http://www.theaustralian.com.au/archive/news/toxin-in-imported-chinese-lollies/story-e6frg6t6-1111117577844
AUSTRALIAN retailers have been told to remove a popular Chinese sweet from sale after it was found to contain the same toxic chemical that has killed four babies in China and made tens of thousands of others sick.
Testing of White Rabbit Creamy Candies by authorities in New Zealand has confirmed they contain melamine — an industrial chemical used in making plastics that has been mixed with milk powder in China to boost its apparent protein levels.
The Australian on Tuesday first revealed the continuing sale of White Rabbit sweets in Australia long after they were pulled from shelves in Singapore as the contamination scandal spread.
White Rabbit sweets, which are imported from China, are sold in retail packs through Asian retailers, supermarkets and restaurants.
Food Standards Australia and New Zealand said yesterday: “This product contains sufficiently high levels of melamine which may, in some individuals, cause health problems such as kidney stones if consumed in high quantities over a long period.”
The regulator recommended a voluntary recall. “Anyone who has the product should not consume it. It is unlikely that there could be a problem if consumed in small amounts but people with concerns about the consumption of this product should seek medical advice.”
According to official figures from the Chinese Health Ministry, 12,892 infants have been admitted to hospital after drinking melamine-laced powdered milk formula.
A further 40,000 are receiving outpatient treatment.
Australia does not import infant formula products from China and has not imported full-dairy products, such as yoghurt or condensed milk, from China since March last year.
But the National Association of Retail Grocers of Australia claimed yesterday that every major supermarket in Australia potentially carried products with contaminated Chinese milk powder as a result of the poor regulation of imported food products.
Chief executive Margy Osmond of the Australian Retailers Association, which represents Coles and Woolworths, immediately slammed the claims as unsubstantiated and irresponsible.
NARGA chairman John Cummings, who represents more than 4000 small retailers, said there was a chance a great percentage of the house brands for large retailers were made in China and called for more rigorous control of food imports.
“It is possible there are biscuits on every supermarket shelf in Australia that contain traces of this milk,” he said. “Even if the biscuits are manufactured in Thailand, what’s stopping them from importing milk from China? Milk is an additive to a number of food products. Have they used milk from China in their production? We don’t know, we have no idea.”
Ms Osmond said yesterday she had been advised that “exhaustive internal checks have been made which confirm that none of the home-branded products of larger grocery chains are affected”.
“Neither Coles nor Woolworths house-brand products contain Chinese milk derivatives … such unnecessary and alarmist comments may be seen as designed to cause commercial harm to competitors and concern and confusion to shoppers.”
FSANZ yesterday participated in an international teleconference with counterparts in the US, Canada, Japan, Britain and the European Food Safety Authority. It also co-ordinated two teleconferences with all the nation’s food authorities yesterday, with inspectors now checking supermarket shelves, particularly in Asian groceries.
Singapore suspended the import and sale of all milk and milk products from China on Friday.