Melamine Danger....

Aug 19, 2008
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CAA dispute Swiss claims :growl:
AP report quotes Swiss authorities as saying Melamine found in biscuits in Sri Lanka;

Enjoining order against chocolates :shocked:
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The court today issued an enjoining order against Edna chocolates against the manufacture and distribution of some chocolates over a complaint that there was suspicion it contained traces of melamine.



Why Melamine is dangerous...:sorry:

Melamine by itself is nontoxic in low doses, but when combined with cyanuric acid it can cause fatal kidney stones due to the formation of an insoluble melamine cyanurate.[12] Melamine is described as being "Harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Chronic exposure may cause cancer or reproductive damage. Eye, skin and respiratory irritant.” However, the toxic dose is on a par with common table salt with an LD50 of more than 3 grams per kilogram of bodyweight.[13] FDA scientists explained that when melamine and cyanuric acid are absorbed into the bloodstream, they concentrate and interact in the urine-filled renal microtubules, then crystallize and form large numbers of round, yellow crystals, which in turn block and damage the renal cells that line the tubes, causing the kidneys to malfunction.[14]
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Acute toxicity

Melamine is reported to have an oral LD50 of 3248 mg/kg based on rat data. It is also an irritant when inhaled or in contact with the skin or eyes. The reported dermal LD50 is >1000 mg/kg for rabbits.[15] In a 1945 study, large doses of melamine were given orally to rats, rabbits and dogs with "no significant toxic effects" observed.[16]
A study by USSR researchers in the 1980s suggested that melamine cyanurate, commonly used as a fire retardant[17], could be more toxic than either melamine or cyanuric acid alone.[18] For rats and mice, the reported LD50 for melamine cyanurate was 4.1 g/kg (given inside the stomach) and 3.5 g/kg (via inhalation), compared to 6.0 and 4.3 g/kg for melamine and 7.7 and 3.4 g/kg for cyanuric acid, respectively.
A toxicology study conducted after recalls of contaminated pet food concluded that the combination of melamine and cyanuric acid in diet does lead to acute renal failure in cats.[19]
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Chronic toxicity

Ingestion of melamine may lead to reproductive damage, or bladder or kidney stones, which can lead to bladder cancer.[15][20][21][22][23]
A study in 1953 reported that dogs fed 3% melamine for a year had the following changes in their urine: (1) reduced specific gravity, (2) increased output, (3) melamine crystalluria, and (4) protein and occult blood.[24]
A survey commissioned by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians suggested that crystals formed in the kidneys melamine combined with cyanuric acid, "don't dissolve easily. They go away slowly, if at all, so there is the potential for chronic toxicity."[25][26][27]
 
Aug 19, 2008
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Sri Lanka
Switzerland pulls Sri Lanka Lemon Puff over melamine scare

Switzerland pulls Sri Lanka Lemon Puff over melamine scare

GENEVA, October 13, 2008 (AFP) - Switzerland's Health Ministry said Monday it was halting sales of three Chinese-made food products which contained traces of melamine, but stressed there was no grave risk to public health.

"To-date, small traces of melamine were found in two types of biscuits and a brand of caramel sweets," the Health Ministry said in a statement, adding that there was "no reason to fear a danger to health in Switzerland."

In a separate statement, authorities in the canton of Geneva identified the three products as White Rabbit sweets from China, Milk Cookies S&P from Thailand, and LemonPuff Munchee biscuits from Sri Lanka.

Sales of White Rabbit's milk-flavoured sweets were halted in China last week after they were found to contain melamine -- an industrial chemical that was added to Chinese milk to make its protein content seem higher.

The Swiss Health Ministry said that the levels of melamine in the products would only pose a danger to children aged up to 3 years "if they ate more than one kilogram of the biscuits every day for a long period," and that there was no danger for adults.

"However, this contamination with melamine is still not to be tolerated, and the products concerned will be immediately taken off the shelves," the statement said.

Tainted milk has killed at least four children and sickened 53,000 in China in a widening scandal that has put a spotlight on the country's lax food safety standards and lack of corporate accountability.
Many multinational corporations have become implicated, with Unilever recalling milk powder after finding melamine in its Lipton tea products, Cadbury ordering back all mainland China-made chocolate products and Heinz recalling hundreds of cases of baby food.