Escalating Scandal Over MIC Melamine-Tainted Milk

Singaporeans who may have eaten three tainted Chinese dairy products recently yanked from stores have little risk of falling ill. Tests on recalled brands of strawberry milk, candy and yoghurt ice bars have shown that they contained very low amounts of the potentially harmful chemical melamine. Melamine can make milk and other food products appear to have a higher protein content than they actually do. The highest concentration found was more than 15 times lower than levels uncovered in tainted infant formula in China.

The burning question on everyone's minds: Why weren't milk imports tested for melamine before? Melamine is not a routine hazard in milk, so it is not usually tested for in food safety tests here and even worldwide. Instead, the AVA tests for the most likely food contaminants/ toxins such as salmonella, aflatoxins and E.coli.

Food importers have begun the arduous task of tracing the dairy ingredients in all their products - and determine whether any originated in China. If so, those products, though made elsewhere, will have to be taken off the shelves, according to guidelines issued by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) over the past few days. This has been a growing concern among consumers, who have little idea where ingredients come from.

Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) had incinerated almost 500 cartons or 1,800 litres of frozen yoghurt bars - Yili Choice Dairy Fruit Bar Yoghurt Flavoured Ice Confection - at the Tuas incinerator as they began the process of junking China-made dairy products tainted with toxic chemicals.

Countries from Indonesia to Japan have announced strict checks and banned sales of Chinese dairy products to contain an escalating scandal over melamine-tainted milk. The crisis, which has sickened nearly 53,000 children in China and killed four, has spread to more than 20 companies and affected products including chocolate, yoghurt and bicuits. Brunei, Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, Taiwan and Malaysia have already banned all milk products from China while a number of countries have announced recalls of a variety of goods suspected of being laced.