Poisoned products: Is melamine in your milk?

No doubt you've heard about the contaminated milk that's sickened more than 50,000 children in China, hospitalized 13,000, and caused fatal kidney damage in at least three. Some 60 countries have now banned or recalled certain Chinese dairy products, including baby formulas and chocolates, because of contamination with melamine. That chemical can produce crystals that block tiny tubes in the kidneys, interfering with the production of urine and damaging the organ.

Melamine is the same chemical that contaminated pet food last year and killed many cats and dog. As we warned then, the appearance of a problem in pet food could signal a looming problem for our food supply too. (Marion Nestle, Ph.D., a New York University food expert who has an informative blog that's covered melamine, recently wrote a book called "The Chihuahua in the Coal Mine" about just that.)

The Food and Drug Administration and other organizations are now trying to determine how widespread and severe the problem really is. In the meantime, here are answers to three common questions about melamine.

1. What foods available in this country might be contaminated?

• Infant formulas sold in Asian markets. The FDA says investigators have visited more than 1,400 retail markets without finding any Chinese formulas on the shelves, but advises that you avoid any formula with a label that says it was manufactured in China, and to not buy formula online.
• Mr. Brown instant coffee and tea products. The Taiwanese manufacturer of these products has recalled them from the U.S. market because of melamine contamination, though some may still be on shelves.
• White Rabbit Creamy Candy. The New York Times reported on Wednesday that this popular and widely exported Chinese chocolate has been found in several locations throughout the country, most recently in Connecticut. The paper reported that tests conducted on those samples have detected melamine.
• Blue Cat Flavor Drinks. The distributor of the product, Tristar Food Wholesale Co. Inc., initiated a recall of several flavors of Blue Cat Flavor Drink, based on recent FDA tests. The drink, also called Lanmao, comes in four flavors strawberry, sweet orange, pineapple and peach. It’s sold mainly in Asian markets.
• High-protein powders. These often contain concentrated amounts of dairy byproducts—notably casein, whey, and milk protein concentrates (MPCs)—but the source of those ingredients is often unclear, making it possible they come from milk that originated in China. Regulations that require many foods to identify their country of origin don’t extend to all ingredients. (For other exemptions, see our recent report on so-called COOL food labels.)

Casein, whey, and MPCs are also often added to many other packaged and processed foods, including processed cheese, though probably in much smaller amounts. The FDA's preliminary safety assessment suggests that those levels—except for infants—pose little threat to health. But it's unclear what effect long-term exposure to small amounts of the chemical might have on the kidney. And, as the blog Diabetes Update indicates, some people worry that may pose special risks to people with existing kidney disease due to diabetes.

Our safety blog keeps an up-to-date list of all recalled products. Or check http://www.recalls.gov/.

2. What are the warning signs of melamine poisoning?

The resulting kidney damage is most likely to cause:

• Blood in the urine.
• Reduced urine output.
• High blood pressure.

For more, see our table on the signs and symptoms of kidney disease.

3. What should you do if you suspect melamine poisoning or kidney problems?

Call your doctor. As we reported in April 2008, doctors can now use an improved blood test to get accurate and fast results. Early diagnosis combined with prompt treatment provides the best chance of preventing the damage from becoming chronic.

—Joel Keehn, senior editor

Comments

[J.K.]

Even some products of Nestle are contaminated in Asia. Hope it will not get to USA.

FYI:

And in Taiwan... officials have banned several Nestle products after trace amounts of melamine were discovered in their products made in China.

STORY:
Taiwanese health officials ordered stores to remove six types of Nestle dairy products after testing found traces of the industrial chemical in more than half of the items. The Nestle products removed were made in the Heilongjiang province, northeastern China.

[Worried Dad]

The FDA is now inspecting shipments of Chinese imports that contain milk products. They aren't testing eggs or fish (which have tested positive for Melamine in Asia). This thing just keeps getting worse. I wonder how safe protein bars are.