China begins investigation of tainted eggs
By MarketWatch
Last update: 11:08 p.m. EDT Oct. 28, 2008
BEIJING (AFP) — Officials in northeastern China said Wednesday they were looking into reports that eggs from a local company were tainted with the chemical melamine, state media reported.
The government of Dalian, a major port city, said in a notice that contaminated eggs discovered in Hong Kong were produced by a local company on Sept. 6, the Xinhua news agency said.
Xinhua didn’t name the company. Earlier reports had mentioned the Hanwei Group, one of China’s top egg producers.



The discovery of the tainted eggs has led to mounting fears that melamine, which has been blamed for killing four babies and sickening 53,000, may have contaminated a larger share of China's food supply than previously thought.
So far melamine has been discovered only in dairy products or products containing dairy ingredients.


said Tuesday it had pulled Hanwei’s eggs from its shelves in China, emphasizing that it was a precautionary measure and that products from Hanwei inside the country hadn’t yet been found to be contaminated.
Hong Kong health authorities reported during the weekend that they had found melamine in eggs produced by the Hanwei Group.
-Contact: 201-938-5400 End of Story

When I first heard about this melamine crisis I was a little confused since I was pretty sure melamine was the thing they made melmac plates out of. I used to collect and sell those on eBay many years ago.

I looked into it further and and this article is a good one, though it has not been updated to reflect the current crisis.

What exactly is melamine?

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.


Company recalls cookies over melamine concerns
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) — A company is recalling Koala’s March creme-filled cookies from U.S. shelves because they were made in China and may be contaminated with melamine.

Lotte USA Inc. says Friday that it initiated the recall on Sept. 29. The Michigan-based company says it’s not aware of any illnesses associated with the products.




The recall covers king-size chocolate, white chocolate and strawberry flavors. It also includes family pack-size chocolate, white chocolate, strawberry, chestnut, Hawaii chocolate and Hawaii pineapple flavors.

Cookies were distributed nationwide and to Canada.

Melamine is the industrial chemical blamed for killing four infants and sickening 54,000 children in China. It's used to make plastics and fertilizers.

Thursday, October 16, 2008
Another milk product tainted with melamine

ONE more China-made milk product was tested positive for melamine contamination.

The Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) said LOTTE Strawberry Snack KOALA Biscuit contains the toxic substance.

This brings to four the total number of milk products that were found positive of melamine. The other three are Jollycow Slender High Calcium Low Fat Milk,
Greedfood Yili Fresh Milk,
and Mengniu Drink.

Please read about the effects of melamine on the body here.



The 34 other products tested for melamine last Wednesday by BFAD yielded negative results.

These are: Arla Instant White Milk Powder Milex 126, Baby Sucker Candy (Smart Plastic Mfg.),
Baina Watch Milk Candy, Bainapie Coolmilk Bean, Barbie Milk Candy,
Call and Text Candy (Smart Plastic Mfg.), Chang’s Chin Tai Chang Square Cookies,
Changtai Food Lollipop Candy, Chaozhou-Zhancui Original Butter Scoth Classic Candy,
Cow’s Head Skimmed Milk Powder (Spray dried process),
Dairy Cow Instant Whole Milk Powder, Dongguan Bairong Strawberry Biscuit,
Dongguan HSU-CHI Orange Sandwich Cookies, Duke’s Choco Crunch Bar,
Erko Marsmallows (Dairy Milk Flavour Filling),
Galaxy Sweetened Milk Powder,
and H&Y (Healthy & Young) Jollybee Eat & Drink Candy (Orange Flavor).

Also are: Jiayuan Shuang Le Tong Candy, Jollycow Sterilized Milk, Khong Guan Custard Cream Biscuit, Khong Guan Marie Biscuit, Lotte Nidoo Skimmed Milk Powder, MC Nation Confectionary Milky Beans Candy, Milk Land Milk Powder (Sweet Cream Buttermilk Powder), Orion “It’s Now” Custard Cream Cake, Palma Commercial Skimmed Milk Powder, Permen Ancka Rasa Buah Candy Granules, Red Bull Skimmed Milk Powder, Sam’s Super i Man Milk Candy, Strange Biscuit of Common Song/Guava Cookies, Sweetworld Almo Milk Powder Bottle, The New Zoland Company Omilk Bonbon Yogurt Milk Soft Drops (Original Taste), Tiwi Banana Split Chocolate, and Vitasoy Malted Soya Bean Milk.

The food agency has so far tested a total of 148 out of the initial 200 products that were earlier recalled in the Philippine market following the melamine scare.

The Department of Health (DOH) has also imposed a ban on all the China-made milk and milk products until the test is completed. (MSN/FP/Sunnex)

For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Iloilo.

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.

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!

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