Consumer Affair
China's tainted milk may pollute snacks
By Sue Mueller
Oct 4, 2008 - 11:00:33 AM

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Sunday October 4, 2008 (foodconsumer.org) -- Contaminated milk has affected not only dairy products sold in mainland China, but also many of other products with or without dairy products in many other countries.

An unsubstantiated report by etaiwan.com said that packaged food, vegetable, mushroom, celery and tomato made in china may also be contaminated with the industrial chemical.

In Taiwan, a food company in Taoyuan County was reportedly involved in the scandal of melamine contamination. The strawberry snack rolls the company sent to authorities for inspection tested positive for melamine. The company was voluntarily asking the county health department to help recall the affected snacks.

It is unknown how these snacks were contaminated with melamine. It is likely though that they contain ed tainted milk power, which is commonly used in snacks. But again it remains unknown whether the source of contamination is in China or elsewhere.

One product called strawberry snack rolls was found contaminated with 33 parts per million (ppm) of melamine, and another Kaka Strawberry chocolate rods contained 6 ppm, health officials said.

The World Health Organization sets the safety limit for the chemical at 2.5 ppm in most foods for human consumption.

After notified, health inspectors rushed to stores and sealed 243 cases of the tainted products in inventory. An estimated 630 cases of strawberry chocolate rods and 300 cases of strawberry snack rolls were manufactured.

Melamine was found last year in pet food made in China resulting in deaths of many dogs and cats in the United States. But tainted human foods had not been reported until this year.