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October 31, 2008
"Melamine"
It's actually Mandarin for "quality inspection"
The toxic chemical melamine is probably being routinely added to Chinese animal feed, state media has reported.Correspondents say the unusually frank reports in several news outlets are an admission that contamination could be widespread throughout the food chain.
...The problem widened last weekend when the authorities in Hong Kong reported that melamine had also been detected in Chinese eggs.
Four brands of eggs have since been found to be contaminated, and agriculture officials speculate that the cause was probably melamine-laced feed given to hens.
Melamine is high in nitrogen, and the chemical is added to food products to make them appear to have a higher protein content.
..."The feed industry seems to have acquiesced to agree on using the chemical to reduce production costs while maintaining the protein count for quality inspections," the state-run China Daily said in an editorial.
"We cannot say for sure if the same chemical has made its way into other types of food," the newspaper added.
The BBC seems to think this problem just started this fall, when in fact it surfaced nearly two years ago when melamine-tainted pet food started killing animals all across the US. It has also been found in Chinese chocolate products, especially those that used the tainted milk powder, which led to huge recalls throughout Asia these past few months.
I can assure you that if you happen to have a Chinese agricultural product in your inventory right now you can not give the stuff away.
Posted by Mr. Bingley at October 31, 2008 07:46 AM