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It seems like every week there’s another product recall involving melamine. In the last week, 2 more recalls have been issued:

Wonderfarm brand of biscuits

G&J Gourmet Market cocoa products

Bill Marler is a personal injury and products liability attorney litigating food borne illness cases since 1993. In a stomach knotting blog post, he lists this year’s top 9 food safety stories including:
- Melamine originating in China
- Salmonella St Paul in tomatoes and peppers
- Frozen uncooked entrees only partially prepared by microwave heating
- Listeria in deli meats in Canada

What you need to know:

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), there are 76 million cases of food poisoning annually. Over 300 thousand hospitalizations are the result of bad food, and sadly 5000 deaths each year are the result of food poisoning. Most deaths are related to E. coli, bacteria found in cattle feces that  make their way into our steaks and burgers.

While these numbers are very high, just 100 years ago the food safety situation was even worse. The meat packing industry was not regulated and sanitation conditions were far worse than today.  In the 1860’s and 70’s thousands of babies died just in New York as a result of a scandal known as “Swill milk,” where milk was  produced by cows fed distillery waste. Upton Sinclair’s undercover work and novel The Jungle resulted in The Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906.

So while there is plenty of room for improvement, most of us should prefer today’s safety standards to those of yesteryear.

A far graver danger to most Americans, though, is the nutritional quality of the food they eat. Too many calories, fats, and sugars won’t send you to the hospital after a visit to Burger King, but the health effects of such a diet over the course of years are devastating. Diet related diseases, such as hypertension and heart disease, are today a much bigger threat to our personal and national health than an occasional salmonella outbreak.

The manufacturers responsible for a food safety outbreaks pay the price for the damage they caused, or at least some part. But who pays the bills for the millions of of heart attacks caused by poor diets?

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Walgreens is recalling 173 teddy bears with chocolate bars sold in stores since late September 2008. Analysis by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found that certain samples of the chocolate provided with the teddy bears were contaminated with melamine. Customers who purchased any of the 173 teddy bears should return them immediately to the Walgreens stores where they were purchased for a full refund.

Louisiana Fish Fry Products of Baton Rouge, LA, is recalling its 6 ounce packages of “Chicken & Fish Bake Seasoned Coating Mix” because they may contain undeclared buttermilk. People who have allergies to milk products run the risk of an allergic reaction if they consume this product.

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From the LA Times:

The industrial chemical melamine was found in a sample of infant formula made in the U.S. in a “trace” amount that poses no health concern, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

The positive sample turned up as part of an FDA testing program begun after the chemical was found in Chinese products. The amount of melamine in the U.S. sample was “well below” 250 parts per billion.

Read more…

What you need to know:

The melamine saga took center stage in September when it was reported that several infants in China died of melamine poisoning and over 50,000 were hospitalized. Melamine , a posionous fertilizer that can cause kidney failure, was malfully introduced into baby formula as a protein substitute for milk. Since the disclosure, various products containing milk powder have been recalled around the globe, due to possibility of melamine presence.

The FDA recently announced an automatic detention of milk related imports from China, and has also set up offices in China to help avert future food safety problems before they reach the US.

Now the FDA has checked US infant formula has well, most likely as an extra safety measure, and found it to be suitable for consumption, despite the tiny amounts of melamine found, explained to be from the formula can lining, and not the result of adulteration.

What to do at the supermarket:

Currently there is no need for alarm, as the melamine amounts found are negligible. The FDA recommends people continue to buy and feed their infants formula as before. Of course, young mothers that can breast feed should be encouraged to do so for as long as possible.

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Stepping up to the threat posed to American consumers from melamine, the FDA has announced this week an automatic detention of all milk related imports from China. The New York Times provides details:

Melamine…was discovered in infant formula in September and has sickened more than 50,000 infants in China and killed at least four. Since that time, melamine has been found in a wide range of other products, including milk, eggs and fish feed. As a result, companies in the United States have recalled several products generally sold in Asian specialty stores…

Read Article…

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label from Lotte Koala's March Chocolate Creme cookies

The melamine poisonings are keeping us on our toes. Lotte USA, Inc., Battle Creek, MI initiated a recall of all Koalas’ March Cookies on September 29, 2008 because they were produced in China and they may be contaminated with melamine. The products are packaged in a plastic overwrap. Here is a list of all the recalled products.

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1. Allergic to Milk? Kroger Value Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips are being recalled due to presence of an undeclared milk protein.

Recalled

2. Yet another melamine poisoned product? HUA XIA Food Trade USA, Inc. Recalls YILI Brand Sour Milk Drink and YILI Brand Pure Milk Drink.

3. Allergy Alert on Undeclared Sulfite in “Kyosai Sengiri Daikon” Dried Radish (UPC Code 0 11152 42327 2).

Recalled - Kyosai Sengiri Daikon Dried Radish

Click here for the FDA Recall.

Blue Cat Flavor Drink

What started with tainted baby formula in China has expanded to candies, chocolate, and now coffee mixes suspected to contain melamine:

Recall: Mr. Brown 3-In-1 & and 2-In-1 Powdered Packets in Bag Coffee Mixes Due To Health Risk.

Sept 31: Food Evolution recalls Ready-To-Eat Turkey Product

Sept 29: Cadbury Recalls Chocolate Products Made In China

Sept 26: NY FISH brand smoked salmon

White Rabbit Candy

From the FDA:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — September 26, 2008 — QFCO, Inc. of Burlingame, California is recalling White Rabbit Candy because it may be contaminated with Melamine.

Product was distributed to the states of CA, GA, HI, IL, MN, NY, OR, TX, WA through wholesale distributors to retail stores. Read entire post…

What you need to know:

Melamine, present in these candies, is the same “ingredient” found in the tainted baby formulas that have caused several fatalities in China recently. Manufacturers water down milk and then add mealmine to make it appear as if the resulting product has the same amount of protein as milk. Unfortunately, it can kill ya.