Melamine as a Food Additive - A New Case Study

A new case study was released in October titled "A Case Study of Melamine as a Counterfeit Food Product
Additive in Chinese Human and Animal Food Supply Chain Networks" by Robyn R. Mace

McCormick Fajita Seasonings Recall: Undeclared Milk or...?

The FDA announced a recall today of McCormick Fajita seasoning packets. In October 2008, McCormick Enchilada seasonings were recalled for undeclared milk during the melamine contamination investigations worldwide.

McCormick & Company Has Recalled McCormick Enchilada Sauce Mix

McCormick & Company, Incorporated has announced a recall of McCormick Enchilada Sauce Mix with UPC Code 52100091600 sold under the McCormick brand. The McCormick Enchilada Sauce Mix contains undeclared milk ingredients.

The McCormick Enchilada Sauce Mix was distributed to grocery stores nationally beginning on September 17, 2008. The product comes in 1.5 oz. pouches with an expiration date of "best by" AUG2910CH. The date is found printed in black on the back, bottom left of the pouch.

All grocery outlets that sell McCormick Enchilada Sauce Mix (UPC Code 52100091600 with expiration date "best by" AUG2910CH) have been notified to remove the product from their shelves immediately, and consumers who have purchased this product should return it to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Consumers with questions may contact McCormick at 1-800-632-5847.

Although it is many months later, I'm assuming that melamine testing is still ongoing. Does the FDA just test food randomly to see if there are milk ingredients in it? Is that how they found the milk ingredients in the Enchilada mix? I'd call the FDA and ask, but I don't have 4 1/2 hours to sit on hold today - maybe another day! In any case, I find the timing interesting; 1) that the first recall took place back in October and 2) that it took seven months for the FDA to recognize that a product almost identical to another product from the same manufacturer has the same undeclared milk issue. Either way FDA is recalling the Fajita mix now. Although it may be undeclared milk ingredients, I wonder where the milk ingredients originated from.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- SPARKS, MD, APRIL 24 – McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) has announced a voluntary recall of Lawry's® Fajitas Spices & Seasonings packages with UPC Code 2150022500 and a “best if used by” date of OCT0110PX62, sold under the Lawry's brand. Lawry's Fajitas Spices & Seasonings packages with this date code contain undeclared milk ingredients. People who have allergies to milk run the risk of serious or life threatening allergic reactions if they consume this product.

The Lawry's Fajita Spices & Seasonings packages were distributed to grocery stores nationally beginning on October 17, 2008. The product is available in 1.27 oz. pouches, and the date code is found printed in black on the back, bottom center of the pouch. The “best if used by” date of OCT0110PX62 is the only date code affected by the recall.

The recall was initiated after it was discovered that product was mispackaged and as a result the ingredient statement on the package did not list milk as an ingredient.

Public Meeting on Economically Motivated Adulteration

Meeting announcement below. Link to FDA site is here.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is announcing a Public Meeting pertaining to economically motivated adulteration (EMA). The purpose of the meeting is to stimulate and focus a discussion about ways in which the food, (including dietary supplements and animal food), drug, medical device and cosmetic industries, regulatory agencies, and other parties can better predict and prevent economically motivated adulteration. FDA invites interested individuals, organizations, and other stakeholders, including industry representatives, to present information pertaining to predicting and preventing EMA of food, (including dietary supplements and animal food), drugs, medical devices and cosmetics. The agency also requests interested parties to submit comments on this issue to the public docket.

Meeting attendees are encouraged to register on-line or contact Deborah Harris, EDJ Associates, Inc., 11300 Rockville Pike, Suite 1001, Rockville, MD 20852, 240-221-4326, email: dharris@edjassociates.com; FAX: 301-945-4295.

For general questions about the meeting, to request on-site parking or for special accommodations due to a disability, contact: Juanita Yates, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, 301-436-1731, e-mail: juanita.yates@fda.hhs.gov.

Federal Register Notice of Meeting

Register Online

Please note the following important dates:

April 16, 2009: Closing date for requests to make an oral presentation
April 23, 2009: Closing date for:
Advance Registration
Provide a brief description of an oral presentation and any written material for the presentation, and
Request special accommodations due to a disability
April 27, 2009: Closing date to request onsite parking

Time To Test Egg Quality (And What About Results of FSIS 97-08?)

Lately I've been wondering why there hasn't been any talk about testing more products for melamine, including eggs. I know some testing is currently underway for meat, meat products like hot dogs and milk products, but why not eggs? When I spoke to Norco farms a few months ago, a spokesperson assured me that there was no melamine in the feed used to feed the animals that producs the eggs labeled "organic" however, he was pretty certain there was melamine in the feed fed to the birds that produced the eggs that receive no organic designation. There was concern in China over tainted eggs. The feed used here in the U.S., and around the world, is known to contain melamine - it's a binding agent. Why isn't anyone testing eggs for melamine contamination and if they are, what is the status of such testing?

Traceability in the Food Supply Chain and More Melamine...

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has found melamine in Fortuna brand sugar crackers. How much melamine is unknown at this point. The tainted product was found at Dragon Star market in St. Paul. Customers are urged to throw out any of these crackers that they may have purchased.

If only we could throw out all the regulations that prevent the public from knowing the source of their food. The Fortuna crackers are reported to have been imported to the U.S. by an Indonesian company. But that's probably all we'll know about the crackers. According to a federal report released today, the government conducted tests to determine the effectiveness of the existing tracing system and food supply chain for 40 food items, and determined that most records of what went where and when were woefully light on detail.

The link to the FULL REPORT can be found by clicking here.

Or cut and paste this into your browser.

http://www.oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-02-06-00210.pdf

Osteoblast Milk Protein?

I posted information about Danone milk powder earlier today only to read an update a few hour from the AP indicating that the "unapproved protein additive" in Danone's milk powder sold in China has been found to be "OMP" or Osteoblast Milk Protein. This product is not approved for use in China, nor by the FDA in the US. Marion Nestle is already on top of it and has commented at Food Politics.

Milk Powder Investigated in China

Milk Powder from Dumex, a subsidiary of France's Group Danone SA, is under investigation in China for using an "unapproved protein additive". Officials are specifically focusing on whether or not the additive is melamine. Mengniu Dairy Group Co. is also under similar investigation.

"Complete Review" of FDA Ordered

President Obama has ordered a review of the FDA in light of several recent cases of food contamination and safety issues, which included melamine-tainted pet food and infant formula.

Purdue University Researchers Develop Test for Melamine Detection

Reuters reports researchers can detect melamine rapidly and in trace amounts.

Tough Times, Cutting Corners

Shao Mingli, director of China's State Food and Drug Administration is warning that tough economic times might tempt food and drug makers to worry less about product safety and more about their bottom line.

The Latest Trend? Are Manufacturers Removing the Made In China Label?

In September and October 2008, after the news that Lotte Koala cookies were tainted with melamine, I gathered up all the Lotte Koala cookies I had in my kitchen and put them aside. I saved them in a plastic bag. I originally had hoped to test the products using a lab located near where I live. As the news about melamine-tainted food began to include more and more products, I went through my home to find more food products from China or the suspect ingredients. One of the products I found was "Sipahh Milk Flavoring Straws". It was the word "milk" that caught my eye. The outer box had the Made In China label, and stated that the product was made by Unistraw and distributed by The Jel Sert Company. The inner straw packaging had the Made In China label as well. Still, the product did not list any milk ingredients, yet I set it aside because it listed "artificial flavor" as an ingredient and I was simply feeling cautious about any processed food at that point.

This week, I was shopping in my local Vons supermarket and saw the Sipahh straws on the shelf. I picked up the product and held it and noticed that the box did not say Made In China near the UPC code like the one I bought last year. I bought a box and took photographs to show the comparison of the Made In China label that was present and is now gone.

Additionally, both packages have expiry dates. The old box expiration date is listed as 190109, or day 19, month January and year 2009. The new box expiration date states "best before Jun 2009". The inner packaging expiration date of the product in the old box is consistent with the date of the old box itself. However, the inner packaging expiration date of the product in the new box is inconsistent with the date on the new box. The inner packaging expiry date of the new box states "060109", which to me means, January 6, 2009. But the outside of the new box says "best before Jun 2009". Does "060109" mean June 1, 2009? If so, then does the old box expiration date also list month first? What month is month 19?

Further, the box I bought last year has a batch code on the box and batch code on the inner packaging that match. But the new box that I bought has one batch code on the box and a different batch code on the inner packaging. The outside batch code starts with WA on the new box and the inside packaging from that new box has a batch code that starts with an "A" .


Or does the product that came in the new box actually expire 17 days before the product in the old box and months before the date on the outside of the box it came in? Or did the company suddenly start manufacturing the product in the United States? The new packaging also omits salt as an ingredient. Are the new zero-sodium Sipahhs the reason for all the new labeling?

Confused? I don't blame you.

The point is this: There are questions that need to be answered; three questions, perhaps more:
1) Why do some boxes, presumably older boxes, display the Made In China label, and why do newer boxes apparently replace that label with a number?
2) Why are the expiration dates inconsistent? It is unclear if the date is meant to read month day year or day month year.
3) Why does the outside of the box purchased in January 09 have a batch code that starts with "WA" on the outside and a batch code that starts with "A" on the inside?

And the number one point is: Expiration and batch code numbers aside, the Made In China label is on boxes with expiration dates of January 2009 and not on boxes with expiration dates of June 2009.


The COOL (Country Of Origin Labeling) labels are highly controversial because they do not list the origins of all the ingredients in processed foods. More thorough labeling would help consumers, give more power to consumers, and perhaps allow consumers to make more healthful choices about the "food" they eat. The discovery of the false labeling on the Sipahh straws demonstrates that perhaps the industry has decided that going incognito might help sales and might help manufacturers retain consumers who are already shying away from Chinese-made products. Is this evidence that such large numbers of consumers are shunning Chinese-made products or evidence that such a large numbers of "food" products are made in China?

Seriously...why do we have labeling in the first place?

FDA Release Comprehensive List of Tested US Infant Formula

The FDA released a complete list of the US manufactured infant formulas they tested for melamine and cyanuric acid contamination.
The full list can be found that this link.
More from the Daily Green here.

7th Child Dies In China From Tainted Formula

South China Morning Post is reporting that another infant has died as a result of melamine-tainted infant formula, bringing the publicized total of deaths to seven. The child is said to have been from Qingzhou, Shandong province.

Los Angeles Times Reports Melamine in Seafood

LA Times has a story about melamine in seafood from China.