The China babymilk contamination

 A shocking number of 53,000 Chinese babies are now known to have become ill as a result of drinking milk made from milk powder contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine, according to official sources. After china’s chief quality supervisor resigned last week, the Chinese officials are trying to reassure parents by claiming everything is under control and that the Chinese government have taken a series of strong measures to investigate the matter and to make sure that there are no more problems.

This scandal has made many parents worldwide doubt the quality of food they are feeding their children. No doubt the contaminated milk had raised awareness of food manufacturing quality control, and a tragedy like this only emphasises what an important and serious issue it is, especially concerning, as it does,babies and young children.

For any worried parents around the UK, the Food Standards Agency released a reassuring message, in which the agency confirms that baby milk manufactured in China cannot be sold legally in the UK. The Agency can also confirm that manufacturers of baby milk sold in the UK cannot use any milk or milk products imported from China.

However, despite the reassurance messages several food chains had decided not to take any chances and cleared their shelves of Chinese “suspect” products. The supermarket chain, Tesco has recalled White Rabbit Creamy Candies from UK stores over fears they could contain melamine, the chemical responsible for the contaminated baby milk scandal in China.

Food testers in New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore found melamine in the sweets and most other countries are taking strong precautionary measures to ensure that contaminated foodstuff does not find its way into the shops or the market place.

MyHealthPortal has gathered together information on melamine, why it was in the baby milk and what its effects could be on the human body.

Firstly, what is melamine?  Melamine is an organic base chemical most commonly found in the form of white crystals

What is the normal use of melamine?  Melamine is commonly used in plastics, adhesives, countertops, dishware and whiteboards.

Why was melamine added to powdered milk intended for babies? In China, where the adulteration took place, water was added to raw milk in order to increase the volume.  This meant that due to dilution, the milk showed a lower protein concentration.  As milk intended for human consumption would normally be tested to establish its protein level, the addition of melamine would have the effect of increasing the nitrogen content and therefore its apparent protein level.

What would the effects of melamine poisoning be?  There are no direct human studies on the effects of melamine in humans: data from animal studies can be used to predict adverse health effects.  Melamine alone, has been shown to cause bladder stones in animal tests.  When combined with cyanuric acid (which may also be present in melamine powder), it may form crystals, which can give rise to kidney stones.   These crystals may in some cases, cause kidney failure.

What are the signs of Melamine poisoning?  There may be irritability, blood in the urine, little or no urine, signs of kidney infection and high blood pressure.

There is now worldwide awareness of this problem and the likelihood of melamine being found in any products on sale in the western world, extremely remote.