12.24.08

Toxic melamine is suspected in seafood from China

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-melamine24-2008dec24,0,5133588.story

10.29.08

Some food safety officials say that if chicken feed is contaminated with melamine, it is possible some hog and fish feed could also be contaminated. The Chinese government has not made clear in recent weeks how broadly it is testing food products for melamine.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/30/world/asia/30china.html?hp

10.26.08

HONG KONG (AP) -- The discovery of excessive levels of the industrial chemical melamine in Chinese eggs has prompted Hong Kong authorities to expand testing to include meat products imported from China, a senior official said Sunday.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-AS-Asia-Tainted-Eggs.html


10.17.08

“This is a product liability case that in a Western country would turn into a class-action lawsuit,” Professor Zhang said. In China, he said, “they don’t want to see so many people getting involved in one lawsuit. This might threaten social stability.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/17/world/asia/17milk.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

10.17.08

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) -- A company is recalling Koala's March creme-filled cookies from U.S. shelves because they were made in China and may be contaminated with melamine.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Cookie-Recall.html

10.17.08

PANAMA CITY, Panama (AP) -- Panama says Chinese cookies and candy pulled from stores have tested positive for melamine, the industrial chemical blamed for the deaths of four infants and the sickening of 54,000 children in China.

Food Safety director Gilberto Real says traces of the chemical were found in milk-based White Rabbit caramels, orange and strawberry sandwich cookies and milk bars.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-LT-Panama-China-Tainted-Milk.html

10.7.08

BEIJING (AP) -- China's Cabinet vowed a complete overhaul of the scandal-ridden dairy industry Monday, pledging to inspect every link from the farm to the dinner table to try to restore public trust in Chinese-made food products.

In its strongest action yet, China's highest level of government called the industry ''chaotic'' and acknowledged there was a lack of oversight.

At Monday's meeting of the State Council, or Cabinet, the government said it would punish companies and officials involved in the contamination of milk products that has been blamed in the deaths of four babies and for sickening more than 54,000 children.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-AS-Asia-Tainted-Milk.html

The contamination scandal had forced a halt in production of China's iconic White Rabbit candy, but the state-run China Daily newspaper reported Tuesday that output had resumed.

The popular vanilla-flavored sweets -- sold in more than 50 countries, including the United States -- were pulled out of stores around the world last month and production stopped as its maker said the candy may have been contaminated.

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

10.01.08

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- An industrial chemical blamed for sickening thousands of infants in China was found in candy in four Connecticut stores this week, a state official said Wednesday.

Days after contaminated White Rabbit Creamy Candy was found in California, Connecticut Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell Jr. said tests found melamine in bags of the candy sold at two New Haven stores, a West Hartford market and an East Haven store.

9.30.08

Chinese Melamine in Lipton Tea

HONG KONG (AP) -- Anglo-Dutch food giant Unilever is recalling its Lipton-brand milk tea powder in Hong Kong and Macau after they were found to contain traces of a banned industrial chemical, the company said Tuesday.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-AS-Hong-Kong-Tainted-Milk.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

9.30.08

HONG KONG (AP) -- Hong Kong authorities said Tuesday the amount of melamine found in two samples of chocolate made at British candy maker Cadbury's Beijing factory was legally acceptable for human consumption, a day after the company recalled 11 items sold in parts of Asia and the Pacific.

Hong Kong's Center for Food Safety said it tested six Cadbury chocolate samples, including two made at Cadbury's Beijing plant, and found them to contain less than 2.5 parts per million legally considered acceptable here. It did not say whether it was testing the other nine products being recalled.

The Food and Drug Administration has said that no level of melamine deliberately added to a food product is legal in the United States.

9.29.08

HONG KONG (AP) -- A Cadbury spokesman says preliminary results show its Chinese-made chocolates contain the industrial chemical melamine.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-AS-China-Tainted-Milk.html?_r=1&oref=slogin