Updates on Chinese Milk Formula Contamination -cont- #4

Here are news links to the Chinese Melamine baby milk contamination:

FDA Tests Find Melamine Traces in Baby Formula The Food and Drug Administration said it found "trace levels" of the industrial chemical melamine in one sample of U.S.-made infant formula and in a few samples of other products like nutritional and medical supplements made by U.S. manufacturers of infant formula. The agency said it tested products from the nation's five FDA-approved makers of milk-based infant formulas: Abbott Laboratories, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Nestlé SA's Nestlé USA unit, PBM Products LLC and Solus Products LLC. (Wall Street Journal, 11/26/2008)

Over 1,000 melamine babies still in China hospitals Over a thousand Chinese infants are still in hospital receiving treatment for kidney damage caused by tainted milk, China's Health Ministry said on Thursday, more than two months after the scandal broke. (Reuters, 11/20/2008)

US issues alert over Chinese melamine The United States has issued a new Import Alert #99-30 on Chinese food imports after finding melamine and another toxic chemical, cyanuric acid, in several products. The new Import Alert, dated 11/12/2008 from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), covers a range of Chinese products including drinks, sweets, baby and pet food. (ABC News, 11/14/2008)

How toxic chemical melamine got into China's food supply SHIJIAZHUANG, China, Xue Jianzhong never posted a sign on his ground-floor shop, but somehow everyone knew what he was selling. Customers from all over this dairy-farming region in the northeastern province of Hebei flocked to Xue's dusty street to buy special concoctions that he said would make milk more nutritious and more marketable. (Seattle Times/Washington Post, 11/9/2008)

Tainting of Milk Is Open Secret in China After melamine was discovered in eggs in Hong Kong and mainland China, Beijing called for a nationwide crackdown to stop the contamination of animal feed, which authorities believe is the source of the melamine in eggs. The Agriculture Ministry said it has found melamine in 2.4% of the feed it has checked since mid-September, and has destroyed or confiscated more than 3,600 tons. The ministry called on local officials to "resolutely crush the dark dens" making and selling melamine for feed, saying it had found 238 and was investigating 278 more. (Wall Street Journal, 11/3/2008)

China's Melamine Woes Likely to Get Worse First, a tainted product emerges, killing some and sickening many more. Its origin is traced to China, where a combination of greed and negligence allow the danger to slip into the food chain. The government downplays or ignores the risks. That, in brief, could describe the Chinese Product Safety Scandal of 2008. Change some of the details above and you could have the Chinese Product Safety Scandal of 2007. That round was touched off when the death of more than 100 Panamanians was traced back to cough medicine tainted with dietheylene glycol from China. Then hundreds of pets in North America were killed by eating food made from Chinese raw ingredients, also tainted with melamine. As last year's scandal spread, problems were found with Chinese-produced toys, tires, seafood and toothpaste. (Time/CNN, 11/4/2008)