The Chinese food adulteration scandal is spreading. I'm calling it a food adulteration scandal because it's not just milk any more. Products with milk derived ingredients are also suspect:
Seven instant coffee and milk tea products made in China are being recalled in the U.S. because of possible contamination with melamine, as health fears increased worldwide over the safety of Chinese dairy exports.The Mr. Brown brand mixes are being recalled by King Car Food Industrial Co., based in Taiwan, and were made by China's Shandong Duqing Inc., the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said today in a statement. The agency said consumers shouldn't use the products.
[snip]
The FDA also warned consumers today not to eat White Rabbit Creamy Candy after New Zealand's food safety authority found the product had high levels of melamine. The agency said it was unaware of any illnesses in the U.S. connected to the candy or to Mr. Brown products.
U.S. regulators continue working with local and state health agencies to check for Chinese-made infant formula in food markets in communities with large Asian populations, according to the FDA. Inspectors have visited more than 1,400 groceries in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and other cities without finding any Chinese infant formula.
People who shop in Asian stores should check products for dairy ingredients from China, said Caroline Smith DeWaal, food and safety director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based consumer group. An investigator from her group found milk from China as an ingredient in yogurt drinks, biscuits, buns and pastries in Asian markets in Arlington, Virginia, she said in a telephone interview. (David Olmos, Bloomberg)
Now we can add to this Heinz baby cereal in Hong Kong and steamed potato wasabi crackers in Japan. More worrying, three children and a mother with kidney stones in Taiwan. All had consumed Chinese milk products.
Consumer groups have pointed out that the US FDA is playing catch-up. Canada put Mr. Brown coffee and tea products on a watch list in August 2006.
The Sanlu Group's milk powder was said to have more than 100 times the amount of the adulterant, melamine, that could be tolerated by an 11 pound (5 kg) infant. Sanlu is now facing bankruptcy. Attention US Treasury!
The World Health Organization is now alleging that the failure to notify the consuming public was more than just accidental or inadvertent on the part of the company and Chinese authorities but a "deliberate failure" to report. I guess the translation here is "cover-up."
"This incident was aggravated by delays in reporting at a number of sources," Hans Troedsson, WHO's China representative, told reporters in Beijing today. "These delays were probably a combination of ignorance and deliberate failure to report."
[snip]
Sanlu Group, the first company identified as having produced tainted milk, received complaints in December and knew of the contamination in June, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Sept. 22. It didn't notify the city government of Shijiazhuang, where it's based, until Aug. 2. The nation's quality and safety watchdog started an investigation on Sept. 10.
New Zealand's Fonterra Cooperative Group, which owns 43 percent of Sanlu, this week criticized the "appalling delay" by its affiliate in reporting complaints by parents of babies sickened after drinking its infant formula. The WHO yesterday described the contamination as "deplorable." (Lee Spears, Dune Lawrence, Bloomberg)
The WHO China representative adds:
"From what we know, the Chinese central government and the Ministry of Health have acted appropriately since early September when the central government went public with the issue."
Really? What about before early September? Hmmm. What was happening in China between August 2 and early September?
Here's a hint: it started on August 6 and ended August 26, involved over 10,000 athletes, involved heavy investment and promotion by the Chinese government and was televised worldwide. If you can't figure it out, you can click here.
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David Olmos, Bloomberg, "People who shop in Asian stores should check products for dairy ingredients from China, said Caroline Smith DeWaal, food and safety director at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based consumer group..."
Revere, a simple question from an ostracized gay Aussie who has had a couple of vinos on a long weekend -- how long has this $$$$$-making shit been going on, as I used to purchase vitamin enriched coffee and milk tea products made in China midst that time when Bush stole the election from Gore and became the American president!?!
What concerns me, are the concealed milk products. When my son had a dairy allergy, I researched all the different names of milk products and the foods with these ingredients. I even found tuna fish had some form of milk in it. Given that companies don't have to list where ingredients come from, makes this a huge issue.
You state "Canada put Mr. Brown coffee and tea products on a watch list in August 2006." However, reading the recall notice indicates that these products were listed for undeclared milk protein, not for melamine contamination. Not to absolve Chinese products, but misleading to perhaps imply that the melamine problem went back that far.
consumer: If you follow the link, what you will see is that there were reactions to the product of unknown origin. They were alerting the public and last week made it stronger because of the melamine issue. Notably (NB DepP) they identified it originally as a possible allergy problem.
Jon: No idea. I doubt that this is brand new, however, as the adulteration with scrap melamine was being done two years ago with pet food.
Lets first correct something Jonny, Bush didnt steal the election. Even after there was a recount by the newspapers, Bush won the election. What DID happen was that amost 75,000 more voters in Palm Beach County and Dade managed to vote than were registered. The swing in just two counties was almost impossible and they were NOT votes for Bush. A couple of people went to jail for it.
But this is more yet of the slam and smear that the left does. Michael Moore was a good example and tried to create a situation in Ohio and the Democrat Secretary of State put him into his place in the last election. Jesse Jackson runs about saying people were disenfranchised and thats a crock of crap. The process is very simple to get a voter registration card, and anyone who shows up to vote has to present some form of ID. Obviously there have to be rules. In most cases the Republicans will abide by them on election day but when you have surveillance cameras showing the same people showing up in district after district to vote provisionally e.g. without any form of ID then you have a problem. So, we have a bunch of disenfranchised problems and we will have them again this November. As for the vote in Florida two elections ago, Al Gore knew he wasnt the winner he let his dogs bark and created a situation that has haunted us for 8 years now and that is that your vote doesnt count, no matter what you do. The guy who is from my state couldnt even get elected here, so what would make you believe that he could in the country?
Personally I dont give a crap what the EU, Oz or Russia think of who is elected in the US. I care more that we elected them and not the US Supreme Court. How elections are run is a STATE and LOCAL issue and that is what the Democrats lost on. The rules are simple. The last place we want elections decided are in the courts. The Florida Supreme Court forgot that, showed their bias towards Gore and as a result the US Supreme Court reached down for the case... to finish it.
Bush hasnt been a great President, nor was Clinton. Reagan was a great President and there was no question as to who was in charge. Management by committee is what we have gotten to now. And now, since there are Russian troops massing on the borders of Ukraine and Georgia I would say that its a totally moot point. The next one in is going to have to have his shit together in one nice neat pile to face whats ahead....
Since you bring it up.
As for the tainted milk, there is a lot cranking up on this and everyone including the ones here in Memphis are checking to see if its in our food supply here. It undoubtedly is in some form. The West Coast of the US is particularly vulnerable. I know that two of the soup manufacturers here locally suspect problems. If they are founded then the worlds largest distribution point (Memphis) has already delivered this stuff into the food supply and we are very likely all contaminated here in some way as the oldest stuff gets dropped here locally and the newer out to the far reaches.
Lets hope not.
When I follow the link you provided - "http://www.cbc.ca/consumers/market/recalls/reclfull/2006/02baug2006.html" - I don't see anything mentioned about "reactions to the product of unknown origin." What I see is that the Canadians say "There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products" and warn people with allergies to milk protein not to consume the products.
consumer: You appear to be correct. I misread it. It is my error and thank you for pointing it out.
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.
They must have some interesting discussions over in the Chinese melamine industry.
"That pet food thing didn't work out so well. We need to find some new markets for our product."
"Well, how about baby formula?"
Edmund: so... chuck the Kraft macaroni and cheese?
"Sanlu Was First Banned in 2004, then Reinstated"
http://feww.wordpress.com/2008/09/23/sanlu-was-first-banned-in-2004-the…
From reading articles about the scandal, the coverup started in 2006 with Sanlu, and apparently local officials knew since March this year. Chinese reporters found something wrong in April but were gagged by provincial officials.
caia - I think you meant Kraft macaroni and "cheeze" since the "cheese" you refer to is (copied from Kraft's website):
WHEY, MILKFAT, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, SALT, CALCIUM CARBONATE, SODIUM TRIPOLYPHOSPHATE, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF CITRIC ACID, SODIUM PHOSPHATE, LACTIC ACID, MILK, YELLOW 5, YELLOW 6, ENZYMES, CHEESE CULTURE.
The closest they get to "cheese" is the very last ingredient, after YELOW 5 and YELLOW 6. Sounds pretty cheesy to me! (The real question is why they can even call this food!)
Yess, I'd say this is a suspect product, given that we import so many food components (if you can even call them that) and the ingredients include "milk protein concentrate."
It seems to me that now would be a good time to swear off processed "foods" if you haven't done so already. But....even breads contain such things. There is something really wrong with our food supply.
Has anybody seen the concentration ranges of melamine in specific milk products? The WSJ (9/20/08) mentions 2.5 g melamine/kg of Sanlu formula and "8 mg in milk samples" (milk sample size unspecified). I teach a course in health-based risk assessment and this makes an unfortunate, but real-world example. Ironically, I was teaching in China when this happened. I'm interested in hearing the range of concentrations.
Notably, that melamine might cause kidney stones isn't "new news." Even early animal studies showed bladder stones (see WHO, 1986). In 2007, FDA did an excellent review of the melamine data:
www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/melamra.html
www.inchem.org/documents/iarc/vol39/melamine.html
Dave: Haven't seen any quantification, although I suspect it's out there in some link or other. The phenomenon of nephrotoxicity is known but there is continuing uncertainty on its mechanism I gather. Thanks for the links, BTW.
Added: From the EFSA website:
Thanks. The EFSA number is very close to USFDA's, which suggests an ADI of 0.63 mg/kg. I hadn't thought to check EFSA.
One interesting aspect of the melamine issue is that it has been widely reported in "The China Daily News", which is a gov't controlled English language newspaper in China. They noted that almost 13,000 kids have been hospitalized and 53,000 poisoned. 1 to 2 articles/day have appeared in the paper. One example: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-09/24/content_7053997.htm
It makes me wonder how much the SARS epidemic changed the government's perspective on covering up bad news. In this case, it appears that Sanlu and 21 other major milk companies suppressed the news.
In case it is of interest, now the China Daily reports Sanlu's formula had up to 6196 mg melamine/kg formula (of course, this is the maximum detected in tested products, amounts in other products could be even higher).
Also, "the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said it had tested 265 batches of milk powder produced by 154 different companies prior to Sept 14, and found that 31 produced by 20 domestic dairy companies were tainted by the chemical melamine." http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-10/03/content_7075145.htm