More child deaths linked to China’s melamine

Last Updated: Sunday, November 16, 2008

The Associated Press

The death toll in the melamine scandal may be higher than China’s government suggests based on a recent revelation that at least five more children died after drinking infant formula tainted with the industrial chemical.

One of the deaths that may be linked to the scandal occurred in Liti village in Henan province in central China’s wheat and corn flatlands.

Farmer Li Xiaoquan and his wife were the parents of baby twin girls, but tragedy struck just before dawn on Sept. 10 when one of the nine-month-old infants died of kidney failure.

The previous month, an ultrasound examination of baby Xiaokai’s kidneys at the Zhengzhou Children’s Hospital had found a stone in each kidney that was about the size of a small marble and two and a half times larger than what doctors consider a critical threshold.

Li’s family and doctors have never been able to confirm how she got sick.

But just a day after Xiaokai died, state media reported that the type of formula milk the infant used to drink had been tainted with melamine.

Xiaokai, older than her twin, Xiaoyan, by three minutes, was fed formula milk while the younger girl nursed on breast milk because their mother did not have enough for both, family members said.

Li said he first learned of the contamination scandal from a relative who watched the news on television.

Although the cause of his daughter’s death has not been confirmed, the grieving father puts the blame on the baby formula, which was produced by state-owned Sanlu, the diary at the centre of the contaminated milk scandal.

China’s Health Ministry said three infants died from drinking melamine-tainted milk and up to 50,000 were made ill.

Yet the deaths of Xiaokai and at least four other babies reported by the Associated Press have not been included in China’s official death toll, suggesting that the tainted milk scandal may have exacted a higher human toll than the government has acknowledged.



Nobody is suggesting large numbers of deaths are being concealed, but so many months passed before the scandal was exposed that it is likely that more babies fell sick or died than official figures reflect.

Families of uncounted victims unable to sue for compensation

The families of the uncounted victims of the scandal fear that the lack of an official verdict on their children's deaths means they will be unable to bring lawsuits and claim compensation.

Even though he is determined to sue for compensation from either the government or Sanlu, Li accepts that the chance of winning is "slim."

But that chance received a small boost last week when lawyers for dozens of families whose children were sickened by tainted milk decided to launch a class-action lawsuit against Sanlu, hoping to pressure Chinese authorities still dithering over compensation.

After weeks of discussions, the 15 lawyers decided to bundle cases involving nearly 100 families into a single lawsuit seeking medical and other expenses, payments for trauma and compensation for the families of those who died.

Since the melamine scandal was first reported in September, Beijing has confirmed that the Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group knew as early as last year that its products were tainted with the chemical and that company and local officials first tried to cover it up.

The government has promised free medical treatment to the children made ill and unspecified compensation to them and families of the dead.

But the Health Ministry, which is co-ordinating the government's response, so far declined to answer questions about the compensation plan and whether it was investigating deaths and illnesses not yet counted by the government.

Back in Liti Village, Li and his wife struggle to come to terms with the loss of their baby daughter — their grief compounded by the fact that they do not know where the infant is buried.

In some parts of China, the death of a child is considered a misfortune that can bring bad luck on a family and is best suppressed.

After her death, Li handed Xiaokai's body to his cousin and three other villagers.

They took her to the far side of the village fields and put her in a shallow grave under a path between rows of poplar trees.

No close family members were there and apart from the four men, no one knows where the baby girl is buried.

China Food Fears Go From Pets To People

By Ariana Eunjung Cha
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, April 25, 2007; Page A01

SHANGHAI — Something was wrong with the babies. The villagers noticed their heads were growing abnormally large while the rest of their bodies were skin and bones. By the time Chinese authorities discovered the culprit — severe malnutrition from fake milk powder — 13 had died.

The scandal, which unfolded three years ago after hundreds of babies fell ill in an eastern Chinese province, became the defining symbol of a broad problem in China’s economy. Quality control and product-safety regulation are so poor in this country that people cannot trust the goods on store shelves.

In China, more than 200 million farmers grow a variety of crops on plots of one to two acres, earning less than $200 a year.
In China, more than 200 million farmers grow a variety of crops on plots of one to two acres, earning less than $200 a year. (By Eugene Hoshiko — Associated Press)

Until now, the problem has not received much attention outside of China. In recent weeks, however, consumers everywhere have been learning about China’s safety crisis. Tainted ingredients that originated here made their way into pet food that has sickened and killed animals around the world.

Chinese authorities acknowledge the safety problem and have promised repeatedly to fix it, but the disasters keep coming. Tang Yanli, 45, grand-aunt of a baby who became sick because of the fake milk but eventually recovered, said that even though she now pays more to buy national brands, she remains suspicious.

“I don’t trust the food I eat,” she said. “I don’t know which products are good, which are bad.”
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Melamine Contamination in China (Updated: October 31, 2008)
	Topics on this Page Introduction Update on FDA’s Investigation FDA’s Warnings/Advisories News Updates List of Company Recalls Information for Consumers Information for Industry FDA’s Interim Safety and Risk Assessment of Melamine and Melamine-Related Compounds in Food FDA’s Testing Methods Other Resources Introduction On September 12, 2008, in light of reports from China of infant formula contaminated with melamine, the FDA issued a Health Information Advisory to proactively reassure 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 Asian communities in the United States that infant formula manufactured in China, possibly available for purchase at Asian markets, could pose a risk to infants. No Chinese manufacturers of infant formula have fulfilled the requirements to sell infant formula in the United States. The FDA contacted the companies that manufacture infant formula for distribution in the United States and received information from the companies that they are not importing formula and do not source milk-based ingredients from China. In addition, the FDA -- in conjunction with state and local officials - continues to check Asian markets for food items that are imported from China and that could contain a significant amount of milk or milk proteins. The FDA has broadened its domestic and import sampling and testing of milk-derived ingredients and finished food products containing milk or milk-derived ingredients from Chinese sources. FDA has recommended that consumers not consume certain products because of possible contamination with melamine. A list of those products is below. Update on FDA's Investigation October 10, 2008: The FDA issued a product-specific Import Alert, which prevents certain products from entering U.S. commerce and provides another layer of protection to consumers. http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/ora_import_ia9931.html FDA's Warnings/Advisories The FDA is advising consumers not to consume the following products because of possible melamine contamination: Fresh and Crispy Jacobina Biscuits New! Koala's March Crème filled Cookies 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 Mandheling Blend instant Coffee (2-in-1) Mr. Brown Milk Tea (3-in-1) Infant formula manufactured in China News Updates FDA Detects Melamine Contamination in Flavored Drink (October 6, 2008) FDA Updates Health Information Advisory on Melamine Contamination (Sept 26, 2008) FDA Updates Health Information Advisory on Melamine Contamination (Sept 23, 2008) FDA Updates Health Information Advisory on Melamine Contamination (Sept.20, 2008) FDA Issues Health Information Advisory on Infant Formula (Sept. 12, 2008) Company Recalls Everlasting Distributors Inc. Issues a Nationwide Recall of Fresh and Crispy Jacobina Biscuits Because of Possible Health Risks (Oct. 29, 2008) New! Lotte USA, Inc. Initiates Nationwide Recall of Koala's March Crème filled Cookies (Oct. 17, 2008) HUA XIA Food Trade USA, Inc. Recalls YILI Brand Sour Milk Drink and YILI Brand Pure Milk Drink, Because of Possible Health Risk (Oct. 10, 2008) Tristar Food Wholesale, Inc. Issues a Nationwide Recall of Blue Cat Flavored Drink Because of Possible Health Risk (Oct. 3, 2008) Mr. Brown 3-In-1 & and 2-In-1 Powdered Packets in Bag Coffee Mixes Due To Health Risk (Oct. 1, 2008) QFCO, Inc. Recalls White Rabbit Candy Because of Possible Health Risk (Sept. 26, 2008) Information for Consumers Frequently Asked Questions and Answers on Melamine and Melamine Contamination Information for Industry Letter to the United States Food Manufacturing Industry Regarding Melamine FDA's Interim Safety and Risk Assessment of Melamine and Melamine-Related Compounds in Food The FDA issued the results of its interim safety and risk assessment of melamine and melamine-related compounds in food, including infant formula. The purpose of the FDA interim safety/risk assessment was to identify the level of melamine and melamine-related compounds in food which would not raise public health concerns. For infant formula, the safety/risk assessment concludes that at this time FDA is 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. In food products other than infant formula, the safety/risk assessment concludes that levels of melamine and melamine-related compounds below 2.5 ppm do not raise public health 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 uncertainties. FDA's Interim Safety and Risk Assessment of Melamine and its Analogues in Food Interim Safety and Risk Assessment of Melamine and Its Analogues in Food for Humans FDA's Testing Methods The FDA Field laboratories are using LC-MS/MS methods that are capable of determining melamine and cyanuric acid at levels of 0.25 ppm in powdered infant formula and other dairy-containing food products or ingredients. These and a GC/MS method for melamine and its analogues are: Melamine Methodology Determination of Melamine and Cyanuric Acid Residues in Infant Formula using LC-MS/MS Interim Method for Determination of Melamine and Cyanuric Acid Residues in Foods using LC-MS/MS GC/MS method for melamine and analogues Other Resources WHO web site on melamine CDC web site on melamine

Pirate’s Gold Premium Chocolate Coins candies were indeed removed from store shelves — in Canada.

“The Pirates Gold Coins were not distributed in the United States,” Stephanie Kwisnek, spokeswoman for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said in an e-mail response to questions from The Daily Journal.

On Oct. 8, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, similar to the U.S. FDA, issued a warning about the candy, which is manufactured in China and distributed by Maryland-based Sherwood Brands.

“Some of the source ingredients in the candy were from China,” Marilyn Taylor of the food inspection agency told The Daily Journal Thursday. The candy was sold in Costco stores and other dollar and bulk stores, she said.

The FDA has a list of food sold in the United States that may be contaminated with melamine. Pirate’s Gold was not on the list.

Calls to Sherwood Brands were not returned. A letter on its Web site said the melamine contamination was isolated to products sold in Canada.

Kwisnek urged consumers to the FDA’s Web site, where they can find safety tips for Halloween candy and a link to information about melamine and the contaminated foods list: www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/kids/treats.html

~ Kristin Szremski

BEIJING — The industrial chemical melamine is commonly added to animal feed in China to make it appear higher in protein, state media reported Thursday, in what appeared to be a tacit admission by the government that contamination is widespread in the country’s food supply.

The practice of mixing melamine into animal feed is an “open secret” in the industry, the Nanfang Daily newspaper reported, describing a process of repackaging melamine scrap into an inexpensive product called “protein powder,” which is then sold to feed suppliers.

The Web sites of the official Xinhua News Agency and the Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily newspaper also carried the story, in a rare move publicizing information that reflects poorly on the country — especially given recent food safety scandals involving contaminated Chinese dairy products and eggs.

Four brands of Chinese eggs have been found to be contaminated with melamine this past week, and agriculture officials speculated that the cause was adulterated feed given to hens. No illnesses have been linked to melamine in eggs.

The discovery came just weeks after a crisis involving compromised dairy products that sickened tens of thousands of children and was linked to the deaths of four infants.

The scandal was blamed on dairy suppliers who added melamine, a chemical used to make plastics and fertilizer, to watered-down milk to dupe quality control tests and make the product appear rich in protein.

Melamine is high in nitrogen, and most protein tests test for nitrogen levels.

Health experts say ingesting a small amount of melamine poses no danger, but in larger doses, it can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure.

The deliberate addition of melamine to food and animal feed is forbidden in China. Its apparent prevalence highlights the inability of authorities to keep the food production process clean of toxins despite official vows to raise safety standards.

The Ministry of Agriculture and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine did not respond to faxed requests for comment. Phones rang unanswered at the Ministry of Health.

Chemical plants used to pay companies to treat and dispose of melamine scrap, but about five years ago began selling it to manufacturers who repackaged it as “protein powder,” the Nanfang Daily reported, citing an unidentified chemical industry expert.

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.

The account was backed up by a manager at a feed company based in central China’s Henan province, though he said the practice has been going on for even longer than reported — some seven or eight years.

The manager, who refused to give The Associated Press his name or other identifying details citing the sensitivity of the issue, blamed suppliers to the feed companies.

“It’s the suppliers who do it to raise the protein level, because we put in the contract a requirement for a certain level of protein,” he said. “It’s very common that feed for egg-laying hens contains melamine. The suppliers add it because their ingredients for the feed are sold at a low price.”

He added that his company’s contract with suppliers bans them from adding melamine to their products.




Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, said it was unlikely that humans would get sick from eating meat from animals raised on melamine-tainted feed, because the amount of chemical contained 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."

Nestle, who wrote a book about last year's pet food scandal in which a Chinese ingredient tainted with melamine sickened and killed dogs and cats in North America, said she was surprised Beijing was admitting to widespread melamine contamination.

"I view this as a sign the Chinese government is taking the food safety problem very seriously and this is the first step to doing something about it," she said in a telephone interview.

Officials in China's largest city, Shanghai, said they had begun checks on all eggs sold in local markets since news emerged that some eggs were tainted with melamine.

China's leading egg processor, Dalian Hanwei Enterprise Group, was among the companies found producing tainted eggs, which were first identified by Hong Kong food safety regulators.

The government in the northeastern city of Dalian has said it was first alerted to the problem of melamine-tainted eggs on Sept. 27. City authorities recalled problematic eggs, suspended exports and sent inspectors to the company, according to a notice on the provincial animal health inspection administration Web site.

However, mainland authorities have not explained why they didn't immediately announce the contamination.

The reputation of Chinese products has come under fire in the past year after high levels of chemicals and additives were found in goods ranging from toothpaste to milk powder.

The tainted milk scandal dealt a huge blow to the Chinese dairy industry. Shanghai-based Bright Dairy and Food Co. reported a net loss of 271 million yuan ($39.6 million) in the third quarter, compared to a profit of 390 million yuan ($57 million) in the same quarter a year earlier, Xinhua said Thursday.

Two other major dairy companies, Mengniu Dairy Group Co. and Yili Industrial Group Co., saw sales plummet by more than 90 percent after news of the contamination became public, and expected to suffer losses for the year, Xinhua said.

___

Associated Press researcher Xi Yue in Beijing contributed to this report.

UN urges Bangladesh vigilance over melamine

11 hours ago

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.



Growing numbers of countries have pulled mostly China-made milk products from shelves after tests found they were tainted with melamine, which is normally used to make plastics and fertilisers.

Contaminated powdered milk has caused the deaths of four children and sickened more than 53,000 others in China in a weeks-long scandal.

Melamine is believed to have been added to milk in China to give it the appearance of higher protein content.

The three agencies said Bangladesh should remove all milk products from the market as soon as tests confirm their levels of melamine which can cause kidney stones and related illnesses in infants.

The statement comes two days after a top government official said results showing melamine in seven brands of powdered milk were "inconclusive and confusing."

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.


Toxic chemicals found in Chinese-made bean jam

Small quantities of toxic chemicals toluene and ethyl acetate have been found in more bean jam imported from China by a Shizuoka Prefecture food company, local governments said. The announcements come after traces of the chemicals were found in bean jam imported by the same company and sold in Nagoya.



In August, a couple living in Kai, Yamanashi Prefecture, began vomiting after eating some of the jam, according to Yamanashi Prefectural Government officials. After learning from news reports that traces of toluene and ethyl acetate had been found in the same type of bean jam sold in Nagoya, the couple contacted a local health center on Oct. 8.

A research institute in Shizuoka Prefecture analyzed some of the jam, and found it to contain 0.006 parts per million (ppm) of toluene and 0.31 ppm of ethyl acetate.

In Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, three residents suffered stomachaches or dizziness after eating bean jam sold at a supermarket in the city, municipal government officials said. Levels of toluene between 0.016 and 0.029 ppm and ethyl acetate between 0.42 and 0.51 ppm were subsequently found in the bean jam imported from China.

The jam was imported by Maruwa Foods, based in Iwata, Shizuoka Prefecture.

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