The Tainted Milk Scandal
Unilever is a multi national conglomerate of companies with dual headquarters in London and Rotterdam. It is the parent corporation of numerous companies that make many of the products we are so familiar with such as the examples below and that is not even scratching the surface of the many hundreds of products we see on American store shelves:
Ben and Jerry's ice cream, Bovril beef extract, Lipton tea, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, Vaseline, Dove, and Thermasilk to name only a few.
Unilever Hong Kong Limited recalled four batches of Lipton Milk Tea sold in Hong Kong and Macau after finding traces of the chemical melamine in the product. British candy maker Cadbury recalled all of its Chinese-made candy products after preliminary tests showed they contained trace amounts of melamine from the milk that is added to make some candies. Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, Nauru and Christmas Island all had imported the tainted candy.
The worst scare is the discovery of melamine in powdered infant formula made in China. Four Chinese kids have died and almost 53,000 more were made ill, some seriously.The ban on importing Chinese products containing milk is virtually world wide. Stocks of Chinese made candy have disappeared from store shelves amidst concerns of melamine contamination.
The investigation into the scandal revealed that melamine was being added to milk to increase its volume so that more milk could be sold. The toxin boosts protein levels which pass quality inspections because until recently there was no international awareness of what was going on in China.
Four people have been arrested in connection with the milk scandal, including two brothers who could face the death penalty if convicted. There were 19 more arrests as authorities swooped down on pastures, breeding farms and milk-purchasing stations. Chinese authorities have admitted there is a network of people involved in the scandal to make and sell melamine. So far 22 dairy companies have been named in the scandal.North Americans were faced with the problem head on when in 2007 it was found that thousands of U.S. dogs and cats had died as a result of melamine exposure. The feed used by the animals was made in China with melamine. . .In humans, eating melamine tainted food products can result in kidney stones, urinary tract infections and skin irritations. When it is used as an additive for baby formula, the toxin prevents proper metabolizing of much needed nutrients for the infant.
According to The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the King Car Food Industrial Company in Taiwan recalled seven instant coffee and milk tea products that were sold in the United States under the brand name, Mr. Brown. These items were infected when a non-dairy creamer laced with melamine was used in the manufacturing process.
Another product from China found to contain unacceptable levels of melamine is White Rabbit Creamy Candy. Exports of White Rabbit Cream Candy have been recalled.
