If it’s made in China and contains milk, better check for melamine
September 25, 2008
Chinese candies imported to New Zealand have been found to contain melamine–at a level of 180 milligrams per kilogram. The candies only weigh a few milligrams so each one doesn’t have much. They are unlikely to be harmful unless some kid eats a lot of them. But, as I explain in Pet Food Politics: The Chihuahua in the Coal Mine (and how’s that for a good guess?), very low doses of melamine can form crystals in kidneys if one of its by-products, cyanuric acid, is also present. The lowest harmful dose of melamine plus cyanuric acid has not been defined. We are now hearing lots of calls for more inspections and better regulation of imported foods, and about time too. In the meantime, if a food comes from China and has milk as an ingredient, send it back.
As for the latest on the scandal over melamine in Chinese infant formula, the numbers keep growing: 53,000 sick infants, thousands of hospitalizations, and 3 deaths. The formula companies - at least 20 brands are involved - were diluting milk with water and adding melamine to make the milk look as if it had enough protein. This, apparently, has been an open secret in China since 2007, and should have been expected from what was known about melamine in pet foods. Hence: Chihuahua in the Coal Mine.
They are reporting on the news here in Calgary that the local asian grocery stores are experiencing a sharp drop in sales. Go figure! Although all products imported into the country are supposed to be inspected/tested, this clearly indicates low consumer confidence in the gov’t inspection process.
Comment by Jill — September 25, 2008 @ 9:53 am
Surely we ought to be suspicious of *any* food substance from China for which quality control involves checking protein levels by a nitrogen assay? Wheat gluten and milk are just the ones we know about.
Comment by Rosemary — September 26, 2008 @ 4:44 am
The question is, which foods in mainstream American grocery stores contain ingredients that come from China? I’m not seeing country of origin labels consistently. I occasionally see “concentrate from China” stamped on apple juice jugs here, which is worrying. I shop at Trader Joe’s, and love their products, but I almost NEVER see any country of origin labels. I was surprised to learn that some of their “organic” products (frozen spinach, for example) came from China, which makes a joke out of the organic label. Trader Joe’s says that they have discontinued Chinese imports, but there is still no way to know where their stuff is coming from.
Comment by Diana — September 27, 2008 @ 2:42 am