October 6, 2008
After numerous recalls and months of concerns about Chinese-made food products and ingredients containing melamine, the Food and Drug Administration has addressed the issue of exactly how much melamine poses a risk. Very small amounts of the substance, the agency said, poses very little risk at all.
The FDA action brought a strong rebuke from Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), Chairwoman of the Agriculture-- Food and Drug Administration subcommittee.
"While other countries throughout the world, including the European Union, are acting to ban melamine-contaminated products from China, the FDA has chosen to establish an acceptable level for melamine in food in an attempt to convince consumers that it is not harmful," she said. "Not only is this is an insult to consumers, but it would appear that the FDA is condoning the intentional contamination of foods."
By not insisting on a zero-tolerance policy with melamine, DeLauro said the FDA is failing to protect consumers, and is undercutting state officials in their efforts to keep melamine-tainted products out of stores.
"Once again, the FDA is failing to act to increase inspections and remove contaminated products from store shelves," DeLauro said. And once again, the FDA is demonstrating that the Congress has significant work ahead if it is to pass legislation that reforms the food safety system and changes the culture at an agency that is failing to protect the public from potential health risks."
The FDA set 2.5 parts per million as the maximum that can be safely consumed--but there is one rather strong caveat. The FDA says it has not been able to set a safe level for melamine in baby formula, and any amount should be considered too much. In the last few weeks at least 54,000 children in China have gotten sick from melamine-tainted milk or formula.
While Chinese-made infant formula has not been cleared for import into the U.S., other products made from tainted milk have shown up on U.S. store shelves. Chinese candy found last week in California reportedly had more than 500 parts per million of the chemical.
Late last week a company in New Jersey said it was recalling a beverage imported from China called Black Cat Flavor Drink because the FDA found melamine when it tested it.
What is melamine and why does it show up in Chinese food products? The chemical is designed to make food appear to have more protein and nutrition content than it actually does, when tested.
In other words, if added to a food on purpose, it could fool inspectors, or anyone testing the product, into thinking the food was of better quality than it actually is.
Melamine first became an issue for U.S. consumers last year, when the chemical was blamed for thousands of pet injuries and deaths after being discovered in a wide range of pet food brands.
