FDA Detains Dozens of Chinese Food Imports Over Health

FDA Detains Dozens of Chinese Food Imports Over Health Concerns

Thursday, November 13, 2008

U.S. government health officials Thursday slapped a sweeping detention order on dozens of imported foods from China, from snacks and drinks to chocolates and candies.

It is unusual for the Food and Drug Administration to put such a broad hold on goods from an entire country, not just a few rogue manufacturers. The agency said the action was needed as a precaution to keep out foods contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine, which can cause serious kidney problems.

"The problem of melamine contamination in Chinese food products is a recurring one," said the FDA order, posted on the Internet. Under the directive, FDA inspectors can hold foods made with milk ingredients at ports of entry until independent tests show they are melamine-free. The order also applies to pet foods and some bulk protein products.

Essentially, the FDA action shifts the burden of proof to Chinese companies, which must now supply evidence that their products are safe.

Unscrupulous companies in China have routinely watered down milk, then added melamine to artificially boost protein readings on quality tests. The practice became known after the Beijing Olympics this summer. It backfired when tens of thousands of Chinese children got sick with kidney problems after drinking contaminated infant formula. Nearly 13,000 children were hospitalized in China, and at least four died.

Other melamine-tainted products soon surfaced, setting off a global safety scandal that has further tarnished the reputation of Chinese brands.

The U.S. does not import milk or infant formula from China, and no illnesses have been reported here. But authorities from California to Connecticut have found melamine-contaminated candies and drinks during inspections at Asian groceries. Thursday's FDA order widens a directive from last month authorizing inspectors to detain goods from 10 Chinese companies.

"The problem of melamine contamination (in China) is not limited to infant formula products," said the FDA order. "Chinese government sources indicate contamination of milk components, especially dried milk powder, which are used in a variety of finished foods. These contaminated milk components appear to have been dispersed throughout the Chinese food supply chain."

The melamine scandal is now weeks old, but FDA officials said it has taken that long to comply with legal requirements that detention orders be scrupulously backed by evidence. A national poll released earlier this week by Consumers Union found that the public wants foreign food-producing facilities inspected as frequently as domestic ones: about once a month. The FDA has nowhere near the number of inspectors to fulfill that desire, and instead mainly relies on U.S. food companies to require that their foreign supplier maintain high standards.

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CHINA> National
US seizes Chinese dairy foodThe US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday said it will impound all food products with milk ingredients from China if they are found to contain melamine.

An alert notice on the agency's website said Chinese products that contain milk or milk powder will automatically be stopped at the border until the manufacturer or dealer has shown them to be free of contamination.

The announcement came two months after a raft of Chinese dairy products were found to contain melamine. The contamination caused the deaths of four infants and sickened 50,000 others.

Neither the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine nor the Ministry of Commerce had any comment yesterday on the FDA announcement.

The administration, which will open three offices in China next week, had previously banned wheat gluten products from China after pet food was suspected to contain melamine and blamed for several animal deaths.

Also, in September, the European Union banned imports of Chinese dairy products for children and infants. Several other countries, including Singapore and Russia, followed suit.

Chinese exporters said the latest move by the FDA came as no surprise.

Tong Xun, a senior manager with the Zhangjiagang-based Liangfeng Food Co, said on Friday: "Compared to other countries that banned China's dairy products completely, US authorities seem to be more understanding of China's situation."

The firm has not exported any chocolates or cookies - its main products - since September, he said.

"I'm afraid it will take at least six months for us to recover from this difficult time," Tong said.

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FDA Blocks Chinese Products Over Melamine Fears
Agency issues import alert warning of possible contamination


By Lisa Wade McCormick
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 14, 2008

Infant Formula
• FDA Blocks Chinese Products Over Melamine Fears
• Melamine Scandal Continues to Expand
• FDA's Melamine Decision Scares Consumers
• DeLauro Raps FDA On Melamine Risk Guidelines
• FDA Issues Report On Melamine and Food Safety
• Melamine-Tainted Chinese Candy Shows Up in U.S.
• Hershey's Says Chocolates Are Safe from Chinese Melamine Scandal
• Cadbury Recalls Chinese-Made Chocolates Due to Melamine
• Melamine Scare Spreads to Mr. Brown Coffee
• Chinese Gorillas Fall Ill as Melamine Scandal Widens
• FDA Updates Chinese Infant Formula Warning
• Asian Baby Death Toll From Infant Formula Rises
• FDA Issues Warning on Chinese-Made Infant Formula
• Texas Stops Sale of Mislabeled Infant Formula
• Texas Halts Contaminated Infant Formula Shipments To Mexico
• Chinese Infant Formula Alert


The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will now detain scores of products-- imported from China--because of melamine contamination.

Pet food is included in the import alert issued this week by the FDA.

Under this action, dozens of Chinese-imported items that contain milk products will be held at the border--and not allowed to enter the U.S.--until the importers can prove the items are not tainted with melamine or are not made with milk or milk-derived ingredients.

Melamine is a chemical used to make plastic and fertilizers. It is not allowed in human or pet food.

The products listed in this import alert--a precautionary measure designed to keep food tainted with melamine from entering the country--include candy, cereals, snack foods, cheese, ice cream, soft drinks and baby food products.

"We've continued to get information from others in the international community, and reports from China, about (melamine contamination) moving into different commodities," Steve Solomon, a senior FDA enforcement official, told The Associated Press. "Most of the products we are talking about are finished products like cookies, cakes and candies. The impact will be for various ethnic communities looking for specific products."

This federal action comes on the heels of reports that four infants in China recently died--and more than 53,000 other in that country became sick--after drinking melamine-tainted infant formula.

"The illnesses involved the formation of kidney stones and crystals and related complications," the FDA wrote in the import alert. It added that some 13,000 infants were hospitalized after drinking the tainted formula.

"The milk used in the infant formula has been implicated as the source of the melamine contamination."

The FDA learned that melamine was added to the infant formula to increase the nitrogen content – and falsely inflate the protein content.

The melamine contamination, however, isn't limited to infant formula.

"FDA analyses have detected melamine and cyanuric acid in a number of products that contain milk or milk-derived ingredients, including candy and beverages," the agency wrote.

And those products were shipped to consumers around the world.

More than 13 countries--including Asia, Europe and Australia--have discovered melamine in a variety of products made with the tainted milk ingredients from China, the FDA said.

Those products include candy, yogurt, frozen desserts, biscuits, instant coffee, milk tea products, and other beverages.

"Additional products from various manufacturers continue to be found to be contaminated with melamine," the FDA wrote.

Before the FDA will release any products included in this latest import alert, importers must provide:

• The results of a third-party laboratory analysis that verifies the products do not contain melamine or cyanuric acid;

• Documentation supplied in English that shows there are no milk or milk-derived ingredients in the product

Recurring problem
This isn't the first time officials have found melamine in food products imported from China.

FDA officials described this melamine contamination problem as a "recurring one."

In 2007, the FDA discovered melamine in the wheat gluten imported from China and used to make dog and cat food.

The contamination triggered the largest pet food recall in U.S. history.

Thousands of dogs and cats in North America suffered kidney disease after eating the tainted food. Many pets died.

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