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menusux
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« on: September 25, 2008, 05:57:40 PM » |
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http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSPEK166968Reuters September 25, 2008 Melamine use "rampant" in China feed business "Use of the industrial chemical melamine, which has made thousands of Chinese infants sick through tainted baby formula, is rampant among farmers and feed-ingredient manufacturers, a Chinese feedmill owner said. ""It is like a chain," said Sun Erwu, who owns a feedmill in Hebei province, the centre of the milk-powder scandal. ""If cows are fed with poor feed and produce lower-protein milk, dairy plants will not accept the milk, so many add melamine," Sun told Reuters on the sidelines of a grains conference. "Nitrogen-rich melamine can be added to substandard or watered-down milk to fool quality checks, which often use nitrogen levels to measure the amount of protein in milk. The chemical is used in pesticides and in making plastics. ""Farmers have no idea what melamine is. They only know if they add it, their milk will not be refused." "China has stepped up testing for melamine in feed after milk powder tainted with the chemical made more than 54,000 infants sick and at least four infants died, the latest in a series of health scandals to blight China's food industry. "Sun said he was not surprised when his meal was found to contain melamine as it was so widely used in Hebei and neighbouring Shandong province. He said he was the victim but was fined 30,000 yuan ($4,400) nevertheless.
""I have long wanted to test my products, but to test for melamine is expensive and it takes a long time," he said, adding that testing one sample would cost more than 1,000 yuan ($145) -- and then the laboratory cannot pinpoint the contamination to one ingredient in the meal.
""Soymeal can be contaminated, so can corn gluten meal and cottonseed meal -- suppliers add melamine into all these supplements," said Sun.
"Adding melamine to lower-protein cottonseed meal could mean a profit of 1,000 yuan more per tonne as melamine can make the protein level look as high as that of rich soymeal, he said."The cheating was done by milk dealers and milk-collecting stations, which add melamine to milk to increase protein level to the 3 percent requested by dairy plants, said Sun, who sells his feed to dairy cow farmers. "Still, many farmers, which have small numbers of dairy cows, were victims as they were unware that melamine was added by dealers at collecting stations, he said. "China said on Wednesday the tainted milk scandal had been brought under control and recently tested liquid milk samples showed no traces of a toxic chemical. ""There is no problem," Xiang Yuzhang, the national quality watchdog's chief inspection official, told reporters in Beijing. ""It has been brought under control, more or less. There are no more problems in the market. As far as I know, there will be no more bad news."" As we've seen by the OASIS refusals, melamine in feed never went away. You also see that most don't test for it because of the expense.
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catbird
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« Reply #1 on: September 25, 2008, 06:04:45 PM » |
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As we've seen by the OASIS refusals, melamine in feed never went away. You also see that most don't test for it because of the expense.
And despite Xiang Yuzhang's statement, it has not and will not go away in the milk there, either. |
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3catkidneyfailure
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« Reply #2 on: September 25, 2008, 06:11:12 PM » |
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Menusux, there seems to be crossover here in terms of what is being contaminated by melamine when and by whom. Is it
possible the farmers and the milk collection stations are both adding melamine to raw milk in an effort to cheat each other?
Also, the soymeal and the corn gluten meal and the cottonseed meal, are they added to human food products?
Then there remains the question of how much melamine is retained in the tissues of the ruminants who eat this melamine feed
to be added post-slaughter to human melamine consumption levels.
I'm cross-posting this thread in the baby formula one if that's okay with you.
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dingbat
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« Reply #3 on: September 25, 2008, 06:12:10 PM » |
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As we've seen by the OASIS refusals, melamine in feed never went away. You also see that most don't test for it because of the expense.
And despite Xiang Yuzhang's statement, it has not and will not go away in the milk there, either. Exactly Nor will it go away in pet food, people food and anything else that the levels of protein can be boosted by adding melamine. Unfortunately until the rest of the world powers wake up and stop importing food from China, will the problem go away. As long as someone can make windfall profits by adding "poison" to food it will continue. what I found interesting was that the dairy farmers were not aware of it, since it was being added by the milk dealers. So where do they start to correct the problem?? This has all come about from rampant uncontrolled globalization, with no rules, no controls, just pure profit as motive. Only after the fact, thousands of infants sickened, some dead, is something done. They don't even care about their own people. What a great place to live. db |
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I used to think that anyone doing anything weird was weird. I suddenly realized that anyone doing anything weird wasn't weird at all and it was the people saying they were weird that were weird.
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menusux
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« Reply #4 on: September 25, 2008, 06:40:52 PM » |
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Menusux, there seems to be crossover here in terms of what is being contaminated by melamine when and by whom. Is it
possible the farmers and the milk collection stations are both adding melamine to raw milk in an effort to cheat each other?
Also, the soymeal and the corn gluten meal and the cottonseed meal, are they added to human food products?
Then there remains the question of how much melamine is retained in the tissues of the ruminants who eat this melamine feed
to be added post-slaughter to human melamine consumption levels.
I'm cross-posting this thread in the baby formula one if that's okay with you.
3cat-- Re: X posting, sure--I just wanted to make sure everyone saw this without needing to go through the entire melamine/milk thread. Yes, in some cases, I think both farmers and collection stations added melamine. From what I've read, farmers have only the option to sell their milk to a collection station. So there's no money for them if none will take it. I'd believe that there was possible profit there at the stations if they diluted or further diluted what they took from in from farmers. Those running the stations could make their cut by "extending" the milk with water from that point. So that would be possibly where more melamine came in. Let's look at what OASIS refused this year in grain products for human consumption: http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/8/ora_oasis_i_02.htmlOASIS Refusals August 2008 02-Whole Grain/Milled Grain Prod/Starch China BNI-0010827-2 1 1 Kun Fung Trading Co Kowloon , HK NYK-DO 02HFT05 WHEAT STARCH 06-AUG-2008 POISONOUS http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/7/ora_oasis_i_02.htmlOASIS Refusals July 2008--same product classificatio--for human consumption. China GL5-0846357-4 1 1 Tide International Co Ltd. Longkou City , CN LOS-DO 02BGT99 MINCED CORN 23-JUL-2008 UNSAFE ADD http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/5/ora_oasis_i_02.htmlOASIS Refusals May 2008 same product classification--for human consumption China 101-7807745-8 1 1 Shanghai Jinjianer Imp & Exp Co Ltd Shanghai , CN SEA-DO 02FFT08 VITAL WHEAT GLUTEN 28-MAY-2008 UNSAFE ADD http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/4/ora_oasis_i_02.htmlOASIS Refusals April 2008--same classification--for human consumption China 112-1394117-5 1 1 Changzhou Dahua Im Jiangsu , CN CHI-DO 02AYH03 GENISTEIN 02-APR-2008 PESTICIDES http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/1/ora_oasis_i_02.htmlOASIS Refusals January 2008 same product classification--for human consumption China BRI-0006549-0 1 1 Fujian Yang Zhenhua 851 Bio Science Co., Ltd Fuzhou , CN LOS-DO 02GET08 FERMENTED SOY POWDER 11-JAN-2008 UNSAFE ADD China BEA-9035871-0 1 1 Guanghan Lusong Pharmaceutical Co.. Sichuan , CN LOS-DO 02GGT08 SOY ISOFLAVONE 22-JAN-2008 UNSAFE ADD http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/12/ora_oasis_i_02.htmlOASIS Refusals December 2007--same product classification--for human consumption China BNU-0005055-2 1 1 DALIAN SHENGFANG ORGANIC FOOD CO.,LTD. dalian CN-21, CN 116600 SAN-DO 02BGT99 ORGANIC CRACKED CORN 28-DEC-2007 UNSAFE ADD FILTHY POISONOUS http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/10/ora_oasis_i_02.htmlOASIS Refusals October 2007--same product classification--for human consumption China W33-0981379-6 1 5 Shanghai Hai Li Toys Co. Ltd Shanghai , CN LOS-DO 02EGT06 FROZEN GLUTEN 11 CTNS. 04-OCT-2007 POISONOUS China 144-0781682-9 1 1 Sinoglory Oppenheimer Soya Pro Qingdao , CN NYK-DO 02GFT08 SOY PROTEIN 23-OCT-2007 FILTHY http://www.fda.gov/ora/oasis/9/ora_oasis_i_02.htmlOASIS Refusals September 2007--same product classfication--for human consumption China 101-7500168-3 1 1 Shanghai Jinjianer Imp & Exp Co Ltd Shanghai , CN LOS-DO 02FFT08 WHEAT GLUTEN 05-SEP-2007 UNSAFE ADD POISONOUS China 101-7502781-1 1 1 Xiancheng Kemao Gluten Co Ltd Ziancheng City Henan , CN 466200 SWI-DO 02FFT08 WHEAT GLUTEN 07-SEP-2007 UNSAFE ADD China 101-7511391-8 1 2 Tianguan Group Nanyang City Henan , CN SWI-DO 02FFT08 VITAL WHEAT GLUTEN 07-SEP-2007 UNSAFE ADD China 101-7511391-8 1 1 Tianguan Group Nanyang City Henan , CN SWI-DO 02FFT08 VITAL WHEAT GLUTEN 07-SEP-2007 UNSAFE ADD China 101-7521507-7 1 1 Shanghai Jinjianer Imp & Exp Co Ltd Shanghai , CN CHI-DO 02FFT08 VITAL WHEAT GLUTEN 18-SEP-2007 UNSAFE ADD This was meant for human consumption--it's listed as above--not under pet food or feed. We can guess what the unsafe/poisonous additive was. Offhand, I'm not sure about whether corn gluten or soymeal is found in foods for people, but I think the cottonseed meal isn't used in human food. My thought is that similar things went on with the "wheat gluten" and "rice protein concentrate", as they were purchased from who knows how many smaller dealers or farmers. |
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menusux
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« Reply #5 on: September 25, 2008, 06:49:57 PM » |
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This is an interesting article you need to access in an interesting way. The Google link takes you to the article before this and it's the only way in without subscription. However, once you get in the "door" you are able to scroll down to the link for this story, click and view it.  http://www.foodingredientsfirst.com/home/viewnews.rails?Id=18246&pageNo=4&isHome=TrueFood Ingredients September 24, 2008 Melamine – Genesis of a Crisis "Sanlu claimed that farmers who supplied cow’s milk to the company were the perpetrators, and some farmers have indeed already been put into prison. But how can you explain the fact that this case has also affected other manufacturers? "More and more cases of infant kidney stone problems have appeared since August. People became suspicious that it must be related to a famous brand of infant formula. Well-known milk company Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group, who were the first to launch infant milk formula in China, claimed that 7 million tons of its infant formula milk had been contaminated with melamine. A recall of its infant milk powder was eventually called. "The case is becoming increasingly serious. It is reported that 12,892 infants stayed at hospital for the treatment of kidney stone problems, 39,965 infants with kidney stone problems have been recovered and 4 infants died, according to the statistics by September 21. A lot of infants are lining up in hospitals for medical examination. The authority sent expert teams to make a complete check of all the infant formula available on the market. It checked 491 batches of infant formula products produced by 109 manufacturers. " The terrible results showed that 69 batches of products produced by 22 enterprises contained melamine at different levels. It included the big giant milk manufacturers like Shijiazhuang Sanlu group, Yili group of Inner Mongolia, Mengniu group of Inner Mongolia and Shanghai Bright dairy industrial group. Among them, Shijiazhuang Sanlu was the most serious, with 22 people including Ms. Tian Wenhua Chairman of the Board of the company put in prison as a result of the scandal. Famous branded products such as Yili, Mengniu and Shanghai Bright were removed, and other products related to the contaminated milk were also removed. " The question is who mixed melamine into the milk. Shijiangzhuang Sanlu claimed at the beginning that farmers who supplied cow’s milk to the company were the perpetrators, and some farmers have indeed already been put into prison. But how can you explain the fact that this case has also affected other manufacturers? It has been reported that melamine is a controlled product in China, normally not sold to individuals. So it hints that the case may relate to the manufacturers themselves. The story is why would they add melamine into a milk product, especially to formula milk powder."Melamine is a chemical normally used for panel production. It contains 3 nitrogen in one anomeric carbon atom, while normal protein contains only one nitrogen in one anomeric carbon atom. So its nitrogen content is higher than that of protein. In analysis methods, China normally adopted a nitrogen determination method (Kjeldahl method) to measure the protein content. A higher nitrogen content also means a higher protein content. So adding melamine to milk will greatly cut down the production costs, as it’s about US$100 for 1 ton of melamine, while increasing the protein content of the product. So the infant milk with a protein content of over 20g often seen on the label of the product, is higher than imported formula milk."This really is a big disaster for the Chinese milk industry, and the number of products on the shelf will be substantially reduced, as people begin to become afraid of drinking milk. It must be noted that it took a long time to train Chinese people into the habit of drinking milk in the first place. It’s already been reported that some farmers began slaughtering cows and thrown out milk. The government has already taken measures to reduce farmers’ losses. The milk manufacturers got together recently to discuss how to treat this case and what measures should be adopted to prevent such a case from occurring again, while guaranteeing food safety. More than 700 dairy companies with no contaminated milk sent their guarantees to the State Quality Bureau. It’s been reported that the State Standard Committee has organised experts to make modifications to dairy standards, which will be published within this year. Experts in this field have called on setting up an administration organisation to control dairy quality." They believe the manufacturers were the ones who added the melamine. |
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JJ
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« Reply #6 on: September 25, 2008, 11:00:52 PM » |
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Too bad we don't put people here in jail for doing things like this. They jailed 22 people over there. I must applaud them for that on being a no nonsense, get the perps into prison people. Our laws on crimes like that are way too lax - what do they get here - a slap on the wrist and a fine if even that?
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'Life isn't about how to survive the storm,
But how to dance in the rain.'
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Carol
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« Reply #7 on: September 26, 2008, 06:03:49 AM » |
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Too bad we don't put people here in jail for doing things like this. They jailed 22 people over there. I must applaud them for that on being a no nonsense, get the perps into prison people. Our laws on crimes like that are way too lax - what do they get here - a slap on the wrist and a fine if even that?
I wonder what will happen to those jailed however....the manager that was arrested after the melamine in pet food may have been home as David Barboza was able to call his home and have him answer the phone... so is this just for "world PR"? I posted this previously on the Melamine/Formula thread  ... on page 127 of Marion Nestle's book "Pet Food Politics" she writes that after indictments were handed down on ChemNutra and Suzhou Textiles and Mao Lijun (one of the managers) she contacted David Barboza to see what happened to Mao Lijun as Chinese officials had revoked the licenses of Xuzhou Anying and Binzhou Futian and vowed to pursue criminal proceedings against the managers......Barboza told Nestle that he had called Lijun and he answered his phone (Barboza believed) but he denied he was indeed Lijun and then hung up the phone....so why is he not in jail??? |
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“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead
United we stand Divided we fall....
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purringfur
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« Reply #8 on: September 26, 2008, 06:57:32 AM » |
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I've always been suspicious of arrests and punishments there. How would anyone know if the truth were being told? Would we just go by some official's word... perhaps an official who, by government orders, kept quiet about the poisoned milk powder that was knowingly killing and sickening babies for months? I think we're dealing with a completely different mentality here... one that works for the benefit of making China a prosperous nation at others' expense.
And, I don't buy the "ignorant, poor, we-didn't-understand Chinese farmer or peasant" stories concerning the adulterations and that the country is just ignorant about meeting export countries' standards because its an emerging country relatively new to the WTO. Give me a break! The adulterations that have been done (melamine in food, lead paint in toys, heparin contamination, DEG in toothpaste, etc.) are dangerous, cheaper adulterants deliberately employed to boost profits. The Chinese certainly know what ingredients to put in and how to properly manufacture goods, but they chose to go the cheap route to give the appearance that the products meet standards.
These are not the acts of a back-road farmer or factory worker; these are the acts of conniving, shrewd, morally-deficient business people for whom prosperity for the self and country rule. As far as CEO's pressuring for the lowest production costs, a business person with a moral compass would state that those expectations and standards could not be met for that price and DECLINE the contract. With the lax testing, they know they can largely get away with what they're doing with most countries, except for Japan and the European Union. We read earlier about how China muscles its neighbors when they complain about toxins in the foods. China basically strong arms them, knowing they are dependent on China for goods. The countries basically have to lump it or leave it. It's good to see so many other countries banning these Chinese milk product imports. I hope more follow.
I almost can't wait for the house of cards to fall to get back to more localized growing, sourcing, and manufacturing of materials when companies finally realize they are playing with fire in China. I'm just afraid it's going to take a large human death toll on the home countries' soils for this realization to take place. Sad, but probably true...
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Buy local. Buy organic.
If you ate today, thank a farmer, hopefully a small, local farmer.
Remember the thousands & thousands of pets that died to give US a wake-up call about the safety of ALL food.
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3catkidneyfailure
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« Reply #9 on: September 27, 2008, 12:03:26 PM » |
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Cross-posting: (From itchmo forum thread recall-nonpet-food/melamine-suspected-chinese-officials-say-baby-formula-tied-to-kidney-stones) Very early in this thread, a poster (purringfur, Reply 317, page 22) suggested that we start trying to list "silent recalls" by US manufacturers. I may have found two. So I'm starting a separate thread to list only milk product foods or foods that contain dry milk powders that you've noticed sudden shortages of. Will be back in a minute to cross-post link ... Neither the FDA or US multinational manufacturers are being very forthcoming here. Instead of waiting for delayed announcements and all the evidence to be consumed, as most of us did in the 2007 pet food recalls, let's all list sudden shortages of suspicious products and attempt to save samples and evidence of purchase NOW. Cross-posting Canadian and US product shortage thread: http://itchmoforums.com/off-topic-no-politics/chinese-baby-formula-milk-possible-us-products-being-silently-recalled-t6393.0.html;new |
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5CatMom
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« Reply #10 on: September 27, 2008, 12:19:36 PM » |
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Melamine found in pesticides, human food chain, say experts http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20080924-162537/Melamine-found-in-pesticides-human-food-chain-say-experts""Chan King-ming, associate professor of biochemistry at the Chinese University, said cyromazine, a derivative of melamine, was commonly used in China as a pesticide.
“It is absorbed into plants as melamine ... of course it is already in our food chain and animal feed,” Chan said in an interview on Tuesday.""Hummmmmm. This is starting to sound familiar. 5CatMom =^..^ = |
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"What is man without the beasts? If the beasts were gone, men would die from a great loneliness of spirit. For whatever happens to the beasts, soon happens to man. All things are connected." Chief Seattle
"We are the caretakers of our creatures . . . the peacekeepers of our planet"
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purringfur
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« Reply #11 on: September 27, 2008, 12:32:29 PM » |
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Apparently, the Mr. Clean "Magic Eraser" cleaning sponge by Procter & Gamble is made of melamine foam. "Procter & Gamble first discovered the cleaning aid that became the Magic Eraser a few years ago in Japan. "It was a hidden secret even in Japan," Gilbreath, the brand manager, said. It's a cleaning stick made of melamine foam. Melamine is a resin used in construction and the automotive industry as a sound barrier and flame retardant. It also imparts strength and is used in such products as dinnerware and laminate counter tops." http://www.sptimes.com/2004/07/24/Homes/A_hand_for_Mr_Clean.shtmlMelamine is put into so many food products and used as a pesticide, who would have thought there'd be enough left to make cleaning products? |
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Buy local. Buy organic.
If you ate today, thank a farmer, hopefully a small, local farmer.
Remember the thousands & thousands of pets that died to give US a wake-up call about the safety of ALL food.
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dingbat
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« Reply #12 on: September 27, 2008, 12:37:24 PM » |
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the Mr. Clean "Magic Eraser" cleaning sponge by Procter & Gamble is made of melamine foam. purringfur That should give everyone an idea of what this stuff actually is. Tough, resilient plastic that has industrial, and commercial uses. This should tell everyone that it does not belong in food of any kind, pet or human or livestock. db |
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I used to think that anyone doing anything weird was weird. I suddenly realized that anyone doing anything weird wasn't weird at all and it was the people saying they were weird that were weird.
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catbird
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« Reply #13 on: September 27, 2008, 12:38:28 PM » |
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Melamine is put into so many food products and used as a pesticide, who would have thought there'd be enough left to make cleaning products?
[/quote]
LOL purringfur! I guess I'll need to be careful not to bite a hunk out of my Mr. Clean sponge in frustration!
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JustMe
Global Moderator
Hero Member
Posts: 5374
Herdin' Cats and 2 GSDs
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« Reply #14 on: September 27, 2008, 12:41:19 PM » |
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Apparently, the Mr. Clean "Magic Eraser" cleaning sponge by Procter & Gamble is made of melamine foam.
I just bought one of these recently for the first time. I'm going to dispose of it. I have one cat who likes to open cabinets. Can't take a chance. I do have a set of melamine dishes from the 70s when they were so popular, but they are out of reach of any of my cats or dogs. |
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Please consider adopting or fostering local cats/kittens, dogs/puppies if you are willing and able to.
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