to recall the meat.
Only a week earlier, however, the FDA had announced that thousands of cats and dogs had died from melamine-laden pet food. This high-profile pet scandal did not prove to be a spur to reform so much as a red herring. Our attention was diverted to Fido and away from the animals we happen to kill and eat rather than spoil. ...
I do disagree that the pet food recalls of 2007 were a red herring. If the government of the US had paid attention, perhaps 2008
would never have occurred. Our furkids died to warn everyone, and all the pain they underwent and their owners underwent
was promptly ignored and chocked up to over the top nuts, like the global warmers.
RE: Bar Codes & Country of Origin/Source/Manufacturing?
I always thought the first group of numbers was coded for the manufacturer's brand name and the last set was assigned to a particular product within that brand name. Apparently, the following author said reading the bar code will reveal the country of origin? Is there a difference between the actual bar code (stripes) and UPC numbers?
Here's what Federico D. Pascual said:
"BAR CODES: Because of the resulting notoriety of Chinese milk products, some merchants do not indicate in their packaging and labeling the country-source if it is China.
I have mentioned this in a previous Postscript, but will repeat it: Even without the country of origin indicated, buyers can determine the source by using the bar code.
]When the bar code starts with the three digits 690... 691... 692 through 695, the product is made in China. Taiwan's bar code starts with 471.
The bar code of Philippine products starts with 480. Other countries: 00 through 13, USA and Canada; 30 - 37, France; 40-44, Germany; 49, Japan; 50, United Kingdom; 57, Denmark; 64, Finland; 76, Switzerland and Lienchtenstein; 628, Saudi-Arabia; 629, United Arab Emirates; and 740-745, Central America."
http://beta2.philstar.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=414298&publicationSubCategoryId=64
OK. Now, I think I see. The above is quoted from a Philippine publication. An EAN bar code system (13 digits), which is used outside the U.S. & Canada, has a digit that indicates the country.
Let's go to the EAN system!
Barcode my client uses: 087918 ****** American company based out of LI, NY. The last 6 numbers are from a block of numbers issued and they are assigned as product is developed. Looking at a cookbook I bought recently, the barcode starts with a 9 in front of the code, and then the 6 numbers are 780764 followed by another 6 numbers and it was run in Canada and the US at the same time. Company is based in NJ.
Up until now, I had never heard the first2 were country. I was always under the impression the first 6 just identified the company. I'll check with my client tomorrow to see what other info I can get. Usually if I'm banging out a bunch of product/packaging, I just change the last 2 or 3 numbers as I go. Doesn't matter what the product is. They don't have all the products produced in the same country. Some are here, some China etc. If we have to move something from one country to another, we change the "Made in" and that's it, iirc. My biggest worry is usually whether I need to include french translation, and do I have the right one! lol!~ :P
ETA: more bar codes Kiss My Face lotion (NY) Made in USA 028367
Organic Beef Jerky 817820
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on November 17, 2008, 04:24:36 PMMore ominous, the United States imports most of its wheat gluten. Last year, for instance, the FDA reported that millions of Americans had eaten chicken fattened on feed with melamine-tainted gluten imported from China. Around the same time, Tyson Foods slaughtered and processed hogs that had eaten melamine-contaminated feed. The government decided not to recall the meat.
Only a week earlier, however, the FDA had announced that thousands of cats and dogs had died from melamine-laden pet food. This high-profile pet scandal did not prove to be a spur to reform so much as a red herring. Our attention was diverted to Fido and away from the animals we happen to kill and eat rather than spoil. ...
Too bad they still can't get the facts quite right. I was pretty sure the only reason they realized chickens and hogs were fed tainted feed was
because of the "red herring" pet food recall. No one would have even looked at the animal feed if the pets hadn't started dying first. No one was testing the wheat gluten to begin with. And if at
that time the FDA
had actually announced that
thousands of dogs and cats had died, maybe more people would have realized the gravity of the situation. Again as I recall, the only
official count being reported for the longest time was 16 dead, repeated over and over and over in the general media.
I truly hope one day people do realize how the pets and their owners paid the price to warn us. If only more had been paying attention.
(Sorry, done ranting)
rant away, shadowmice. All the pet owners of 2007 join in that rant on the government's failure
to assess the threat of melamine even close to the horrors it is capable of causing.
There is a bar code reading thread here on Itchmo. I saw the Phillippines article and flipped out, too,
about how nice it would be if the UPC identified country of origin. Going to look for it, as we all came
to the conclusion it does not do that...
Ok, this was a very recent thread before our 4 day outtage. Cato commented in it, JustMe about spices she
had in her kitchen cabinet , and was quoting same Phillippines article on bar codes and country of origin. According
to search tonight, the thread is gone. Searched for Phillippines, 480, bar code. So there is information lost off the site after
that outtage. Plus, if you search Phillippines, search results only include three entries. Phillippines comes
up lots of times in this thread alone. So there is maybe a lot of prior Itchmo information that has been affected
by the site's ups and downs and server problems unless someone has edited it. I know this thread existed because
I posted it originally.
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on November 17, 2008, 08:46:44 PM
Ok, this was a very recent thread before our 4 day outtage. Cato commented in it, JustMe about spices she
had in her kitchen cabinet , and was quoting same Phillippines article on bar codes and country of origin. According
to search tonight, the thread is gone. Searched for Phillippines, 480, bar code. So there is information lost off the site after
that outtage.
I found it. Check your messages 3Cat.
rant on shadowmice!
I just typed my own rant---too long to really post and you all already know my rantings so I spared you all! :P
Thank you, JustMe! Sorry, everyone, but I can no longer keep my forums straight. I did
post a thread on the Phillippines article and universal bar codes, just not on Itchmo. So
I have to take back any inference that itchmo lost a forum thread due to server outtages.
I lost this forum thread due to cross-posting in other places.
So here's the gist of what I found regarding UPC's or bar codes which seems to indicate
that they do not identify the country of origin of the product or the origins of the food's ingredients,
but rather the country in which the manufacturer is located and the manufacturer name. So subject
to better clarification and correction, that's kind of what UPCs [bar codes] do:
"Well, heck, at least I found where the concept came from:
http://www.gs1.org/productssolutions/barcodes/support/prefix_list.html
"Prefix List
GS1 Prefixes do not provide identification of country of origin for a given product. They simply provide number capacity to different countries for assignment from that location to companies who apply. Those companies in turn may manufacture products anywhere in the world.
The management of the GS1 System is carried out locally by GS1 Member Organisations established in over 100 countries. GS1 Member Organisations use their assigned prefix to allocate GS1 Company Prefixes to their member companies to enable them to create GS1 Identification Keys."
See also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GS1
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_GS1_country_codes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Product_Code
So this is an international system applied so that companies can
design bar codes that can be scanned in the countries where the
products are to be sold, I think, NOT AN IDENTIFIER OF THE COUNTRY OR ORIGIN.
That would have been too easy for the consumer."
This is still the best online interpreter of bar codes and their meanings that I've found. If
there are others, please post!!! If you enter the bar code and this site says it's something
other than what the bar code indicates, you could have a real problem with the food you
purchased:
http://www.cproductinfo.com/index.asp?Page=112
QuoteSo this is an international system applied so that companies can
design bar codes that can be scanned in the countries where the
products are to be sold, I think, NOT AN IDENTIFIER OF THE COUNTRY OR ORIGIN.
That would have been too easy for the consumer.
Correct, at least for the home goods products I design. Say I design a Tinkerbell graphic for a 5x6 throw. There are 4 fabrications it could be made from. 2 would be manufactured in the US and 2 in China. The first 6 numbers of the barcode would be the same on all 4. Only the last couple of digits would change as each would need a unique number because the different fabrications are different product categories. I could have one of the US throws later manufactured in China without changing the barcode (as long as it was the exact same as the US made one). The barcode won't tell you which was manufactured where.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/242291,vietnam-inspectors-find-melamine-in-five-tons-of-powered-milk.html
Vietnam inspectors find melamine in five tons of powered milk
Posted : Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:24:06 GMT
Author : DPA
Category : Health
Hanoi - Vietnamese health inspectors found melamine in samples taken from five tons of powdered milk imported from China, raising the number of melamine-tainted products found in the country to 33, health officials said Wednesday. Nguyen Thi Hiep, deputy director of the Institute for Hygiene and Public Health, said the chemical used in making plastics was found in a milk sample sent by GBCO Production and Trade Company, located in Ho Chi Minh City.
On Tuesday, authorities involved in a different case asked the Hoang Phuc Huy Trade and Service Company to return three imported brands of melamine-tainted cakes manufactured in Malaysia.
Nguyen Nu Chau Hanh, deputy director of the firm, said it had imported nearly 45,000 kilograms of the tainted cakes over the past several months. One shipment that arrived in August, however, has already been sold, making it practically impossible to recall.
"The cakes imported in September and October are still in stores," said Hanh. "Our partner has agreed to get them back and we will re-export them in the next few days."
Some European countries permit tiny quantities of melamine in foodstuffs, but the government of Vietnam bans products with even minute amounts of the industrial chemical.
Just keeps on showing up
http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?StoryId={48B54BFD-41D9-4050-953D-5C0214FCDE38}
China wants to conduct inspections for U.S.-bound goods
MENAFN - MarketWatch.com -Thursday, November 20, 2008
China wants to do its own export inspection for U.S.
Says U.S.-bound goods should be tested by Chinese facilities
By Michael Kitchen, MarketWatch
Last Update: 8:23 AM ET Nov 20, 2008
NEW YORK (Menafn - MarketWatch) -- China urged the United States Thursday to allow Chinese inspectors to clear exports to the United States, as required under new U.S. regulations.
"China hopes the U.S. side accepts certificates offered by the Chinese quality inspection department on goods to be exported to the United States," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency.
As of Nov. 12, the U.S. is requiring that all goods being imported from China be inspected by an independent third party, in order to assure quality standards, the report said.
Most laboratories in the Chinese inspection and supervision departments are independently operated, Qin said, adding they were well-equipped and managed to ensure fair results during examinations.
Qin's statement came one day after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration opened an office in China, its first-ever facility outside of the United States.
The FDA has ordered all foodstuffs coming from China be inspected before import, in part to guard against contamination with melamine, an industrial chemical that has turned up in baby formula and various dairy-based products, leading to a string of poisonings.
My message for China is if you're not sure it's poison-free, don't export it.
My message for the US government food safety authorities and Congress is if you surrender control of US food safety to
China, that's going to be all she wrote for the ordinary citizen. Stop allowing our food supply to be poisoned by any
country anywhere in the world, but most especially stop Chinese imports that don't pass US quality controls. There
is no part of the Chinese government that one can trust regarding food and drug safety. The current idiots opening
FDA offices in China are doing nothing but further wasting taxpayer money that needs to be used for United States
in-house safety testing of foods and drugs.
where is the "screaming HELL NO" emoticon?
Right beside the vomit emoticon! :P
You'll notice the Chinese aren't screaming for the European Union to remove its
2002 ban on Chinese dairy products. If the US government, having taken its first
token steps towards American consumer food safety, renigs, ordinary citizens
will have to do something I'm afraid. We're about to find out just how far into
bed government and industry and poisonous food imports are, I believe, with
a government in a country where human rights and consumer safety have
absolutely no meaning.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/nov/20/china-media-freedom
The Chinese government is allowing the media to report on unrest in the hope it can manage the impact
of bad news, Reuters has reported.
The decision appears to be a response to protests and disorder around the country, and to the speed at which stories
spread on the internet.
How many victims of the baby milk scandal in China in 2008 were there really?
eta: Let's not forget to include:
2004 Asian pets
2007 US pets
decade long 30 percent increase in US kidney disease
2008 Asian-Pacific populations outside China
2008 babies, infants, elderly, ill vicitims inside China
Time's up for excuses and meaningless propaganda.
It is to be hoped that the new FDA office in China is not just for show. And I'll scream if the US accepts Chinese certificates of food safety!
(http://planetsmilies.net/vomit-smiley-9529.gif) (http://planetsmilies.net)
(http://planetsmilies.net/vomit-smiley-9532.gif) (http://planetsmilies.net)
Get free smilies:
http://planetsmilies.net/
http://planetsmilies.net/smilies/ill/
5CatMom
=^..^=
Cato, I'm sorry, but it's just like the one CPSC toy inspector, three offices in China.
Given the volume of exports, it's less than one person. When did it become the FDA's
responsibility to police the entire global village ???... it's just a dumb wasteful idea.
Stopping the imports at the border until proven safe at least has some merit, imo,
and gives some consumer protection we don't have now. And I am SCREAMING NOW
[Sorry]
As always, 5CatMom, ty
Quote from: 3catkidneyfailure on November 20, 2008, 09:58:33 AM
My message for the US government food safety authorities and Congress is if you surrender control of US food safety to
China, that's going to be all she wrote for the ordinary citizen. Stop allowing our food supply to be poisoned by any
country anywhere in the world, but most especially stop Chinese imports that don't pass US quality controls. There
is no part of the Chinese government that one can trust regarding food and drug safety. The current idiots opening
FDA offices in China are doing nothing but further wasting taxpayer money that needs to be used for United States
in-house safety testing of foods and drugs.
I hope the US government hears from all the people who are always extolling the virtues of national sovereignty when it comes to signing pollution control and other UN type treaties. This would be a good time to chime in. It could save their children's lives.
I agree with -Hell No >:( >:( >:( >:(
someone, as usual, is not using what they have left of a brain.
Now's the time to write and tell Chairman Waxman how you feel about the FDA:
http://www.house.gov/waxman/contact.htm
Longtime Head of House Energy Panel Is Ousted
By JOHN M. BRODER [New York Times]
Published: November 20, 2008
WASHINGTON — Representative Henry A. Waxman of California ousted Representative John D. Dingell of Michigan from his post as chairman of the influential Committee on Energy and Commerce on Thursday, giving President-elect Barack [edited] an advantage in his plans to promote efforts to combat global warming.
By a secret vote of 137 to 122, House Democrats ended Mr. Dingell's nearly 28-year reign as his party's top member on the committee.
You can check out Waxman's voting record here:
http://www.house.gov/waxman/
Trust them to do their own inspections - ???. They have lost any trust from the pet parents thats for sure and look at what has happened to the food that was for their very own infants/children. And they want to test the stuff now. Nah, we can't go back and give up on refusing milk containing products from that country. Stop the stuff at the ports and if its tests by the inpsectors and labs right here in the USA then it might get onto the shelves of the stores. If not then send it back with a lasered mark on the whole thing that can't be repackaged and slipped into another port to try and pass off the same cwap again and again til it gets thru. WE DON'T WANT ADULTERATED, POISONED, TOXIC loaded stuff whether its food or hard goods.
http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/scimedemail/la-fg-chinafood20-2008nov20,0,7878279.story
In China, the U.S. opens food inspection office
Last year, the U.S. imported $321.5 billion in Chinese products, establishing China as America's second-largest trading partner after Canada.
Overall, the U.S. imported nearly $2 trillion worth of goods, including 15% of the food Americans eat. Those imports came from 200,000 foreign manufacturers in 150 countries, Leavitt said.
"My responsibility is the health and well-being of the American people as we watch these historic changes in the patterns of commerce," he said.
Von Eschenbach said that U.S. officials would work with Chinese regulatory agencies to establish better safety checks. He also said that when the new system is up and running, all U.S. imports -- from China and elsewhere -- will require testing and certification by independent laboratories.
The third-party certifiers will include private labs or Chinese government agencies working under the supervision and oversight of the FDA, Von Eschenbach said.
Food experts say access to the 450,000 food-production facilities in China could prove harder than U.S. officials realize. U.S. staffing in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou will total between nine and 12 people, U.S. officials say.
==========================
That's got to be the understatement of the new millennium.
I agree, JJ: ???..... >:(
Let me guess how they plan on doing their inspections: a month before they are going to inspect a plant, they will notify the people who run that plant. So by the time they get there, it is sparkly clean with the best ingredients money can buy with testing in place for everything......OR it's been bulldozed.
Then they can report back: all the plants are clean with pure ingredients & are testing everything before it leaves & all the bad plants are gone.
Oh my, what would we ever do without our beloved FDA! ???
(http://planetsmilies.net/ill-violated-dead-smiley-5385.gif) (http://planetsmilies.net)
JanC - that's also what has me wondering! The FDA should just go ahead and do "surprise" visits and inspections if they really really want to know what's going on in any particular plant!
I noticed this on USA Today website and just sent the email to her that I had sent to Kraft on 10/28 which has been not answered yet...
http://www.usatoday.com/money/default.htm
look at "Who Sliced My Cheese" on the top left...maybe I'll get a response..Here is what I sent in the email! ;)
I sent this email to Kraft 10/28/08 as I had two cats that were victim to the melamine catastrophe last year and had remembered that a bunch of us at itchmoforums (forum of pet owners who lost pets last year) were concerned about milk protein concentrate then being contaminated coming from China last year so now with Fonterra on the melamine map I wanted to know more about Kraft's products now that melamine has struck again (or still)
here's the inquiry I sent through their website with no response to date...thanks
Do you still use Fonterra in New Zealand for your milk protein concentrate as told to a fellow blogger May of 2007..here is the link to the response and who from your company supplied the response..
http://itchmoforums.com/your-problems-with-pet-food/milk-protein-concentrate-t557.0.html;msg5524#msg5524
Thanks, Carol. I sent off an inquiry to the reporter for Kraft, too.
Like every other piggish, greedy corporation who has jumped on trying to get market share
in China and make profit from China' s substandard food exports, Fonterra deserves worse
than what's happened to them for utter disregard of consumer food safety. Fonterra can't
blame the baby milk scandal entirely on Chinese producers since Fonterra was aware it was
happening, had three members on the board of directors of Sanlu Group, and could have acted
much differently had it been concerned with anything but profit. Makes it very hard to convince
the Kiwis or the Yanks or anyone else in the entire world that Fonterra even remotely cares
about consumer health:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/21/business/AS-New-Zealand-Dairy-Downturn.php
NZ dairy farmers facing big earnings cut
The Associated PressPublished: November 21, 2008
WELLINGTON, New Zealand: New Zealand's dairy farmers, a mainstay of the isolated South Pacific nation's exports, face a 24 percent fall in payments for milk this year because of slumping world prices, a new blow for an economy already in recession.
The lower payment from New Zealand dairy-farmer owned Fonterra Cooperative Group, the world's largest dairy exporter, will shave at least $521 million from dairy incomes nationwide.
Henry van der Heyden, the company's chairman, said Friday that milk suppliers will be paid 6 New Zealand dollars ($3.14) for each 2.2 pounds (1 kilogram) of milk solids for the production year ending May, 2009, down from a record $4.13 the previous year.
New Zealand's dairy farmers enjoyed boom times in the last milking season with the industry's 10,724 farmers receiving their highest payout since the industry was established in its current form 43 years ago.
Dairy producers, who on average each received more than $438,000, must pay production, labor, rental and all other costs from their Fonterra payout. They don't receive any government subsidies.
But a decline in global commodity prices from record highs has been exacerbated by the global financial crisis, and contributed to dragging New Zealand's economy into recession.
"No one should underestimate what is actually happening in the global markets," Van der Heyden said in broadcast to farmers.
"This is probably the worst that it has been for two generations," he said. "The message is for farmers to be cautious in their planning. On my farms, I'm just telling everybody to just hunker down."
Fonterra, which controls more than 95 percent of New Zealand's milk supply, is the country's largest multinational business, its second-biggest foreign currency earner and accounts for more than 24 percent of the nation's exports.
The company's global standing took a blow earlier this year when Chinese milk producer Sanlu Group Co., Fonterra's partner in China, was identified at the center of a tainted milk scandal.
Fonterra Chief Executive Andrew Ferrier said world prices for butter, milk and cheese were down about 42 percent from record levels a year ago, with dairy commodity prices down 21 percent in October alone on a Dow Jones index of commodities.
Prices were likely to keep on falling, and further than had been expected, he warned.
"With consumer confidence deteriorating, it is likely that prices will remain weak, rather than recover" by mid-2009 as initially expected, Ferrier said.
Turning to China, Ferrier said it was increasingly likely that Fonterra would have to write off the estimated $38 million balance of its investment in the joint venture with Sanlu.
No agreement has been finalized to sell Sanlu's assets, but it seemed likely any proceeds would go to meeting the Chinese milk producer's liabilities, he said.
Fonterra wrote down $85 million of its investment in its 43 percent share of the joint venture with Sanlu in September after the Chinese company's role in the tainted milk scandal was exposed.
I must say, I find it interesting that a reporter is looking into Kraft. Can we have some more, please? ;)
I sent in my questions. I would love to see some answers on the country of origin, if they do melamine testing in-house, and why the EU and China get gmo-free guarantees.
Quote from: DMS on November 21, 2008, 07:19:28 PM
and why the EU and China get gmo-free guarantees.
Isn't Monsanto US based? One of my concerns about Obama (the president-elect for those confused by the "edit" ;) ) was/is, he's from a corn state. You only get props by "supporting" your people (for reelection) . . . It's why Waxman may be better than Dingle for green auto biz . . .
Yes, Straybaby, they are out of St. Louis, Missouri, or one of the near suburbs. I had this on Pandora's, but it is another reason to keep a watchful eye on the president elect's GMO, energy, food safety, and regulatory policies in general. Hopefully these types of shenanigans won't be repeating themselves, but this is not a good indication:
Not exactly what I was hoping to hear:
http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/11/19/6373/9820
I don't think I'm a jaded enough observer of Washington's ways to figure it out. But here's what I know.
The [president elect's] transition named its "team members" looking at energy and natural resources agencies, which includes USDA. The list includes Michael R. Taylor, a man who spent his career bouncing between the employ of GMO-seed giant Monsanto and Bill Clinton's FDA and USDA. Taylor is widely credited with ushering Monsanto's recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) through the FDA regulatory process and into the milk supply.
cross-posting:
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-found-in-us-made-baby-formula-t7011.0.html
gd these people doing this to hell
DMS, I spent a lot of time trying to trace O and his corn connections when he first announced. HOURS! I couldn't find much, but his past state records aren't really the open book he pretends they are. And in DC he had the whole "underground" K street going. I knew Hillary was more aware in the food area. Especially the cheaper processed food sold to those who had no choice. She's also been active since starting in the senate here with our smaller farms and getting the food into low income communities and schools. The best health care is good nutrition and prevention. If she goes SoS, I'll miss her domestic presence, but we'll prob get another pushy NYer in her place :D At least we know we have some friends in congress on this issue. Hopefully there will be some change . . . .
I try and read grist a few times a week. Got a recipe for sweet potato rolls I'm trying for the holiday there :)
Poco, didn't we have importers/manufacturers saying that they had "certification" on the glutens/protein concentrates during the PFR? Seems to me even ChemNutra used that excuse . . .
I finally got that email re: barcodes. Not sure if this was already posted somewhere here.
The whole world is concerned about China made 'black hearted goods'. Can you differentiate which one is made in Canada, Philippines, Taiwan or China?
The first 3 digits of the barcode is the country code wherein the product was made.
Sample: All barcodes that start at 690 - 695 are all MADE IN CHINA.
471 is Made in Taiwan
Government and related departments won't educate the public.
Therefore, we have to educate ourselves.
Nowadays, Chinese businessmen know that consumers do not prefer products 'Made in China', so they don't show from which country it is made.
However, you may now refer to the barcode, remember if the first 3 digits are: 690-695 then it is Made in China.
BARCODES
00 ~ 13 USA & CANADA
30 ~ 37 FRANCE
40 ~ 44 GERMANY
49 ~ JAPAN
50 ~ UK
57 ~ Denmark
64 ~ Finland
76 ~ Switzerland and Lienchtenstein
471 ~ Taiwan
480 ~ Philippines
628 ~ Saudi-Arabien
629 ~ United Arab Emirates
Is this just for food products Mary?
I do packaging for home products that are produced in China, I use the same code (first 6 digits) for items produced in the US or anywhere else. It's the UPC code found at the bottom of the bar code. It's th company identifier number 087918. The second set of 6 digits is to identify the particular product/design. I've been doing packaging for this company for several years and nothing has changed.
I'm not sure. The woman who sent me this wasn't sure, but thought it was for everything???
So, does anyone on here eat anything Kraft?
My DH still eats his velveeta "cheese" product. I have gotten him to eat less of it,but he won't give it up.
I believe the barcode email is a hoax, Mary Blonde. It has been discussed
several times on different Itchmo threads. The bar code identifies the manufacturer, I
believe, not the country of origin. Several people, including me, got this email, and upon
exploring it, found it does not tell you the country of origin. That would be too easy and
too useful to the consumer.
If you follow this link and set up an account, the website will identify manufacturer and
product for the bar code you input. It's a pricing convenience for retailers, not consumer
info on country of origin:
http://www.cproductinfo.com/index.asp?Page=112
It's also on page 92 of this thread, the research looking into bar codes:
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-suspected-chinese-officials-say-baby-formula-tied-to-kidney-stones-t6256.0.html;msg99006;topicseen#msg99006
You're right. I found this on Urbanlegends.com in the FAQ section
Does the barcode number indicate the country of origin of a product?
No it doesn't. The 3-digit prefix code indicates which GS1 numbering organization has allocated the block of numbers to the company. Once the company has been assigned the block of numbers, they self assign each individual number in the block to a given product. For example, a company may have it's headquarters in South Africa. The GS1 organization in South Africa has the code "600", but all the products of the company may be manufactured in England. The English-made products would still have the "600" prefix code. The prefix code is a way to have 70-plus GS1 member organizations issuing numbers without having to worry about duplicate numbers. The 3-digit prefix indicates the country of the GS1 organization that issued the block of numbers, not the country of origin of the product. GS1 (the international organization that administers UPC and EAN) has a clear statement that the prefix DOES NOT indicate the country of origin of the product. A list of country codes can be found on the UPC & EAN Page.
I fell for the email, too, mary blonde, and jumped on it. So I'm
not pitching any rocks. All that room on can lids and bags and
pouches, and no one uses it to inform the consumer about
where the product is from.
China: 6 babies may have died from tainted milk
A toddler drinking from a bottle. China said Monday that a total of 294,000 children had fallen ill from ...
– China's Health Ministry said six babies may have died after consuming tainted milk powder, up from a previous official toll of three, and announced a six-fold increase in its tally of infants sickened in the scandal — to nearly 300,000.
It was the first time since Sept. 21 that health authorites have revised the total number of babies sickened by milk powered adulterated with the industrial chemical melamine. The previous total was about 50,000.
The ministry said in a statement late Monday that authorities across the country found that 294,000 babies had suffered from urinary problems after consuming milk powder tainted with melamine.
"Most of the sickened children received outpatient treatment only for small amounts of sand-like kidney stones found in their urinary systems, while a part of the patients had to be hospitalized for the illness," the statement said.
Melamine found in food products
Tue Nov 25, 10:34 PM ET Michael Filigenzi, a chemist at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory, displays a vial of liquefied pet food that was tested for the industrial chemical melamine at the lab at the University of California, Davis, campus in Davis, Calif., Monday, Nov. 18, 2008. Traces of melamine have been detected in samples of top-selling U.S infant formula.
trudy, can you include links?
I found similar info here:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20081201/Milk_Deaths_081201/20081201?hub=World
6 babies may have died from tainted milk: officials
Updated Mon. Dec. 1 2008 9:49 PM ET
The Associated Press
and here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081127/ap_on_he_me/infant_formula
Click on the link for the Slideshow - pet food references on slides 8,9,10,11
Finally, the numbers of those stricken have been raised, but you can bet we're hearing only the tip of the iceberg. I'd like to know the REAL numbers of sickened children, not that I want to think even more have been affected. I do NOT believe for one second that only six babies died, not at all, not with the strict control of the media there. They hid the contamination for months and months before the Olympics, knowing babies were getting sick and dying. With pay offs to the affected families, strong-arming the lawyers NOT to represent the families, and only allowing "trusted" news reporters into the dairy producing areas to investigate, why should we believe anything?
"Most of the sick children were found to have only sand-like stones in their urinary systems."
Can you believe it? Only "sand-like stones." Well, when those "sand-like" stones blocked the kidney tubules, THAT'S what killed the pets!
http://english.china.com/zh_cn/news/china/11020307/20081202/15215271.html
My heart goes out to the affected families.
And, now we're allowing 1 ppm of melamine OR cyanuric acid in infant formula? What is this? Pick your own poison?
The FDA had better test EACH batch of formula for each toxin. Anyone think that will happen? NEVER. We're playing Russian roulette here as well.
Keep writing letters and making phone calls, everyone. As it stands, we're going to $#&% in a hand basket, and our government and regulatory agencies show they just don't care for human safety! It's profits for big businesses that's the most important. They must be allowed to import cheap unknown, untested ingredients so their profits are bigger. And, this is FREE TRADE? No, it's GREED TRADE!
I join everyone in condemning the lack of action by the FDA
here in this country, and I join in crying for the thousands of
Chinese parents who have lost or sickened children whose lives
will be shortened and who have already died uncounted in this
immoral, unscrupulous scandal involving the most vulnerable
babies and infants through the actions of greedy food processors
and greedy government officials who were complicit in producing
this murderous, poisonous food. Over 7 million Chinese children
living below the poverty level; you bet this 300,000 figure is just
what is being admitted as affected here and is no where close
to real numbers. The real numbers are likely in the millions.
Here's a byline Gillian Wong, AP, article in the Houston Chronicle:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/6142360.html
China says 300,000 babies sickened by tainted milk
By GILLIAN WONG Associated Press Writer © 2008 The Associated Press
Dec. 2, 2008, 6:45AM
To date, the U.S. government actions seem to indicate the
food safety authorities of this country don't mind bringing the
same problem on the same scale right into the U.S. food chain.
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-suspected-chinese-officials-say-baby-formula-tied-to-kidney-stones-t6256.0.html;msg89525;topicseen#msg89525
Purringfur that quite a good take on it "GREED TRADE". As long as the cash registers ring up 'SALE, SALE, SALE' will they still be laughing all the way to the bank as more are exposed to the adulterated products and quite possibly in turn, turn around and sue the producers of tainted, adulterated products?
3cat quite a chilling line from the AP reporter Gillion Wong as it sure seems to be coming true as more and more about this toxin, melamine, is found out and reported to the public.
QuoteAnd, now we're allowing 1 ppm of melamine OR cyanuric acid in infant formula? What is this? Pick your own poison?
Are they going to require labeling? How will people know if they're mixing the toxins?
QuoteCan you believe it? Only "sand-like stones." Well, when those "sand-like" stones blocked the kidney tubules, THAT'S what killed the pets!
Those "sand-like stones" can also grow and become pebbles and rocks. And then there's the long term issues which no one seems to know about . . . . How long will those "sand-like stones" stay in the baby's body? What volume of "sand-like stones" can their body handle before they start having an effect short term like in China? The long term negative possibilities of damage from "sand-like stones" are?
I know I've asked this before but . . . . .
Are they freakin' insane?!?!?! >:( >:( >:( >:(
Seems to me that "sand-like" stones in tiny infant bodies are proportionally pretty big.
I can tell you that even "sand-like" kidney stones are no picnic to pass.
Furthermore, an accumulation of even "sand-like" stones in a ureter can cause a blockage, if there are enough of them going through at once. And you don't want to know what a blocked ureter is like. >:(
I agree with straybaby. The sanity of the people who said this is seriously questionable.
Let's see those who believe 'sand like' is no big deal step up and let someone put some inside your body and you experience the sheer pain, agony and suffering and you let everyone know if it's still no big deal then? WTF, these people are friggin bonkers.
QuoteFurthermore, an accumulation of even "sand-like" stones in a ureter can cause a blockage, if there are enough of them going through at once. And you don't want to know what a blocked ureter is like. >:(
I've dealt with it in a cat and a dalmatian. The Dalmatian required surgery to clean out his bladder. I still have the vial of stones around here somewhere. It was one of two that they filled. It was about 10 days before his urine was clear of blood from the bladder cleaning. The surgery took much longer than anticipated because he had so many stones/sediment. Unless a mother is frequently testing her child's urine for crystals and sediment, she's not even going to be aware of the build up until . . . . Dalmatian owners that have dogs that have had issues test frequently and also monitor urine PH. Other Dalmatian owners just test as a precaution. Also, there's the special diet that we feed to keep the uric acid/purines in check. Is this what mothers are going to have to do now? I wonder if health insurance will cover the type of care these infants may need? The FDA should be required to drink formula with all of their meals.
straybaby formula from all countries combined into one glass for maximum effectiveness, no?
works for me JJ.
I think it will be quite a while before we hear the fat lady sing... >:(
Published on ShanghaiDaily.com (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/)
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=383237&type=National
Melamine found in China-made milk powder in Saudi Arabia
Created: 2008-12-4 18:02:06, Updated: 2008-12-4 18:05:08
Author:Lydia Chen
NESTLE China today assured mainland customers that one of its Chinese-made milk powders found containing excessive amounts of melamine in Saudi Arabia was never sold here.
All relevant Nestlé products sold on the mainland have official certificates issued by Chinese authorities. They are safe and melamine was not detected in these products, the Beijing-based company said in a statement today.
All Nestlé products sold in China are absolutely safe for consumption. No Nestlé product is made from milk adulterated with melamine, the company pledged.
The statement came after the Food and Drug Administration of Saudi Arabia said on its Website yesterday that it had detected a "high-level" of melamine in a batch of Nestle's Nesvita pro-Bones milk formula, a product made on the Chinese mainland.
However, the Saudi administration didn't specify the level of melamine.
Customers at any age should not eat the 400-gram-package of milk powder made on May 6 this year with an expiry date of November 4, 2009, the Saudi Arabia statement said.
Product sales have already been suspended and a recall announced in Saudi Arabia.
Melamine, which can cause kidney stones and possibly kidney failure, is widely used in products including plastics and paint.
At least six babies have died and about 294,000 others have been sickened by milk powder that was contaminated by unsafe levels of melamine. Some domestic milk formula producers used the chemical in watered-down milk to dupe quality control tests and make the milk seem rich in protein.
Hangzhou and Hong Kong in October found eggs tainted with melamine, though the eggs have not caused any reported illnesses.
On October 14, China set a new national standard to cap the level of melamine at a maximum of 1 milligram per kilogram in infant formula and must not be more than 2.5 milligrams per kilogram in liquid milk and other dairy products.
The toxic chemical is banned as a food additive. But the limits for melamine content in dairy products have been established because of the possibility of traces being introduced from the environment and outside packaging, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has explained.
The set limits are safe for humans, even infants, the ministry said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
QuoteNESTLE China today assured mainland customers that one of its Chinese-made milk powders found containing excessive amounts of melamine in Saudi Arabia was never sold here.
ummmmm, didn't they tell us that also?! Where the **** do they sell their contaminated products and how do they know they only sold safe products to which ever country needs reassurance at the moment?! Or are we not supposed to be paying attention?
Headline:
"EU bans China infant food containing soy products"
BRUSSELS, Dec 3 (Reuters) - "European Union regulators have banned imports of Chinese soy-based food products for infants and young children after an industrial chemical was found in Chinese soybean meal, the EU executive said on Wednesday."
snip
"All Chinese consignments of baking powder, or ammonium bicarbonate, will also be tested at EU points of entry after high levels of melamine were found, the statement added."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/8111015
Quote from: purringfur on December 04, 2008, 02:38:50 PM
Headline:
"EU bans China infant food containing soy products"
Raise your hand if you are even mildly surprised . . . . .
On predictions just read that this would be the next big one - a solvent in soy that is in zillions of food products let alone infant formula. CAN'T ANY COUNTRY HAVE A CONSCIENCE!!! Gee whiz, friggin unbelievable. Are the hazmat chemicals being added to foods in order to get rid of it or what? There is something very wrong with this picture, very wrong, oh so wrong.
This gunk is in all our food. There ought to be a class action
lawsuit suing the government on behalf of every citizen in this country.
At $50k a pop, that ought to bankrupt the nation, for negligence and
failure to protect the population from food processing harm.
That would be something to see at 50K a pop. And other things people can do is to take back every single product that contains soy or milk products to the store, get your money back and when asked reason why state that this is coming from melaland and your not going to eat or drink toxins. I'm taking back my supplements to the store because of melaland ingredients that I just noticed. Nope, no more for me, tyvm.
Quote from: JJ on December 06, 2008, 10:27:44 AM
That would be something to see at 50K a pop. And other things people can do is to take back every single product that contains soy or milk products to the store, get your money back and when asked reason why state that this is coming from melaland and your not going to eat or drink toxins. I'm taking back my supplements to the store because of melaland ingredients that I just noticed. Nope, no more for me, tyvm.
What about certified organic Soy?
I'm wondering what We can eat and drink? Really?
If I'm right, and let Me know, we can't drink milk, protien drinks, can't eat chicken, eggs,? What else can't we eat? Meat?
I'm trying to find something to gain weight and gouge Myself on, and i can't find anything good.
My Dad has kindney cancer, my best friend in Maine had one of Her kidneys taken out. I just heard from another friend that she has too much calcium in Her kidneys. what is going on?
Also, what supplements are You taking back?
Trudy, you can eat most everything you normally do, but avoid the protein/nutritional drinks, powders, etc.
I still enjoy dairy products. They are from small dairy farmers/cheesemakers right here in the state. Same with eggs. By continuing with your normal eating habits but restricting your choices to local/safe product, you are also sending a strong political message. The more people you encourage to eat this way, the louder the message. Also good for the local economy.
I don't know if this has been posted yet or not.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081206/ap_on_re_eu/eu_who_melamine_limit
Newborn babies lie at hospital in Beijing on December 1, 2008. The World Health Organization on Friday ...
The World Health Organization said Friday that tiny traces of the chemical melamine are not harmful in most foods, but it joined the U.S. and EU in setting a strict limit that regulators should impose before pulling products off the shelf.
Melamine was recently found to have contaminated milk products around the world and has been implicated in the sickening of nearly 300,000 babies in China and killing at least six infants there.
I was at work today and I discovered a whole line of cooking utensils that are labeled simply, Melamine Spoon, Melamine Laddel, Melamine Spaghetti Spoon, etc. I know there's been loads of warnings against heating foods in plastic containers or freezing foods in plastic containers because of health risks. Is there any warnings about using these type of utensils in items that are hot that you will be inserting them into? This may have been addressed, and I apologize if it has, but I was really wondering if this is a safe practice.
It may be a rather dumb question on my part, but with all these deaths and illnesses associated with melamine, I was just wondering and concerned.
tesla no I think thats a very wise question. I only use stainless steel and now glass cookware. I do freeze in plastic but let it defrost inside the frig. Should I need to heat it after its defrosted I put it into a glass bowl, dish, container - never heat in plastic & use a glass plate or corelle plate for a cover to avoid splatters - no plastic tops in micro either.
Quote from: trudy1 on December 06, 2008, 03:17:45 PM
Also, what supplements are You taking back?
Taking back a multi vitamin (they are capsules not hard formed pills so do not know if the outside is plastic or cellulose as they claim), reserveratrol due to it having maltodextrin in it (that is corn and does not state it is not genetically modified) and Parsley capsules (due to capsule stating it is gelatin and do not know if it contains fake glycerin/anti-freeze) and it is also plastic capsule so do not really know if the capsules are really cellulose, microcrystalline cellulose or melamine derived-now scared to take them.
Oh and on another note due to having suspended taking any supplements four days ago have now lost a total of 4 pounds so wonder if there is any correlation between what is in these supplements & vitamins and are all the ingredients sourced out of China?
If these supplements were causing me to not be able to lose any weight no matter how healthy I eat, do mild exercise, etc. this would really be something. Will have to see how much weight now comes off that wouldn't budge before.
Poco great link, great find DMS. Everyone should bookmark this site and go back to read all the discussions and links about melamine and now with this added threat - AMMELINE - that causes blindness in pet birds with just two injections - what is it doing to our beloved pets and babies? For cripes sake it appears as if no one anywhere walking the face of the earth has a conscience nor cares one whit if you, your babies/children or pets just drop dead as long as there is someone to take your place to keep putting money in the cash register. MONEY IS KING, follow the money, its always about the money and MONEY NEVER LIES!
Headline: China plans compensation after tainted milk scandal
Quoted:
Mao said he "has not been authorized to release details" about the compensation plan but assured the media that relevant departments are working on it and will release the results after the plan is adopted.
Mao also said local governments paid a large amount of money for hospital ultrasound equipment and medication after more than 22 million children needed testing after drinking formula containing an industrial chemical known as melamine. That testing started in September.
...................................
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-12/10/content_10486056.htm
Weren't there contradictions about whether the gov't. was actually paying?
Hong Kong: Case of 10 year old having kidney stones from contaminated milk products
Quoted:
HONG KONG, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong health authority on Thursday reported a new case of kidney stones involving a child who had previously used melamine-tainted milk products, raising the total number of such cases in Hong Kong to 13.
The Center for Health Protection said the 10-year-old boy living in Kowloon, Hong Kong had consumed milk products bought from the local market.
............................
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-12/12/content_10491762.htm
I wonder what product(s) this boy was consuming?
........................................
Here we go... milk products & biscuits:
"A 10-year-old boy in Tze Wan Shan, Kowloon, is suffering from renal stones that may be related to consumption of melamine-tainted milk products. The Centre for Health Protection said yesterday he had consumed milk products and biscuits bought from a local market."
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hkedition/2008-12/12/content_7296823.htm
I wonder how many children/adults are TRULY affected? These numbers trickling out (not that I want to see more sick, of course) just seem too suspect to me...
"In early October, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said 2.5 mg of melamine in 1 kg of milk product would not cause health problems, but baby milk food exported to the U. S. must be free of melamine.
Later, the FDA said baby milk food could contain up to 1 part per million (or 1 mg in 1 kg) of melamine, the same level set by China, after traces of melamine were reportedly found in the infant formula of a major US company and a related chemical, cyanuric acid, was detected in another big firm's product."
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-12/08/content_10471050.htm
....................................
Don't ya just love it?
Nope, purringfur. I hate the greed that causes the use of toxic substances
in food in the first place, and the government duplicity of federal regulators
who acquiesce to its inclusion in food for sale in all our local markets and allow
toxic food to be sold all over the country. Chinese penalties include now life
in prison for adulterating food and execution for bribery. I used to think those
penalties were extreme. Now I'm not so sure they are. Those kinds of
penalties are certainly commensurate with the actual crime of premeditated
murder that is being committed by food manufacturers/processors, importers,
grocery retailers, and idiot government regulators who continue to allow food
and drug adulteration especially from China to continue, and government scientists
who declare toxins like melamine and ammeline to have safe levels when in scientific
fact no such levels are known..
Quotemore than 22 million children needed testing after drinking formula containing an industrial chemical known as melamine
Holy SH!T Batman!!! :o :o :o
Where the heck is the logic in setting safe levels? Seems to me like it's an invitation to constantly monitor children, elderly, health compromised individuals on a massive scale and waiting for the body to hit the tipping point. . .
Are we testing since it's in our formula? Is Canada or any of the other countries?
I continue to shake my head in disbelief. Words escape me . . . we are poisoning the population in general, but how this is affecting those most vulnerable is beyond understanding. What on earth can we do to stop the madness?
catmom5
I'm lost, straybaby. Where does the 22 million figure come from?
Sorry if I missed it. Been quite sick since exposure to ceiling and roof dust.
from purringfur a few responses up #1442.
drink lots of water :) When I sculpt, I work with gypsum and plaster, it can dehydrate. Also, infant saline drops are good for clearing the nasal passages.
Quote from: Poco on December 28, 2008, 03:23:53 PM
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-11/12/content_7195468.htm
Bad milk could make good bricks
By Li Wenfang (China Daily)
:o :o :o gee, um thanks?
It's beyond surreal. I mean, I am glad they found a use for it, but O.M.G., they were feeding this to BABIES. My brain is having a seriously hard time processing this.
"Milk tainted with melamine might be used to make bricks and cement, authorities in Guangzhou said on Tuesday."
"Wang Fan, director of the Guangzhou food safety office, told China Daily that when milk is burned in a kiln it produces a residue that can be used in the manufacture of bricks and cement."
......................
Duh... melamine IS FOR INDUSTRIAL USE. Reading about the deliberately contaminated milk makes me ill. Yes, the pets and babies consumed this cwap that made insoluble brick and cement crystals in their kidneys!!!! Keep this cwap in the masonry industry, not food, animal feed, and fertilizer! Sickening!
Are people sending this article link to various media outlets?
I've about come to the conclusion that our government has adopted the
Chinese government's attitude, life is cheap and worth less than good
business profits for the wealthy and their political cronies, and I don't know
what to do about it.
I am afraid that until the people that can work to change the rules and laws to prevent this whole entire melacastastrophe (or its equivalent) from ever happening again are the ones with the sick and dying family members--all leggers---that nothing will change...but I won't give up making noise.... >:( and If things don't change I think that might just happen!
The melamine just keeps coming....
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=76423&sid=22073371&con_type=1
The Standard-Hong Kong December 31, 2008
Border agents destroy melamine-laced biscuits bound for HK
"Mainland border agents have destroyed 1,500 boxes of Chinese biscuits bound for Hong Kong and Singapore after they tested positive for melamine.
"The tainted products resurfaced as more suspects in the milk scandal went on trial in the mainland, where melamine has killed at least six babies and sickened tens of thousands.
"The Silang House of Steamed Potato Crackers, manufactured by Dong Guan Kam Tai Company, were made of melamine-tainted Mengniu milk powder, according to reports.
"A spokesman for the Centre for Food Safety said the importer halted the whole product line of Silang crackers to Hong Kong after the melamine test results for the Wasabi crackers were released.
"The Southern Metropolis Daily said yesterday the Dongguan inspection and quarantine bureau had checked 62,400 of the crackers.
"They found two batches of 1,500 boxes each exceeded the melamine safety standard.
"Hong Kong's maximum standard for melamine in food is 2.5 parts per million and in infant products 1ppm.
"The bureau announced on Monday that the failed products had been destroyed and the others were sent back to the manufacturer.
"In September, the center examined three flavors and found that the Wasabi cracker (238 grams) contained 18ppm of melamine, exceeding the safety standard of 2.5ppm.
"The potato and tomato crackers passed tests for the chemical which is used in making plastic.
"Earlier, JinTai Investment Trade Company, the Hong Kong office of the company, said 2,000 boxes of tainted Wasabi crackers had been destroyed."
And they want to have no interference and manage this by themselves as per previous statements from them? They are still not stopping the addition of this toxin over there-no level should be allowed in any food of any type anywhere in the world, period! From any source, period!
http://www.theusdaily.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=618173&type=World
China dairy boss pleads guilty in melamine case
By Ian Ransom
Taiwan Department of Health officials pack a milk powder sample to test for melamine contamination in Taipei September 22, 2008. REUTERS/Nicky Loh
BEIJING (Reuters) - The chairwoman of a Chinese diary company went on trial on Wednesday over a tainted milk scandal that has killed at least six children and made thousands ill.
Tian Wenhua, 66-year-old former general manager of the now bankrupt Sanlu Group, pleaded guilty to charges of "producing and selling fake or substandard products," state-run Xinhua news agency said.
Tian appeared with three other company executives at a court in Shijiazhuang, capital of northern Hebei province. It was unclear whether they could face the death penalty.
"(Tian) may face a maximum penalty of death for producing and selling contaminated baby milk food, along with three of her senior managers at the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court," the official China Daily said on Wednesday.
But the Xinhua report said the maximum sentence for the charges was life imprisonment.
Executives at Sanlu, partly owned by New Zealand's Fonterra group, failed to report cases of Chinese children developing kidney stones and other complications from drinking milk adulterated with melamine for months before the scandal broke in September.
Melamine, an industrial compound used in making plastic chairs, countertops, plates, flame retardants and even concrete, has been added to food to cheat nutrition tests due to its high nitrogen content.
Another 17 people involved in producing, selling, buying and adding melamine in raw milk have gone on trial in the last week.
At least six children have died and more than 290,000 made ill from the contaminated milk, battering already dented faith in China-made products and prompting massive recalls around the world.
Tian told the court on Wednesday she learned about the tainted milk complaints from consumers in mid-May, Xinhua quoted her as saying.
The company set up a working team led by Tian to handle the case, but did not submit a written report about the milk powder to the Shijiazhuang city government until August 2, Tian said.
The Shijiazhuang government did not report the case to higher government authorities until a month later, prompting speculation authorities sought to avoid a scandal upsetting Beijing's Olympic Games in August.
STIFF SENTENCES LIKELY
China, seeking to restore battered credibility in its food, drugs and products, is likely to pass stiff sentences if the four are convicted.
Zheng Xiaoyu, former head of the food and drug watchdog, the State Food and Drug Administration, was executed last year for taking bribes and dereliction of duty in the wake of a series of drug safety scandals.
In the lead-up to the high-profile trial and after repeated promises that China has put a lid on the problem, fresh quality scares have surfaced.
The melamine scare has also prompted quality inspectors to test tableware "following reports that some products contained poisonous ingredients," Xinhua said on Wednesday in a separate report.
More than 1,500 boxes of Chinese biscuits exported to Hong Kong and Singapore had also tested positive for melamine, local media reported on Tuesday.
China's Health Ministry on Wednesday promised to build a "pre-emptive" monitoring system to stamp out the use of black-listed non-food additives that have led to health scares involving eggs, seafoods, and sweets in recent years.
"We used to rely on crackdowns (to solve food problems) ... but now we are combining punishment with prevention with more stress on the latter," Su Zhi, a senior quality supervision official in the Ministry of Health, told Xinhua.
But the baby milk formula scandal has also opened up a festering debate about appropriate compensation for victims and their families.
Along with Sanlu, 21 other local dairy companies that were found to have produced melamine-tainted milk have pledged 1.1 billion yuan ($161 million) to compensate victims and cover medical costs for affected children, a report posted on the Dairy Association of China website (www.dac.com.cn) said.
Some 900 million yuan would be paid in cash compensation to victims, and the rest placed in a fund for medical treatment, the report said.
But terms, which include a 2,000 yuan ($293) one-off payment for victims with "mild symptoms," have been greeted with skepticism.
"I'll never accept that amount," Wu Yanfang, a mother whose 16-month-old girl still has a stone in her kidney, told the China Daily.
"Ms Tian was the head of the Sanlu Group, the firm that added melamine to milk used in dairy products for babies. The melamine, a chemical used to make plastics, was added to the milk to conceal the fact that it had been diluted with water."
http://www.radionetherlands.nl/news/international/6117320/Chinese-melaminemilk-boss-pleads-guilty
Milk diluted with water and they try to hide their cheating with more cheating..
Sick. Totally Sick People that did/do that. There's no punishment sufficient for people that do that/did that.
Well said, Offy, there isn't for the pain and suffering caused.
While China may only be holding trials to "help" their reputation (I don't know what they did in the past pre-PFR), at least they are holding company officials accountable. I'd like to see some of that going on here. All we seem to get are new "safety" levels.
Sounds good that idea of trials. Safety levels are worth nothing when something shouldn't be in the food in the first place.
It's nothing short of premeditated intentional anonymous murder, the adulteration of the food supply. There should be corporate and trials of individuals responsible in corporate management in
the United States. Penalties should be punitive financial aid to the victims and
long, long felony hard time in jail for the responsible corporate persons. Nothing
else will accomplish much.
3cat and while in their locked cells they should be served the same food that they thought nothing of pawning off haz mat chemicals they were too cheap to pay a disposal site for.
I am sure now that the penalties for committing this kind of awful intentional act
of producing murderous food/drugs and dangerous products sure do not fit the crimes
being committed in the USA, and they have to, just like punishment for other
violent felons who take people's lives. Never thought I would say anything like
this, but the failure to protect citizens by civil authorities makes it necessary I
think today in 2009.
http://consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/01/chinese_formula21.html
http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2009/01/13/asia/OUKWD-UK-CHINA-MELAMINE.php
Experts link tainted milk and kidney stones
Reuters
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
HONG KONG: Scientists in China and Hong Kong have established for the first time in a study that consuming the plastic-making chemical melamine can cause kidney stones in people.
At least six children died and 290,000 fell ill in China last year after consuming milk formula tainted with melamine, which was added to cheat protein tests. But the causal link between melamine and kidney problems the children suffered was never scientifically established until now.
The experts studied urine samples of 15 mainland Chinese toddlers with kidney stones and compared those taken from 20 children in Hong Kong who also consumed tainted milk but who did not develop stones.
"We proved that melamine alone can cause stones ... Our conclusions are that the higher the concentration of melamine in the urine, the bigger the stones," said Lawrence Lan, associate consultant at the paediatrics surgery department in Hong Kong's Queen Mary Hospital.
The experts also found what they considered to be a "safe level" of melamine in urine, above which the person may be prone to develop kidney stones.
"Everyone with stones had melamine levels above that level, and those without stones had melamine concentrations below that level," Lan said.
The study was published in the International Journal of Clinical Chemistry and Diagnostic Laboratory Medicine.
The milk scandal battered already dented faith in China-made goods and prompted massive recalls of dairy and other food products around the world.
Melamine is used to make fertilisers, plastics and other industrial goods. Rich in nitrogen, it later found its way into food products to fool tests for protein.
It has also been detected in eggs, chocolates, ice creams, yoghurts and other foods.
China has suffered other food additive scandals in the past, including the use of carcinogenic chemicals as food colourings.
(Reporting by Tan Ee Lyn, Editing by Dean Yates)
Correction:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 2009 The International Herald Tribune | www.iht.com
Hello....FDA...are you there????
Oh my God in Heaven. You don't even need cyanuric acid or any other analogue of melamine.
Anyone having this article, I need that melamine level very badly Please PM.
I have been searching for that article for quite a while 3cat and can't find access to it...anybody have contacts to a chemist who may know of this journal?
http://www3.hku.hk/surgery/staff_view.php?id=60202
This is the page for Dr. Lawrence Lan, of Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong, who is one of those involved in the study. I've tried to get hold of a copy of the article but so far, no luck.
You might try sending Dr. Lan an e-mail asking for information about how to obtain a copy of the study.
surgery@hkucc.hku.hk
I was posting about this article on a different thread, since I missed it here..sorry not sure how to cross post back.
From what I could find the article was published in the International Journal of Clinical Chemistry and Diagnostic Laboratory Medicine according to this article:
http://www.renalbusiness.com/hotnews/experts-identify-link-between-melamine--kidne.html
This is the site for the journal:
http://www.clinchem.org/
but I have not been able to come up with any searches that can help me find the article. Maybe someone here can dig into this a bit further and see if we can locate the abstract at least for the article.
The only possibility I'm seeing at ClinChem is this one:
http://www.clinchem.org/cgi/content/extract/55/1/200
"It is with great pleasure that I announce the publication of the first issue of Overseas Laboratory Medicine, a compilation of articles from Clinical Chemistry that have been translated and published by the Chinese Journal of Laboratory Medicine (CJLM). This supplement contains 20 original articles, including research articles, reviews, perspectives, editorials, and . . ."
http://www.clinchem.org/cgi/content/full/55/1/200
And if you want to go further, the pay per view begins.
http://www.clinchem.org/
From the home page:
"Free online access to full-text Clinical Chemistry articles is available 12 months after publication.
"Patients desiring immediate access should contact the journal."
http://www.clinchem.org/misc/patient_request.shtml
Link shown above instructs you how to contact them by e-mail to request a copy of a recent article.
I wonder if Alec0 could get it through work ?I will see if my cousin the vet can also.
email sent to Dr. Lan, thank you, menusux
cross-posting:
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-byproduct-found-in-more-us-infant-formula-t7387.0.html;msg107743#msg107743
Is this it?
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=77022&sid=22234154&con_type=1&d_str=20090114
Lan and his team had earlier studied 15 children - 11 eleven boys and four girls - aged three or under from the mainland with a history of consuming melamine-tainted milk formula, and 20 Hong Kong children with no such history, to determine correlations between the chemical and the forming of kidney stones. Lan said boys were more prone to developing kidney stones although the reason for this was still unclear.
Lam Ching-wan, clinical professor at the department of pathology, said they also established a safety level of 7.1 micrograms per millimol creatinine in urine, above which risks of developing kidney stones are higher. "But we cannot answer exactly how much milk or milk products one must consume to get melamine levels in one's urine to reach this stage," Lam said.
Another finding was that cyanuric acid, a metabolite of melamine, is not a stone-forming chemical in humans. Melamine alone can cause kidney stones to develop without the presence of cyanuric acid.
7.1 micrograms per millimol creatinine in urine, above which risks of developing kidney stones are higher.
Can anyone explain that level in English? How might it relate to parts per million scale? millimol?
3Cat--see if this helps for creatinine:
http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/creatinine/glance.html
You go through the steps and when you get to "Ask Us:
http://www.labtestsonline.org/understanding/analytes/creatinine/ask.html
"If you still have a question about your test or need help interpreting the results of your test, you can visit the ASCLS web site to complete a lab testing information request form, and a certified clinical laboratory scientist will gladly help you! Your communication will be kept confidential."
http://www.labtestsonline.org/askus.html
Above link is to ask a qualified person your question or questions in confidence.
Shoot, menusux, just paid $15 for the wrong article at Clinical Chemistry.
Sent an email asking for their assistance.
Does anyone have the precise name for this article?
3catkidneyfailure:
Good find on the extra information.
It still seems to leave the issue in the dark though.
"7.1 micrograms per millimol creatinine in urine, above which risks of developing kidney stones are higher"
"But we cannot answer exactly how much milk or milk products one must consume to get melamine levels in one's urine to reach this stage," Lam said.
So..in summary..melamine..BY ITSELF..can cause kidney stones. The levels of melamine which would cause a rise in the creatine levels high enough to risk development of stones is UNKNOWN..regardless of all the "safe" levels that have been decided upon. Obviously much more research is necessary, and in the meantime..NO LEVELS of melamine or cyanuric acid should be acceptable.
QuoteAnother finding was that cyanuric acid, a metabolite of melamine, is not a stone-forming chemical in humans. Melamine alone can cause kidney stones to develop without the presence of cyanuric acid.
I wonder, does CA cause Melamine to form stones faster? Remember the lab photos from Canada at the beginning of the PFR? If I remember correctly, the combo with cat urine had a pretty rapid stone forming time line.
About the boys being more prone, interesting. There could be a clue in there. I hope it is explored since it looks like it will be a year or more before we can get enough melamine out of the food system. Didn't they say something about increasing the acidic level of urine or something to dissolve stones?
Unbelievable that melamine can form on it's own. I suggest everyone send this info to your congress critters, state health depts (especially if you live in a "radical" state that likes to ban things like toxins in food! ;D) state attorney general, governor and local officials. Lets start a food fight!!
http://chemistry.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=chemistry&cdn=education&tm=35&gps=55_492_1020_587&f=10&tt=17&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//azareal.wordpress.com/about/
I reached out to a chmist's blog with this question...never know who may read it and have some advice for us...or maybe intrigue someone else ??? Oh well..... :-[ I'm comment 35... :-X
No replies yet this morning. Thanks for any and all help.
I'll just have to be more careful and hopefully get more
information from Dr. Lan in Hong Kong or the Clinical Chemistry
staff. So deep breath, calm down, and try to solve this
awful puzzle. What if it only took extremely high levels of
melamine for our pets and nothing else ... I'm sure CA helped
produced immediate and complete blockage, but what if melamine
is the only necessary factor?
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/5253104
China plans production controls for deadly melamine
Are you listening, FDA? Get melamine out of food and cleaning
solutions NOW
http://www.cnbc.com/id/28646726
China warns of more health scares amid slowdownBy: AFX | 13 Jan 2009 | 10:04 PM ET Text Size BEIJING, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Chinese food and drug makers struggling in a declining economy could be tempted to cut corners and ignore quality standards, a senior Chinese official warned as the country awaits court verdicts in a tainted milk scandal.
Just for my ease of reference and maybe some of the rest of you
http://www.midwestlabtest.com/feed-testing/melamine-testing.html?gclid=CMftsY-wjpgCFQIfswod4BU3CA
Melamine TestingThe media has reported unacceptable levels of melamine in tableware, cookies and candy.
Melamine Testing is offered at Midwest Laboratories for a price of $120.00 per sample. Midwest Laboratories has the equipment, (LCMS) and personnel who can conduct this type of analysis in a timely manner. For more information, please contact Sue Ann Seitz, sseitz@midwestlabs.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or Brent Pohlman bpohlman@midwestlabs.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it 402-334-7770
Melamine Testing - Midwest Laboratories
I already know the values in Nestle Peptamen Junior Medical Food
I sent an email to the FDA Division of Toxicology this am (with a BCC to pet blogs, media and some here ;)) asking for their take on this new finding out of China....
QuoteThe media has reported unacceptable levels of melamine in tableware . . .
Okay, maybe I missed it, but when did tableware start having unacceptable levels? Don't we sell tableware made from melamine?
Quote from: straybaby on January 13, 2009, 11:48:19 PM
About the boys being more prone, interesting. There could be a clue in there. I hope it is explored since it looks like it will be a year or more before we can get enough melamine out of the food system. Didn't they say something about increasing the acidic level of urine or something to dissolve stones?
I remember reading that bladder cancer was found in male rats, not females, just along this train of thought. But here is the info about animal studies. I wonder if the male connection might be endocrine or anatomical differences.
http://www.osha.gov/dts/chemicalsampling/data/CH_250440.html
Potential symptoms: Irritation of eyes, skin, and mucous membranes; dermatitis; in animals: chronic inflammation of kidneys (female rats); ulceration of urinary bladder epithelium (mice), urolithiasis (rats and mice); bladder cancer (male rats).
I just posted a new abstract about the PFR and saying how more
male cats and rats were affected....http://itchmoforums.com/news-recall-related/new-article-on-melamineca-effects-t7446.0.html
Quote from: DMS on January 14, 2009, 11:17:37 AM
Quote from: straybaby on January 13, 2009, 11:48:19 PM
About the boys being more prone, interesting. There could be a clue in there. I hope it is explored since it looks like it will be a year or more before we can get enough melamine out of the food system. Didn't they say something about increasing the acidic level of urine or something to dissolve stones?
I remember reading that bladder cancer was found in male rats, not females, just along this train of thought. But here is the info about animal studies. I wonder if the male connection might be endocrine or anatomical differences.
http://www.osha.gov/dts/chemicalsampling/data/CH_250440.html
Potential symptoms: Irritation of eyes, skin, and mucous membranes; dermatitis; in animals: chronic inflammation of kidneys (female rats); ulceration of urinary bladder epithelium (mice), urolithiasis (rats and mice); bladder cancer (male rats).
Carol:
Interesting article. I remember suggesting when petconnection was doing their counter on the web site back in 2007, on pets affected by melamine, that it may be helpful to break it down into male and female numbers as well as cat and dog.
I know the site was unable to do that, but maybe some other reporting contacts may have a more detailed breakdown of the male/female statistics. Not sure where to try for this info, but I have always wondered. My male kitty was starting to show effects back in April 2007, but my girlie seemed to be okay and they both ate identical foods. (After putting them onto home-cooking since then they have both been fine..knock on wood)
A very kind individual sent a copy of the study. For those interested in looking for it, the conclusions
of the study with regards to affected Chinese infant patients
are:
The study finds that there is a strong correlation between urinary melamine level and stone sizes.
Melamine alone (without cyanuric acid) can cause renal stones in infants, no correlation between urinary
melamine and cyanuric acid is found.
A safety melamine urine concentration of 7.1 ?g/mmol creatinine has been established. (**that's 7.1 micrograms of melamine, ug)
The article citation is:
"Diagnosis and spectrum of melamine-related renal disease: Plausible mechanism of stone formation in humans"
Ching-Wan Lam, Lawrence Lan, Xiaoyan Che, Sidney Tam, Samson Sai-Yin Wong, Yue Chen, Jing Jin, Shao-Hua Tao,
Xiao-Ming Tang, Kwok-Yung Yuen, Paul Kwong-Hang Tam
PII: S0009-8981(09)00005-9
DOI: doi: 10.1016/j.cca.2008.12.035
Reference: CCA 11291
To appear in: Clinica Chimica Acta
I believe the conclusions here are different in important ways from what veterinarians have
said about the 2007 recalls {if applicable to our pets} and the United States FDA has been saying publicly
about U.S. infant formula and melamine level safety. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first
medical study of the victims of the Chinese infant formula scandal of 2008, and it would seem to
indicate rapid and immediate reassessment of melamine safety levels in all infant formula is called for.
cross-posting:
http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/melamine-byproduct-found-in-more-us-infant-formula-t7387.0.html;msg108263#msg108263
**Correction: that melamine safety level is 7.1 micrograms (Unicode scientific symbol) ug/mmol of creatinine in urine. Above that
level, kidney stones are more likely to form according to this study.
3cat, is that 7.1 like 7 grains of sand in a million?
Sent you a PM, straybaby. I math/metric handicapped.
Poco, I have the following reservations:
The copy I received came in response to a personal request for patient assistance with no
privacy disclaimer attached by the individual who sent it to me.
The conclusions I quoted were previously published by the Hong Kong Standard newspaper and
do accurately reflect the study's conclusions relating to human infants and melamine levels without
the presence of cyanuric acid or other melamine analogues.
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=77022&sid=22234154&con_type=1&d_str=20090114
Discovery may deliver easy kidney stone test (from January 14, 2009)
I would post the entire article for everyone to read, but I don't know if that would violate some
copyright law and cause problems -- bugaboo I don't know enough about.
So my forwarding the study may not be a good idea. If it's available for purchase online, probably not
a good idea. Otherwise I would like to post the study very much to get some assistance with questions
relating current government statements on infant melamine safety and WHO statements
on infant melamine safety to the levels discussed here. But there definitely is a conflict between this study's
conclusions and what some government agencies are declaring as safe levels of melamine or combined melamine/melamine
analogues in human infant formula that needs to be resolved as soon as possible. The seeming assumption that
it takes both melamine and cyanuric acid to cause kidney stones/renal failure is most definitely in conflict with study conclusions.
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/melamra4.html
November 28, 2008 FDA melamine risk assessment infant formula
This value of 1.26 ppm is rounded down to 1.0 ppm melamine to provide an additional margin of safety.
http://www.who.int/foodsafety/fs_management/infosan_events/en/index2.html
melamine toxicity on page 3
Triggered by the event of melamine contamination in Chinese dairy products and dairy containing products (including infant formula) the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA), Health Canada and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), carried out new Risk Assessment/Statement on melamine in food. A new interim safety and risk assessment of melamine and melamine-related compounds in food, including infant formula, has been issued by the US FDA on 3 October 2008 (and updated 28 November). The TDI recommended for food and food ingredients other than infant formula is of 0.063 mg per kg of body weight per day.
An updated statement by EFSA on the risk for public health due to the presence of melamine in infant milk and other milk products in China has been issued on 24 September 2008. In this statement the TDI of 0.5 mg per kg of body weight is still applied.
Health Canada announced a risk assessment for melamine in foods containing milk and milk-derived ingredients where a toxicological reference dose for melamine of 0.35 mg per kilogram body weight per day is established.
Conversions between 7.1 micrograms of melamine per millimol of creatinine in infant urine to milligrams of melamine per kilogram of
body weight per infant day by any country's declared melamine safety standards are over my head for sure. So I'm kind of stuck.
What's posted here can be forwarded.
Trying your links, Poco. Thank you.
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Health+Canada+finds+traces+melamine+most+infant+formula/1066924/story.html
Quote
Health Canada finds traces of melamine in most infant formula
Agency considers products to be safe
By Sarah Schmidt, Canwest News ServiceDecember 11, 2008
Three-quarters of infant formula for sale in Canada this fall had trace amounts of melamine and the highest levels were found in an organic product sold by a Canadian company, Health Canada reported Thursday.
The "snapshot"
House brands from Loblaws, Wal-Mart, Sobeys and Shoppers Drug Mart sold infant formula with traces of melamine as high as 0.094 to 0.183 ppm. One batch of Costco's Kirkland brand was tested, in which Health Canada found no detectable levels.
The four corporate giants accounting for most of infant formula sales -- Abbott Laboratories, Nestle, Mead Johnson and H.J. Heinz -- also sold products with traces of melamine, but at lower levels than these house brands.
All six Heinz products contained traces of melamine, as did eight of 17 Nestle products. Eleven of 18 types of formula produced by Abbott and sold under the Similac and Isomil brands had traces, compared to 14 of 19 Mead Johnson products, sold under Enfamil, Enfapro and Enfagrow brands.
So when, besides this University of Hong Kong study, is some government
regulator going to establish "safe" levels of melamine exposure for infants
in baby formula based on studies of Chinese victims, some of whom were
exposed for years apparently, and not rat study extrapolations? Kids are
not rats ... rant, rant, rant
here's a start at risk vs benefit concerning whether or not to "adulterate"... :P :-X
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/world/asia/23milk.html?hp
Two condemned to death for role in China milk crisis:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/world/2009-01-22-china-tainted-milk-death-verdicts_N.htm?csp=34
5CatMom
=^..^=
Oddly enough, a Trivial Pursuit question recently came up regarding the country
that had carried out over 3000 executions in 2005, I think it was. The answer
was China. I'm not advocating that here in the U.S. necessarily, although premeditation
would sure seem to justify death in some food/drug adulteration cases, but as these penalty
articles make clear, the United States needs much more serious penalties
for manufacturers/importers/corporations who adulterate food/drugs and government agencies
who fail to safely regulate the food/drug supply need to also be indicted and
changed drastically:
From the New York Times article above in Carol's post
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/world/asia/23milk.html?_r=1&hp
Tian Wenhua, the 66-year-old former chairwoman of the Sanlu Group, one of China's largest dairy companies, was sentenced to life in prison for her failure to stop producing and selling the tainted goods even after her company learned that the products were flawed.
Ms. Tian was the highest-ranking corporate executive to have been brought to trial in the scandal. She pled guilty in December to charges that she had acted improperly in the case and was also fined about $3 million. All the deaths in the milk scandal so far have been linked to Sanlu, which was found to have sold the milk products with the highest concentrations of melamine.
Three other former executives at Sanlu were sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison. One of those executives, Wang Yuliang, had appeared at the court in Shijiazhuang in December in a wheelchair after what the Chinese state-controlled media said was a failed suicide attempt.
The tough sentences were the government's latest effort to deal with a scandal that erupted last September, triggering a global recall of Chinese-made dairy products, shaking consumer confidence and devastating the nation's fast-growing dairy industry.
But parents of some victims of the scandal protested Thursday afternoon outside the courthouse in Shijiazhuang, where Sanlu is headquartered, saying they were dissatisfied with the verdict.
"I feel sorry for them, but they are just scapegoats," said Liu Donglin, 28, who said his 21-month old son suffered from kidney stones after drinking tainted milk formula. "The ones who should take the responsibility are the government, like the quality supervision bureau and the Health Ministry. I spent nearly $3,000 taking care of my son and the government only compensated me with $300."
Some lawyers and victims of the scandal have accused Beijing of failing to properly regulate the nation's dairy industry and some believe the government covered up the scandal before the Beijing Olympics last August, disclosing the news in September.
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE50K6VJ20090121?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews
QuoteScientists develop test for melamine in milk
Wed Jan 21, 2009 4:52pm EST
CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. researchers have developed a quick way to test milk for the presence of melamine, an industrial chemical found last year in milk in China that killed at least six children and made thousands sick.
Researchers at Purdue University in Indiana said on Wednesday the method can detect tiny traces of the chemical in liquid and powdered milk in about 25 seconds.
The analysis method uses a simplified version of a mass spectrometer, a tool that can be used to separate and identify molecules in compounds.
The team developed the tool specifically to detect melamine, which was also found in contaminated pet food that killed thousands of dogs and cats in the United States in 2007.
shawdowmice, post this article everywhere. 25 seconds. what a boone to concerned
parents. Would this include baby formula samples? Not clear in the article.
More details from the unversity's site ....
http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2009a/090121CooksMelamine.html
QuoteJanuary 21, 2009
Purdue technology detects contaminant in milk products
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Detecting melamine
in milk products
Download photo
caption below
A new analysis method can detect the kidney-damaging chemical melamine, used to contaminate infant formula in China last September, at very low levels within a matter of seconds.
A research team at Purdue University created the analysis method to detect levels of melamine in the low parts-per-billion in milk and milk powder in about 25 seconds.
[snip]
"This situation created an immediate need for an analytical method that is highly sensitive, fast, accurate and easy to use," said R. Graham Cooks, Purdue's Henry B. Hass distinguished professor of chemistry, who led the team that developed the analysis method. "We took it as a challenge to use simpler instrumentation and to develop a faster method that allows the testing to be done on site and does not require pretreatment of samples."
In addition to Cooks, the team includes Guangming Huang, a postdoctoral research associate, and Zheng Ouyang, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering. A paper detailing their work was published online in the journal Chemical Communications and will appear in the next issue of the journal.
[snip]
ABSTRACT
High-throughput trace melamine analysis in complex mixtures
Guangming Huang, Zheng Ouyang, and R. Graham Cooks
Ambient ionization using a low-temperature plasma (LTP) probe combined with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) allows detection and quantitation of melamine in milk powder, whole milk and other products at levels down to low ppb in analysis times of a few tens of seconds.
Doesn't look like, with a probe and a spectometer, it's a home test kit, does it? But
maybe cheaper for producers than the half-million dollar melamine detection machines
that came out in 2007. Maybe cheap enough to put melamine on the food industry's
radar screens.
I would vote that way, catbird. I don't know about anyone else, though.
If anyone doesn't want their posts in the newer new thread, PM me and I will move them back to the original, although getting long and cumbersome, thread.
See the new thread at http://itchmoforums.com/recall-nonpet-food/february-2009-early-reports-new-problems-with-chinese-milk-and-infant-formula-t7609.0.html;msg110094;topicseen#msg110094
"China executes 2 for role in tainted milk scandal"
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jL7mHkJcSHVOLlejms7eQS2xXDiwD9C5THIG0 (http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jL7mHkJcSHVOLlejms7eQS2xXDiwD9C5THIG0)
But sadly, what probably won't get press attention:
http://www.hrichina.org/public/contents/press?revision_id=172424&item_id=172422 (http://www.hrichina.org/public/contents/press?revision_id=172424&item_id=172422)
Call me cynical, but how come its the farmer & middleman & not the 'general manager' & 'executives'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8384304.stm
First China milk scandal legal claim reaches courts
Tainted baby milk made thousands of Chinese children ill
A Chinese court is hearing the first civil compensation claim by a parent whose child fell ill during last year's tainted milk scandal.
Ma Xuexin of Henan province is suing collapsed dairy group Sanlu and a supermarket for $8,000 (£4,860).