Saturday, 11th October 2008
More melamine-tainted products seized
More foodstuffs suspected to be tainted with the toxic melamine chemical were seized yesterday.
The Department for Environmental Health issued a statement urging people to avoid consuming lemon-flavoured sandwich crackers called 3+2 or cream chocolate pie called Lotte, both exported by Wei Brothers.
As a precaution, the department is also urging the public to avoid the consumption of products of the same brand and type but of a different flavour.
Late last week, health inspectors similarly seized 257 packets of biscuits produced in China.
The seizures follow a large-scale contamination of Chinese milk and milk-based products, which emerged after 53,000 children who consumed contaminated milk powder in China fell ill.
As a result, two weeks ago the European Commission imposed a ban on imports of Chinese baby food that contained traces of milk and raised the alert to any imports which were milk based.
The Food Safety Commission had reassured people, saying it found no tainted foodstuffs on the island just 24 hours before the Chinese biscuits were seized late last week. However, when asked about this the department's director John Attard Kingswell said that the situation was still developing and may develop further.
He said the commission had been following this issue since the scandal surfaced in China in mid-September.
"Initially, the issue seemed localised to Asian countries but the information we were getting through the international alert systems started to indicate that composite products manufactured in China, and made from the implicated products, may have been imported into Europe," he said.
Melamine is an industrial chemical used to make plastic.
Inspections are meanwhile being carried out in Chinese restaurants and to date no implicated foodstuffs have been found.
For further information phone the Department of Environmental Health on 2133 2225 or 2132 4093 between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.
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Comments
This is all becaue of corporate greed - the best way to maximize profits is to use inferior raw materials, and be free of labour and polution standards. This is the reason that China has become the manufaturing heaven for Western Corporations, from cars to shoes and anything in between.
China has morphed form a Communist nation to a Fascist one, with a large population forced to work long hours and in unsafe conditions for a pitance, all for the glory of the few corrupt party officials on top who wield and iron arm to keep workers down, in league with CEO's of Western Transnational Corporations. In fact there is not one famous brand name that is not manufactured in China. The retail prices to the consumer remains the same but the cost of production is greatly reduced and hence maximizing Corporate profits .
Stop buying anything from China. Vote witih your money and maybe you could also save your job and life. Be informed. Make the right choices and voice your opinions.
Years ago, a product made in china meant slightly less quality but at a bargain price.
Nowadays, a product form China means a health risk.
So, after having brought chaos to the economy by rising prices of steel and fuel (ironically fuelled by the increased demand from China and India) - something which we are all paying the price for, and will continue for the foreseeable future - we now have to put up with these products.
More irony - the EU has a special arrangement to promote stuff from China. Don't they know that these products are produced by people working in terrible conditions? And that China still suppresses human rights?
But of course, the West is enjoying the money being invested in its banks, back from China. So there you have it - blackmail at its best. And after all that, the western abnking system is collapsing.
What an unfortuante chain of events!
Don't be so patronising. ALL of Europe (if not the world) is in the same situation. What is important is EFFECTIVE action is taken immediately; as I believe is the case in Malta.
The info you request would lead to what?