China: Melamine tainted milk, current situation

[sharon sanders]

Re: China: Melamine tainted milk, current situation

Saudi Arabia Withdraws All Chinese Products that Contain Milk -

Trade ordered the withdrawal of the destruction of all Chinese milk products

الرياض - واس:

Riyadh - WAS:

كثفت وزارة التجارة والصناعة تدابيرها لضمان خلو أسواق المملكة من جميع منتجات الحليب الصيني التي ثبت تلوثها بمادة الميلامين الضارة، حيث عممت الوزارة على جميع فروعها في مناطق ومحافظات المملكة بسحب واتلاف كل الدفعات المعروضة في الاسواق والكميات المحجوزة لدى وكلاء تلك المنتجات.

Intensified the Ministry of Trade and Industry measures to ensure that the Kingdom of all milk products contaminated with the Chinese that have proved harmful substance melamine, where the ministry circulated to all its branches in the regions and governorates of the Kingdom withdrew and destroyed all payments in the market, and presented amounts reserved to the agents of those products.

وطلبت وزارة التجارة والصناعة من مختبرات الجودة النوعية الاستمرار في عدم فسح منتجات أغذية الاطفال الحليبية والحليب الوارد من الصين واخضاع منتجات الاغذية الصينية لمزيد من الفحص والتحليل للتحقق من عدم احتوائها على مادة الميلامين.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry laboratories quality continuing not to allow children Milkiness food products and milk from the China and Chinese food products subject to further examination and analysis to verify the article did not contain melamine.

وأفادت الوزارة في بيان صحفي أن نتائج الفحص والتحليل للعينات التي تم سحبها من الاسواق المحلية للحليب الصيني أثبتت وجود تلوث بمادة الميلامين الضارة في تلك المنتجات.

The ministry said in a press statement that the results of the examination and analysis of samples that have been withdrawn from local markets for milk and the Chinese proved melamine contamination with a harmful products.

وأشارت الى أنها أكملت تزويد مختبراتها بالاجهزة والمستلزمات الفنية المتخصصة في الكشف عن الميلامين في الاغذية ومباشرة أعمال الفحص والتحليل اعتبارا من 1429/11/1ه .

She pointed out that it had completed its laboratories to provide equipment and supplies specialized expertise in the detection of melamine in the food and direct the work of inspection and analysis from e 1429/11/1.

وكانت وزارة التجارة والصناعة قد اتخذت خمسة أجراءات احترازية لمواجهة تلك المشكلة تتضمن عدم فسح منتجات أغذية الاطفال (الحليبية) والحليب بشكل عام الوارد من الصين وعدم فسح أي منتج من منتجات الشركات الصينية المعلن عن تلوث منتجاتها بالميلامين وأخضاع جميع منتجات الاغذية الصينية المحتوية ضمن مكوناتها على الحليب ومشتقاته للفحص المخبري للتأكد من خلوه من مادة الميلامين وسحب عينات من منتجات الحليب الصيني وأخضاعها للفحص والتحليل بالتنسيق مع هيئة الغذاء والدواء.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry has taken five precautionary measures to face this problem include non-food products to allow children (Milkiness) and the milk in China and not allow any products of Chinese companies declared their Balmilamin pollution and the placement of all Chinese food products containing components in the milk And its derivatives for laboratory examination to ascertain the article free of melamine and the withdrawal of samples of milk products of China and subject to examination and analysis in coordination with the food and medicine.

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alriyadh.com%2F&sl=ar&tl=en&hl=EN&ie=UTF-8

[Giuseppe]

Re: China: Melamine tainted milk, current situation

Hong Kong: Latest melamine test results (12/2/2008) [CFS]

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) today (December 2) released the latest batch of results of melamine tests. The results showed that 61 of the 62 samples tested were satisfactory.


These included milk, frozen confections, eggs, biscuits and cakes.

An egg sample was found to be unsatisfactory with the level of melamine detected at 4.7ppm.

Details are as follows: Producer: ... Address: ... Egg farm: ... Batch number: JY200811-2 Local importer: ... address: E8, 2/F, Cheung Sha Wan Wholesale Food Market

Under the Harmful Substances in Food (Amendment) Regulation 2008, the legal limit for melamine in the concerned product is 2.5ppm.

"The large-sized egg sample was taken at Man Kam To. The CFS has asked the importer to stop selling the affected products. According to the importer, the concerned products have only been distributed to some bakeries but not to any other retail outlets. The Centre is now following up with the concerned bakeries," a CFS spokesman said.

"We have informed the food trade of the test results and asked them to stop selling or using the concerned product. We have also informed the Mainland authorities for follow up."

The safety reference value (i.e. tolerable daily intake - TDI) for melamine is 0.63mg per kg of body weight per day. For children under the age of three years, who are more sensitive to melamine, the TDI for melamine is 0.32mg per kg of body weight per day. Transient excursion above the TDI of melamine would have no health consequences provided that the average intake over a long period has not exceeded the TDI.

On the sample of large-sized egg which was detected with a melamine level of 4.7ppm, the spokesman said a child weighing 10kg (about three years old) would have to eat 0.68kg (about 13 eggs) of the product a day to reach the TDI. An adult with average body weight of 60kg would need to consume 8.04kg (about 152 eggs) of the product a day before reaching the TDI.

The Centre has so far tested 307 egg samples and four were found unsatisfactory.

Information on the test results can be found on the CFS's website, www.cfs.gov.hk.

People can also call the CFS's enquiry number 2381 6096 which operates from 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.
-

View Original Article

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: China: Melamine tainted milk, current situation

Much more children ill from melamine.

Ministry: Six infants possibly died of tainted milk powder


www.chinaview.cn 2008-12-01

BEIJING, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- Six Chinese infants might have died from consuming melamine-tainted milk powder, the country's Ministry of Health (MOH) said here on Monday.

Experts with the MOH and provincial health departments had looked into 11 infant death cases since September across the country, and had ruled out connection to the tainted milk powder in five cases, the ministry said on its website.

They could not, however, rule out such possibility in the rest six cases, it said.

Four of the six cases occured in Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Guizhou and Shaanxi Provinces respectively, while the rest two cases occurred in the northwestern province of Gansu.

It did not give any further details.

Previous reports said three babies, including two in Gansu Province and one in Zhejiang Province, had already been confirmed by the ministry to have died from consuming the tainted milk from May to August.

The ministry did not make it clear whether the three confirmed cases were included in the six undecided case.

Meanwhile, 861 infants were still receiving treatment for kidney problems caused by tainted milk powder by last Thursday, the ministry said.
The figure dropped by about 200 from the previous week, when the number of hospitalized infants stood at 1,041.

All together 294,000 infants were found to have suffered from diseases of urinary systems in the ministry's nationwide screening, it said.

Among them, 154 had been in serious conditions, but were all stable by Monday. A total of 51,900 children had been hospitalized and 51,039 had recovered and left the hospital.

Most of the sick children were found to have only sand-like stones in their urinary systems

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-12/01/content_10441344.htm

[Anne]

Re: China: Melamine tainted milk, current situation

http://fr.news.yahoo.com/2/20081121/thl-pays-bas-de-la-melamine-decouverte-d-96993ab.html

automatic translation

Netherlands: melamine discovered in Chinese flours of soya


Melamine was discovered in flours of soya coming from China and intended for the animal feed, Friday the health authorities Dutchwomen in an official statement announced.

The presence of melamine was announced Thursday to the health authorities by a Dutch raw material importer intended for the manufacture of food for the cattle, according to the official statement.

The flour of soya accused was delivered to three manufacturers feedingstuffs. The contaminated food was withdrawn Friday of the exploitations to which they had been delivered.

?Because of the relatively low melamine rate discovered until now?, there are ?no health risks? of the animals and the human health, specifies the official statement.

[Anne]

Re: China: Melamine tainted milk, current situation

there is not "safe level " of melamine.

http://www.promedmail.org/pls/otn/f?p=2400:1001:4056043501179478::NO::F2400_P1001_BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,74839

MELAMINE CONTAMINATED FOOD PRODUCTS (08): WORLDWIDE ex CHINA
************************************************** **********
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
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Date: Mon 17 Nov 2008
Source: The Guardian (Nigeria) [edited]
<http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/focus_record/article01//indexn3_html?pdate=171108&ptitle=Coping%20with%20a nother%20toxic%20milk%20scare&cpdate=191108>


Nigeria: coping with another toxic milk scare
----------------------------------------------
The recent discovery of abnormal quantities of the toxic chemical
melamine in 6 different brands of ice cream and bulk milk powders
marketed in Lagos and Ogun States has raised fresh concerns over the
safety of dairy products and their link with increasing kidney
failures across the country. The discovery has left many critics
wondering whether the toxic chemical has been in the system long
before now and is responsible for the increasing cases of kidney failure.

Bulk milk powder, usually imported from China, is used in making
almost all confectioneries including bread, meat pie, cake, candy,
chocolate, ice cream, yoghurt, and biscuit, to mention but a few.

In recent times, melamine, a plastic-making industrial compound that
was added to milk powder to cheat quality tests, has been found in
cartons of milk and some dairy exports from China. It has also been
shown that the chemical sometimes accidentally leaches into the food
supply in low levels, from things like plastic dinnerware. It can
also seep in from some pesticides and fertilisers.

At least 4 Chinese children have died and over 500 000 others
hospitalized after consuming dairy products tainted with melamine.
However, no case has been confirmed in Nigeria.

Medical experts said extremely high levels of melamine, as found in
the Chinese ice creams, milk powders, and baby formulae, can cause
kidney stones, and in extreme cases can bring on life-threatening
kidney failure. They, however, said although melamine may already be
in the global food chain, humans are unlikely to get sick due to low
levels of the chemical. [There are too many variables in human health
for this to be a safe sentence. It does not account for
immunocompromised patients, the elderly, the very young, the cancer
patients, or those with other illnesses that may be complicating
factors. - Mod.TG]

More worrisome is the fact that some of the over 500 000 children,
who have fallen ill in China after being fed with milk formula
contaminated with melamine, have developed 'crystals' in their
kidneys. Medical experts said in addition to causing kidney stones,
melamine could potentially trigger far more serious complications by
crystallising and then blocking tiny tubes in the kidneys. They say
crystals may be even more troublesome than stones. They can
potentially impair kidney function especially when large numbers of
them suddenly form at the same time, blocking tubules in the kidneys.

But while scientists say it is not dangerous to ingest small amounts,
they cannot be definitive because there have been no tests on
melamine effects in humans. Until the contaminated baby formula
became public in September [2008], there was never any reason to think so.

That leaves consumers worldwide, particularly parents, worried about
food products from China, and even those made elsewhere with
ingredients imported from Chinese companies.

Critics fear that the rising cases of kidney failure and the high
under-5 mortality rate in the country may not be unconnected with the
poisonous chemical.

Besides baby milk formula, dairy-based products from yoghurt to
chocolate and eggs have been contaminated with melamine. An admission
by a Chinese state-run media that the industrial chemical is
regularly added to animal feed in China fuelled fears that the
problem could be more widespread, affecting fish, meat, and who knows
what else.

This latest China food scandal has sparked tests for melamine in a
variety of Chinese-made products from milk and chocolate bars to
yoghurt exported around the world, including products in South Korea,
leading to items being pulled from shop shelves.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control
(NAFDAC) has detected toxic quantities of melamine in ice creams and
milk powder imported from China by Londa Foods International Limited.
NAFDAC said the milk powder and ice creams confiscated from the
company, located next to a Texaco petrol station off Lagos-Ibadan
Expressway, Isheri Town, Ogun State, contains 21.1 mg/kg of melamine,
which is far above the acceptable maximum limit of 2.5 mg/kg.

Nigeria adopted the Chinese standards, which say any product
containing melamine above 1 mg/kg is unacceptable. In the United
States, the maximum limit is 2.5 mg/kg. [Fascinating, one of the few
standards where China is stricter than the US. With a standard so
strict, how did so much melamine find its way into infant formulas
and milks to affect so many infants? - Mod.TG]

The Guardian investigations revealed that the ice cream, which is
sold freely in the country, has no NAFDAC number and the pack is
labelled in Chinese. The products are offered in many varieties to
consumers, ranging from ice cream in both bars and bowls.

NAFDAC's Deputy Director of Enforcement, Pharm. Ololade Alabi said
the contaminated milk powder and ice cream produced by the company
has been seized and the factory sealed up pending further
investigation. "Ultimately all affected raw materials and finished
products will be destroyed and further action will be taken against
the company," she said.

The ice cream products seized include: Londa Big Pudding Ice cream;
Londa Cool Ice Cream; Londa Orange Flavoured yoghurt; Londa Pineapple
Flavoured yoghurt; Londa Happiness Ice cream; and Londa Strawberry
Yoghurt. The contaminated ice creams, according to Alabi, were first
discovered at Osata Supermarket on Opebi Road, Ikeja Lagos, then with
a major distributor at Maryland, Ikeja, and at China Town where they
were supplied for sale. She said the agency has destroyed most of the
finished products.

But the Director General of NAFDAC, Prof Dora Nkem Akunyili told The
Guardian in an exclusive interview over the weekend [15-16 Nov 2008]
that there is no cause for alarm. "If there is any cause for people
to be worried, I will not hesitate to give the information because we
have succeeded in gaining the confidence of Nigerians and that is
part of why we are succeeding and cannot afford to toy with it."
She explained: "Though we have discovered melamine in unsatisfactory
level in a product marketed by a Chinese company that was producing
illegally, we cannot really say that we have found it in Nigeria at a
frightening level. I will continue to say that I am very happy that
the major sources of melamine in China exported to many African
countries, but Nigeria was conspicuously out of the list. But that we
eventually found a Chinese company hiding somewhere and producing
milk that is unacceptable, does not mean that Nigeria has a problem
for us to worry about. We have been able to contain it. The milk
products we collected from across the country and tested, we did not
find melamine in any of them."

Akunyili dismissed melamine's link to increasing kidney failures in
the country and said that besides melamine, there are too many things
that cause kidney failure. "Kidney failure can be caused by fake
drugs, some chemicals unaccepted by the body, it can be caused by
bromate in bread, by diethyl glycol in toothpastes. It can be caused
by unwanted food additives. It can also be caused by melamine. It can
also be caused by genuine drugs, depending on the person taking it
because it could be an adverse drug reaction. So there are too many
causes of kidney failure, you cannot pin it just to melamine," she said.

The NAFDAC DG said that melamine contamination of food products and
the effect on human health is still a new thing. "I do not believe
that we have always had melamine in the system. Even in China it is
still a new thing, in America it is still new, that is why people are
still just bringing up standards for melamine. It is new; it is not a
usual thing to find that kind of chemical in foods. So if it existed
long time ago, too many people would have developed kidney problem
and of course died in China before this episode. But it has not
happened in the past so it is a new phenomenon and that is why the
world is waking up to adopt a regulation like China that anything
more than 1 mg/kg, in America anything more than 2.5 mg/kg melamine,
is unacceptable. We in Nigeria are adopting the Chinese standard,
which is 0.1 mg/kg, anything above that is unacceptable. So we do not
have any crisis situation."

The World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children Fund
(UNICEF) have issued a joint statement expressing concern about the crisis.

"Whilst any attempt to deceive the public in the area of food
production and marketing is unacceptable, deliberate contamination of
foods intended for consumption by vulnerable infants and young
children is particularly deplorable," the statement said.

"We also expect that following the investigation and in the context
of the Chinese government's increasing attention to food safety,
better regulation of foods for infants and young children will be
enforced," the UN statement said.

WHO and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are urging
affected countries to ensure safe feeding of millions of infants
following the ongoing melamine-contaminated milk crisis in China. The
2 agencies also called on countries to be alert to the possible
spread of melamine-contaminated dairy products.

Before now, most of the products tested by NAFDAC have been found to
be satisfactory. The agency had last month [October 2008] discovered
melamine but in safe levels in some Chinese milk powder used in the
country in making milk products.

The Guardian learnt that NAFDAC discovered melamine in toxic
quantities after ordering for a re-test of some the dairy products
manufactured by the Chinese firm. However, it was learnt that the
breakthrough was made possible after NAFDAC ordered for and got
delivery of state-of-the art test kits, Rapid Test Kit, for melamine
early last month [October 2008].

Alabi said that the Managing Director of the company, Mr Mo Yirui
claimed through an interpreter that the raw materials were procured
by his late predecessor, Mr Liu. She said that efforts are still
being made by the agency to track the actual source of the milk
powder in China.

How were Londa Foods dealings discovered? "We got a complaint from a
consumer. Not that the consumer was ill, but just out of curiosity
found that the ice cream is not registered and reported to us. We
decided to visit the factory and when we got there we saw the people
and invited them. Samples were collected and tested, and we found
melamine in unsatisfactory levels," Alabi said.

But Akunyili is not perturbed. She said: "I would have been rattled
if Nigeria was one of the countries they exported those consignment
of melamine to."

Also, a WHO food safety expert said that some children, who have
fallen ill in China after being fed milk formula that had been
contaminated with melamine, have developed "crystals" in their kidneys.

Food safety experts in the EU, which imports about 21 500 tons of
Chinese confectionary products, said there is only a limited risk in
Europe from the food imports. But the European Commission says it is
acting as a precaution in the face of the growing health scare.
"While breastfeeding is the ideal way of providing infants with the
nutrients they need for healthy growth and development, it is also
critical to ensure that there is an adequate supply of safe powdered
infant formula to meet the needs of infants who are not breastfed,"
said Dr Jurgen Schlundt, Director of the WHO Food Safety Department.

WHO recommends that all infants should be fed exclusively with breast
milk for the 1st 6 months of life. No other liquid or food, not even
water, is needed during this period. Thereafter, infants should
receive adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding
continues up to 2 years of age and beyond.

Peter Dingle, a toxicity expert at Murdoch University in Perth,
Australia, said, however, that aside from the tainted baby formula,
it is unlikely humans will get sick from melamine. The amount of the
chemical in a few servings of bacon, for instance, would simply be
too low, he said. [Although the level is low, what about long term
accumulations? Is there enough research to know for sure? - Mod.TG]

But Dingle and others said China should have cracked down sooner on
feed companies that have boosted their earnings by fortifying their
products with the chemical, which is normally used in the manufacture
of plastic and fertilisers.

Akunyili, on 16 Oct 2008, ordered manufacturing companies in Nigeria
to stop the use of bulk milk raw materials from China until the
Agency certified such raw materials to be free from melamine.

Akunyili, however, assured Nigerians that the agency was fully
prepared to checkmate any attempt by unscrupulous individuals or
groups to import the controversial China killer-milk into the
country. She said the agency received the rapid test kits for the
determination of melamine in powdered milk on Friday 10 Oct 2008 and
immediately started analysis of milk samples collected nationwide immediately.
Akunyili said 79 samples, comprising baby formula, milk powder, and
milk products such as yoghurt, milk drinks, and candies were screened
using the Rapid Test Kit. Melamine, she said, was detected in about
24 per cent of the samples analysed at levels below the presently
permitted maximum level of 1.0 mg/kg in baby formula and 2.5 mg/kg in
other milk products.

According to Akunyili, of the 18 baby formulas screened, 6 samples
were found to contain melamine at levels within acceptable limits.
Sixteen bulk milk powders from China were screened and half of them
had melamine within acceptable limits. She said the agency has also
ordered for the various accessories and reagents required for
qualitative and quantitative analysis.

The NAFDAC boss further explained: "Currently there are no imported
finished milk products from China registered by NAFDAC, but some
local manufacturers of dairy products use bulk milk powder from China
as raw material. Consequently, NAFDAC wrote to all manufacturers that
use Chinese bulk milk powder to stop their use until they are
certified to be melamine free by NAFDAC. We also went to the
individual factories nationwide to put all the milk raw materials on
hold, so as to ensure that the milk powders are not used for
production until certified."

NAFDAC has given reasons why Nigeria is not on the list of the
countries where the deadly Chinese infant formula has been
circulated. Akunyili, told The Guardian: "We are ensuring that infant
formula in Nigeria is of good quality. Before we register, we test,
we make sure they are of the right quality; they are not harmful in
any way. We also screen at the ports of entry. We take samples and
screen. The world knows how strict we are at all ports of entry now
and that is why China did not export that infant formula to Nigeria.
"I have some inner feeling of fulfillment when they read out the
names of countries where the milk was exported to and Nigeria was not
there. Not only do we screen before registration, we go back to the
market to pick the items and re-test. That is how we found out fake
SMA Gold [infant milk formula]. We also encourage the public to give
us tip-offs. We also inspect the plant of the manufacturer."

She, however, explained why the agency couldn't ban the sale of
infant formula in the country, saying: "We are not able to say that
because there are some HIV-positive mothers who prefer to use infant
formula for psychological reasons. Although if you are HIV-positive
and you do exclusive breastfeeding you will not transfer the disease,
some of them psychologically do not want to; so they use infant formula."

[Byline: Chukwuma Muanya]

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Susan Baekeland

[Giuseppe]

Re: China: Melamine tainted milk, current situation

Hong Kong: CHP receives reports of two children with renal problems (11/12/2008) [CHP]

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is investigating two cases of renal problems reported by the Hospital Authority suspected to be related to the consumption of melamine tainted milk products.


A CHP spokesman said today (November 12) that the cases involved two four-year-old girls living in Tai Hang and Wan Chai respectively. It was reported that the two girls had no symptoms of renal problems but had a history of exposure to melamine tainted milk products and biscuits bought from the Mainland and in the local market. Their parents took them to the Special Assessment Centre at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital for medical checkups in October.

A renal stone was found in the left kidney of the girl living in Tai Hang. She was admitted to Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) for treatment on October 21 and was discharged on October 29. As for the girl living in Wan Chai, a renal stone was found in her right kidney. She was admitted to PMH on October 29 and was discharged on November 7.

The products concerned were earlier found by the Centre for Food Safety to have been adulterated with melamine, a chemical that can cause kidney stones leading to renal failure.

Meanwhile, in the 24 hours to 1pm today, the CHP hotline 2125 1133 had received five enquiries from members of the public, bringing to 10,364 the number of calls received by the hotline since it was set up on September 21.

"A total of 3,750 callers claimed that they or their children had consumed milk products which were confirmed to have been adulterated with melamine, and 1,113 of the affected people, 596 males and 517 females aged from one to 82, claimed to have symptoms of renal problems including dysuria and changes in the frequency of urination.

"They have been advised to seek medical attention as soon as possible to ascertain if they are suffering from renal disease," the spokesman said.

The remaining 6,614 callers had no history of exposure to melamine adulterated milk products and just asked for general health advice.

The CHP hotline, which operates from 9am to 5pm from Monday to Friday and from 9am to 1pm on Saturdays, caters for individuals who have consumed milk products contaminated with melamine or those who are experiencing renal symptoms.
-

View Original Article

[Giuseppe]

Re: China: Melamine tainted milk, current situation

Hong Kong: Latest melamine test results (11/11/2008) [CFS]

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) today (November 11) released the latest batch of results of melamine tests.


The results showed that all 73 samples tested were satisfactory. These included milk, eggs, vegetable, pork and fish.

"Test results for milk, eggs, meat and vegetables will be available tomorrow," a Government spokesman said.

Information on the test results can be found on the CFS's website, www.cfs.gov.hk .

People can also call the CFS's enquiry number 2381 6096 which operates from 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, and 9am to 1pm on Saturdays.

Meanwhile, melamine test results for fish feed samples available today showed that three of the four samples tested were satisfactory.

The four samples were sourced from the Mainland, Taiwan, France and Japan.

"The feed sample that tested positive for melamine was taken from a marine fish farm at Cheung Sha Wan. The level of melamine detected is 6.6 ppm. According to the fish farmer, the feed in question (... manufactured by ...) was sourced in the Mainland and delivered to Hong Kong by himself," the spokesman said.

"It is initially learnt that feed of the same brand is also used by three other marine fish farms. A total of eight live marine fish samples were collected from these four farms for melamine testing. Results showed that all the fish samples tested were satisfactory.

"The above results tally with the findings of an earlier study conducted by the United States Food and Drug Administration that animal feed tainted with melamine had limited effect on edible meat tissue," the spokesman added.

"The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has informed local fish farmers of the test results and asked them to stop using the concerned feed.

"The AFCD will continue to collect marine fish samples for testing. The department also informed the Mainland authorities for follow up and will continue to closely monitor the situation.

"We advise local fish and livestock farmers to request their feed suppliers to ascertain that the feed they supply does not contain melamine when sourcing animal feed.

"They should report to the AFCD any irregularities of their farmed animals suspected to be related to melamine tainted feed," the spokesman said.
-

View Original Article

[Giuseppe]

Re: China: Melamine tainted milk, current situation

Hong Kong: SFH on melamine incidents and organ donation (11/10/2008) [SFH]

Following is the transcript of remarks made by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr York Chow, at a stand-up media session in the Legislative Council Building today (November 10):


Reporter:
There are shortages of eggs in Hong Kong. What was happening?

Secretary for Food and Health:
As I explained on Saturday, the central authority has actually indicated that they would like to ensure the food supply in Hong Kong is safe, particularly for egg supply that is melamine free. So the suppliers are very careful to screen the source of eggs before they are imported to Hong Kong. This would be a temporary arrangement and certainly it will result in a temporary shortage as well.

Reporter:
How long will be the temporary shortage?

Secretary for Food and Health:
It is difficult to say because our eggs come from different provinces and areas of the Mainland, so it will take some time.

Reporter:
I foresee that the Government has an uphill battle in organ donation because of superstition.

Secretary for Food and Health:
I think that superstition has slowly being overcome by more open attitude from our citizens, particularly the younger ones. As I see, the most difficult part in the past is we don't know what is the wish of the potential donors. Because sometimes they have pledged but they are not carrying their donation card. Secondly, there are only 40,000 people registered with the Hong Kong Medical Association's registry, the number is still quite small.What we have done now is to enlarge this register so that we can fill as many potential donors as possible. At the same time, this information will be accessible to the transplant co-ordinators and the Hospital Authority so that the family members can quickly grasp what the wish of the potential donor would be.

Reporter:
(medical staff not keen to save life in order to secure donors' organs)

Secretary for Food and Health:
I don't think that would be possible. The priority of our medical staff to anybody who got sickness or injury is to save the life of that particular person. It is only when we find that there is a sign of brain death and actually irreversible death, then we will discuss with the family members organ donation.

Reporter:
Are you an organ donor yourself?

Secretary for Food and Health:
I signed the organ donation card many years back. This time, with the new system, I have also signed the new card and I have also told my family members.

Reporter
Would you ask all your staff to be organ donors?

Secretary for Food and Health:
In fact, I like to appeal to everybody in Hong Kong to be an organ donor, including all the reporters.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)

-

View Original Article

[Giuseppe]

Re: China: Melamine tainted milk, current situation

Hong Kong: Latest melamine test results (11/7/2008) [CFS]

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) today (November 7) released the latest batch of results of melamine tests.

The results showed that all 70 samples tested were satisfactory.

These included milk and milk powder, baby food, egg, chilled pork and fish.

"Test results for some milk and milk powder, baby food, egg, cheese and yoghurt will be available tomorrow," a government spokesman said.

Information on the test results can be found on the CFS's website, www.cfs.gov.hk.

People can also call the CFS' enquiry number 2381 6096 which operates from 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, and 9am to 1pm on Saturdays.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) recently also collected samples of animal feed used locally for melamine analysis. Test results of all the five fish feed samples available today were satisfactory. The five samples of fish feed were collected from local fish farms.

Among them, two were imported from the Mainland, two from Taiwan while one was produced in Hong Kong.

"In the light of reports of animal feed being tainted with melamine on the Mainland recently, we consider it timely to examine the animal feed used in local farms and collect samples for melamine testing so as to assess whether the feed is contaminated with melamine, " the spokesman said.

In the alert update issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) International Food Safety Authorities Network on October 30, it recommended that when considering limits for animal feed, a similar approach - similar limits - should be taken as for food in order to clearly identify and eliminate adulterated feed products from the food production chain.

"After taking into account the guidelines by the WHO and other countries such as the European Union, and consulted the Food Safety, Supply and Control Sub-group of the Expert Group on Melamine Incident, we decided to set the detection limit of melamine in animal feed at 2.5 milligrammes per kilogramme (equivalent to 2.5 ppm).It is at the same level as the legal limit of melamine in food in Hong Kong. This standard is in line with WHO's recommendation."

"We will continue to advise local fish and livestock farmers to check with their feed suppliers to ascertain that the feed they supply does not contain melamine."

"They should report to the AFCD on any irregularities of their farmed animals suspected to be related to melamine tainted feed," the spokesman said.
-

View Original Article

[Treyfish]

Re: China: Melamine tainted milk, current situation

Han Wei: 1 day to destroy 142 tons of eggs
[ 2008-11-4 11:03:11 According to the China news agency reported on November 3 for "good choice" eggs were detected in Hong Kong, melamine, the head of the Group of Dalian Han Wei Han Wei in an interview to the media, consumers and dealers to conduct a public apology, claiming that South Korea Dalian Wei Chicken Co., Ltd. in the mainland's "Da giggle" brand eggs in the Hong Kong market and the "best choice" non-brand eggs unified brand products are sold on the market, "Da giggle" brand eggs by the relevant departments of melamine-free test

Han Wei Group will be whether the number of losses, Han Wei's own words, "there is no time, because there are 12 branches in 40 cities. Brand and the cost is likely not know how to forecast." But the "pyridaben giggle" He has played the full name, but at present all have cleared
"Esperanto is a giggle command to a horse, more than 200 countries in the world does not need translation, I do in the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom lectures, they asked me," how this translation? "I said," do not have to translate, you can learn a cock.
The results are often the audience laugh more than 1,000 people. "Han Wei are willing to talk about the name. "[B]This incident, Han Wei Group for the physical loss in three months will definitely reach a billion." Industry, told a reporter, which, including the just compensation that might arise, the crisis in corporate public relations and publicity And so on[/B
"If we have to work out before the advertising channels into the building, or even possible credit crisis, it would only be able to know their business." According to Han Wei Group, a public data, in 2007, the company 3,000,000 layer, the output of 58,000,000 kg of eggs. This year, Han Wei Group had sales of 10 billion or so"Melamine is definitely a link in the feed." Enterprise told reportersHe disclosed that if the chicken feed, the use of all the corn, eggs, each the lowest cost to 0.7 yuan in.
OEM manufacturers and some close to the egg, chicken corn because the retail cost is too high, and the use of meat and bone meal as chicken feed, the feed costs are lower, about 0.3 yuan an egg, but the process is likely to Add melamine, the quality can not be guaranteed.

http://209.85.171.104/translate_c?hl...MUPwYQfFe8Vf7Q[/FONT]

[Treyfish]

Re: China: Melamine tainted milk, current situation

Guangdong chickens and ducks fish and shrimp feed cattle pig detection o At 1:04 on November 1, 2008f melamine
A total of 8 batches of samples throughout the province have failed in the middle of the Guangdong chicken eggs were not detected melamine
Yesterday, the Agriculture Department of Guangdong Province held a press conference, informed the province in recent days on feed quality and safety and improvement of eggs, chicken melamine for special supervision and monitoring.
Reporters from the news conference was informed that the province's 531 random batch of feed, eight batches of melamine detected in animal feed, including chickens, ducks, cattle, pigs and all kinds of fish and shrimp feed .{snip}<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 12px" align=middle scw_ig="yes"> Fell trees in the road by the wholesale market for eggs, many stalls will provide information on the melamine inspection reports. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
http://209.85.171.104/translate_c?hl...LFcBK_uWVyp95w

[Treyfish]

Re: China: Melamine tainted milk, current situation

<TABLE><TBODY><TR><TD class=tintop_title vAlign=top align=left>Melamine found in imported Chinese fish meal</TD></TR><TR><TD class=news_date vAlign=top align=left height=20>17:41' 31/10/2008 (GMT+7) </TD></TR><TR><TD class=text vAlign=top align=left>VietNamNet Bridge ? Chinese-made fish meal powder has been found with a high concentration of melamine, 150 parts per million (ppm) in Vietnam, an official of the National Fisheries Quality and Veterinary Directorate (Nafiqaved) said in Hanoi yesterday.
About 100 tonnes of the fish meal powder have been put into production by an animal meal producer in Can Tho province, CATACO. The feed has been sold to many fish farms. However, CATACO sent samples of the feed for testing after they found abnormalities in the colour and taste of the feed.
Nafiqaved promptly asked CATACO to stop using the powder after the results of the tests came in, said Nguyen Nhu Tiep, deputy chief of Nafiqaved.

<TABLE class="image center" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=3 width=400 align=center fck_template="imagecontener"><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD class=image_desc align=middle>Chinese-made fish ingredients imported to Vietnam. (Photo: Ha Yen)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

However, fish given the tainted meal have tested negative for melamine. Nafiqaved conducted test on 35 samples of the fish, added the deputy.
Early in July, 240 tonnes of Chinese-made fish meal powder in HCM City was found containing melamine.
In 2004, US Food and Drug Agency asked exporters of fish to the US to monitor fish ingredients imported from China for melamine, which falsely boosts the nutrient content of food. Vietnam has done a good job with this monitoring, the deputy said.
The deputy also said that Vietnam imports wheat gluten and fish powder mostly from the US, Peru and India. A small amount of fish powder has been imported from China. However, Nafiqaved has checked up carefully on this amount, the deputy explained.
The amount of fish powder tainted with melamine was possibly imported into Vietnam illegally or was not examined by relevant bodies. http://english.vietnamnet.vn/social/2008/10/811245/
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[Treyfish]

Re: China: Melamine tainted milk, current situation

Hebei egg problem affecting farmers Egg every day tens of thousands of chickens slaughtered

星岛环球网www.stnn.cc 2008-10-31

Sing Tao Web
<STYLE id=_Custom_Style_>.h1 { FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; FONT-SIZE: 22pt; MARGIN: 17pt 0cm 16.5pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 240&#37;; TEXT-ALIGN: justify}.h2 { FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; FONT-SIZE: 16pt; MARGIN: 13pt 0cm; LINE-HEIGHT: 173%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify}.h3 { FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; FONT-SIZE: 16pt; MARGIN: 13pt 0cm; LINE-HEIGHT: 173%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify}DIV.union { FONT-SIZE: 14px; LINE-HEIGHT: 18px}DIV.union TD { FONT-SIZE: 14px; LINE-HEIGHT: 18px}.h1 { FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; FONT-SIZE: 22pt; MARGIN: 17pt 0cm 16.5pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 240%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify}.h2 { FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; FONT-SIZE: 16pt; MARGIN: 13pt 0cm; LINE-HEIGHT: 173%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify}.h3 { FONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; FONT-SIZE: 16pt; MARGIN: 13pt 0cm; LINE-HEIGHT: 173%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify}.union { FONT-SIZE: 14px; LINE-HEIGHT: 18px}.union TD { FONT-SIZE: 14px; LINE-HEIGHT: 18px}</STYLE>"melamine egg problem of" keeping the incident spread to a number of Hebei village, in the absence of "Melamine-free" shows that a number of eggs farmers Dingxing Xian city every day tens of thousands of chickens slaughtered. Many local officials are worried that the debt started egg farmers are likely to face down the drain.
Shen Tao in the village of Baoding in the north is the largest concentration of capital for the bulk supply of eggs for keeping the village, more than 120 local chicken farmers, which 45 days ago, the backlog of eggs a day are more than 30,000 jin, the village is now a backlog More than 150,000 eggs have been catty. Since October 26 eggs have been found melamine, the egg farmers here are faced with the "winter" test, where most of the output of eggs sold in Beijing, while a small number of the flow of Guangzhou.

目前北京的批发商已经告诉所有供货的蛋农，若送来的鸡蛋拿不出“不含三聚氰胺”的检测证明，则一概拒收，蛋 农们只得将每天产下的鸡蛋暂时屯积在自家仓库。

At present, Beijing has told the wholesalers supply all the eggs in agriculture, if sent by the absence of eggs "does not contain melamine," the testing proved that all were rejected, egg farmers will have a daily output of eggs for the time being under the stocking In their own warehouses.
{snip}
In the face of pressure from the backlog of eggs, the villagers only part of laying hens sent to the slaughterhouse in order to exchange part of the emergency funds, according to Mr. Liao, including several brokers to statistics, only one in the village of Tao Shen, each of the past few days Days have been sent to slaughter tens of thousands of laying hens, chickens sent to slaughterhouses every day people need to line up... http://209.85.171.104/translate_c?hl=en&langpair=zh%7Cen&u=http://www.stnn.cc/society_focus/200810/t20081031_890193.html&usg=ALkJrhi8OxCG20XBp1zM7Emz eIdEOqCvCA
IMHO..
Melamine fed animals are far and wide accross China. Other Asian countries also get their feed from china, as they do their vaccines. It has also been used in fish and hog food. No one is buying eggs or chicken, If they dont have too and there ae so many, they have to line up at the slaughter houses to have them killed. This means 1000's and 1000's of birds to be killed, will not be fed or vaccinated, and will lead to disease outbreaks, as they are no longer productive and will have to be removed and disposed of.
In hard economic times, this will make it harder for farmers to adhere to quarintine and disposal regulations. Furthermore, unattended dead birds and thrown away eggs, will have many scavengers, flying or walking in. There are too many farms for control of this serious problem and I believe it will lead to easier spread of poultry diseases...

[Shiloh]

Re: China: Melamine tainted milk, current situation

Source: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazett...3-9c6e5924977a

China melamine scandal prompts mass chicken cull
Ian Ransom, Reuters
Published: 2 hours ago

BEIJING - Chinese farmers, hurt by a spreading melamine scandal, slaughtered tens of thousands of chickens, state media said on Friday, as authorities in Shanghai began checks on feed producers for local fisheries.

Shanghai's Livestock Office would check more than 100 feed producers in the city, and promised tests for the city's seafood products if any feed were found to contain melamine, the Shanghai Daily newspaper said on Friday.

Melamine is a compound used in making plastic chairs and other things, but is often added to food to cheat nutrition tests.

At least four children died and tens of thousands were made ill from drinking milk formula adulterated with melamine this year.

The melamine scandal has since spread to other dairy products, sweets and chocolate, prompting recalls of Chinese-made food around the world.

A rash of cases involving melamine-tainted eggs exported to Hong Kong and South Korea, and sold in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, have aroused fears of how prevalent the compound is in Chinese animal feed.

Melamine was banned in feed last year in the wake of a pet food scandal that was blamed for the deaths of dogs and cats in the United States last year, but has since been found in chicken feed used by major egg producers in northern China.

Public fears about food safety have seen egg prices plummet in local markets, and wholesalers refuse stock not carrying melamine inspection certificates.

Plunging demand in Beijing had prompted dozens of farmers in Baoding to slaughter tens of thousands of chickens in recent days, the Beijing Youth Daily said.

Amid the growing scandals, China's health ministry has urged officials to quickly fix the country's problem-ridden food safety system.

The World Health Organisation's food safety chief, Jorgen Schlundt, last week called China's food-safety system "disjointed" and said poor communications between ministries and agencies may have prolonged the outbreak of melamine poisoning.

"Coordinate and cooperate to investigate and punish major incidents," the official Xinhua news agency quoted Health Minister Chen Zhu as saying.

Some 2,390 children remain in hospital after suffering kidney stones and other complications from drinking melamine-tainted milk formula, the ministry reported on Wednesday.

At the peak in late September, up to 22,000 infants were in hospital on any one day after being found sick from melamine. ,

The overseas edition of the People's Daily, the official newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party, said the scare had exposed long-standing failings in food-safety regulation.

"The right to safe food and appropriate nutrition is every citizen's right, but one after another food-safety incident is challenging this right," it said in a commentary.

"For this reason, food safety has become a national topic."

[Treyfish]

Re: China: Melamine tainted milk, current situation

<TABLE class=formlayout id=apex_layout_271110100662109808 summary=""><TBODY><TR><TD noWrap align=left>30-OCT-2008</TD></TR><TR><TD noWrap align=right>Subject</TD><TD noWrap align=left>PRO/AH/EDR> Melamine contaminated food products (05): worldwide ex China</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

MELAMINE CONTAMINATED FOOD PRODUCTS (05): WORLDWIDE ex CHINA************************************************** **********A ProMED-mail post<http://www.promedmail.org>ProMED-mail is a program of theInternational Society for Infectious Diseases<http://www.isid.org>[Note that the news stories below have been briefly excerpted. Readers may use the link to read each full report. - Ed.LM][1]Date: 30 Oct 2008Source: BBC News Asia-Pacific [edited]<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7699100.stm>Despite [perhaps because of? - Mod.JW] a national campaign, lapses in food safety are continuing [to unfold]; 3 more [now 4, see below] Chinese brands of chicken's eggs have been found to contain high levels of the chemical melamine. Tests in Hong Kong first revealed dangerously high levels of the substance in eggs from a mainland supplier earlier this week [starting 26 Oct 2008]. [Mainland] officials were reportedly aware of the contamination a month earlier [September 2008].Like the milk scandal before it, the contamination of China's egg supply appears to be far more widespread than first realized. And as before, it seems that local officials on the mainland attempted to cover up news of the contamination, says the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Beijing.A newspaper in Beijing reports that the sanitation department of Liaoning province, in the northeast, began investigating a local egg producer at the beginning of October [2008]. It then ordered a ban on any media interviews.Local officials say melamine was illegally mixed into chicken feed to make eggs [test] richer in protein than they were, but central authorities have not commented.Despite a nationwide campaign to raise food safety standards and reassure consumers, the mainland's broken down food safety inspectorate is still failing to catch and report lapses in standards when they happen, our correspondent says. Hong Kong is stepping up its tests of mainland Chinese food products and is asking China's help to trace the source of melamine contamination in eggs. Testing of animal feed, chicken meat and eggs will also be introduced.--Communicated byProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall******[2]Date: 31 Oct 2008Source: BizChinaUpdate, China [edited]<http://www.bizchina-update.com/content/view/1541/2>On Fri 31 Oct 2008, China's food safety authority found traces of the toxic chemical melamine in eggs from Shanxi and Hubei provinces.[Byline: Gary Bowerman]--Communicated by:ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>******[3]Date: 30 Oct 2008Source: Shanghai Daily, China [edited]<http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200810/20081030/article_378837.htm>Four Chinese brands of eggs were found containing melamine this week in Hong Kong and Hangzhou, in Zhejiang Province.--Communicated by:ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>[Map showing provinces in China:<http://www.xhes.com/v800/images%5Cprovinces.jpg>. - Mod.JW]******[4]Date: 29 Oct 2008Source: Taipei Times, Taiwan [edited]<http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2008/10/29/2003427214>The Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday [28 Oct 2008] that protein powder imported from China was found to contain 1.90 parts per million (ppm) to 5.03 ppm of melamine. Of the 393 tons of protein powder imported from [mainland] China this year [2008], 261 tons imported from Jilin Jinyi and Dalian Green Snow were found to be contaminated with melamine, deputy health minister Cheng Shou-hsia said at a press conference yesterday [28 Oct 2008].[Byline: Shelley Huang, Staff Reporter]--Communicated by:ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>******[5]Date: 30 Oct 2008Source: Malaysia Star, Malaysia [edited]<http://blog.thestar.com.my/permalink.asp?id=18940>Singapore's NST [New Straits Times] this morning [30 Oct 2008] reported that [Malaysian] Julie biscuits were found to contain excessive melamine and were subsequently banned from sale.--Communicated by:ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>******[6]Date: 31 Oct 2008Source: Daily Yomiuri, Japan [edited]<http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20081031TDY02307.htm>The toxic substance melamine has been detected in China-made pumpkin steam buns, buffet restaurant operator Nilax Inc. said Wednesday [29 Oct 2008].--Communicated by:ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>******[7]Date: 30 Oct 2008Source: Bloomberg [edited]<http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601081&sid=amvtsXZ2SamY&refer=australia>Boxer Lovers Body Pen Set, described by its maker as the sensual way to indulge a sweet tooth, joined Orion cakes and Kirin tea on the list of products recalled in Australia because of contamination with the chemical melamine.Consumers who may have bought this product are advised not to consume this body paint, which should be disposed of safely, Australia's food safety regulator said in a statement.[Byline: Robert Fenner]--Communicated by:ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>[Britain's Food Standards Agency says the products were manufactured in the southern Chinese city of Zhongshan in Guangdong province by a company called Le Bang. - Mod.JW]******[8]Date: 30 Oct 2009Source: Injury Board USA [edited]<http://chicago-land.injuryboard.com/fda-and-prescription-drugs/scary-halloween-treats-keeping-an-eye-out-for-melamine.aspx?googleid=250384>The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has recalled Sherwood Brand's Pirate's Gold Milk Chocolate Coins, which were made in China, because they tested positive for melamine. The FDA maintains that the product was only distributed in Canada but that they are still keeping an eye on the situation.--Communicated by:ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>******[9]Date: 29 Oct 2008Source: KVAL [edited]<http://www.kval.com/news/33560574.html>Chocolate coins tainted with melamine were recently recalled in Canada. Officials say they're not found at any U.S. stores, but you can buy them online.--Communicated by:ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>******[10]Date: 30 Oct 2008Source: InjuryBoard.com [edited]<http://www.injuryboard.com/national-news/Trick-Or-Treat-From-China2.aspx?googleid=250374>Consumers might want to check their children's candies this Halloween following an alert from Canada about melamine-tainted chocolates from China. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an alert for some candy and foods made in China and says it is taking aggressive action to inspect food, candy and other imports from China (see list at URL).http://www.promedmail.org/pls/otn/f?..._ID:1000,74575</PRE>