MELAMINE ALERT!!

[JLM27]

Here is an excerpt from an article someone sent me. It was obviously written by someone for whom English is a second language and is written so that people who do not read very well can also understand it. I did not copy all the pictures because I think everyone here is interested enough to understand without graphic persuasions.

>"China milk poisoning incidents make everyone afraid to look at the
>daily news report.
>Every day, the reports are changing. No one can clearly tell us what
>to eat and not to eat.
>>1. What really is poisoned milk?
>>It is the milk powder mixed with 'MELAMINE'
>>What is Melamine use for? It is an industrial chemical
>use in the production of melawares.
>>It is also used in home decoration. ' US resistant board'
>>Do you understand? Melamine is use in industrial production & it
>cannot be eaten.
>>2. Why is Melamine added in milk powder?
>>The most important nutrient in milk is protein. And Melamine has the
>same protein that contains 'NITROGEN'
>>Adding Melamine in milk reduces milk content and it is cheaper than
>milk so it lowers capitalization.
>It can give the business man more profit!
>>3.When was it discovered
>Year 2007, US cats and dogs died suddenly, they found that pet food
>from China contains Melamine.
>>Starting 2008, In China, an abnormal increase in infant cases of
>kidney stones.
>>August 2008 China Sanlu Milk Powder tested with Melamine
>>Sept. 2008, New Zealand gov't ask China to check this problem
>Sept. 21, 2008, lots of food products in Taiwan tested with Melamine
>>4.What happens when Melamine is digested?
>>Melamine remains inside the kidney. It forms into stones blocking the tubes.
>Pain will be eminent and person cannot urinate. Kidney will then swell.
>Although surgery can remove the stones, but it will cause
>irreversible kidney damage.
>It can lead to loss of kidney function and will require kidney
>dialysis or lead to death
>because of uremia.
>>What is dialysis? In fact, it should be called 'blood washing'; it
>is filtering all of the body's blood into
>the machine and then go back to the body.
>>The whole process takes 4 hours and it is necessary to dialysis once
>for every 3 days for the rest of your life.
>>Here is a dialysis center
>Large dialysis center
>>A small hole is required in the arm to insert the sub-dialysis catheter.
>>Why is it more serious in babies? Because the kidney is very small
>and they drink a lot of milk powder.
>>Here is a baby undergoing dialysis.
>>China currently has 13,000 infants hospitalized
>>It does not matter how much a human being took Melamine.
>The important point is 'It cannot be EATEN!'
>>5. What are the foods to be avoided?
>>Foods that contain dairy products should be avoided.
>>Remember: Foods with creamer or milk should be avoided.
>>6. Which companies are affected?
>>Here under are the companies affected with Melamine.
>>7. What do we do next?
>>Avoid the above foods for at least six months.
>>If you have snack bar, restaurant or coffee shops, stop selling
>dairy products for the meantime.
>>If you have infants at home, change to mother's milk or find other
>substitutes.
>>Finally, share this information with friends so they will understand
>the risk of milk poisoning.
>>The whole world is scared of China made 'black hearted goods'. Can
>you differentiate which one is made in the USA , Philippines ,
>Taiwan or China ? Let me tell you how... the first 3 digits of the
>barcode is the country code wherein the product was made.
>>Sample all barcodes that start with 690.691.692 until 695 are all
>MADE IN CHINA.
>471 is Made in Taiwan
>>This is our human right to know, but the government and related
>departments never educate the public, therefore we have to RESCUE ourselves.
>>Nowadays, Chinese businessmen know that consumers do not prefer
>products 'made in china', so they don't show from which country it is made.
>>However, you may now refer to the barcode, remember if the first 3
>digits is 690-695 then it is Made in China .
>>00 ~ 13 USA & CANADA
>30 ~ 37 FRANCE
>40 ~ 44 GERMANY
>49 ~ JAPAN
>50 ~ UK
>57 ~ Denmark
>64 ~ Finland
>76 ~ Switzerland and Lienchtenstein
>628 ~ Saudi-Arabien
>629 ~ United Arab Emirates
>740 ~ 745 - Central America
>>All 480 Codes are Made in the Philippines.
>>Please inform your family and friends for them to be aware."

Here is the picture of the company brands. The one that struck me was Starbuck's. I only drink soy, but I do eat cheese. Do we know that Esbilac and other powders we are recommending are safe? Notice Nestle's and Coffee Mate are in here. Unilever owns Ben and Jerry's. Hershey's M&M, Dove bars, Snickers. Hopefully, the Pizza Hut is only selling contaminated food in China and Taiwan.
59001

[Ardilla]

Geez :shakehead It never ends, does it? Why are US companies still buying any food supplies from China?

[lookmomchickens]

:Cry :Cry :Cry Noooooooooooooooooooo! Not Starbucks?!?

Everything now-a-days is contaminated with SOMETHING...

[Charles Chuckles]

NOT MY SNICKERS:hissyfit

[JLM27]

The advisory says to avoid these products for six months because the USFDA has only just begun effectively restricting their entry into the US. I am hoping that the companies only distributed contaminated product outside the US (that's not too nice for our neighbors though!) in China and Southeast Asia (yes, there are Pizza Huts in China). Unilever also owns Bryer's, Best Foods, Gorton, and Bertolli. It's the Best Foods that I worry about because they distribute a lot of different stuff. The bar code info was interesting though. I eat a lot of cheese, so I am going to be careful where it comes from.

[gs1]

hello... this is never ending.

thanks so much for the bar code information.

a few weeks ago cadbury chocolate in china, australia, phillipines and i think signapore were recalled because of the melamine from china .... just that area of the world.

i don't think the u.s./canada supply was affected.

it's awful. This seems to be happening every month almost. It wasn't too long ago that the pet food industry was contaminated and many cats and dogs died.

This is one more reason to buy organic and local, although unfortunately not even organic is so safe depending on what you are buying - organic spinach was recently recalled.

Apart from my wild squirrels, i only have a rabbit and so for him i buy organic greens and soak them in vegetable soap and rinse like crazy. But even there i have to be worried about molds in his hay and mycotoxins in his pellets - deadly and invisible.

there's also mycotoxins in peanuts - and so i'm very careful if i'm giving to the squirrels as a - not so often treat - that they're organic and very fresh.

[JLM27]

GS-1 mum, I wish I were that careful about what I eat! You are a good mommy.

Here is the update:

Well the good ol' FDA has decided that there ARE "safe" levels for melamine in infant formula.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/28/infant.formula.melamine/index.html

I say, keep watching out for Nestle's. Why is there any melamine in there at all? Probable answer, because they processed batches that had a significant level in the same equipment.