Tainted melanine Food

I love this Yales magazine~They have the exact information I was looking for.

What a shame that I have found this article now, I should have read this article earlier....

This was the question that was asked in DongKuk University. And I have compeletly screwed it up.

That potbellied-male professor did not understand what I meant by "Fair Trade" and asked me about the melanine food in China.

I was irritated by his ignorance.

But then, I did not corrected his (stupid) question and I gave him rather monotonous answer, which sounded like much of the cliche

I feared that correcting his question will offense him.

But I think they could have read annoyance from my expression.

I did tried to hide it but at the very moment, I did frowned for a second.


애초에 사람들의 먹거리에 관심을 가져야 하냐고 생각하냐 물은 질문이 멜라닌 이야기를 끌어내려고 쓴 거라고 예상은 했지만 어짜피 오픈된 질문인데 꼭 그걸 쓸필요는 없지 않은가...

I apparently mentioned that what I want to talk about is Fair Trade

But then the professor said "if so, talk about melanine tained food"

DUH?I can't see any association between melanine and Fair trade.

Nevermind.

It was all MY fault.

I was toooooo naive to belive the Steven, who overly emphasised that current issue will not come out as interview question.

OK, just tough it out...and forget about it.

It's too late but I still have to be prepared for last WASEDA Interview.

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The state media in China admits that melamine, which mimics protein in tests, was packaged as “protein powder and commonly added to animal feed, reports the Associated Press in an article for the International Herald Tribune. “Four brands of Chinese eggs have been found tainted with melamine in a week, and agriculture officials speculated the source was adulterated feed given to hens,” reports the Associated Press article. No illnesses from the eggs have been reported and ingesting small amounts of the chemical are not harmful, but the cases suggest that melamine in animal feeds continues in the food chain and could contaminate food for humans. Open press reports about the tainted feed in the communist country raise public alarm, but also demonstrate that the government is seriously addressing concerns. – YaleGlobal
The Associated Press
The International Herald Tribune, 31 October 2008
BEIJING: The industrial chemical melamine is commonly added to animal feed in China to fake higher protein levels, state media reported Thursday, offering what appeared to be a tacit admission by the government that the food supply could be rife with contamination.
The Nanfang Daily said it was an "open secret" in the industry that melamine scrap is being repackaged into an inexpensive product called "protein powder" that is sold to food suppliers.
The Web sites of the official Xinhua News Agency and the Communist Party's main newspaper, the People's Daily, also carried the story in a rare step of publicizing information that reflects poorly on the country.
Safety scandals involving melamine contamination of dairy products and eggs in recent weeks have been further blows to the reputation of Chinese products, which have been under fire the past year since high levels of chemicals and additives were found in goods ranging from toothpaste to milk powder.
Four brands of Chinese eggs have been found tainted with melamine in a week, and agriculture officials speculated the source was adulterated feed given to hens.
No illnesses have been linked to eggs. But similar contamination of milk and other dairy products sent tens of thousands of Chinese children to the hospital and was linked to the deaths of four infants.
The milk scandal was blamed on dairy suppliers who added melamine to watered-down milk to dupe quality control tests and make the product appear high in protein. Melamine, a chemical used in the manufacture of plastics and fertilizer, is high in nitrogen, and most protein tests check a food product's nitrogen level.
Health experts say ingesting a small amount of melamine poses no danger, but in larger doses it can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure.
It is forbidden to deliberately add melamine to food and animal feed in China, but its apparent prevalence highlights the inability of authorities to keep the food production process clean of toxins despite official vows to raise safety standards.
The Ministry of Agriculture and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine did not respond to faxed requests for comment on Thursday's media reports. Phones rang unanswered at the Ministry of Health.
The Nanfang Daily said chemical plants used to pay companies to treat and dispose of melamine scrap, but about five years ago began selling it to manufacturers who repackaged it as "protein powder."
Initially, the inexpensive powder was used to give the impression of higher protein levels in aquatic feed, then companies started added it to feed for cattle and poultry, the report said, citing an unidentified chemical industry expert.
"The effect far more exceeds the milk powder scandal," the newspaper said.
The account was backed up by a manager reached by The Associated Press at a feed company based in central Henan province, but he added that the practice had been going on even longer than reported — some seven or eight years.
The manager, who refused to give his name or other identifying details, citing the sensitivity of the issue, blamed suppliers to feed companies.
"It's the suppliers who do it to raise the protein level, because we put in the contract a requirement for a certain level of protein," he said. "It's very common that feed for egg-laying hens contains melamine. The suppliers add it because their ingredients for the feed are sold at a low price."
He added that his company's contract with suppliers bans them from adding melamine to their products.
Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University, said it was unlikely humans would get sick from eating meat from animals raised on melamine-tainted feed, because the amount of chemical in a few servings of meat would not be harmful.
However, she added: "It shouldn't be in the food supply at all. It's fraudulent. And the animals really can't use it for nutrition, so it's not good for the animals."
Nestle, who wrote a book about last year's pet food scandal in which a Chinese ingredient tainted with melamine sickened and killed dogs and cats in North America, said she was surprised China's government was allowing the media to admit to widespread melamine contamination.
"I view this as a sign the Chinese government is taking the food safety problem very seriously and this is the first step to doing something about it," she said by telephone.
The tainted milk scandal was a blow to China's dairy industry. Shanghai-based Bright Dairy and Food Co. reported a net loss of $39.6 million in the third quarter, compared to a profit of $57 million in the quarter a year earlier, Xinhua said Thursday.
Two other major dairy companies, Mengniu Dairy Group Co. and Yili Industrial Group Co., saw sales plummet more than 90 percent after word spread of the contamination, Xinhua said.

Associated Press researcher Xi Yue in Beijing contributed to this report.
Source:The International Herald Tribune
Rights:Copyright © 2008 The International Herald Tribune
----------------------------------------------------------------------Richard Spencer
Peter Foster
The Telegraph, 25 September 2008----
China’s government had good reason to be ashamed after more than 50,000 infants fell sick after drinking milk tainted with melamine, a fertilizer ingredient. But the Chinese government’s ordering a cover-up, as reported by the Telegraph, only compounded the crime. Reports of infants falling ill with kidney stones and urinary tract difficulties have emerged since early 2008, but neither the company nor the government issued recalls. “The central government had issued orders to suppress ‘bad news,’ including about health scares, during the period of the Olympic Games,” report Richard Spencer and Peter Foster for the Telegraph. Stores in Africa, Taiwan and Great Britain have since removed Chinese milk from their shelves. A New Zealand firm Fonterra, owns a 43 percent stake in the Chinese dairy Sanlu, and the Fonterra chief executive labels not working "within the guidelines" set by the Chinese authorities as “irresponsible.” But the journalists have other ideas about responsibility, pointing out that the health disaster serves as a warning to Western firms attempting to do business in China. – YaleGlobal
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Mary Kay Magistad
YaleGlobal, 1 October 2008
The latest scandal involving tainted milk adds to the perception that the label “Made in China” covers layers of warnings: a potentially resentful work force, suffering low pay and abuse; managers who place profits over safety, striving for quantity over quality in production; minimal quality-inspection procedures and enforcement; and government authorities conditioned to hide rather than expose problems. More than 50,000 Chinese children have fallen ill after drinking milk products tainted with melamine, a chemical that mimics protein in testing. Global and Chinese consumers alike express outrage that company officials knew about the problem for eight months and took no action. Government officials who learned about the problem before the August Olympics also kept mum. “What the government appears to fear, in this case as with previous class-action attempts on property and pollution, is a snowballing effect that could lead to a national political movement,” explains journalist Mary Kay Magistad. To earn trust, governments and traders, particularly in the area of food products, must provide full and immediate disclosures of any problem. Otherwise, citizens will seek out substitute products and lose faith in their leadership. – YaleGlobal
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Arn't there any articles that critises the current importing system of developed country?
Well...it has turned out that this isn't exact article that I was looking for.