FDA says to avoid pistachios amid salmonella scare

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Posted on 31st March 2009 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Date: 3/31/2009 1:59 PM

GARANCE BURKE
Associated Press Writer

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — Federal food officials are warning people not to eat any food containing pistachios because of possible contamination by salmonella, in another food scare sure to rattle consumers already upset by the contamination of peanuts with the same bacteria.

The Food and Drug Administration said central California-based Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc., the nation’s second-largest pistachio processor, was voluntarily recalling more than 2 million pounds of its roasted nuts shipped since last fall.

“Our advice to consumers is that they avoid eating pistachio products, and that they hold onto those products,” said Dr. David Acheson, assistant commissioner for food safety. “The number of products that are going to be recalled over the coming days will grow, simply because these pistachio nuts have then been repackaged into consumer-level containers.”

Two people called the FDA complaining of gastrointestinal illness that could be associated with the nuts, but the link hasn’t been confirmed, Acheson said. Still, the plant decided to shut down late last week, officials said.

The recalled nuts are a small fraction of the 55 million pounds of pistachios that the company’s plant processed last year and an even smaller portion of the 278 million pounds produced in the state in the 2008 season, according to the Fresno-based Administrative Committee for Pistachios.

California is the second-largest producer of pistachios in the world.

According to the company’s Web site, Setton Pistachio is in the corporate family of Commack, N.Y.-based Setton International Foods Inc. The company sells nuts, dried fruit, edible seeds, chocolate and yogurt-coated candies.

The FDA learned about the problem last Tuesday, when Kraft Foods Inc. notified the agency that routine product testing had detected salmonella in roasted pistachios. Kraft and the Georgia Nut Co. recalled their Back to Nature Nantucket Blend trail mix the next day.

The FDA contacted Setton Pistachio and California health officials shortly afterward, in what Acheson called a “proactive move.”

By Friday, Cincinnati-based grocery operator Kroger Co. recalled one of its lines of bagged pistachios because of possible salmonella contamination, saying the California plant also supplied its nuts. Those nuts were sold in 31 states.

Fabia D’Arienzo, a spokeswoman for Tulare County-based Setton Pistachio, said the company was only recalling certain bulk roasted in-shell and roasted shelled pistachios that were shipped on or after September 1.

Because Setton Pistachio shipped bags of nuts weighing up to 2,000 pounds to 36 wholesalers across the country, it will take weeks to figure out how many products could be affected, said Jeff Farrar, chief of the Food and Drug Branch of the California Department of Public Health.

“It will be safe to assume based on the volume that this will be an ingredient in a lot of different products, and that may possibly include things like ice cream and cake mixes,” Farrar said. “The firm is already turning around trucks in transit to bring those back to the facility.”

Salmonella, the most common cause of food-borne illness, causes diarrhea, fever and cramping. Most people recover, but the infection can be life-threatening for children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.

Roasting is supposed to kill the bacteria in nuts. But problems can occur if the roasting is not done correctly or if roasted nuts are re-contaminated. That can happen if mice, rats or birds get into the facility.

The national peanut salmonella outbreak was blamed on a Georgia company under federal investigation for flouting safety procedures and knowingly shipping contaminated peanuts.

That outbreak is still ongoing. More than 690 people in 46 states have gotten sick. Nearly 3,900 products made with peanut ingredients from Peanut Corp. of America have been recalled.

California public health authorities have taken hundreds of samples at Setton’s processing facility, but lab results have not yet determined whether salmonella was found at the plant, Farrar said. The food companies’ own tests of the contaminated products isolated four different types of salmonella, but none were the same strain as the one found in the peanuts, Acheson said.

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Associated Press writers Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar in Washington and Tracie Cone in Fresno contributed to this report.

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On the Net:

http://www.settonfarms.com

http://www.fda.gov

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.

NOTE: The Seattle Post Intelligencer has posted an article which reports:

“The company at the center of a nationwide pistachio recall says the salmonella contamination could have come from raw nuts during processing but not a human or animal source in its plant.”

Read their entire article at:
http://www.seattlepi.com/national/1110ap_salmonella_pistachios.html

Recalls: State Farm bears, bicycles, girl's shoes

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Posted on 17th March 2009 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Date: 3/17/2009

By The Associated Press

The following recalls have been announced:

— About 827,000 State Farm Good Neigh Bears in the U.S. and Canada, made in China and distributed by State Farm of Bloomington, Ill., because the bears’ eyes can come off, posing a choking hazard to young children. The company has received one report of a bear’s plastic eye detaching and a child placing it in her mouth. No injuries have been reported. The stuffed bears are brown and wear a white and red State Farm shirt. They were given away free through State Farm agents and at State Farm sponsored events from September 2005 through March 2007. Details: by phone at 877-226-8079; by Web at http://tinyurl.com/c2mroj or http://www.cpsc.gov.

— About 1,300 2009 Six 5, Six 6, Six Carbon 5 and Six Carbon 6 bicycles, made in Taiwan and imported by Cannondale Bicycle Corp. of Bethel, Conn., because they don’t have spoke protector discs. This poses a risk of falls. No incidents have been reported. The bicycles were sold by authorized Cannondale dealers around the country between October 2008 and February 2009. Details: by phone at 800-245-3872; by Web at http://www.cannondale.com or http://www.cpsc.gov.

— About 31,000 Nordstrom girl’s shoes, made in China and imported by Nordstrom Inc. of Seattle because surface paint on the outer sole of the shoes contains high levels of lead, which is toxic if ingested by young children. No injuries or incidents have been reported. The recall involves six styles of Nordstrom-brand shoes for girls. They were sold at Nordstrom stores nationwide from September 2006 through last month. Details: by phone at 800-804-0806; by Web at http://www.cpsc.gov.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.

China: Parents of milk victims demand better deal

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Posted on 23rd January 2009 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Date: 1/23/2009

By TINI TRAN
Associated Press Writer

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese parents whose children were sickened after drinking contaminated milk pushed the government for greater accountability and compensation Friday, a day after a court handed down two death penalties and long prison terms for 19 other defendants.

Milk formula laced with the industrial chemical melamine has been blamed for causing the deaths of at least six infants and sickening nearly 300,000 others with kidney stones and other problems.

Zhao Lianhai, a parent who has rallied families through a Web site he created that details the crisis, said Friday that he and three others were presenting a petition to the Ministry of Health.

The petition, signed by some 550 parents, calls for free medical care and follow-up services for all victims, reimbursement for treatment already paid for, and further research into the long-term health effects of melamine among other demands.

“Children are the future of every family, and moreover, they are the future of this country,” the petition said. “As consumers, we have been greatly damaged.”

But state television reported Friday that most of the families had accepted payouts offered by the 22 dairies responsible for the contamination under a government-led plan.

The report is indicative of the communist leadership’s eagerness to bring an end to the embarrassing scandal. It also appeared to be trying to portray parents who were rejecting the payments as out of step with the majority.

Jiang Yaling, a parent from Guizhou, said the parents who are asking for a better deal held a meeting with several Health Ministry officials on Friday. She said the officials pledged to “respect our petition” and process it quickly.

“It’s not a matter of what the officials say to us, but it’s a matter of what they do. If these demands are not met, my child could have a life span of only 10 years. What kind of life is that? My child is my everything,” Jiang said.

The Health Ministry did not immediately respond to a faxed list of questions from The Associated Press.

Jiang said the group also planned to submit the same petition to the China Dairy Association and China’s food safety regulators later in the day.

The 22 dairy companies involved in the scandal have proposed a 1.1 billion yuan ($160 million) compensation plan. Families whose children died would receive 200,000 yuan ($29,000), while others would receive 30,000 yuan ($4,380) for serious cases of kidney stones and 2,000 yuan ($290) for less severe cases.

The China Dairy Association said the distribution of compensation payments was nearly complete, and that than 262,000 families — or 90 percent of the official total — had accepted the dairies’ offers by Thursday, CCTV reported.

Calls to the dairy association rang unanswered.

Many parents who rejected the compensation payments say they were inadequate and complained that the plan did not have the families’ input.

On Thursday, 21 defendants blamed in the milk scandal were sentenced, including the former general manager and chairwoman of Sanlu Group Co., the dairy at the center of the scandal.

Tian Wenhua, 66, the highest-ranking executive charged in the food safety crisis, was given life imprisonment while three other company executives got sentences between five and 15 years.

Investigations showed that middlemen who sold milk to dairy companies including Sanlu were watering down raw milk, then mixing in melamine to make it appear to have a higher protein content.

One of those middlemen, Geng Jinping, who supplied hundreds of tons of melamine-tainted milk to Sanlu, was sentenced to death. Also condemned was Zhang Yujun, who ran a workshop that produced melamine-tainted powder branded as protein powder.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.

General Mills and Kroger pull peanut butter items

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Posted on 20th January 2009 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Date: 1/20/2009

By EMILY FREDRIX
Associated Press Writer

MILWAUKEE (AP) — General Mills Inc. and grocers Kroger Co. and Safeway Inc. have joined the growing list of food companies and retailers pulling items made with peanut butter amid a salmonella outbreak.

The Food and Drug Administration has traced the outbreak to a Georgia plant owned by Peanut Corp. of America, which makes peanut butter and peanut paste and sells it to institutions and food companies. The outbreak may have contributed to the deaths of six people and sickened more than 470 others in 43 states.

The government has advised consumers to avoid eating cookies, cakes, ice cream and other foods containing peanut butter until health officials learn more about the contamination. Peanut butter sold in jars to consumers is not included, officials said.

The FDA has created a searchable list of recalled products and brands on the agency’s Web site.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the bacteria behind the outbreak is common and not an unusually dangerous strain but that the elderly or those with weakened immune systems are more at risk. At least five of the six people who died were elderly. All had salmonella when they died, though their exact causes of death haven’t been determined.

The salmonella outbreak is the second in two years involving peanut butter. Salmonella is the nation’s leading cause of food poisoning; common symptoms include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps.

Peanut Corp. expanded its own recall Sunday to all peanut butter and peanut paste produced since July 1 at its plant in Blakely, Ga. The recalled products were distributed to institutions, food service industries and private label food companies in 24 states.

“We deeply regret that this product recall has expanded, and our first priority is to protect the health of our customers,” said Stewart Parnell, president of Peanut Corp.

Late Monday, Safeway said some of the products it makes, including Ready Pack Eating Right Kids Apples with Peanut Butter and Orchard Valley Harvest’s Organic Bark Peanut Butter Cookies and Cream, may use peanut butter involved in the recall and asked customers to throw them out or return them to the store for a full refund.

Kellogg Co. recalled 16 cracker and cookie products last week. The company said Monday that federal authorities have confirmed that salmonella was found in a single package of its peanut butter crackers: Austin Quality Foods Toasty Crackers with Peanut Butter, which had previously been recalled.

Other recently recalled items that contain peanut butter:

— Grocer Meijer, which operates 181 stores in Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky: Meijer brand Cheese and Peanut Butter and Toasty Peanut Butter crackers, Peanut Butter and Jelly and Peanut Butter Cup ice cream.

— Kroger, the nation’s largest traditional grocery chain: Private Selection Peanut Butter Passion Ice Cream sold in stores named City Market, Fred Meyer, Fry’s, King Scoopers, QFC and Smith’s in 11 states, primarily in the West. The company said the ice cream was not sold in its namesake Kroger stores or any other retailers it operates.

— General Mills: two flavors of snack bars, LARABAR Peanut Butter Cookie and JamFrakas Peanut Butter Blisscrisp.

— Clif Bar & Co.: Some Clif branded bars, including some under Luna and Clif Mojo labels.

— Abbott Nutrition: ZonePerfect Chocolate Peanut Butter bars, ZonePerfect Peanut Toffee bars and NutriPals Peanut Butter Chocolate nutrition bars. The items are sold in the U.S., Mexico, New Zealand and Singapore.

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On the Net:

FDA: http://www.fda.gov

Peanut Corp.: http://www.peanutcorp.com

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.

Settlement to be argued in big pet food case

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Posted on 14th October 2008 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Date: 10/14/2008 5:08 AM

By GEOFF MULVIHILL
Associated Press Writer

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. (AP) _ Thousands of pet owners whose dogs and cats died last year after eating contaminated pet food traced to China could be close to a $32 million settlement.

A federal judge in Camden was to hear oral arguments on the final proposal Tuesday. The court also will consider any filed objections.

The settlement allows pet owners to apply for expenses associated with deaths and illnesses, including the costs of veterinarians, time missed from work to care for sick animals, replacement pets, burial expenses and even property damaged because animals got sick.

In addition to the $8 million they had already agreed to pay owners of sickened pets, the pet food companies would put up $24 million for the settlement.

The case began in March 2007, when companies that make or sell pet food — including Menu Foods Income Fund, which makes dog and cat food under about 90 brand names from its base in Streetsville, Ontario — agreed to settle lawsuits with pet owners.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration later found that the food contained melamine, a chemical used to make plastics. The chemical was traced to contaminated wheat gluten imported from China.

In April, lawyers for representing plaintiffs and dozens of companies announced they had struck a deal for pet owners in the United States and Canada.

Under the terms, even those who did not keep any receipts for either the pet food or the costs of the pets’ illness and death could get up to $900 per animal.

If any money is left after all plaintiffs are paid, it would go to animal-welfare charities.

But the agreement did not include any money for the humans’ pain and suffering from injuries to their pets. That has upset some pet owners.

One, Donna Elliott, of Fries, Va., for instance, sent U.S. District Judge Noel Hillman a picture of her late boxer, Abby.

“How do you answer the statement on the claim form, what was the value of your pet?” she asked. “My companion was everything in the world to me.”

In one court filing, the parties that struck the settlement explained: “This settlement does not pretend to do what it cannot — which is to make people fully whole for their incomprehensible losses,” the filing said. “The settlement is, however, a reflection of strenuous efforts to secure the maximum economic relief available.”

As of Sept. 30, more than 9,500 people in the United States and Canada had made claims, while just over 100 people had preserved their rights to sue separately. Relatively few — 28 — had filed objections to the settlement.

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On the Net:

Claim information: http://www.petfoodsettlement.com

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.

Chinese tighten dairy regulations after scandal

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Posted on 10th October 2008 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Date: 10/10/2008 12:15 PM

By TINI TRAN
Associated Press Writer

BEIJING (AP) _ China’s State Council tightened quality control regulations for the dairy industry Friday, as authorities in Macau and Hong Kong reported several children had kidney stones blamed on Chinese tainted milk.

Contaminated milk powder, laced with the industrial chemical melamine, has been blamed for causing the deaths of four infants and sickening more than 54,000 others.

More than 10,000 children remained hospitalized with eight of them in serious condition, the Health Ministry said.

The new regulations, effective immediately, tighten control over cattle breeding, the purchase of raw milk and the production and sale of dairy products, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

The measures also increase punishments for those caught violating safety standards.

On Friday, police in northern Hebei province arrested a suspect accused of producing 600 tons of melamine-spiked protein powder, Xinhua said. Eight dairy farm owners and milk buyers were also arrested purchasing the powder, it said.

In Hong Kong, a 10-year-old boy was diagnosed with two kidney stones, the Department of Health said, raising the total number of children with milk-related kidney stones to seven in Hong Kong and Macau.

Meanwhile, Macau’s Health Bureau said three girls between the ages of 4 and 7 have developed kidney stones. Their conditions were not immediately known.

The boy has been drinking high-calcium, low-fat milk made by the Chinese dairy Yili Industrial Group Co. everyday for the past six years, the health department said. He is in stable condition and does not require hospitalization.

Also Friday, parents of an 11-month-old diagnosed with kidney stones filed a lawsuit against the Sanlu Group Co. — the dairy company at the heart of the tainted milk crisis.

It is the second known lawsuit against the company, whose baby formula was to contain high levels of melamine.

Earlier this month, parents from central Henan province filed suit against Sanlu, seeking $22,000 in compensation for medical, travel and other expenses incurred after their 14-month-old baby developed kidney stones.

It is not clear if courts will allow these suits to progess as product liability lawsuits are still relatively rare in China, and lawyers have complained of government pressure to withdraw from the cases.

Chinese authorities believe dairy farmers added melamine — used in plastics, paint and adhesives — to watered-down milk to make the product appear rich in protein and fool quality control tests.

The practice was apparently widespread in the industry, with government investigations finding 37 Chinese dairy companies, including the most reputable brands, had sold tainted products.

Police have arrested 36 people in connection with the scandal in Hebei, where Sanlu is headquartered, Xinhua said.

The scandal has sparked global concern about Chinese food imports, with more than 30 countries restricting Chinese dairy products, and in some cases all Chinese food imports.

This week, the Chinese Health Ministry issued guidelines limiting acceptable melamine levels. There had been no previous standards for the amount of the chemical allowed in food products.

New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra Group, which has a 43 percent stake in Sanlu, announced Friday it will spend $5 million to fund a Chinese charity to establish a health care program for mothers and babies in poor rural areas of China.

Meanwhile, Myanmar state media reported nine brands of imported milk and infant powder have been tainted with melamine. The New Light of Myanmar said that of the 16 brands of milk and milk powder tested, nine contained melamine.

Slovak food safety officials said Friday they found unsafe levels of melamine in a shipment of chocolate bisuits and snacks imported from China.

In Paris, France’s Agriculture Ministry ordered a recall Friday of White Rabbit candies and Koala biscuits linked to Chinese dairy products amid concerns about high melamine levels.

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Associated Press Writer Dikky Sinn contributed to this report from Hong Kong.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.

Second lawsuit filed in tainted milk scandal

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Posted on 10th October 2008 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Date: 10/10/2008 1:13 AM

By TINI TRAN
Associated Press Writer

BEIJING (AP) _ A second lawsuit was filed against a Chinese dairy company at the heart of the tainted milk crisis, an attorney said Friday, as more than 10,000 children remained hospitalized after being fed milk powder laced with an industrial chemical.

Zhang Xiuwen, a migrant worker from southern Guangdong province, filed a legal claim after his 11-month-old son was diagnosed with kidney stones, his lawyer Chen Beiyuan said. The baby had been fed formula produced by Sanlu Group Co. since his birth.

The Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court has yet to accept the lawsuit, which is seeking US$132,000 in compensation, Chen confirmed in a telephone interview.

He said he was also planning to file a suit against the Dairy Association in China for failing to supervise its members.

The milk powder, laced with the chemical melamine, has been blamed for causing the deaths of four infants and sickening more than 54,00 others.

The practice was apparently widespread in the industry, with government investigations showing that 37 Chinese dairy companies — including its most reputable brands — had tainted dairy products.

Chinese dairy suppliers have been accused of adding melamine — used in plastics, paint and adhesives — to watered-down milk to make the product appear rich in protein and fool quality control tests.

Eight of the 10,666 children hospitalized are in serious condition after drinking the contaminated powder, which can lead to kidney stones and life-threatening kidney failure, the Health Ministry said this week.

Earlier this month, parents from central Henan province filed the first known lawsuit against Sanlu, seeking US$22,000 in compensation for medical, travel and other expenses incurred after their 14-month-old baby developed kidney stones. The infant remains hospitalized.

The court in Zhenping county has also not yet decided whether to accept that case.

Although product liability lawsuits have become more common in recent years, lawyers advising the families of children sickened in the scandal said this week they are facing growing pressure from Chinese government officials to withdraw from the cases.

The government has been struggling to show the public that it is dealing successfully with the scandal, but controls have also been imposed on media coverage of the crisis.

The scandal has sparked global concern about Chinese food imports, with more than 30 countries restricting Chinese dairy products, and in some cases all Chinese food exports. Recalls have also occurred in several countries of Chinese-made milk powders, biscuits and candies such as the widely sold White Rabbit sweets.

This week, the Health Ministry released guidelines on permissible levels of melamine in food. The chemical is now limited to one part per million for infant formula and 2.5 parts per million for liquid milk, milk powder and food products that contain more than 15 percent milk.

There had been no previous standards for the amount of the chemical allowed in food products.

Wang Xuening, a ministry official, said small amounts of melamine can leach from the environment and packaging into milk and other foods, but that deliberate tainting was explicitly forbidden.

Levels of melamine discovered in batches of milk powder recently registered as much as 6,196 parts per million.

New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra Group, which has a 43 percent stake in Sanlu, announced Friday it will fund a Chinese charity to establish a health care program for mothers and babies in poor rural areas of China.

“We want to do what we can in China to help, particularly in areas around infant health and maternal issues,” Chief Executive Andrew Ferrier said in a statement.

Ferrier said Fonterra is donating US$5 million to the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation to fund the program over five years. The program will set up community centers in rural and undeveloped areas that will provide resources to support healthy prenatal and postnatal care.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.

Chinese lawyers say pressured to drop milk cases

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Posted on 7th October 2008 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Date: 10/7/2008 10:49 AM

By GILLIAN WONG
Associated Press Writer

BEIJING (AP) _ Lawyers advising victims of China’s spreading tainted milk scandal said Tuesday they faced growing pressure from officials in central China to withdraw from the cases.

The families of many of the children sickened by milk laced with the industrial chemical melamine have been turning to a loose grouping of more than a hundred lawyers across China for free legal advice, said Chang Boyang, one of the lawyers.

The tainted milk has been blamed in the deaths of four babies and for sickening more than 54,000 children and shaken confidence worldwide in Chinese exports.

The government has been struggling to show the public that it is dealing successfully with the scandal, which comes on the heels of the widely praised Beijing Olympics. On Monday, the State Council, China’s Cabinet, acknowledged that the dairy industry was “chaotic” and had suffered from a grave lack of oversight, while pledging to monitor milk products from farm to dinner table.

But the government has also imposed controls on media coverage of the crisis, suggesting it does not want it to become a focal point of public dismay.

At least 14 lawyers from Henan province who have been advising people affected by the scandal were told by officials from the provincial government’s justice department to stop their activities, Chang told the Associated Press in a telephone interview.

“They called me and my boss at my law firm and put pressure on me,” Chang said. “They said that this has become a political issue and that I ought to follow the arrangements set out by the government.”

“If this suggestion is disobeyed, the lawyer and the firm will be dealt with,” Chang cited the official as saying.

Henan’s justice department could not immediately be reached for comment.

Chinese authorities believe suppliers who were trying to cut costs diluted milk, then added melamine to fool quality control tests and make the product appear rich in protein. The chemical can cause kidney stones as the body tries to eliminate it and, in extreme cases, can lead to life-threatening kidney failure.

The State Council has ordered hospitals to provide free treatment for sick infants, but the lawyers want the government to compensate the victims.

Lawyers in the group have already helped the parents of a 1-year-old boy allegedly sickened by compromised milk to file a lawsuit against Sanlu Group Co., the dairy at the center of the crisis. The baby’s medical bills are not covered under the State Council’s directive because he became sick before the scandal broke on Sept. 12, according to a report by Caijing, a leading Chinese business magazine. Free medical care is only available to those sickened after that date.

The court in Henan has still not said if it will hear the case, which was filed late last month and is believed to be the first suit filed amid the scandal.

Chang said the lawyers have been preparing other clients for a potential joint lawsuit if the government continues to refuse to provide compensation.

Chang said although he and the other lawyers from Henan took their names off the list of volunteers for the group of lawyers, they still continued to field calls and offer advice.

“This incident will not affect my work. I was just giving the authorities ‘face’ by taking my name off the list,” Chang said. “Sometimes you’ve got to learn to compromise.”

The scandal — which has spread overseas with Chinese milk products pulled out of stores in dozens of countries — has forced the government to fire local and even high-level officials for negligence, and make repeated promises to raise product safety standards.

China’s iconic White Rabbit candy fell victim to the scandal after its Shanghai-based maker said it may have been tainted. The candy was pulled off supermarket shelves in the U.S., Europe and Asia. But a state-run newspaper said Tuesday it is now back in production.

Guan Sheng Yuan Co. did not say when White Rabbit candy would go on sale again, according to China Daily. The company could not be immediately contacted Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Vietnam’s vice minister of health, Cao Minh Quang, said Tuesday that 23 milk products had tested positive for melamine. The country has already recalled 300 tons of products, most imported from China, said chief health ministry inspector Tran Quang Trung.

The country’s top quality supervision agency said Tuesday new tests on liquid dairy products sold domestically found no traces of melamine, official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.

Guyana: Government bans Chinese milk imports amid toxic chemical scare

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Posted on 5th October 2008 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Date: 10/5/2008 12:00 AM

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Guyana banned the import of all Chinese milk products after food inspectors found possibly contaminated evaporated milk for sale at a local market, the health ministry said Saturday.

Inspectors are scouring supermarkets across the country to pull all Milky-brand evaporated milk products, acting on a warning by Chinese officials who said the product could contain melamine, Health Minister Leslie Ramsammy said.

“We have not done any tests, but we are acting purely on what we have been told by the Chinese,” he said.

Two unregistered importers brought the product into Guyana from neighboring Suriname, where all Chinese-made dairy products were banned late last month, the ministry said.

No one has been reported sick in Guyana.

Guyana joins at least 13 other countries in banning Chinese dairy products after melamine-tainted milk formula was found to have killed four infants and sickened more than 54,000 children in China. The chemical is known to cause kidney failure.

Melamine, which is used to make plastics and fertilizer, is thought to have been added to Chinese milk to boost its levels of protein.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.

FDA: Tiny bit of melamine in food usually OK

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Posted on 3rd October 2008 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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Date: 10/3/2008 11:03 AM

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Eating a tiny bit of a melamine, the chemical responsible for a global food safety scare, is not harmful except when it’s in baby formula, U.S. food safety officials said Friday.

Melamine-tainted formula has sickened more than 54,000 children in China and is being blamed for the deaths of at least four tots. The chemical has also turned up in products sold across Asia, ranging from candies, to chocolates, to coffee drinks, that used dairy ingredients from China. Authorities in California and Connecticut have found melamine in White Rabbit candies imported from China.

But infant formula made in the U.S. is safe, because manufacturers do not use any ingredients from China.

The Food and Drug Administration said Friday its safety experts have concluded that eating a very tiny amount of melamine — 2.5 parts per million — would not raise health concerns, even if a person ate food that was tainted with the chemical every day.

But officials stressed the scientific assessment does not mean that U.S. authorities will tolerate any melamine that is deliberately added to foods. In China, unscrupulous suppliers appear to have been adding melamine to make watered-down milk seem protein-rich in quality-control tests. That’s because melamine is high in nitrogen, as is protein.

“If products are adulterated because they contain melamine, (authorities) will take appropriate actions to prevent the products from entering commerce,” the FDA said in a statement. The agency said it was setting the 2.5 parts-per-million standard to address situations in which the chemical accidentally comes into contact with food, such as in cases where it is used for industrial purposes in a factory that makes food products.

Officials also stressed that infant formula sold to U.S. consumers must be completely free of melamine.

“There is too much uncertainty to set a level in infant formula and rule out any public health concern,” the FDA said.

Melamine first came to the attention of U.S. consumers last year, when it touched off a massive pet food recall. Chinese suppliers of bulk pet food ingredients were found to have been adding the chemical to artificially boost the protein readings of their products. Thousands of pets here were sickened, and hundreds are believed to have died.

Melamine is harmful to the kidneys. It can cause kidney stones as the body tries to eliminate it, and in extreme cases, life-threatening kidney failure.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.

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