Contaminated milk and milk products?

The 2008 Sanlu Chinese milk outrage has highlighted the introduction of a industrial chemical called melamine into our children's foodchain. Milk and milk products from China are now deemed as potentially hazardous until further clarification from the health authorities. We start wondering what are the side effects of consuming our favourite White rabbit milk candy. Oral intake of melamine may lead to reproductive damage, or bladder or kidney stones, which can lead to bladder cancer.

Melamine is used combined with formaldehyde to produce melamine resin, a very durable thermosetting plastic, and melamine foam, a polymeric cleaning product. The end products include countertops, dry erase boards, fabrics, glues, housewares and flame retardants. Melamine is one of the major components in Pigment Yellow 150, a colorant in inks and plastics.

Melamine is also used to make fertilizers.

Melamine derivatives of arsenical drugs are potentially important in the treatment of African trypanosomiasis.

Melamine use as non-protein nitrogen (NPN) for cattle was described in a 1958 patent. In 1978, however, a study concluded that melamine "may not be an acceptable nonprotein N source for ruminants" because its hydrolysis in cattle is slower and less complete than other nitrogen sources such as cottonseed meal and urea.

Melamine is sometimes unethically added to food products in order to increase the apparent protein content. Standard tests such as the Kjeldahl and Dumas tests estimate protein levels by measuring the nitrogen content, so they can be misled by adding nitrogen-rich compounds such as melamine. (taken from Wikipedia)

Now that we know all this, we start to wonder what else is present in the milk and milk products. How did the melamine end up in the milk? Was it added into the animal feed? Was it ingested by the animals through the plant fertilisers? Was it absorbed by the plants via contaminated water from melamine waste?

Let's hope that milk products from other countries are safe (or safer) to consume. The list of milk and milk product brands that are safe for consumption from Ministry of Health is given here.

Time to go green!!!

Other suggested readings:
Contaminated protein exports in China
Contaminated pet food