(Important news, here at LVL we have been following this closely. - promoted by Asinus Asinum Fricat)
(cross-posted from Unbossed)
The FDA just can't get its story straight on how much melamine is in the U.S. food supply and how much of a threat it poses to Americans. According to the Associated Press, the FDA has been sitting on test results that reveal low levels of melamine in infant formula produced by U.S. companies. Melamine contamination of milk produced in China caused the deaths of four Chinese infants and hospitalized more than 50,000 infants. |
| Reuters reported today that FDA spokeswoman Judy Leon" declined to name the manufacturer of the sample found to contain melamine." The FDA's stonewalling attempt proved futile, however, because AP already had the names: Mead Johnson, Nestle and Abbott Laboratories.
It was not until the AP inquired about tests on domestic formula that the FDA articulated that while it couldn't set a safe exposure for infants, it would accept some melamine in formula - raising the question of whether the decision to accept very low concentrations was made only after traces were detected.
FDA's Leon said the melamine was not an "adulteration" of the product, and posed "absolutely no risk," reported Reuters. That is inconsistent, however, with official statements issued previously by FDA. In an October 3 interim safety and risk assessment, the FDA stated:
The FDA is currently unable to establish any level of melamine and melamine-related compounds in infant formula that does not raise public health concerns. In large part, this is because of gaps in our scientific knowledge about the toxicity of melamine and its analogues in infants.
Also, the FDA previously designated melamine an "adulterant.
The FDA now says it did not intend to suggest that it was taking a zero-tolerance approach to melamine. However, a zero-tolerance approach has been established for other chemicals for which no safe level had been determined. When I worked on the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program as the USDA representative, there were no adequate tests establishing safe levels of nerve gas and other chemical agents in food. At my suggestion, until appropriate tests could be conducted, states participating in the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program agreed that, in the event of a chemical release, they would condemn all crops with any detectible amount of the chemicals.
What's different about nerve gas and melamine? In the case of nerve gas contamination, the U.S. Army (read: U.S. taxpayer) would absorb the losses through reimbursements to farmers. In the case of melamine, food industry giants would absorb the losses.
There still are no reports of FDA inspection of domestic fresh milk for melamine, a noteworthy oversight given that dairy cows are sometimes fed fish meal, a product previously found to have melamine contamination. Or, maybe the FDA did inspect fresh milk and simply withheld the evidence as it did with its tests of infant formula. Sadly, our food safety watchdogs are barkless as well as toothless. |
