Eight items now found to have been tainted with the chemical
By
Tessa Wong
FIVE more China-made dairy products sold here have tested positive for the toxic chemical melamine, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) announced last night.
The results bring to eight the number of items the AVA has found tainted in a widening contamination scandal that extends to at least three other countries and has led to wholesale bans on Chinese dairy.
NEA officer Jason Chua checks the originins of a tin of Milo used at a coffeeshop. -- ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM
SINCE Tuesday, hygiene officers from the National Environment Agency (NEA) have been inspecting confectioneries, bakeries and other places that cook with milk to make sure employees are not using China-made dairy products.
THE above five products were added to the list yesterday, on top of three others found to have been contaminated earlier: Dutch Lady strawberry-flavoured milk; Yili Choice Dairy Fruit Bar Yoghurt Flavoured Ice Confection; and White Rabbit Creamy Candy.
The latest additions to the Singapore list are two flavours of Dutch Lady bottled sterilised milk; Silang House of Steamed Potato's potato crackers; and two flavours of Xu Fu Ji's puffed rice rolls. They join Dutch Lady strawberry- flavoured sterilised milk, a Yili yogurt-flavoured ice bar, and White Rabbit Creamy Candy.
All eight tainted products should have been pulled from shelves by now, as the AVA ordered a stop to the import and sale of all China-made dairy last Friday.
Out of the five newly-identified products, Dutch Lady honeydew-flavoured sterilised milk had the highest level of melamine.
But officials said that the concentration of the chemical, used mainly in plastics, was still well below toxic levels.
A child weighing 30kg would have to consume 322ml - about the volume of a canned soft drink - daily over a lifetime to be in any danger.
'The levels of melamine detected in the products are low and hence unlikely to result in adverse health effects,' the AVA said in a statement.
It added that even occasional bingeing is unlikely to result in medical problems.
The concentration of melamine in Singapore stocks was well below what was found in China, where at least four babies have died from drinking tainted formula.
Melamine, which was added to diluted milk to simulate protein, has also been blamed for leaving over 50,000 children with health problems, including kidney stones.
Currently, the AVA is ploughing through tests on more than 400 samples of imported dairy products.
So far, results show that only made-in-China products have been tainted, although the authorities are not ruling out the possibility that the contamination could extend further.
Over the weekend the AVA asked retailers to yank confectionery made in China, as well as anything else that could possibly contain Chinese dairy.
Major supermarket chains said they are still checking with suppliers to determine the origin of the ingredients in thousands of foods and drinks.
Meanwhile, some concerned parents are turning to hospitals for help.
KK Women's and Children's Hospital has received an average of 12 calls a day about melamine contamination. The hospital has seen three cases so far, as has a temporary National University Hospital clinic.
None showed symptoms of the melamine-related kidney diseases affecting children in China, Hong Kong and Macau.
Childcare centres are also scrambling to ensure their charges are safe.
NTUC Childcare, the largest chain here, stopped using China-made peanut butter and honey in snacks and meals earlier this week. Also, it said that it uses only Malaysia-manufactured Nespray milk powder.
PAP Community Foundation childcare centres have also stated that they have been using Malaysia-manufactured milk powder.
Independent childcare centres have stepped up assurances as well. St James' Church Kindergarten sent out a letter to parents on Tuesday saying that it uses only Nespray.
Dutch Lady Banana Flavoured Milk
