Drugs, Vitamins and More

Drugs, vitamins and more. Read the New York Times article here. From the article:

Even the F.D.A.’s staunchest defenders now acknowledge that something is terribly wrong. Among them is Peter Barton Hutt, who served as the agency’s general counsel during the Nixon administration and is widely considered the dean of the F.D.A. bar in Washington. I’ve interviewed Hutt dozens of times over the years, and he has always defended the F.D.A. No more. “This is a fundamentally broken agency,” Hutt told me earlier this year, “and it needs to be repaired.” (By GARDINER HARRIS
Published: October 31, 2008)

Food Task Force Created by FDA

Article from Medpagetoday.com
FDA Creates Task Force on International Food Contamination
By Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today
Published: October 31, 2008
GAITHERSBURG, Md., Oct. 31 -- Pointing to the hazards of melamine-containing products from China, the FDA said today it is creating an internal science and policy workgroup to keep a critical eye on the international food supply.
Detecting contamination in the increasingly international food supply is "a necessary job of the FDA," said Randall Lutter, Ph.D., the agency's deputy commissioner for policy, at a meeting of the agency's science board.
And after the melamine contaminations from China -- first in pet food last year, and more recently in milk -- it is vital to develop a strategy for identifying and preventing potential illnesses, he said. (See: FDA Finds Melamine in Asian Milk Drinks)
The workgroup will have the assignment of pinpointing companies that appear to be at a high risk for contaminating the food supply with chemicals.
"There is a fundamental need for us to understand better the economic incentives and cultural norms in other countries," said Dr. Lutter. This, he added, means recognizing when spiking the food supply with chemicals is likely when it means enough extra profit for a manufacturer so that it offsets any potential penalties.
During the recent melamine outbreak, FDA officials suspect that melamine may have been added to infant formula to inflate protein levels cheaply.
In some sectors of the food industry in China, manufacturers are paid by the amount of protein in a product. Melamine costs about $1.20 per each protein count per ton, while legitimate protein costs about $6 per protein count per ton.
Melamine, which is used in some pharmaceuticals, dyes, glues and plastics, is normally not harmful to humans, but when it commingles with cyanuric acid, it becomes insoluble and can cause kidney failure.
"The suggestion is that some clever scientist used a high-quality melamine that did not have cyanuric acid," said Dr. Lutter. "It was only later that the melamine was commingled with the cyanuric acid."
But "forecasting economic infiltration is hard," Dr. Lutter said, and food coming across U.S. borders is shipped from countries with disparate regulatory requirements.
The United States virtually eliminated problem of economically motivated contamination of food produced in its own borders, largely through the creation of the FDA, Dr. Lutter said.
"It's an old problem, but fortunately it was successfully remedied during the early part of the 20th Century," he said.
But then came globalization of the food market.
"It's a symbol that the world we lived in changed, and there is a new vulnerability," Dr. Lutter said.
President Bush signed an executive order last year to establish a task force that recently issued an import safety action plan, Dr. Lutter said.
Dr. Lutter declined to comment on the specifics of the workgroup, but said it will consist of FDA employees. It is unclear whether the workgroup will also monitor possible contamination of foreign drugs.

Recall of Jacobina Biscuits

Contact:
Everlasting Distributors Inc.
201-823-0800
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- October 29, 2008 -- Everlasting Distributors Inc., Bayonne NJ is initiating a nationwide recall of all their 3.88oz (110gm) packages of Fresh and Crispy Jacobina Biscuits because it may be contaminated with Melamine.
Consumers who have the product which is being recalled should stop using it immediately. If consumers have questions about possible health risks, they should contact their doctor.
Product was distributed nationwide in Asian Grocery stores.
The product comes in 3.88oz (110 gm) blue and red color clear plastic package, labeled “JACOBINA”.
No illnesses associated with this product have been reported to date.

The recall was initiated after FDA testing discovered that product was found to contain Melamine. Consumers who have purchased Fresh and Crispy Jacobina Biscuits are urged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 201-823-0800, Monday to Friday 9:00 to 5:00, Eastern Standard Time.

Melamine Is Everywhere

Melamine that had been deliberately added to wheat, animal feed, milk and eggs has caused the massive contamination of much of the world's food supply. An Associated Press article out today is reporting that the U.S. Grains Council's technical director in Beijing, Jason Yan, believes that "traders can make a lot of profit" by adding melamine. Has Yan known about food producers adding melamine or was it just discovered? How long has Yan known? In addition to testing of food for melamine in all corners of the globe, there needs to be an investigation to determine whether or not organizations and agencies such as the Grain Council, or FDA, have known about and disregarded contaminated imported food or raw ingredients from China, or contaminated ingredients from any origin. In the case of China, will the U.S. start disclosing what contaminated items are being imported and will we finally see a ban?

Heating Food That Contains Melamine

Since the introduction of plastic melamine dishware products, people were told not to heat them in a microwave or put them in a dishwasher because melamine, when heated, breaks down and leaches into the food we eat on that dishware.

What about when the food itself has melamine in it? If melamine is in eggs, milk powder, vegetable protein, gluten, etc., what happens to the food, the properties of the food, when we heat it? And what happens to us when that heated melamine is ingested? If there is melamine in food, and you heat your food, and your food is eaten off of unsafe melamine...well, you get the idea.

Eggs are the focus of the latest melamine-in-food incident. We do heat eggs. At high temperatures. We also heat foods containing dairy ingredients, wheat and vegetable proteins. Are we exponentially raising the dangers and risks to our health by ingesting these heated food products that contain melamine? I think this would be an excellent reason why NO melamine in ANY level is acceptable in whole or processed food.

Another Egg Producer

Another egg producer found to have melamine in their eggs. I am going to start to make a list. Look for it soon. In the meantime, if you have pets, consumers need to find out if the melamine tainted feed used in China to feed chickens (who then produce contaminated eggs) is being shipped around the world for use in pet food, or for human consumption. And further, if the contaminated eggs, in any form, are being shipped around the world for pet or human consumption.

National Toxicology Program Report June 2008

Safemama.com reported in early October that a draft of a research paper created for the National Toxicology Program Board of Scientific Counselors Meeting of June 11-12, 2008 contains information about melamine in our food as well as in our dishware. The report is filled with links to various other research studies about melamine, cyanuric acid, melamine cyanurate (those are the crystals that cause kidney failure), melamine derivatives and melamine related triazines. The report recognizes:

"It should be emphasized that although the FDA/CFSAN Interim Melamine and Analogues Safety/Risk Assessment indicated that the scenario-driven consumption of meat products was “very unlikely to pose a human health risk” (10), the assessment did not take into account the currently known potent synergistic toxicological effect of melamine with cyanuric acid."

And, I bet this makes vegetarians feel good. NOT!

"Another potential source of human exposure is vegetarian food preparation practices involving high levels of gluten. In such a scenario, the level of intake of melamine and its analogues could be similar to or even slightly higher than the levels that elicit toxicity in animal tests."

In the left column of my blog I provide a link to an article by washingtonpost.com pointing out that the wheat gluten may not have been gluten after all, but actually highly contaminated wheat flour.
But here is one of my favorite excerpts from the report:

"Melamine resin, a hard thermosetting polymer made from melamine and formaldehyde, is widely used in the US in the form of kitchenware, including plates, bowls, mugs and utensils. Reports in the literature indicate that some kitchenware based on melamine resin leach
considerable amounts of melamine monomer. A migration of up to 2.5 mg melamine/ 100 cm2 was observed under conditions that simulate an exposure to hot acidic foods (13, 14)."

OK. If CONSIDERABLE levels of leaching, er, "migration" of melamine has been observed in dishware, then why on Earth would any level - any PPM level - be acceptable in our food. The food that we eat. The food that may be acidic. And heated...until it's HOT. Ugh. 

Finally:

"...the possibility that the human food chain may be indirectly or directly
contaminated with these triazines cannot be ignored. This possibility is of particular concern given the fact that in the US an estimated 13% of adults aged 20 or older present physiological evidence of chronic kidney disease (18) and as such may be particularly susceptible to such an exposure."

and

"It is critical for the FDA agencies to develop a good basic science understanding of the nephrotoxic potential of the concurrent human exposure to melamine and cyanuric acid."

FDA. What will they do next?

More Contaminated Eggs - Different Producers

Initally, Hanwei Group Company eggs were thought to be the only eggs coming from China that were contaminated with the chemical melamine. However, new tests have revealed that two different egg producers, Shanxi Changzhi Green Biology Development Co. and Green Living Beings Development Center, have also produced eggs that test positive for melamine.

Are Chinese Eggs in the U.S.?

It would be helpful to know if the U.S. imports eggs (in any form) from China. AP writer Gillian Wong is trying to find out:

Wal-Mart and Chinese officials said they did not have a figure for how many eggs had been recalled and it was not immediately clear which countries import eggs from China. So far, no illnesses have been reported.

Only Dairy Products?

CNN's updated article about melamine in eggs is here. And a tweaked version, here. From CNN.com:

Experts say melamine's health risks are not well known. According to Dr. Dan Blumenthal of the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, "Something we don't know is whether there is a safe amount of melamine in food. I'd rather not eat any melamine at all. There is a limit that is not based on animal studies, but we can't be certain that even the small amount is safe in humans, especially if consumption of the chemical goes on for years."
In the meantime, Blumenthal recommends "the prudent thing to do is to stay away from foods that might be contaminated, and this especially means infant formula and other dairy products that are coming from China."

Researchers and reporters have stated that melamine has been found in raw ingredients coming from China as well. I think it would be wise to question where the raw ingredients in our processed foods comes from before consuming those as well.

Kidney Stones: Too Much Salt or Too Much Melamine?

Researchers and experts on kidney stones say that they are being found in children as young as 5 and 6 years old. A New York Times article out today states that doctors attribute it to, among other things, the amount of salt found in items such as "packaged meals".

“What we’ve really seen is an increase in the salt load in children’s diet,” said Dr. Bruce L. Slaughenhoupt, co-director of pediatric urology and of the pediatric kidney stone clinic at the University of Wisconsin. He and other experts mentioned not just salty chips and French fries, but also processed foods like sandwich meats; canned soups; packaged meals; and even sports drinks like Gatorade, which are so popular among schoolchildren they are now sold in child-friendly juice boxes.

It is my understanding that analyses of kidney stones is possible. Without removing them and analyzing the kidney stones in humans, how can one tell with certainty what is causing the stone? If it is possible, I'd like to know. If we are going by word of mouth as to what the parent said the child has been eating, then what? How is salt the primary culprit?

Some of the the unfortunate pets who lost their lives had large kidney stones that were studied by researchers after they died. It sounds silly, but is it really only a coincidence that recent research indicates that kidney stones are on the rise in ages where they were rarely seen before, and an October 2008 report states that kidney disease is up 30% in the past decade, and that melamine, a chemical that when ingested can cause kidney stones and kidney failure, has been found in the human food supply in milk, eggs, meat? We know that manufacturers of "packaged meals" use raw ingredients such as wheat gluten, egg powder and vegetable proteins...items that could come from China, a place where melamine is used as an additive in these foods. 

Is there research that lists drinking water more as a preventative measure to avoid kidney stones? Or are we being told that we need to drink more water, pee more often and eat less salt to avoid kidney stones? Or are we being told that we need to drink more water, pee more often to flush out the low levels of melamine are are supposedly not a health risk? I guess we need to drink and pee a lot to make sure those low levels of melamine don't develop into anything else? 

When my son was sick last December with unexplainable severe stomach pain, the doctor didn't check for kidney stones, the doctor didn't ask me what my son was eating. I knew my son was eating the Lotte Koala cookies and other "prepared meals". We immediately eliminated them and pared down his diet to some whole foods, he drank water and got some rest. It was an instinct to eliminate those cookies and other crap from his diet (and the recent wheat gluten/raw ingredients pet food scare from earlier in 2007 in the back of my mind). Maybe the medical community needs to do more to relay info about "packaged meals" or note it in their files for later use and for researchers to access. 

In December of 2007, was it the salt that gave my son a severe stomach ache and possible kidney stone - or was it the astronomically high levels of melamine in the cookies? 

Next: Protein Powder

Being suspicious of protein ingredients is not new. Taiwan is now banning import of protein ingredients from China. Are protein ingredients next up to be banned around the world? Will U.S. agencies take a look at protein ingredients imported into the U.S.?

Just as I was reading the article about the protein ingredients in Taiwan, Jenny from General Mills called me back. She wanted me to hear General Mills statement about ingredients from China. She said that General Mills does not import any milk or milk derived products from China. Interestingly she added that General Mills does not use any protein ingredients from China. I asked her about eggs, and while she did not look it up, she assured me that no protein ingredients also meant no eggs or egg products. She said that some General Mills products sold in the U.S. are manufactured in facilities in other countries. She said if the facility used to manufacture the product is outside of the U.S., then the packaging will say what country it was made in.

China, We Have A Problem

More on tainted eggs originating from China.

Test Our Eggs, Please

We need to test the quality of the eggs produced around the U.S. to help ensure the good health of residents. Especially since eggs produced in China and tested in Hong Kong have been found to contain high levels of melamine. This implies that perhaps melamine has contaminated many more products originating from China than previously thought.

I recently spoke with someone at Organic Valley about their eggs (no melamine in their feed, he assured me) and adding melamine to animal feed for chickens. The OV rep said it was very smart to be inquiring about who uses melamine in their animal feed here in the U.S.  

As far as imports are concerned: so we don't import any milk from China... Well, do we import eggs? If so, where are they sold or used? 

The Incredible (In)Edible Egg (Part 2)

Eggs from China's largest chicken farm and egg producer, Dalian Hanwei Enterprise Group, have been found to contain melamine over the 2.5ppm level that is considered acceptable. The levels of melamine are most likely a result of melamine in the animal feed the chickens were fed. Dalian Hanwei was in the news in 2006 when the tens of thousands of chickens died at the Dalian City facility. Dalian denied that the chickens died from the avian flu.

More: What is Melamine?

The Hartford Courant has a good article about melamine here.

Cupboard Part 1

Going through my cupboards...

Have been reading the ingredients on processed foods packaging. I called General Mills about some Betty Crocker products. Jenny answered my call, and I asked her where Betty Crocker manufacturers are located. She said all over the world, and there are so many she couldn't tell me. I asked if some manufacturers are located overseas or in China. She said they do have manufacturers "outside of the U.S." I asked again about China but she said she couldn't tell me. I asked her if ANY ingredients in any Betty Crocker products came from China. She said she doesn't know and doesn't keep a list of suppliers. She added that she cannot give out the list or location of suppliers. I asked her if all Betty Crocker products have been tested for melamine. She said she didn't know so she took my info and said she'd call me back. 

I also called Alba Consumer Affairs, about Alba Shake Mix distributed by Hain Celestial Group, Inc., and spoke with Kimberly. She said she could guarantee that all milk and dairy for Alba comes from the U.S., and that none come from China. She said she is not allowed to tell me the locations of the milk suppliers except to say they're in the U.S. She added that "all raw ingredients are tested for purity" but that they "do not test for melamine." I asked her if she could guarantee that all raw ingredients in Alba or other Hain products are from the U.S. and she said she could not guarantee this, citing the example that calcium carbonate for example, comes from Israel. She would not tell me where any other raw ingredients come from. 

I have been going through my cupboard for the last few weeks. I have such a heightened awareness of the overall yuckiness of processed food these days that I can't believe I even  still have this stuff in my cupboard. When I have the time to write up more of my notes regarding other companies that I've called, I will post.

Kidney Disease on the Rise

There is a study by the National Institutes of Health reporting findings of a 30% increase in chronic kidney disease over the past decade.

Is it possible that ingesting even low levels of melamine over a decade or so has caused this increase? It's been two years since thousands of pets died from eating pet food tainted with melamine. Melamine is still being added to animal feed and is a part of the human food chain in products like milk, yogurt as well as raw ingredients like vegetable proteins added to our processed foods. No regulating agencies or food manufacturers can really say (if they know they aren't saying) how long melamine has been used in raw food ingredients. Some research indicates that it has been going on for quite a long time; perhaps many decades. It is more commonly used now? And in higher levels?

The FDA is asking manufacturers to do their own testing; they can test some products but don't have the resources to do it all themselves. Despite this, we are not hearing anything about such testing from food manufacturing companies. We are not even hearing about results that prove that low or no levels of melamine were present in foods. If I had a company that used milk protein concentrate, vegetable proteins such as soy or wheat gluten or corn protein, I would be shouting from the rooftops that my product is free and clear of melamine. Just wondering...

Lawsuit: Chinese Milk Manufacturer and U.S. Subsidiary

Chinese families affected by the tainted milk scandal have taken action to sue a milk manufacturer in China and are including a U.S. (Delaware) investment subsidiary of the manufacturer.

Melamine Absorbed into Raw Foods

Reuters article about the testing being conducted in Hong Kong, and how experts believe could possibly be more prevalent in the human food chain than previously believed. Chan King-ming, associate professor of biochemistry at the Chinese University says, "It would be easier to ban melamine at all levels to stop this."

CPSC and Consumers Losing Out Due To Bailout

The Consumer Product Safety Commission had been trying to get people stationed in China to work for the agency to assist manufacturers in implementing product safety law. However the financial crisis diverted $20 billion in additional funds away from this effort, so manufacturers and regulators in China will have to wait a little longer for this oversight to happen there. In a previous post I wrote about the FDA opening offices in China, which still appears to be going forward.

China is Third Biggest Supplier to U.S.

David Lazarus of the L.A. Times echoing the sentiment that the FDA is probably too lax in their enforcement, oversight and testing of food products that could possibly contain melamine in the U.S.  

More Animal Feed Tainted With Melamine

Dogs raised for their fur in China are found to have died from kidney failure after eating melamine-laced animal feed. Gillian Wong of the Associated Press reports from Beijing that the feed, and the stones in the animals kidneys, were tested after over 1,500 dogs died.

Melamine Will Fix It

This article (on page two) does a good job of summing up how some food producers feel compelled to add melamine over and over, from farm to manufacture, to their products.  

Lotte Koala - it's about time

FDA is recalling Lotte Koala cookies. I don't understand what took so long. So these cookies were definitely made in China and imported here, not manufactured here? 

FDA Goes To China (and beyond)

The FDA plans to set up offices in Beijing and other cities in China, as well as in other countries, to be able to more closely monitor food and raw ingredients prepared for export. 

Families Affected in China Are Restricted

Families in China that are affected by the melamine-tained baby formula are facing nearly insurmountable problems.  Consumers in China as well as other countries are becoming increasingly more aware of how complicated it is to resolve the conflict about whether or not small amounts of melamine in food are acceptable. You know where I stand on the issue.

The Incredible (in)Edible Egg (Powder)

In Japan, traces of melamine have been found in egg powder produced from dried whole eggs imported from China. At what point are we able to really get back to basics, and determine the natural level of protein in a product?

Ammonium Bicarbonate

Malaysia has banned imports of ammonium bicarbonate from China after discovering that it contains high levels of melamine. 

What's going on here?

Instead of destroying containers of melamine-laden milk in China, AFP is reporting that the milk was turning up for sale at universities. What in the world? The Wall Street Journal has more about it here.

animal feed redeux or never ending story...

A Reuters Press Digest (10/15/08) of South Korean newspapers claims that the Agriculture Ministry has found melamine in additives for chicken feed in South Korea.  

Sweet Home Alabama

Finally.

It looks like the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries has tested the Koala cookies and found that they contain melamine. You rock, Alabama.

According to the press release about the finding, the Department states:

The company that distributes the cookies, Lotte USA, has been conducting a market withdrawal for all flavors of the cookies, but has not conducted a full recall at this time. According to company officials, Alabama’s results were their first lab results that were positive for melamine.

A quick slide over to the Lotte USA website indicates that they really don't have much to say about the whole thing.

So I'll just ask again, why hasn't the FDA tested this product when other countries were reporting melamine in these Koala crackers a month ago? And isn't it interesting that Lotte USA is located in Battle Creek, Michigan? I wonder if the magic white powder delivery truck makes stops at other food companies operating in Battle Creek? Does the FDA know when shipment of wheat gluten, soy protein or milk ingredients leaves a port, bound for Battle Creek? You know BHT is also a white powder. I wonder where those other Battle Creek food companies get their BHT, corn, malt powder and vitamins from.

Update from China

The Associated Press is reporting that close to 6,000 infants are still hospitalized in China from drinking melamine-laden baby formula.

Release Your Inner Geek

If you are interested in finding out more about how melamine reacts in animal and human kidneys,  then get over to this article posted in the November journal of the Society of Toxicology. The people at PHYSORG.com describe the research as "relevant to other species, including humans" because the dangerous reactions are found to be possible in human kidneys as well as the kidneys used in the research which were from rats.

Pet Food Settlement information

Here is the link to the settlement informtion created for those affected by the melamine-tainted pet food tragedy.

FDA and "Port Shopping"

The FDA is taking comments on a proposed Label Requirements program that would try to eliminate the practice of "port shopping". Sometimes imports that are refused entry are taken to other ports in the U.S. in hopes that no one will check and the import will get in. The FDA wants to require labels to be affixed to the refused imports that say "Refused Entry". A sticker? Is that the best you can do? Ok, they will also attempt to record the refusal on all documents accompanying the refused food including electronic documents. Sounds good as long as no one is asleep at the wheel, I mean, port, where the refused food is taken to for another entry attempt. Thoughts? Click on the link and scroll down to see the submit comment link. It looks like comments can be submitted through November. 

FDA Issues Recalls

This morning the FDA issued recalls of two imported milk products. 

None of the press releases from the FDA since September are about the Lotte Koala cookies. I don't understand why since they tested positive for such high levels of melamine in many countries. Hasn't the FDA done their own testing on this product?

More Milk and Dairy Recalls - China

There are new reports of more milk and dairy recalls in China.

FDA wants food industry to get busy

The FDA has been updating their website a lot in the past week. There is now a link that will bring you directly to a "Melamine Information" hub. From there, readers can click on a variety of links. Scroll way down the the bottom of the page and you'll find this link to a "Dear Colleague" letter designed to be read (hopefully distributed in some other fashion as well) by the U.S. Food Manufacturing Industry. It states what the public, politicians, and many resourceful bloggers, have been talking about since pet food in the U.S. was discovered to be contaminated with melamine. Three following bullet points, and the sentence that follows, highlight the concerns of the FDA: 

- Know the precise origin of each milk-derived ingredient. For example, milk-derived ingredients that are sourced from countries other than China could actually originate from China.
- Determine that milk-derived ingredients originating from China are free of melamine and its analogues prior to usage.
- For food manufactured in the last twelve months which might still be on the shelf at retail or in stock elsewhere, determine whether the food might contain any milk-derived ingredients from China. If any such foods exist, verify that they do not contain melamine or its analogues.

In addition, it would be useful for manufacturers to be alert to the possibility that non-milk-derived ingredients from China that are or may be sold on the basis of protein content, such as soy protein, also could be contaminated with melamine.

That last statement points out just how really large this problem is. We know that last year vegetable proteins from China destined as raw ingredients for processed foods for animals and humans were imported into the U.S. The FDA was not able to halt all of these shipments and from what I can tell, the FDA is now recognizing that the tainted vegetable proteins are in our food supply - in foods processed as far back as twelve months ago. That could be breakfast cereals, dry soup mixes,  candy and so on. I assume the FDA could not recall all the shipments last year - not enough resources. Are we lab rats? Is it part of the process that the FDA is using to come up with the 2.5 parts per million level of melamine that they find acceptable in food> For example, determine if that company imports vegetable protein from China for their soup mix, test it for melamine and get results, have there been any reports of illnesses from consuming that food over the last twelve months, and so on.

But this letter is also interesting because it is a request for manufacturers here in the U.S. to inspect their product for milk ingredients too. Again, the FDA doesn't have enough resources to do it all, the scope of what the FDA deals with is so broad, and that is a shame. The Hong Kong test results mentioned in my other post reveal some of the companies that must be getting some milk ingredients from China. Are these companies and others not on the list really going to step up (or just begin) this process to test here in the U.S. and if so will the public hear the results?

Blogging About Melamine

Being sort of new to this whole blog thing and feeling like I can't get my thoughts to the keyboard fast enough, I'm going to send you over here for a few thoughtful comments. 

Results From Hong Kong Tests for Melamine

Today the Center for Food Safety in Hong Kong released the list of food products they tested for melamine, and the results. This link will take you to the portal where you can then select by month and by type of product. They're all interesting; the "Other Food Products" section reveals that products such as Skippy Peanut Butter, Miracle Whip, Dove Chocolates and other well known products were tested. I'm assuming because they contain ingredients (in this case milk ingredients) from China regardless of where they were manufactured. Why else would they be on the list?

Anyone can pick up the phone (or make contact in some way) and call the 800 number on the back of the box of a food item and ask them if any of their ingredients come from China. Most companies will say "Uh ok. Let me read you the prepared statement." It usually includes something like, "...we receive some ingredients from overseas suppliers when necessary to meet our demand." "From China?" "I can't tell you who our suppliers are or specifically where they are located." "Gee thanks." 

So looking at the list of items that were tested in Hong Kong is sort of like the big reveal. Skippy, Kraft, Cadbury, Campbell Soup and a few other well known companies that sell or manufacture food in the U.S. While they are not very forthcoming with their information about the origin of their raw ingredients, I'll venture a guess that some of it comes from overseas, including China.

But recently I contacted the Associated Press with a question I had about Kraft food products. I've been curious about the report I heard about Oreo wafers having been found to have melamine in them as a result of testing done in Indonesia and wondered where does Kraft get all their "milk protein concentrate" from? Even there are no "milk ingredients" in Oreos as Kraft claims, what about the "whey protein concentrate" in their products? And hey, there is "milk protein concentrate" in their Macaroni & Cheese. I also thought where are all these multinational companies getting these ingredients from for their cheesey popcorn, cereal, soup mixes and so on. But back to Kraft. I asked AP the following, in a forum they call "Ask the AP" and received the following answer:

Q: Since Oreos made in China have been found to be tainted with melamine, should we be worried that another popular Kraft product "macaroni & cheese" might also be contaminated? I know melamine has been found in milk products, and I noticed that Kraft "mac & cheese" contains "milk protein concentrate." Is the company, or the FDA, testing it for melamine?
A: Kraft says U.S. consumers don't have to worry about any of its products,
from Oreo cookies to mac & cheese, because the company does not use any dairy ingredients from China in products sold here.
Kraft is also defending Oreos, saying it doesn't use Chinese dairy
ingredients in any Oreo products. The company questions the Indonesian
government's report that Oreo wafer sticks were tainted with melamine. Testing by other Asian governments found no contamination, Kraft said.
The U.S. produces enough milk to meet domestic demand, and no Chinese companies are approved to ship milk, milk powder or similar ingredients here.
FDA officials don't believe China's latest food safety scandal will have widespread impact for American consumers, and instead are focusing on imported products sold at Asian groceries.
The government has also stepped up testing at ports of entry as a precaution.
Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar
AP FDA/Health Writer
Washington

Thank you Mr. Alonso-Zaldivar for researching my inquiry. I did not know that about U.S. milk production nor did I know no Chinese companies are approved to ship milk, etc., here. I wonder if that is a recent rule or if it has been in place for a long time. 

I am still curious however as to why the list from Hong Kong places Oreo wafers and other Oreo cookies in the list of "SATISFACTORY results of testing melamine". Why doesn't the Satisfactory section say "no melamine found"? 2.5 ppm or less, I guess.  Just sayin'... Is it all that "naturally occurring" melamine...?

My question to the AP did not specifically ask about the vegetable proteins, I know. And I'd love at some point to get the answer on that one, (although I think I already know the answer) and to find out specifically if Kraft IS testing their myriad of products with imported ingredients.

And don't get me started on food labels. Product of USA. Made in USA. Huh?

Kroger?

Radishes, milk drinks and chocolate, oh my!

Food Labels, Warning Labels

Now that there has been a level of melamine in food determined to be acceptable and therefore levels that are unacceptable, I wonder if food labels will start listing melamine as an ingredient. Or a caution label: "This product contains up to 2.5 parts per million of melamine". Or "This product may contain unknown levels of melamine". 

Or maybe we can have a version of a Prop 65 warning on food packaging. It is interesting to note that according to the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, Proposition 65 requires the Governor to publish, at least annually, a list of chemicals known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity.

Melamine is not on that list. I wonder if it will ever get on that list.

You can contact your legislative representatives and communicate with them about all of this. Some congressional representatives are already trying to do something about the questionable FDA guidelines.

Melamine Blog advocates for the testing of whole and processed food quality from all sources and origins, publicized results and thorough food labeling including origin labeling. The public needs more info about melamine and how to avoid eating it. 

Get thee to this link

You really have to read From China, With Love: Melamine. While there is no doubt, to me, that we should have a closer eye on China as a food source, if not ban products outright, I am also concerned about melamine added to food from all other sources and origins, including the U.S. Not to mention that the U.S. imports food from other countries, not just China, and those countries might import ingredients from China. 

CDC melamine information page

On Monday, September 29, 2008 at 10:30 am I called the CDC. Veronica answered and I asked her if she could tell me about the effects of eating melamine. She transferred me to Nicole. Nicole looked up my question and a few seconds later said "The CDC has no information about melamine in our files to give to callers."

At the end of the call, I got a recorded survey asking if I would leave my phone number and if I would agree to let someone call me back to follow up on the call; probably about the service of the operators. It was an automated survey. I gave my number and permission to call but I never heard back, unless they called and I missed the call. (Update: they did call back and I answered their questions about the "service" at the CDC, and let them know the CDC did not help me with my specific questions that day.)

In any case, that was an interesting day. I originally called the FDA and asked them about melamine and they told me to call the CDC. At one point during the call to the CDC, Nicole told me to call the FDA.

Well it appears that now the CDC has an information sheet about melamine on it's website. It was put there on October 7, 2008. 

Yes, some of the information is vague. Some is misleading: In the section about pregnancy and breastfeeding, the notice states that melamine only stays in the body for a few days. But two paragraphs down it says "Scientists do not know exactly how long it takes the human body to eliminate melamine". Hello????

And some information is flat out missing. The CDC page focuses on milk ingredients, neglecting the fact that melamine has also been added to dry vegetable proteins and therefore could possibly contaminate many other processed foods we eat.  

Next item, Taro brand biscuits

Taro brand biscuits found to be tainted with melamine up to 75 ppm, in Kuala Lumpur.

Editorial out of Reading, PA

All I have to say is "Ditto!"

FDA - Updates to Q&A and Safety and Risk Assessment

The FDA has two new newly updated documents about melamine: The Interim Safety and Risk Assessment of Melamine and Its Analogues in Food for Humans dated Oct. 3rd (thanks for the 2.5 ppm rubbish) and the Questions And Answers about Melamine. These documents try to explain what the FDA has done and is doing to deal with the dry milk ingredients that contain melamine and come from China. 

My favorite part of the Q&A is: Q: Are there any reported illnesses in the US linked to melamine in Chinese food products? A: No. FDA is not aware of any.

Well I think it's all about timing. And what kinds of illnesses people may  have had a year or so ago that could have been related.

My son was sick last December with massive stomach pain. The doctor thought at first it might be appendicitis, I brought him home and monitored him. He missed school for two days. The pain was making him bend over and whine. Finally, the pain went away after a lot of crying AND after I fed him small amounts of simple, good food for two days. Prior to that - he'd been enjoying Lotte Koala cookies nearly every day as a snack. Quite possibly along with some Pocky. Maybe his stomach hurt from just eating junk food (oops, my bad) or something else completely (who knows). In any case, I'm not surprised there are no reported illnesses because there is not enough awareness at home and at the doctor's office. The medical community might not be thinking, "Has your son been eating imported food?" or "We should check for kidney stones" in our toddlers. I wasn't even thinking that, despite having known about the melamine-in-wheat-gluten pet food situation months earlier.

DIetary suppliments, vitamins, and more

It's not just about milk. 

Croatia comes to the table

...or backs away from the table, you could say. Worried about products with "raw materials" (ingredients) coming from the East to be added to foods manufactured closer to home, Croatia joins the chorus of concern about melamine in their processed foods. 

Over 46,000 illnesses

Over 46,000 illnesses now reported in China as a result of ingesting melamine. No update on the amount of deaths. 

FDA import alert - January 2008

In April 2007, U.S. FDA took samples and tested vegetable protein imports after thousands of pets became sick or died from eating pet food contaminated with melamine. 

In January 2008, U.S. FDA issues "Detention without physical examination" notice for vegetable proteins entering the U.S. for animal or human consumption.

The notice states, "FDA does not know how widespread the problem in China might be. For example, FDA does not know which regions of the country may or may not be impacted by the problem, which firms are the major manufacturers and exporters of vegetable proteins to the United States, where these vegetable proteins are grown in China, and what controls are currently in place to prevent against contamination." 

I guess it's just easier to set a Parts Per Million threshold for poison in food than to trace it and try to eliminate the poison from the food supply. 

FDA May 25, 2007

The Interim Melamine and Analogues Safety/Risk Assessment from FDA. It is basically a summary of the work that the FDA did after it discovered that pets were dying from eating pet food contaminated with melamine. Pet food was made with wheat and or wheat gluten contaminated with melamine. The scraps of the pet food were sold and added to animal feed for pigs, chickens and fish and sent to the U.S.  U.S livestock including pigs, chickens and fish ate the melamine tainted animal feed and were processed for human consumption. Rather than recall the pork, fish, poultry and eggs that made its way to grocery stores, the FDA decided to withhold only some processing of animals, concluding that some had already entered the channels of trade. The FDA measured the amounts of melamine in the animal tissue - our food, and found melamine to be present in the tissue. Interestingly, they also measured how much melamine is excreted in the urine of pigs who consume melamine tainted animal feed. Some melamine gets excreted in urine soon after it is consumed, but not all. Which leads to the ongoing issue of just how much melamine remains in tissue (or other parts of a living being) after long term consumption. If an animal eats melamine contaminated food and lives for any length of time before it is processed as food, how much melamine do we consume? 

I don't think it unreasonable to ask: Why the heck then is melamine added to animal feed in the first place?? It either has no function (its excreted rapidly) and should not be added to animal feed (or any food product), or it is retained, in any amount, and should not be added to animal feed or any part of the food chain. 

If you want to read all about the melamine levels in the pork, fish, poultry and eggs we eat now as a result of animals eating animal feed with melamine in it, then this document is for you.

I think the FDA should inform the public about which farms use melamine in their animal feed. I'm calling around to several companies and asking them myself. You should too. While you're at it, ask them if they import ANY of their ingredients (raw materials) from China for use in their food product. Ultimately consumers need to know if melamine is added to food whether it is added in China or any where else.

Tainted Chocolate Coins in Canada

Costco did testing of candy chocolate coins sold in their stores and now they are recalled. 

Shame on CNN

CNN published this article which explains that Hong Kong's Center for Food Safety tested 104 samples of products made by a variety of food manufacturers including some U.S. companies. The article states that only two samples indicated "unsatisfactory" levels of melamine in them. Assuming that the rest of the samples either had no melamine, or "satisfactory" levels of melamine (wtf?), CNN gets a huge thumbs down for not reporting the names of the products that were tested from U.S. companies and the results of all the tests. 

2.5 parts per million...

...per serving? Per day? Per package? Per adult? Per child? Per lifetime? What the FDA is saying is confusing and definitely not comforting.

Where is the Press?

I think it is brave of  one grocery chain president in the Philippines to speak to the press the way he did recently, stating that checking for melamine in food would "affect a lot of industries, companies and employment." It is true that positive test results would create huge headaches for federal agencies, food producers and consumers all over the world. But I think his warning is honest. 

Of course it would affect a lot of industries, companies and employment. But we shouldn't ignore it. Sadly there are probably not enough resources to address the issue in the U.S. I guess it's just easier to ignore it, at least for now, or declare a threshold of 2.5 parts per million as an acceptable level of melamine in our food. Does anyone know the result of ingesting even low amounts of melamine on a daily basis, for years? Or decades?

Importing and Exporting Wheat Gluten

An article from Slate about wheat gluten, pet food and melamine.

Melamine In Food: Media Coverage

The New York Times has put together a page dedicated to melamine in food that can be read here. USA Today has a few interesting articles here and here.

What is melamine?

See the Wikipedia entry.
More info here, at Answers.com.
The FDA has information about melamine in food, here.