MELAMINE
Melamine Found in Chocolate Products From China
South Korea's food watchdog has detected quantities of melamine, an industrial chemical, in chocolate products from foodstuff giants Nestle SA, Mars Inc. and South Korea's Lotte that were manufactured in China, Yonhap News reported Saturday.
Melamine Found in Coffee Creamers, Dairy Products
President Lee Myung-bak calls for a swift action to recall all contaminated foods in his meeting with Health-Welfare Minister Jeon Jae-hee, center, and Korea Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Yun Yeo-pyo, right, during his unscheduled visit to the agency’s headquarters in Seoul, Friday.
/ Korea TimesBy Kang Shin-whoStaff ReporterAnxiety over products containing the toxic chemical melamine is growing as the contamination is also being found in coffee creamer products imported from China and a range of other milk dairy products. The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) said Friday it discovered that Yuchang F.C.’s coffee creamer imported from China was contaminated with melamine.Of the 41 tons of imported ``Vegetable Creamer Powder F25’,’’ only 16 tons have been confiscated, with the rest already distributed to fast food chains, discount stores, hotels and operators of coffee vending machines.``We’ve ordered a recall of the product and imposed a ban on the imports,’’ a KFDA official said. Melamine is a protein-rich chemical used in the production of plastics and glues. At least four infants have died in China and more than 50,000 taken ill through consuming milk powder and other dairy products containing traces of the chemical.The KFDA also banned the distribution and marketing of 304 dairy products imported from China until it completes an examination. It will disclose the list of products on its homepage (www.kfda.go.kr).The authorities ordered a recall Thursday of two contaminated snack products, ``Misarang Custard’’ sold by Haitai Confectionary and ``Milk Rusk,’’ a snack imported by J&J International from Hong Kong.Moreover, some snacks imported from China even contained cancer-causing substances, but only 1 percent of these harmful biscuits have been recalled so far, according to a KFDA report to the National Assembly. Lawmakers slammed the food agency for a lack of preemptive countermeasures in the face of growing food safety concerns.
kswho@koreatimes.co.kr
Melamine Detected in 2 More Snacks
By Kim RahnStaff Reporter
Two more snack items have been found to contain the harmful chemical melamine.
The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) said Tuesday that Ritz Bits Cracker Sandwiches Cheese, made by Navisco Food Suzhou and imported by Dongsuh Foods, and ``gosohan ssalgwaja'' (tasty rice snack), made by a Chinese company Danyang Day Bright Foods and imported by Hwatong & Babanggeu, were also found to contain melamine.
A melamine concentration of 23.3 parts-per-million (ppm) was detected in Ritz crackers, while one of 1.77 ppm was found in the rice snack.
So far six snacks have been confirmed to be tainted with the toxic chemical, including ``Misarang Coconut'' and ``Misarang Custard'' from Haitai Confectionary, ``Milk Rusk'' from J&J International, Hong Kong, and coffee creamer by Yuchang F.C.
Dongsuh and Hwatong & Babanggeu are recalling their products.
Many people are alert over the melamine-containing food items. What adds fuel to the fear includes rumors and false information about the harmful substance. Rumors are spreading fast this time again jusg as when gossip about mad cow disease was rife on the Internet in spring ahead of the nation's resumption of American beef imports.
Such rumors include: ``A person contracted kidney disease after consuming coffee creamer containing melamine,'' and ``Most animal feed imported from China contains melamine, so we should not eat chicken and pork.''
As the chemical is used to produce plastics and glues, rumors abound that when cooking with kitchenware containing melamine, the chemical melts, not only in hot water but also in cold, and thus seeps into food ― which is false information.
Many Internet users, especially mothers, ask questions such as, ``I ate the melamine-containing snack when I was five months pregnant. Is it possible that the chemical affected my baby?'' and ``Does pancake powder have melamine, too? I used to make pancakes for my boy."
However, such questions usually meet false answers, including: ``You should not give strawberry milk to children as such milk contains powdered milk,'' and ``You need to be careful in giving children bread, chocolate, dumplings and processed dried cuttlefish as they contain lactose.''
A video clip even introduces a method which the creator claims is effective ``to check whether powdered milk contains melamine or not.'' The method, however, is groundless. ``We detect melamine with special analysis machines, so people cannot detect it at home,'' a KFDA official said.
``People are advised to be careful in selecting foods, but they don't need to be excessively afraid of the chemical,'' he said.
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