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Globalization has lead to many great advancements, including our food supply here in the US. However, globalization not only makes information travel faster it can also lead to disease and illnesses traveling faster. An unfortunate example of such a consequence is the Melamine scandal in Chinese dairy products. Although the majority of melamine contaminated goods were found in China, because of our trade system, U.S. citizens should be concerned as well. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration FDA has been conducting extensive research on the possibility of Melamine contaminated food in the U.S. and has found several possible sources of it, including candy.
Melamine is a cheap protein substitute that some Chinese companies were adding to their dairy products so that they could keep protein levels high while watering their milk down. However, melamine caused thousands of infants in China to experience kidney failure, three with fatal results.
The FDA released a warning statement on September 23, 2008 and has already discovered certain products in the US that has been laced with melamine. Below is a list the FDA posted on their website of the recalled products:
The Bulletin, Philadelphia’s Family Newspaper, wrote an article about melamine spiked candies and stated that
“The FDA’s letter indicated that seven Asian countries plus Australia and Canada report they have found melamine In a variety of products including candy, flavored milks and cakes. A variety of candies including Cadbury, Snickers, Kit Kat, M&M’s and Dove have been recalled from China, Hong Kong, Australia, Taiwan, South Korea, and the United States.”
“The letter, which is Directed ted at food manufacturers not consumers, went on to explain there are many unknown factors the FDA has discovered in attempting to understand the extent of the contamination. For example, soy-based products may also be contaminated with melamine”
Because the FDA is not done with their investigation, take caution in allowing your children to consume dairy based candy this Halloween. Remember, because your children will be handling individual candies, they may not say “made in china” so make sure to exercise caution if you come across an unfamiliar dairy based candy. It is also important, if traveling outside of the US to practice extreme caution in consuming dairy based products. The safest precautin is avoidance of all dairy based candies and international food until more is known about the melamine contamination
Previously on the DC Metro Area Personal Injury Law Blog, we have posted articles related to:
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