Intellasia News Services -- Ministry to release list of melamine-contaminated milk

Ministry to release list of melamine-contaminated milk
Source: 04-OCT-2008 Intellasia | Thanhniennews
Oct 4, 2008 - 7:00:00 AM
The Ministry of Health is expected to release an official list of Vietnamese milk products tainted with melamine, an industrial chemical that has triggered a global health scare.

Cao Minh Quang, deputy minister of health, said Wednesday the ministry had identified melamine in milk products imported from Thailand and Malaysia. The tainted milk scandal is centreed in China, where four babies have died and about 54,000 infants have fallen ill from melamine in baby formula.

"This could be a comprehensive list but we could update it any time if contaminated products are to be found," Quang said.

Several countries have already identified melamine in confectionary products and Quang said the health ministry has requested the Vietnam Food Administration to check whether any of the melamine-tainted products were available in Vietnam.

The ministry has also officially authorised 22 testing centres to examine melamine content in more than 500 samples.

Nguyen Thi Khanh Tram, deputy head of the Vietnam Food Administration, said the World Health Organisation and the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation were expected to send officials and technicians to help Vietnam conduct further testing for melamine.

The bureau Wednesday received a list of 25 milk samples confirmed as not containing melamine, taking the list of safe milk products to nearly 300.

In Hanoi, the department of health confirmed that samples of Anco Full Cream Milk contained 203 micrograms of melamine per kilogram.

No national or international authority has approved melamine, used to manufacture plastic, for human consumption.