Melamine contamination in food products

Geetarani Takhellambam *

The latest scare caused by Chinese made goods, particularly milk powder tainted with melamine causing illness of more than 13,000 and death of 4 children in China is of grave concern. This was caused by manufacturers putting dangerously high levels of the toxic chemical in milk powder and other foods. Earlier this chemical was also found in Chinese made pet foods leading to its massive recall in the United States.

One would assume that man would refrain from knowingly doing anything grievously harmful to the health of children. But this mixing of toxic chemicals with baby food shows how low human beings can stoop for the sake of profits. It seems greed has no limit and boundary. Everyone would sympathise for those parents who lost their only child in this scandal, as Chinese law permits only one child per couple.

What is Melamine?

Melamine is a toxic chemical and because it is a hard synthetic substance with flame retardant properties, is commonly used in making countertops, dry erase boards, and other house wares including utensils. This toxic substance is sometimes illegally added to food products in order to increase their obvious protein content.

When mixed with diluted milk it thickens the milk and made it appear rich in protein. More importantly, it would seem that normal testing of the product cannot detect the substance but shows it as protein. If consumed it causes renal and urinary problems in humans and animals when it reacts with the cyanuric acid present in the human body and sometimes in drinking water and animal feed. Due to this harmful nature its use in food production is universally banned.

Chinese goods

At the start of the scandal the adulteration was detected in milk powder traced to Sanlu group of companies. However, it would now seem that anything from milk powder, dairy products to vegetables and even mushrooms ("US vulnerable to melamine tainted China products", Genevieve Long, Epoch Times New York staff published in The Epoch Times dated October 15 - 21 2008, Issue 00181) could be tainted with high levels of this toxic substance.

It has also been suggested that it may have been part of the food chain in China for a long time, as cyromazine (a melamine derivative) which is a very commonly used pesticide in China. Cyromazine is absorbed into plants as melamine, and may therefore be present in the food chain, which includes poultry, eggs, fish, and dairy products. ("Melamine widespread in China's food chain", New Scientist dated 23 September 2008)

In October 2008, "Select Fresh Brown Eggs" imported to Hong Kong from the Hanwei Group in China, were found to be contaminated with nearly twice the legal limit of melamine. It was announced by the authorities that animal feeds might be the source of the contamination and announced that the Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety would henceforward be testing all mainland Chinese pork, farmed fish, animal feed, chicken meat, eggs, and offal products (the entrails and internal organs of a butchered animal) for melamine. ("Hong Kong widens China food test BBC News Monday 27 October 2008")

It appears that increasing demands and lack of supply prompted the Sanlu group of companies to spike the milk with the substance after diluting it in order to meet the high demand.

Affected brands

Big multinationals companies like the British confectionary group Cadbury, Unilever and Nestle had to recall their food products made in China after it was found that they were tainted with the chemical. Cadbury recalled 11 kinds of chocolate made in its Beijing factory after its tests showed they could be contaminated with melamine.

Meanwhile Unilever announced that it would stop using Chinese milk powder for some products after it found melamine in batches of Lipton-branded tea powders exported to Hong Kong. ("The Week" By William MacNamara Published: October 4 2008 FT.com Financial Services section).

It was reported ("Nestle in melamine dispute with Taiwan" By Jenny Wiggins Published: October 2 2008 in the Financial Times) that Nestle, the Swiss food group was made to take out its Klim and Neslac milk powder brands off the Taiwan supermarkets by the authorities, after finding minimal level of melamine in them.

Taiwan insisted that all products sold in Taiwan must meet the country's standards of having "undetected" levels of melamine. Nestle insisted that small levels of melamine could be found in most food products and melamine from kitchen equipment made with the chemical - such as bowls and cutting boards - can work its way into food. This led to a dispute as to exactly what levels of melamine are acceptable in food.

What level of melamine is permissible?

While the World Health Organisation says that melamine is found "at varying levels" in all kinds of milk and milk products, and the presence of low levels in food is "not necessarily due to adulteration", some food companies are now declaring that any level of melamine is unacceptable. Cadbury officials have said that melamine is a toxin and should never be part of the food chain. ("Nestle in melamine dispute with Taiwan" By Jenny Wiggins Published: October 2 2008 in the Financial Times)

On October 3, 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said that up to 2.5 parts per million of melamine was safe for adults, but declined to set a standard for children and also implied it would not permit the sale of food deliberately adulterated with melamine. (Associated Press, FDA: "Tiny amount of melamine not harmful to adults" CNN October, 3 2008)

In India

Since the news of the melamine contamination began to circulate, around 25 countries stopped importing Chinese dairy products. A number of countries have imposed blanket bans on Chinese milk products or its derivatives. On 25 September 2008 India announced that there will be three months ban on import of dairy items, including milk and milk products, from China following the reports of contamination ("India bans Chinese dairy products for 3 months" The Economic Times (26 September 2008).

However, there is no guarantee that this substance is not being similarly abused in India. The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 (Act No. 37 OF 1954) governs this area of law in India. This law is applicable all over the country and came into effect on 1st June 1955, with the main aim of curbing food adulteration at root level and has strict compliances.

It is provided under this Act that an article of food shall be deemed to be adulterated if the article contains any poisonous or other ingredient which renders it injurious to health. (Section 2 (h) of the Act). Import and manufacturing of adulterated, misbranded food etc. are also banned under this Act.

For analysis of food, the Central or the State Government, by notification in the official gazette appoints Food Analysts or Food Inspectors who does not have any financial interest in the manufacture, import or sale of any article of food. And such officials have vast powers of taking samples, entering and inspecting articles of food and seizing and keeping in safe custody etc.

We already have the required regulations and what is needed is effective implementation at all levels. This is one of the challenges that India face as a fast developing economy. There is every possibility that a similar Chinese situation, of supply not able to meet the increasing demand, may be too much of a temptation for some manufacturers not to adulterate food products.

In Manipur

This melamine scandal is of particular concern to the people of Manipur because of the availability of cheap Chinese and other East Asian countries made goods in the State's border town Moreh. Bordering Myanmar, it is through this town that the people of Manipur gets cheap goods ranging from eggs, fish, dairy products, vegetables and cloths to all kinds of electronic goods and furniture items.

And scarily enough there is little if any, checking of quality as the goods reaches the town centre and enters the homes and lives of Manipuri people. It is shocking to think of the level of exposure of the health of the people of Manipur and their vulnerability to such foodstuffs in the light of the present scandal.

Conclusion

We need healthy food to have healthy body. And as parents and elders it is our duty to make sure that young children who are going to represent our society and state in the next generation gets the best possible start in their lives.

To make sure that the health of the people is not compromised, apart from any governmental efforts, as individuals we need to be cautious of what we consume and provide to our loved ones. The correct motto would be 'one should never trust and must always verify'.