Local media reports differ from official tally last made on Sept. 21
Oct 08, 2008 10:20 AM
Reuters News Agency

BEIJING-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 Sept. 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 Center 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.

Public worries about tainted milk have been diluted in the past two weeks, as China was transfixed by the country’s first space walk and then enjoying the week-long National Day holiday.

But as part of an ongoing effort to restore confidence in the “made in China” brand, the government on Wednesday also released new dairy safety standards, that set limits on melamine, a cheap industrial chemical that can be used to cheat quality checks.

The limits set by the Ministry of Health’s new standards are one milligram of melamine per kilogram for infant formula, 2.5 milligrams per kilogram for liquid milk, milk powder and food products containing at least 15 percent milk.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said earlier this month that no amount of melamine is safe in baby formula, but China said it has set levels low enough to protect its people’s health.

“There is probably a little amount of melamine in the environment, ” Wang Xuening, deputy director of the Health Ministry’s Health Supervision Bureau, told the conference.

“So we couldn’t set zero levels, ” he said, adding that melamine content below the new limit is definitely not a threat to human health. Wang said the limits mainly aim to curb deliberate use of the chemical as an additive.

Hebei province has already arrested 27 people suspected of involvement in contaminating milk with melamine. Sanlu group’s chairwoman Tian Wenhua was also detained last month.

Tainted Cadbury chocolate found in Hong Kong

By GILLIAN WONG, Associated Press WriterSun Oct 5, 10:43 AM ET

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.

In China, the food safety watchdog said no traces of the melamine were found in new tests of milk powder sold domestically, as officials sought to restore public trust in dairy products.

Baby formula containing melamine has been blamed for killing four infants and sickening more than 54,000 with kidney stones and other ailments in China.

Chinese authorities suspect suppliers trying to boost output diluted their milk, adding melamine because its nitrogen content can fool tests measuring protein content.

The scandal has sparked global concern about Chinese food imports and recalls in several countries of Chinese-made products including milk powders, cookies and candies.

Hong Kong’s food safety agency said samples of two chocolate products made by British candy maker Cadbury at its Beijing factory contained considerably more melamine than the city’s legal limit of 2.5 parts per million.

The two items were among 11 Chinese-made products that have already been recalled by Cadbury in parts of Asia and the Pacific.

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.

Calls to Cadbury offices in London and Asia Pacific went unanswered Sunday.

In Iran, the Health Ministry said the ban on imports of dairy products from China is in place until further notice, according to state radio. The ministry is assigning health workers to destroy suspect Chinese dairy products currently on the Iranian market.

China’s government has been struggling to contain the damage from widespread contamination of milk supplies, castigating local officials for negligence while promising to keep stores supplied with clean milk.

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.

The Agriculture Ministry said it is providing subsidies to Chinese dairy farmers badly hit by declining demand for milk. Many farmers have been tossing out raw milk as they are squeezed by feed costs they cannot recoup due to waning demand.

The ministry’s statement did not give details of the subsidy plan.

____

Associated Press reporters Dikky Sinn in Hong Kong and Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran contributed to this report.

Gosh, I am sorry to keep adding all these articles about melamine, but everyday it seems a new food is added to the banned or dangerous food list!
This is very scary. Obviously many people need better information, because my traffic has shot up since I started posting updates and articles about what foods are banned and the effects of melamine on our bodies.
Here is the latest:

Latest melamine-tainted product: Lipton powdered tea

Where did all the milk tea go?

Tuesday, Sep 30, 2008 – 08:04 AM

HONG KONG (AP) — Anglo-Dutch food giant Unilever said today it has started recalling some of its Lipton-brand milk tea powder in Hong Kong and Macau after they were found to contain traces of an industrial chemical.

The recall of four batches of Lipton’s 3-in-1 milk tea powder came after the company’s internal quality check found melamine in the products, Unilever Hong Kong Ltd. said in a statement.

The contaminated products used Chinese-made milk powder as raw material, said marketing director Sharon Hwang for Unilever Hong Kong. She declined to reveal which Chinese brand the company had used.

“In order to comply with local regulations and as a precautionary measure, we are recalling all packs produced … from Hong Kong and Macau markets,” the statement said.

Last week, Unilever has also removed Lipton Green Milk Tea from the Taiwan market because the product used Chinese-made milk.

Hong Kong’s Center for Food Safety also called on the public to avoid drinking the contaminated products and alerted all suppliers, importers and retailers to stop selling them. The agency did not find melamine in Lipton products so far.

Responding to the recall, two leading supermarket chains, Wellcome and PARKnSHOP, removed the four contaminated products from shelves.

Dozens of Chinese-made food products have been found to contain melamine, killing four babies and sickening more than 50,000 in mainland China.

The chemical was first detected in infant formula but has spread to dairy and other food products.

Chinese suppliers trying to boost output are believed to have diluted their milk while adding melamine because its nitrogen content can fool tests aimed at verifying protein content.

Health experts say ingesting a small amount of melamine poses no danger, but larger amounts of the chemical, used to make plastics and fertilizer, can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure. Infants are particularly vulnerable.

Unilever Hong Kong Ltd. is a subsidiary belonged to Unilever NV/PLC.

– The Associated Press

Taipei – A Taiwan company began Tuesday to recall a batch of cheese cracker sandwiches imported from Malaysia after finding the toxic chemical melamine in the biscuits.

The Golden Kestrel Co Ltd ordered the recall after test results at two laboratories showed traces of melamine in the Regimen House cheese cracker sandwich, the company said on its website.

The result from one lab showed the cracker contained 29 parts per million (ppm) of melamine while the other test showed its melamine concentration is 17 ppm.

Taiwan’s permitted melamine concentration is 2.5 ppm.

Golden Kestrel claims that it imported 12,314 boxes of the Regimen House cheese cracker sandwich – two round biscuits stuck together by cheese filling – from Malaysia between April and July. They were sold at the Costco hypermarkets across Taiwan.

Golden Kestrel has removed the cheese cracker sandwiches from Costco, and has been asked to submit import papers and records of the sale of the biscuits to the Taipei City Government’s Department of Health.

SINGAPORE (AP): Singapore has found traces of a toxic chemical in five more Chinese-made food products, including the first non-dairy items that had milk as an ingredient, authorities said Wednesday.

Singapore’s Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority, known as AVA, said that samples of Dutch Lady-brand banana and honeydew flavored milk, Silang-brand potato crackers and two kinds of puffed rice balls imported from China were contaminated with melamine, an industrial chemical that can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure.

The crackers and rice balls were the first non-dairy products found with melamine, though they listed milk as ingredients.

Last week, authorities suspended the sale and import of all Chinese milk and dairy products after finding melamine in samples of a Yili-brand yogurt bar, Dutch Lady-brand strawberry milk, and White Rabbit-brand chewy candy manufactured in China.

The ban includes milk, ice cream, yogurt, chocolate, biscuits and candy, as well as any other products containing milk from China as an ingredient.

Melamine has been blamed in China for four infant deaths and illnesses in 54,000 who drank tainted milk powder. Chinese diary products have been banned by countries throughout Asia.

Tainted milk crisis hits more global companies

Email this Story

Sep 27, 7:35 AM (ET)

By ELAINE KURTENBACH

(AP) A Philippine police officer carries packs of White Rabbit candies as it was ordered withdrawn aside…

SHANGHAI, China (AP) – Snackers, beware: Your favorite chocolate or creamy treats might contain milk contaminated with melamine.

The list of companies facing potential recalls grew Friday as reports of foods tainted with the industrial chemical melamine, which has been blamed in the deaths of four Chinese infants, spread to a widening range of products.

Food companies around the globe are rushing to assess their products and in some cases setting new strategies to prevent problems.

“We have to think about any processed food with milk or protein in it,” said James Rice, a food industry veteran who is now China country manager for Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN), the world’s largest meat processor.

(AP) Han Kwan-woo, an official of Korea Food and Drug Administration, shows packages of recalled… Full Image

While his company is not affected, for others “that includes biscuits, cake mix, energy bars, anything that should have protein in it,” he said.

Many food companies already were taking special precautions before Chinese milk suppliers were found to be adding melamine to watered-down milk to boost its apparent protein content. The chemical, which is high in nitrogen, can fool tests aimed at verifying protein levels. The compromised dairy products are blamed for sickening 54,000 children.

Some companies learned the need for extra diligence in China the hard way, during a spate of scandals last year from unsafe foods and toothpaste to melamine-laced ingredients in pet food.

But many continued to disregard the risks, said Jeremy Haft, a businessman who runs factories in China in a variety of industries, including medical products, clothing and building supplies.

“I don’t think much was learned from the recalls of a year ago,” said Haft, who has written of his experiences in a book, “All the Tea in China.”

Tokyo-headquartered Lotte Group, a major snack maker, got caught up in the storm Friday after its popular chocolate-filled Koala cookies were recalled in Hong Kong and Macau because of melamine contamination.

Packages of the cookies, still on sale in Shanghai, list whole milk powder as an ingredient.

“We will look deeply into all the details of the manufacturing process,” said Kayh Kim, manager of Lotte China Food’s planning department in Beijing. “We really don’t want to lose our customers’ confidence.”

In Tokyo, a company spokeswoman said Lotte products sold in Japan are not made with Chinese dairy ingredients.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai-based maker of White Rabbit, a popular vanilla-flavored toffee, said it stopped domestic sales after the Hong Kong government’s Center for Food Safety said the candy contained more than six times the legal limit of melamine.

That followed White Rabbit recalls in Britain, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia.

When rumors of melamine-related recalls of Oreos and other sweets spread by phone text messages and on the Internet earlier this week, Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT) hastened to reassure customers that none of its Oreo-brand products contain milk powder from China.

Oreo fillings contain no milk, while Oreo cookies with icing on them use milk powder from Australia, it said. “Regardless of where they are produced, Kraft products are always held to the highest quality and safety standards,” the company said.

As they expand operations in China, targeting its potential market of 1.3 billion people, many foreign-brand food companies still rely heavily on local partners for quality control, experts say.

New Zealand’s dairy cooperative Fonterra discovered the implications when its local partner, Sanlu Group Co., failed to take quick action after Chinese doctors reported that babies drinking its infant formula were developing kidney stones.

“The problem was that Fonterra, right from the start, had no control over what was going on,” said Bruce McLaughlin, CEO of Sinogie Consulting in Shanghai, which conducts market research and investigations.

“The most important thing is that if you’re going to make an investment and have your name tied up with it, you have to have control over what’s going on,” McLaughlin said.

For some, that may mean going it alone.

Chocolate maker Barry Callebaut, the world’s leading producer of cocoa, chocolate and confectionary products, set up its own factory west of Shanghai earlier this year. The quality control staff report directly to the Swiss company’s CEO.

The factory is testing milk products from all local suppliers, setting aside any from domestic sources until it is confirmed safe, said Gaby Tschofen, the company’s vice president for corporate communications.

A decision by Japanese beer maker Asahi Breweries Ltd. to set up its own dairy farm in China is proving fortuitous: the company’s milk, which went on sale only this month, is selling fast amid the melamine scare.

Asahi Green Source Farm, a venture with fellow Japanese companies Itochu Corp. and Sumitomo Corp., is stocked with more than 1,000 dairy cows from Australia and New Zealand, said Chen Na, a marketing department staffer.

“We already realized the importance of the source of raw milk, since it’s easy for trouble to crop up in a booming market, and we have made every effort to control the manufacturing process for liquid milk production,” she said. “Better safe than sorry.”

—

Associated Press researcher Ji Chen contributed to this report.

Baby cereal latest problem in China milk scandal

(09-26) 17:35 PDT BEIJING, China (AP) –
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. Four deaths have been blamed on the tainted milk.

The latest problematic foods were Heinz baby cereal and Silang House steamed potato wasabi crackers. The Hong Kong government said in a statement Friday it found traces of melamine in the products, which were both made in mainland China.

Hong Kong urged the manufacturers to stop selling the products in the Chinese territory. Pittsburgh, Pa.-based Heinz ordered a recall of the baby cereal as a precautionary measure following the government’s announcement, it said in a statement on its Web site.

Hundreds of international food companies have set up operations in China in recent years, exposing them to the country’s notorious product safety problems. Melamine-tainted products have turned up in an increasing number of Chinese-made exports abroad – from candies to yogurt to rice balls.

In Japan, the Marudai Food Co. pulled its cream buns, meat buns and creamed corn crepes from supermarkets a week ago and tests have found traces of contamination in several products, Japanese Health and Welfare Ministry official Mina Kojima said Friday.

So far, there were no reports of health problems stemming from the contamination, she said. Marudai has sold more than 300,000 of the products, most of which are believed to have been consumed.

News of that contamination came after the Chinese territory of Macau said it detected melamine at 24 times the safety limit in products from another Japan-based company, Koala’s March cookies made by Lotte China Foods Co. The company is a member of a Tokyo-based conglomerate, Lotte Group.

An official at Lotte (China) Investment Co. Ltd. in Shanghai said Friday previous inspections had not shown any problems.

“But now that it tested positive in Macau, we find it necessary to do the inspections all over again,” said Guo Hongming, a legal assistant in Lotte Shanghai’s corporate planning department.

Some Hong Kong supermarkets pulled the chocolate-filled cookies off shelves Friday after the announcement by Macau authorities late Thursday. Cookie packages list whole milk powder as an ingredient.

Only some types of milk powder and milk have been recalled in mainland China so far, but the maker of one of China’s most popular candies said Friday it had halted sales because of suspected melamine contamination. White Rabbit candies have already been pulled from shelves around Asia and in Britain.

Ge Junjie, a vice president of Bright Foods (Group) Co. Ltd., 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. Bright Foods’ subsidiary Guangshengyuan produces White Rabbit.

Meanwhile, Taiwanese authorities reported that three children who consumed Chinese milk formula had developed kidney stones, and doctors were checking whether their illnesses were linked to tainted products.

The two 3-year-old girls and a 1-year-old boy traveled frequently between Taiwan and China with their parents, said Liu Yi-lien, health chief of the Ilan county government in eastern Taiwan. One of the girls’ mothers also has kidney stones, he said.

“They have all consumed Chinese milk, but more tests are needed to establish the link to their kidney stones,” Liu said.

The cases are the first reports of illnesses on the island that could be related to tainted Chinese milk products. Six children have also become ill from melamine-tainted products in the Chinese territories of Hong Kong and Macau.

Still, the World Health Organization said it did not expect the number of victims to grow dramatically.

WHO China representative Hans Troedsson said public awareness of the issue meant many young children were getting health checks and avoiding tainted products.

“I think we will see some more cases, but not the high number like so far,” he said. “I think the recall and more thorough investigation and testing are now starting to eliminate some of these contaminated products from coming out to the public.”

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.

Chinese suppliers trying to cut costs are believed to have diluted their milk while adding melamine because its nitrogen content can fool tests aimed at verifying protein levels.

___

Associated Press writers Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo, Dikky Sinn in Hong Kong and Annie Huang in Taipei contributed to this report.

This is a great time to try this!

..

What does melamine do in the body?
A Cornell veterinarian told us last year that melamine is not considered to be “a very toxic compound,” but can result in kidney stones and kidney failure especially in small animals. Investigators found crystals made up of melamine and its byproducts in the urine and kidneys of in the dogs and cats that were poisoned last year. Because it formed crystals in the body and was not fully dissolved in urine, the melamine gathered in the kidney, gunking up the organ and forming stones. The pets that died suffered acute kidney failure.

This is what is happening to small children who have ingested melamine.
Who is responsible for this tragedy?

I will continue to update this as I learn more and find more information for you.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)
Melamine in Food Products Manufactured in China
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News reports and the World Health Organization (WHO) state that tens of thousands of infants in China who consumed infant formula contaminated with melamine are suffering from urinary tract stones, kidney damage, and kidney failure. For more information visit the Food and Drug Administration website.
What is melamine?

Melamine is a synthetic chemical with a variety of industrial uses including the production of resins and foams, cleaning products, fertilizers and pesticides. It does not occur naturally in food.
Why is melamine dangerous in food?

Animal studies have demonstrated that exposure to low levels of melamine produced no observable toxic effects. Exposures to high levels of melamine, or exposures to lower doses of melamine together with certain other chemicals, have caused urinary tract problems in animals. These have included urinary tract and kidney crystal and stone formation, and kidney failure. Exposures of animals to high doses of melamine over long time periods (years) have been associated with cancer of the bladder.
Should I be worried about food products purchased or consumed in the United States?

The United States does not allow melamine to be used as a food ingredient. Most reports of melamine in food products and of health problems related to melamine in food products have centered in China. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is working together with local, state, federal, and international agencies to ensure the safety of the American food supply including broadening 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. As of October 6, 2008, FDA testing of milk- based products imported into the United States from China had found melamine contamination in only a few products (e.g., White Rabbit Creamy Candies and Mr. Brown’s coffee mixes). For current information on whether food products purchased in the U.S. might pose a concern about melamine, visit the Food and Drug Administration website.

Why are infants particularly affected?

Infants may be more affected than other people because formula is their primary food source and they therefore consume more melamine per unit of body weight than older children and adults who consume a variety of foods.
What should I do if I believe I or my child may already have been exposed to melamine, for example, during travel to China?

See a doctor right away if you or your infant has any of the following symptoms: stomach pain; vomiting; fever; irritability or excessive crying; blood, crystals, or particles in urine; painful urination; little or no urine; swelling of hands, feet, or face.
If I’m pregnant or breastfeeding and think I may have been exposed to melamine, would it be toxic to my baby?

If you are pregnant and have already ingested some of these listed products or you are breastfeeding while ingesting the listed products, discontinue their use. Effects on the unborn child are unknown. Melamine only stays in the body for a few days. The effects on the kidneys of the formula-fed infants in China are thought to result from continuous use of the products containing relatively high concentrations of melamine over many days.
Should my child or I be tested for melamine exposure?

Laboratory tests for melamine in blood serum and urine exist but are still investigational and not yet commercially available. Because many people are exposed to very small, nontoxic amounts of melamine from different sources in the environment and industry, detection of melamine in the body would not necessarily predict future illness.

How long does melamine stay in the body?

Scientists do not know exactly how long it takes the human body to eliminate melamine. Animal studies suggest that excretion is fairly rapid—for example, half of the total quantity of melamine consumed was eliminated in 4 hours in pigs and 3 hours in rats.

How should health care providers treat potential melamine exposures?

The most important action is to stop any ongoing exposure. Specific laboratory and imaging studies can be used based on the patient’s symptoms, for example to evaluate kidney function or urinary stones.

What is CDC’s advice for travelers to China?

Because of uncertainties related to dairy products in China at this time, CDC recommends that you do not consume any dairy products produced in China, including all brands of infant formula, milk or other drinks that contain milk products, food, such as yogurt or ice cream that could be milk-based or contain a large amount of milk or milk products. Many foods and drinks including candies, crackers, and desserts may contain milk or milk products. Ingredients on the food or drink label that suggest milk or milk products include milk, milk powder, whey, lactose, and casein. Additional advice for travelers is available in Travel Notice: Melamine in Chinese-Manufactured Infant Formula.

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