EU Joins Ban on Chinese Milk
The European Union announced a ban on imports of baby food containing Chinese milk and has called for more stringent testing of other Chinese products.
Australia, New Zealand and India have also joined with other countries which have removed contaminated Chinese food products from store shelves.
Vietnam has established inspection teams to test milk products from China. According to Vietnam’s Health Ministry, inspection teams would "look into food hygiene and safety standards ... involving in milk and dairy products nationwide."
India has now taken action by instituting a three month ban on imports of Chinese milk and milk products... Both New Zealand and Australia have taken measures to curb imports of White Rabbit Creamy Candies which contain unacceptable levels of melamine. "This is a serious concern," said Sandra Daly, deputy chief executive for New Zealand's food safety agency. "We have issued a Director General's statement advising people not to eat these products as we cannot discount the likelihood of health risks resulting from the consumption of these sweets."Hong Kong officials have recalled the candies after authorities confirmed a fifth case Thursday of a kidney problems related to the consumption of milk products tainted with melamine - candies are often made with milk or milk derivatives...
The United Kingdom’s the supermarket chain Tesco has announced that it has pulled the White Rabbit candy from store shelves amidst concerns they contained melamine.
In South Korea, the government banned the importation of all Chinese products containing milk after Chinese biscuits tainted with melamine were discovered in the country, a government spokesman said. The biscuits which are made in China are sold in South Korea by a confectioner called Haitai under the name ‘Me Sarang Custard’.
Health officials in Singapore and Indonesia announced additional recalls of products made with the contaminated milk. The products removed from stores include flavored milks and ice creams, cookies and candies.
Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Burundi, Gabon, Tanzania, Brunei and the Philippines have all stopped importing some Chinese products made from milk.
In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration reported that investigators did not find contaminated Chinese milk in more than 1000 stores that were checked. Most of the stores singled out for inspection were in large urban areas with sizeable Chinese populations including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington and New York.
The FDA says it "has broadened its domestic and import sampling and testing of milk-derived ingredients and finished food products containing milk, such as candies, desserts, and beverages that could contain these ingredients from Chinese sources."
