Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wylies99]

Cadbury recalls Chinese-made candy in chemical scare

http://us.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/29/cadbury.milk/index.html

Cadbury recalls Chinese-made candy in chemical scare
Story Highlights
All recalled products produced in Cadbury's Beijing plant

Candy distributed in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, 2 small islands

22 more arrested in tainted-milk case, raising total to 40

Milk contaminated with melamine, an industrial chemical

LONDON, England (CNN) -- British confectioner Cadbury has recalled all of its Chinese-made candy products over fears that they may be contaminated with the chemical melamine, a company statement said Monday.

"The products that are affected by this withdrawal include a range of Cadbury chocolate products and Choclairs, all produced in our Beijing plant," Cadbury said in a statement.

Some or all of the products were exported to Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia, the Pacific island of Nauru and Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, according to the company.

Cadbury said that it is implementing new food safety and quality checks at its Beijing plant and that fresh candies will be manufactured.

The candy maker is the latest company to get caught up in China's tainted-milk scandal. Melamine was first found in powdered infant formula but has since been traced to dozens of other products.

Nearly 53,000 children in China have been sickened by the formula or other products containing melamine. Four babies have died, and five Hong Kong children have suffered melamine-related illnesses. Dozens of countries have banned or recalled Chinese milk products. Watch how scare affects companies outside China �

Chinese police have arrested 40 people in the tainted-milk scandal, including 22 announced Monday in northern China's Hebei province. Nineteen of those were managers of pastures, breeding farms and milk-purchasing stations, the Xinhua news agency reported, citing a panel investigating the case.

Authorities say they raided 41 locations in Hebei and seized 490 pounds (222 kilograms) of melamine.

Eighteen arrests were announced earlier. They include two brothers who face charges of selling contaminated milk. The brothers could face death if convicted, according to China Daily, a state-run newspaper.

The raw milk used to produce powdered baby formula had been watered down, and the chemical melamine was added to fool quality checks, the newspaper said.

Melamine is commonly used in coatings and laminates, wood adhesives, fabric coatings, ceiling tiles and flame retardants. Some Chinese dairy plants have added it to milk products to make it seem to have a higher protein level.

Melamine is the same industrial contaminant from China that poisoned and killed thousands of U.S. dogs and cats last year.

Health experts say that ingesting melamine can lead to kidney stones, urinary tract ulcers, and eye and skin irritation. It also robs infants of much-needed nutrition.

The following 11 products are included in the recall, according to Hong Kong's Centre for Food Safety:

� Cadbury Dark Chocette, 45 grams.
� Cadbury Dark Chocette, 80 grams.
� Cadbury Eclairs, 180 grams.
� Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate Pumpkin, 150 grams.
� Cadbury Dark Chocolate, 40 grams.
� Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate Bulk Pack, 5 kilograms.
� Cadbury Dark Chocolate Bulk Pack, 5 kilograms.
� Cadbury Dairy Milk Hazelnut Chocolate Bulk Pack, 5 kilograms.
� Cadbury Dairy Milk Cookies Chocolate Bulk Pack, 5 kilograms.
� Cadbury Hazelnut Praline Chocolate (2008 Chinese New Year), 312 grams.
� Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate (2008 Chinese New Year), 300 grams.

[bassexpander]

They recalled OREO's, which are made in China for the Asian market. Says right on the box at your local Family Mart. Same as Dove chocolate.

Oreos in Korea are OK though. Came from the same factory. Doesn't make sense to me, unless they tested a lucky batch which was made with different milk.

[wylies99]

I had heard from a Korean friend that China knew about the poisoned milk at least 8 months ago and kept it hushed until after the Olympics.


BTW-The ONLY safe food is American beef?

[bassexpander]

Actually New Zealand's main milk company knew about it for the past several months as well, but waited for China to do the right thing.

They now feel badly for assuming China would own up to it, as it has damaged their reputation a lot. The execs there were quite shocked at it happening at all, yet sat on their hands.

[mervsdamun]

[Cheonmunka]

[bassexpander]

Two more tainted snacks found:



By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

Two more snack items have been found to contain the harmful chemical melamine.

The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) said Tuesday that Ritz Bits Cracker Sandwiches Cheese, made by Navisco Food Suzhou and imported by Dongsuh Foods, and ``gosohan ssalgwaja'' (tasty rice snack), made by a Chinese company Danyang Day Bright Foods and imported by Hwatong & Babanggeu, were also found to contain melamine.

A melamine concentration of 23.3 parts-per-million (ppm) was detected in Ritz crackers, while one of 1.77 ppm was found in the rice snack.

So far six snacks have been confirmed to be tainted with the toxic chemical, including ``Misarang Coconut'' and ``Misarang Custard'' from Haitai Confectionary, ``Milk Rusk'' from J&J International, Hong Kong, and coffee creamer by Yuchang F.C.

Dongsuh and Hwatong & Babanggeu are recalling their products.

Many people are alert over the melamine-containing food items. What adds fuel to the fear includes rumors and false information about the harmful substance. Rumors are spreading fast this time again jusg as when gossip about mad cow disease was rife on the Internet in spring ahead of the nation's resumption of American beef imports.

Such rumors include: ``A person contracted kidney disease after consuming coffee creamer containing melamine,'' and ``Most animal feed imported from China contains melamine, so we should not eat chicken and pork.''

As the chemical is used to produce plastics and glues, rumors abound that when cooking with kitchenware containing melamine, the chemical melts, not only in hot water but also in cold, and thus seeps into food ― which is false information.

Many Internet users, especially mothers, ask questions such as, ``I ate the melamine-containing snack when I was five months pregnant. Is it possible that the chemical affected my baby?'' and ``Does pancake powder have melamine, too? I used to make pancakes for my boy.''

However, such questions usually meet false answers, including: ``You should not give strawberry milk to children as such milk contains powdered milk,'' and ``You need to be careful in giving children bread, chocolate, dumplings and processed dried cuttlefish as they contain lactose.''

A video clip even introduces a method which the creator claims is effective ``to check whether powdered milk contains melamine or not.'' The method, however, is groundless. ``We detect melamine with special analysis machines, so people cannot detect it at home,'' a KFDA official said.

``People are advised to be careful in selecting foods, but they don't need to be excessively afraid of the chemical,'' he said.

[email protected]

[mervsdamun]

[wylies99]

This is getting much bigger than any of us could have imagined.

[Cheonmunka]

I knew it when I first posted about it but was told I was merely China bashing.

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=133990&highlight=

"I think it's not just a Chinese thing - many people associated with the slaughterhouse industry tend to lack respect for life in general."

"Same goes for all those lead-tainted Sesame Street figures, it's not just a Chinese thing. Many people associated with the plush toy industry tend to be cigar-smoking baby killers."

"Multinational companies have been pushing unnecessary formula for years, despite the knowledge that it kills babies. You can't really single China out when it comes to disregard for health and safety in pursuit of profit."

"True. Look at the American auto industry. They produce a product responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including many infants and children, annually, not to mention all of us who are poisoned by theri toxic emissions."

All these wierd responses except for one from Mathew's World. Thanks mate.

[wylies99]

Cadbury is a big brand name as is Oreos (Nabisco).

[mervsdamun]

[Cheonmunka]

I get your point about more people so a need. Also, many years ago there weren't so many products available.

Nevertheless, "Just buy less (by cutting the ROC crap) but slightly better quality" is exactly what I was trying to do by shopping at an import/boutique store!

I wasn't purposely buying an inferior product. I purposely went out of my way to get something of quality and paid top dollar for it. The packaging does say produced in Australia. But that's a fib. Instead get something made in China, and involved in a recall due to crap put in it no less.
Do you know what I mean? It shouldn't occur for products that are supposed to be top notch.
For example, Cadbury's British website raves on about its quality of ingredients. But, even there is a disclaimer right at the bottom in small italics: 'We make attempts to try to source our ingredients from Britain but cannot guarantee this and do source ingredients from elsewhere.'

PS: There are 54000 babies with kidney stones in hospitals from drinking formula. Is that a small number?

[bassexpander]

I returned to the USA, where I tend to splurge a bit and purchase shirts from Tommy Hilfiger and Polo for more money. One of the Tommy shirts I've had 2 months, and worn about 6 times, is falling apart (small holes). A pair of Tommy jeans shorts I got is falling apart at the pocket seam.

The Polo shirt I got doesn't seem as quality as I had before.

Hmm...

[mervsdamun]