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Important - Melamine detected in products here. View complete List of products

23 September 2008 16 Comments

IMPORTANT - PLEASE PASS ON TO YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS

*latest update - here and here

*update - here*

What is Melamine? It’s a cheap compound composing of nitrogen, carbon and hydrogen. When combined with formaldehyde and exposed to extreme heat, melamine creates a moldable material that, when cooled, is virtually unbreakable and dishwasher-safe. As a plastic it is very safe, but it is dangerous when ingested over time.

Due to its high content of nitrogen, it has been added to milk in the milk powder scandal in China to fool the detection devices into thinking that it is normal milk. The devices do not actually detect protein itself, but the nitrogen content in the protein. When the milk farmers sell their milk to the middlemen, these middlemen dilute the milk with water and add Melamine so that they can sell more volume of milk to the big producers like Sanlu. These producers then sell their milk products to make things like infant formula, chocolates, ice cream etc.

In Singapore, the AVA has positively detected Melamine in 3 products so far. These are:

White Rabbit Creamy Candies

Dutch Lady Strawberry Flavoured Milk

Yili Fruit Bar

Photos from AVA

*Update at 25 September: there has been an additional 5 items detected to have melamine:

i) Dutch Lady Banana Flavoured Milk;
ii) Dutch Lady Honeydew Flavoured Milk;
iii) Silang - House of Steamed Potato - Potato Cracker;
iv) 徐福记 Puffed Rice Rolls - Butter Corn Flavour; and
v) 徐福记 Puffed Rice Rolls - Cheese Flavour
**

Dr Leslie Tay says:

I think we might be seeing more product warnings as the AVA conducts their check. As a precaution, they have also started to recall food products which use China sourced milk as one of their ingredients. These can be anything from chocolates, candies, yoghurt etc. It would be wise to avoid these products until the dust settles.

How to know if my child is affected by Melamine Poisoning?

Melamine affects mainly the kidneys because it is mainly excreted by the kidneys. So when high levels of Melamine are eaten, they start to precipitate in the kidneys causing kidney stones. The usual symptoms of kidney stones are pain in the back and sometimes blood in the urine.

Sometimes, melamine can also cause Acute Renal Failure (ARF) which is probably the cause of death in those infants in China. ARF is usually diagnosed with a blood test which is done because the patient is very sick and is admitted to hospital. There are really no concrete signs but you might notice that the child is very sick and vomiting constantly and the urine output might be very much reduced. At any rate, most parents can tell when there is something very wrong with their child and should just bring them to see the doctor.

Do note that you do have to take a moderate amount of Melamine it starts to become a problem. So in China, it was the infants who have been fed daily with tainted infant formula over several months who are affected.. If you just drank a bottle of Dutch Lady Strawberry milk or had one Yili fruit bar, it should not cause any problems so there is no point in worrying about it too much. In doubt, please check with your doctor.

It would be wise to avoid any product that contains milk that has been sourced from China at the moment. However, you should not be too concerned if you or your child has taken only a small amount of any of the 3 products listed. If on the other hand, your child has been taking, say, the Dutch Lady Strawberry milk in large amounts over several months, then it may be prudent to bring him to the doctor who might do an X-ray and blood test for the child.

News about Melamine scandal

Here’s a list of the items that had been pulled off the racks in Singapore:

BRAND	DESCRIPTION	CODE
BAIRONG	GRAPE CREAM CRACKERS	116634
DOVE	H/NUT ALM & RAISIN CHOC	61737
DOVE	HAZELNUT CHOC	61739
DOVE	MILK CHOCOLATE	61740
DREYERS	ROCKY ROAD ICE CREAM	14281
DREYERS	STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM	165294
DREYERS	TOAST ALMOND ICE CREAM	106487
DREYERS	CHOC CAKE ICE CREAM	153969
DREYERS	COOKIE & CREAM ICE CREAM	14283
DREYERS	MINT CHIP ICE CREAM	106486
DREYERS	VANILLA ICE CREAM	14282
DUTCH LADY	STER M LF BANANA	151226
DUTCH LADY	STER MK LF PLAIN	151227
DUTCH LADY	STER MK LF CHOC	151228
DUTCH LADY	STER MK LF SBERRY	151229
DUTCH LADY	STER M LF HNYDEW	151230
DUTCH LADY	STER M LF HNYDEW	166490
DUTCH LADY	STER MILK PLAIN	739008
DUTCH LADY	STER MK LF CHOC	739009
DUTCH LADY	STER MK LF SBERRY	739018
DUTCH LADY	STER M LF BANANA	739019
FIRST CHOICE	CALCIUM SESAME CRACKERS	102042
FIRST CHOICE	CALCIUM SALTINE CRACKERS	102043
FIRST CHOICE	CALCIUM S ONION CRACKERS	112010
FIRST CHOICE	CALCIUM SEAWEED CRACKERS	112011
GINBIS	PARTY ANIMAL BUTTER BISC	136143
GINBIS	PARTY ANIMAL SEAWEED BIS	136144
GINBIS	PARTY ANIMAL CNUT	136145
GINBIS	ANIMAL BISCUIT	236531
KOALA	COCOA BISCUIT	136492
KRAFT	OREO WAFER STICKS 18S	103967
KRAFT	OREO WAFER STICKS 5S	123926
KRAFT	OREO W/STICK WH CHOC 18S	154881
KRAFT	OREO W/STICK WH CHOC 5S	154882
LOTTE	KOALA COCOA FUNPACK	56764
M&M	CHOCOLATE PLAIN	550108
M&M	CHOCOLATE PEANUT	550107
M&M	CHOC CANDIES PLAIN%	550105
M&M	CHOC CANDIES PEANUT%	550106
M&M	CHOC CANDIES-PLAIN	550098
M&M	CHOC CANDIES-PEANUTS	550099
M&M	FUNSIZE MILK	163864
M&M	FUNSIZE PEANUT	163865
MEIJI	UJIKINTOKI 2978	455016
MEIJI	UMAKABO CHOCOLATE	455017
MEIJI	FAMILY PACK-GREEN TEA	144101
MEIJI	CHESTNUT & REDBEAN	106129
MENTOS	BOTTLE YOGHURT PROMO PK	12526
MENTOS	BOTTLE YOGHURT	145161
MONMILK	BREAKFAST MILK MALT 6S	135154
MONMILK	BREAKFAST MILK WALNUT 6S	135155
MONMILK	BREAKFAST MILK MALT	135156
MONMILK	BREAKFAST MILK WALNUT	135157
MONMILK	CHOCOLATE MILK 6S	135472
MONMILK	COFFEE MILK 6S	135473
MONMILK	HI CAL LOW FAT	154697
MONMILK	PURE MILK	154698
MONMILK	HI CAL MILK	143948
MONMILK	HI CAL MILK 6S	143951
MONMILK	PURE MILK 6S	143950
MONMILK	HI CAL LOW FAT MILK 6S	143952
MONMILK	HI CAL LOW FAT MILK	143949
MONMILK	PURE MILK	143947
MONMILK	MILK DELUXE 12S	154696
NABISCO	IN A BISKIT CHICKEN	153702
NESTLE	NES D/STICK MINI VANILLA	105115
NESTLE	NES DISTICK MINI CHOCO	105116
NESTLE	MILK & BERRY STARS CRL	153852
NO FRILLS	WAFER BLUEBERRY	154712
NO FRILLS	WAFER CHOCOLATE	154713
NO FRILLS	WAFER PEANUT	154714
ORION	FRESH PIE	240767
ORION	TIRAMISU	152948
PEI TIAN	CREAM BISCUIT	115554
RABBIT	MILK SWEET	38055
SILANG	NATURAL OAT CRACKER	142256
SNICKERS	CANDIES FUNSIZE	550103
SNICKERS	PEANUT CHOCOLATE%	550102
SNICKERS	SNACKSIZE BARS PNUT 5	163863
TAKE ONE	BABY BITES 24S	64602
TAKE ONE	BABY BITE CK VG	116159
TAKE ONE	BABY BITE CARROT	163319
VITASOY	Q SOYA MILK	60408
VITASOY	CHOCOLATE MILK	60409
VITASOY	MELON SOYA MILK	235906
WANT WANT	MILK CANDY	105504
WANTWANT	FLAVOURED MILK	‘021726
YILI	PURE MILK 1L	155079
YILI	HI CAL MILK 1L	155080
YILI	HI CAL LO FAT MILK 1L	155081
YILI	PURE MILK 6S	155082
YILI	HI CAL MILK 6S	155083
YILI	HI CAL LO FAT MILK 6S	155084
YOUCAN	UNUSUAL MULTIPACK	134136
YOUCAN	STRAWBERRY MULTIPACK	134138
YOUCAN	TRADITIONAL SESAME MULTIPACK	134141
YOUCAN	PASSION MULTIPACK	134140
YOUCAN	MASTERBEAN MULTIPACK	134139
YOUCAN	SILK SLICED AND PASSION STRAWBERRY	134137

16 Comments »

Bear said:

So fattening

# 23 September 2008 at 5:48 pm

Walter said:

Thanks for posting this very useful information. I was rather worried about it when it came out and I just realised that I have some of these products in my fridge! Will get rid of them rightaway…

# 23 September 2008 at 10:28 pm

A Mind of My Own | The Cost of Being Money-Minded said:

[…] from China. In fact, everyone is frantically trying to get refunds from retailers when they saw the list of food that contains melamine. The problem? I have just ate 2 packets of the […]

# 24 September 2008 at 9:38 am

Angela Sng said:

This is a great explanation to understand what is exactly the poison IS & with the comprehensive list for us to be AWARE! This is exactly what I’m searching through in so many websites for as we have been hearing many products have been suspected to be poisoned & in the progress of recalling back, but we only heard a handful of products names in news, sites, etc.

Thanks very much of posting this out! And I have shared the great info to all my dearest friends, families worldwide.

I really hope I’m not one of them being poisoned as I have been eating that Rabbit Milk Sweet & M&M Peanut since when I’m young till now. My therapist already warning me that I have weak kidney system.

I wish everyone in the world be healthy & safe, especially those poor sick infants speedy recovery!

# 24 September 2008 at 4:19 pm

DK said:

Thanks. The list is really useful.

# 25 September 2008 at 1:43 am

fitti said:

It is so scary to know that what seemed to be a problem in a foreign land, has hit our tiny island.

Thanks for the list! I now feel quite sick thinking of how much mini cornettos, M&Ms, rabbit candies, Oreos that Kai had consumed….

# 25 September 2008 at 11:58 am

fitti said:

by the way, I hope u don’t mind me printing out the list to stick on my fridge! =D

# 25 September 2008 at 12:11 pm

Xtralicious (author) said:

Thanks everybody for your feedback.

fitti:Of course I don’t mind. Please feel free to share the list too.

Walter, Angela and DK:You are most welcome.

# 25 September 2008 at 12:47 pm

asdf said:

Where did you get the “list of the items that had been pulled off the racks in Singapore”?

The AVA “banned products” link doesn’t work for me. (asks for login)

# 25 September 2008 at 6:38 pm

Xtralicious (author) said:

asdf - my sources and research.

strange about the link. I’ve removed it. probably they edited on their end.

# 25 September 2008 at 6:55 pm

AZA said:

Hi would you anyone know the role of the AVA in regards to being pro- active as compared to being reactive in a crisis like this?

Do they carry out checks on items that are placed on our shelves for harmful chemicals or they wait for someone else to scream bloody murder before they issue statments to the public?

I use to think that the foods sold in Singapore was safe from such harmful effects. Maybe we should form another commitee task force to do the testing of all contents that come into Singapore to make sure its safe to be sold. Maybe call it ASS?

# 26 September 2008 at 7:46 am

Xtralicious (author) said:

AZA: I think the approach now should not be one of panic, but rather of knowledge and vigilance. After all, to be fair, can AVA inspect every imported product?

The onus is also on the part of the consumer to read the labels carefully.

# 26 September 2008 at 7:26 pm

Maloise said:

Let’s help one another! Thanks for the information!!!!

# 29 September 2008 at 8:48 am

BLOG2u - Bridging New Media » Blog Archive » Melamine scandal in China said:

[…] Important - Melamine detected in products here. View complete List of products […]

# 29 September 2008 at 6:01 pm

KSH said:

Thanks for this info! I just got rid of my Choco Pies from Orion products as I’m not sure if these are tainted with melamine too! Should countries ban imports from China as this is not the first time as far as I can remember especially when it comes to food as we may never know next time what they used as additives!

# 30 September 2008 at 2:19 am