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Nearly 53,000 children in China have been sickened by milk powder contaminated by an industrial chemical, the government said Monday, dramatically ramping up its previous figures. Earlier the health ministry said 12,892 infants were in hospital with 104 babies in serious condition, according to the official Xinhua news agency. As the World Health Organization questioned Beijing's handling of the crisis, premier Wen Jiabao appeared on state television promising to head off further incidents. But a Hong Kong toddler also became the first child affected outside the mainland and more countries moved to bar Chinese milk products. The scandal stems from...

Nearly 53,000 children in China have become sick from milk powder contaminated by an industrial chemical, the government has said. A total of 52,857 children had been brought to hospitals after falling ill, a Health Ministry spokesman said. Most had "basically recovered" but 12,892 of them remained hospitalised, he added. The ministry said the toll of children ill from milk powder contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine had risen dramatically from the previous figure of 6,244. A further 39,965 children had "received clinical treatment and advice" before being sent home. More than 80 per cent of the sick were aged...

Nearly 13,000 children in China have been hospitalised due to tainted Chinese milk powder, officials say. China's health ministry said 104 out of 12,892 babies showed serious symptoms. Four infants have died after drinking the milk of the Sanlu Group containing the industrial chemical melamine, which could cause urinary problems. Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, a toddler has been diagnosed with a kidney stone after drinking the powder - the first such case outside mainland China. A number of Asian and African countries have now banned Chinese dairy imports following the scandal. Chinese police have arrested 18 people in connection with...

- Food and milk from the offspring of cloned animals may already have entered the U.S. food supply, the Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday, but it would be impossible to know because there is no difference between cloned and conventional products. The FDA said in January meat and milk from cloned cattle, swine and goats and their offspring were as safe to eat as products obtained from traditional animals. Before then, farmers and ranchers had followed a voluntary moratorium that prevented the sale of clones and their offspring. "It is theoretically possible" offspring from clones are in the...

The path from the lab to the marketplace for genetically modified cows, pigs and chickens has been clearly spelled out for the first time....But the only engineered animal to reach consumers thus far is a pet fish that glows in the dark.

China's tainted milk crisis has spilled over the mainland's borders when supplies from international food giants were found to be contaminated with the poisonous additive melamine. Hong Kong authorities said it had found traces of melamine in Nestle's Dairy Farm milk produced for catering use by a company subsidiary in the Chinese coastal city of Qingdao, the site of the Olympics sailing events. Supermarkets in Hong Kong had already pulled Nestle's milk powder from the shelves amid media reports that the territory's government had found a sample that had been tainted. However Nestle released a statement said: ""Following press reports...

Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) has said that its laboratory test have shown that the "White Rabbit Creamy Candy" from China is also contaminated with melamine. Consumers who have bought the affected products are advised not to consume them, the AVA said in a statement. The latest test results bring the total number of milk and related products from China imported into Singapore that are found to be contaminated with melamine to three. The other two affected products are "Yili Brand" Choice Dairy Fruit Bar Yogurt Flavoured Ice Confection" and "Dutch Lady" brand of strawberry flavoured milk. All the...

(BEIJING) -- In the wake of the contaminated baby milk powder scandal, Chinese quality watchdog on Wednesday cancelled all kinds of national inspection exemptions previously given to food producers. "Considering the particular characteristics of food products and the complexity in the cause of food safety problems, and with a view to further enhancing supervision over food producers, ensuring food safety and protecting consumers' interests," said the State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) in an explanation of the move. It said relevant companies must stop activities of publicizing their national inspection exemption qualifications. The national inspection exemption labels...

(ZHENGZHOU) -- As problems with baby milk products arouse worries of Chinese families over food safety, scientists say they are to invent a kind of paper to test food safety. The paper will work very fast and it will be inexpensive to suit household consumption, according to scientists at the 10th annual conference of the China Association for Science and Technology, held in Zhengzhou in Henan Province from Sept. 17 to 19. Shi Lei, professor with the South China University of Technology, said the testing paper targeting single toxicity has been invented long ago. Scientists are now working on the...

Starbucks stops serving milk as China crisis snowballs by Fran Wang Fri Sep 19, 4:20 PM ET Starbucks stopped serving drinks with milk in many Chinese outlets Friday as a crisis over poisoned dairy products that have left four babies dead and thousands of others sick spiralled. The move by the US coffee chain came amid a government-ordered mass recall of dairy products after an industrial chemical, initially reported to be only in milk powder, was also detected in regular milk, yoghurt and ice cream. Supermarket shelves across the country were emptied of many products made by Chinese dairy giants...

Two fall sick after eating Chinese bean paste in Japan Sat Sep 20, 1:26 AM ET Two employees of a Japanese confectionery company fell sick after eating China-made bean paste in the latest apparent food scare here, police and the firm said Saturday. The workers at Marusei Honten confectionery in central Nagano prefecture noticed a strange smell like petroleum oil when they opened the five-kilogram (11-pound) package of red-bean paste on Friday, police said. They tasted it to check on the quality and felt sick soon afterwards, police said.

CHINA'S poisoned milk disaster widened yesterday, with the Government's food safety agency announcing that 10 per cent of the liquid milk it has tested is contaminated, as well as 14 per cent of the baby formula. Hong Kong's food watchdog has also discovered pollutants in Chinese ice cream and yoghurt. China's whole food chain appears to be under some threat of contamination as a result, with tests now being extended to animal feed. A team of 31 lawyers operating in 14 provinces and cities of China yesterday offered to represent for free the parents of sick babies in legal actions...

HK and Seoul act on China baby-milk fears By Patti Waldmeir in Shanghai Published: September 18 2008 09:09 | Last updated: September 18 2008 16:45 China’s tainted infant-formula scandal spread to other parts of east Asia on Thursday as food-safety officials in South Korea and Hong Kong said they would investigate or recall Chinese products. The Chinese government, which is scrambling to reduce damage to the image of “Made in China”, announced more arrests in connection with the milk-powder crisis, which claimed its fourth victim on Thursday.

BEIJING: Hong Kong has ordered the recall of a Chinese company's products after milk, ice cream and yogurt were found to be contaminated with melamine, the compound responsible for killing four children in a health scandal. Tainted milk powder produced in China has made thousands ill, and triggered sackings and detentions and rocked public trust already battered by a litany of food safety scares involving tainted eggs, pork and seafood in recent years. Now the scandal has spread to milk, ice-cream and yogurt ice-bars. Hong Kong ordered the recall of a Chinese company's products on Thursday after tests found that...

A scandal over tainted infant formula spread Monday as authorities acknowledged as many as 10,000 babies may have ingested milk powder laced with the same chemical found in contaminated pet-food exports last year that caused scores of U.S. animals to die. Melamine, a chemical in making plastics and fertilizers, has been used by Chinese businesses to boost protein readings in animal feed and other food products. Pet foods containing melamine-laced ingredients traced to China sickened and killed thousands of dogs and cats in the U.S. last year. Many infants who were fed Sanlu milk powder were stricken with kidney stones....

Really, it would be better to simply avoid eating anything in China at all. If more than 20 companies have been caught using melamine in their products, it is highly likely that hundreds if not thousands of other food producers in China are guilty of similar violations; San Lu just happens to be one of the unlucky companies that was found out. These days, I have much more to worry about than just the air that I am breathing in China. Every time I put food in my mouth I soberly realize that I may very well be ingesting chemicals...

More than 6,200 babies have fallen ill after drinking formula milk made from contaminated powder, Chinese Health Minister Chen Zhu has announced. The figure is five times higher than previously announced. Mr Chen said a third baby had now died - with the latest fatality occurring in the Zhejiang province of eastern China. Twenty-two brands of powder were found to contain the toxic industrial chemical melamine, apparently added to make it appear higher in protein. Mr Chen said a total of 6,244 infants were now sick, and that the number of those diagnosed with "acute kidney failure" had risen to...

Probe finds 20 pct of China milk companies in scandal 16 Sep 2008 14:32:23 GMT Source: Reuters (Recasts with results of state investigation) By Ben Blanchard SHIJIAZHUANG, China, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Twenty percent of Chinese dairy firms probed in the wake of a baby milk health scare have been found to have produced melamine-tainted formula, state media reported on Tuesday. Chinese quality officials last week ordered a nationwide probe into all baby milk powders after it was reported that dozens of children had developed kidney stones after drinking tainted formula produced by the Sanlu Group. Two infants have since...

China mothers flock to Hong Kong for safe baby milk 17 Sep 2008 00:57:28 GMT Source: Reuters HONG KONG, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Thousands of mothers from China have flocked to Hong Kong to buy milk powder manufactured overseas, as a tainted milk powder scandal spreads, newspapers said on Wednesday. Pharmacies and supermarkets along the rail line linking Hong Kong to the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen experienced "panic buying of overseas milk powder brands", the South China Morning Post reported. The paper quoted Lau Oi-kwok, chairman of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Pharmacy, as saying mainland mothers were...

More than 1,200 infants sick in China tainted milk scandal BEIJING, Sept. 15 KYODO More than 1,200 infants are now known to have been made sick after they were fed milk powder at the center of a food contamination scandal in China, the government said Monday. Some 1,253 infants have developed kidney stones after drinking milk formula sold by the dairy firm Sanlu, which contained the chemical melamine, the Health Ministry said in a statement. Two of the infants from the northern province of Gansu have died. The Health Ministry said 340 children are in hospital and 53 of the...

At the end of a dirt road in northern Mexico, the conveyer belts processing hundreds of tons of vegetables a year for U.S. and Mexican markets are open to the elements, protected only by a corrugated metal roof. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration suspects this packing plant, its warehouse in McAllen, Texas, and a farm in Mexico are among the sources of the United States' largest outbreak of food-borne illness in a decade, which infected at least 1,440 people with a rare form of salmonella. A plant manager confirmed to The Associated Press that workers handling chili peppers aren't...

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Twelve people have now died out of 26 confirmed cases of food poisoning linked to deli meats produced at a plant owned by Maple Leaf Foods Inc, Canadian health officials said Monday. There are another 29 suspected cases of listeriosis, officials told reporters, and Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said the government expected more cases in coming days. Maple Leaf Foods, one of Canada's biggest meat processors, had said it hoped to reopen the Toronto plant associated with the outbreak on Tuesday, but health officials said they will test and hold all meat produced there until they...

Canadians are being told to dig through their fridges and freezers for any of the 220 Maple Leaf Foods products recalled by the Toronto-based company after test results linked a plant in north Toronto to a nationwide listeriosis outbreak. The recall is one of the biggest in Canadian history, federal officials said yesterday. Michael McCain, president and chief executive officer of the 100-year-old company, said the expanded recall will cost the company an estimated $20 million in refunds to consumers and in plant cleanup. In the wake of four deaths, "we had to take the most conservative approach possible," McCain...

Health regulators have approved the use of ionizing radiation for fresh spinach and lettuce, saying the technique already approved for other foods can help control harmful bacteria and other pathogens. The Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday the radiation treatment also would make the leafy greens last longer and give them greater "shelf-life" for retailers and consumers. The approval comes two years after E. coli outbreaks linked to spinach and lettuce sold in grocery stores and served at various restaurants. Outbreaks of the dangerous bacteria sickened dozens of consumers and led some to be hospitalized. In severe cases, patients...

The Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) mandate will go into effect by September 30, 2008 in the USA. This mandate will help with concerns over food safety in the nation. When a food safety issue occurs, the country of origin label will help in notifying consumers the type of food and its country of origin, so they could avoid purchasing that particular item. The new labels will give consumers more information, but the costs may be passed on to them. Backgrounder. Click for more information.

The salmonella strain linked to a nationwide outbreak has been found in irrigation water and a serrano pepper at a Mexican farm, federal health officials said Wednesday. "We have a smoking gun, it appears," said Dr. Lonnie King who directs the center for foodborne illnesses at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The FDA continues its habit of making mountains out of mole hills. The discovery of a single jalapeño with Salmonella Saintpaul at the warehouse of a tiny distributor named Agricola Zaragoza on the McAllen Produce Terminal Market simply doesn’t mean very much. ...Once again, needlessly and with reckless disregard for the rights of innocent people, the FDA has destroyed an industry. ...Dr. Acheson thinks that it is within his authority to destroy the fortunes of innocents. ...Repeating the words “public health” as a mantra, though, does not make it true. The bottom line is that the risk for healthy people...

WASHINGTON - Investigators are seeing more signs that the salmonella outbreak blamed on tomatoes might have been caused by tainted jalapeno peppers and have begun collecting samples from restaurants and from the homes of those who have been sickened, according to health officials involved in the probe. New interviews with those who became infected found that many had eaten jalapeno peppers, often in salsa served with Mexican food, according to two state health officials. So far, none of the jalapenos taken from restaurants and from the homes of those who became ill have tested positive for Salmonella saintpaul. Echoing federal...

LOS ANGELES — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the Department of Water and Power are expected to announce on May 15 a revised water use and management plan for this city that includes using recycled wastewater to recharge drinking water aquifers, according to a May 15 Los Angeles Times article. The new plan allocates about $1 billion for the proposed reclamation system, also known as “toilet-to-tap” or “sewer-to-spigot.” The city would recycle about 4.9 billion gallons of treated wastewater to drinking standards by 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported on May 15. Villaraigosa, who less than a decade ago opposed such...

WASHINGTON—In March, inspectors checking Chinese seafood arriving at U.S. ports made some unsettling discoveries: fish infected with salmonella in Baltimore and Seattle, and shrimp with banned veterinary drugs in Florida. Meanwhile, a shipment intercepted in Los Angeles on March 19 and labeled "channel catfish" wasn't catfish at all, though records don't say what it was. "A lot of those products coming in from overseas, you have no clue as to what is in them," said Paul Hitchens, an aquaculture specialist in Southern Illinois, where cut-rate Chinese catfish are threatening the livelihood of fish farmers. China rapidly has become the leading...

Dr. Mom Was Right -- And Wrong -- About Washing Fruits And VegetablesA new study shows that irradiation could be key to removing hard-to-reach pathogens inside fruits and vegetables. (Credit: Courtesy of USDA-Agricultural Research Service, photo by Stephen Ausmus) ScienceDaily (Apr. 13, 2008) — Washing fresh fruits and vegetables before eating may reduce the risk of food poisoning and those awful episodes of vomiting and diarrhea. But according to new research, described recently at the 235th national meeting of the American Chemical Society, washing alone -- even with chlorine disinfectants -- may not be enough. Studies show that certain disease-causing...

Food safety an issue within China as well Commentary: International and domestic brands will benefit By Bruce McLaughlin Last update: 6:17 a.m. EDT April 14, 2008 SHANGHAI (MarketWatch) -- Chinese food safety scares are to the business press what movie starlets going into rehab are to the tabloid press. Late last month, Chinese consumers faced yet another food-safety scandal. This time, officials in Guangdong Province seized more than 4,000 boxes of milk from Zhuhai Weiwei Deheng Dairy Co after over 100 kindergarten students who had drunk the milk reportedly became sick. Food scares have become worryingly regular here, and consumer...

When ordering seafood, many of Russell Hohnerlein's customers have the same question: Where did it come from? Hohnerlein, manager of The 4th of May at 444 Ocean Blvd, St. Simons Island, never has to check a daily serve list to answer. "All our seafood is local. Always," he said. Should Sen. Ronnie Chance, R- Fayette, have his way, Hohnerlein won't have to field this question much longer. The answer will be visible to the eye – right there on the menu. Senate Bill 533, introduced by Chance Wednesday, would require restaurant menus to carry a label on all seafood items...

It's fairly common for restaurant staffers to place a lemon slice on the rim of a beverage glass as a flavor enhancer or decorative garnish. But who knows whether these lemons have been handled using sanitary procedures? Anne LaGrange Loving, a professor of science at Passaic County Community College, decided to find out. Loving began her investigation after she saw a waitress’ fingertips dip into her soda as the drink was being brought to her table. Although lemon juice is known to kill germs, Loving devised a study to determine whether lemon slices contain germs when they are served to...

Food at Olympics is safe: Officials By Zhu Zhe (China Daily) Updated: 2008-02-22 06:51 Beijing Thursday reaffirmed the safety of food at the Olympic Games after media reports that the US contingent plans to prepare its own meals at the Games due to safety concerns. "We've made great efforts to ensure safe supplies for the Games and we hope athletes dine together," Kang Yi, chief of the food division of the Games services department, told a press conference. "If the US delegation is not at these gatherings, I would personally regret it," she said. Some foreign media including The New...

China "regrets" U.S. decision on food supplies By Lindsay Beck Thu Feb 21, 2:03 AM ET China expressed regret on Thursday at reports the U.S. Olympic team would bring its own meat for the Beijing Games over concerns of drugs tainted food, and said it could guarantee safe supplies. The New York Times has reported that the U.S. Olympic Committee has arranged with sponsors to ship 25,000 pounds of lean protein to Beijing for the Games, in response to concerns about the potential impact of veterinary drugs and insecticides on athletes. "I personally feel rather regretful," Kang Yi, head of...

Pesticide dichlorvos found in frozen fish 02/20/2008 THE ASAHI SHIMBUN TAKAMATSU--The pesticide dichlorvos, which had contaminated gyoza dumplings imported from China, was detected in sliced frozen mackerel processed in an area of China that handles a large volume of farm produce. The fish was sold in Japan by Kouzai Bussan Co., based in Sanuki city, east of here, company officials said. They said 0.14 parts per million (ppm) of the organophosphorus pesticide was found in the product called Aburi Toro Shimesaba Suraisu, a package of 20 slices weighing about 200 grams. A Kagawa prefectural government official said, "The detected amount...

BREAKING NEWS updated 9 minutes ago LOS ANGELES - The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Sunday recalled 143 million pounds of frozen beef from a Southern California slaughterhouse that is being investigated for mistreating cattle. Officials said it was the largest beef recall in the United States, surpassing a 1999 ban of 35 million pounds of ready-to-eat meats. The federal agency said the recall will affect beef products dating to Feb. 1, 2006, that came from Chino-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., which supplies meat to the federal school lunch program and to some major fast-food chains.This breaking news story will be...

Government plans clampdown on vandalism after lobbying from biotech firms Genetically modified crops may be grown in hidden locations in Britain amid fears that anti-GM campaigners are winning the battle over the controversial technology, the Guardian has learned. Officials at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) confirmed they are looking at a range of options to clamp down on vandalism to GM crop trials, after intense lobbying by big crop biotech companies. The firms have warned that trials of GM crops are becoming too expensive to conduct in Britain because of the additional costs of protecting fields...

It’s an invasive species problem that Alaska would love to have. Millions of snow crabs are on the march in the Barents Sea, and no one knows how they got there or what to do with them – yet. The Barents Sea, which straddles Norway and Russia, is the same source of all of that jumbo king crab – much of it caught illegally'a0– that wreaked havoc on Alaska’s market for the past couple of years. But unlike king crabs, which were purposely introduced by Russia into those waters in 1966, the opilio (snow) crab is a true invasive species....

Lollipops from China recalled Published: February 15, 2008 LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — The importer of a Valentine's Day lollipop said it was voluntarily recalling the treats after metal fragments were found in at least two lollipops sold at central Florida stores. Sherwood Brands of Maryland, which imports the candy from China, said it was recalling all of its Pokemon Valentine Cards and Pops, which have been pulled from the shelves of thousands of stores across the country. Roughly 20 lollipops were seized at Kathleen Elementary School in Lakeland. X-rays determined that only one piece definitely had metal — what appeared...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US grocery chain Trader Joe's said Monday it would stop selling food imported from China due to customers' concerns about the products' safety. "Our customers have voiced concerns about products from this region and we have listened," Trader Joe's spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki said in a statement. "All single ingredient food items sourced from mainland China are scheduled to be out of our stores by April 1," she said. "We will continue to source products from other regions until our customers feel as confident as we do about the quality and safety of Chinese products."

Dumping Debacle Spreads Fear over Chinese Food FEBRUARY 11, 2008 03:08 The debacle over pesticide-laced Chinese dumplings found in Japan has spread worry over the safety of Chinese food products, and promoted American and Japanese authorities to take preventive measures. The New York Times says U.S. athletes for the Beijing Summer Olympics will have their meals shipped from their own country. The U.S. Olympic Committee has signed contracts with major American food makers like Kellogg and Tyson Foods to deliver 25,000 pounds of meat and other foodstuffs to China two months before the opening ceremony. The committee will also make...

(COLORADO SPRINGS) — When a caterer working for the United States Olympic Committee went to a supermarket in China last year, he encountered a piece of chicken — half of a breast — that measured 14 inches. “Enough to feed a family of eight,” said Frank Puleo, a caterer from Staten Island who has traveled to China to handle food-related issues. “We had it tested and it was so full of steroids that we never could have given it to athletes. They all would have tested positive.” In preparing to take a delegation of more than 600 athletes to the...

Police looking into 'gyoza' food poisoning as attempted murder Tuesday, February 5, 2008 at 16:13 EST TOKYO — The National Police Agency will seek investigative cooperation from Chinese police over the recent food poisoning incidents in Japan as the Chinese-made frozen "gyoza" dumplings that caused the poisoning may have been contaminated with pesticide deliberately in China, an agency official said Tuesday. At the first joint meeting of investigators from Chiba and Hyogo prefectures, where 10 people from three families were affected, Tsuyoshi Yoneda, head of the NPA Criminal Investigation Bureau, said, "We are not prejudging the situation, but it is...

368 claim food poisoning / Victims of China-made gyoza reported in 30 prefectures The Yomiuri Shimbun Hebei Province government official answers questions from reporters in front of a factory of Hebei Foodstuffs Import and Export Group Tianyang Food Processing in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, on Thursday. The number of people who complained of sickness after eating frozen food products made in China has surged to 368 in 30 prefectures as of Thursday, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. It was revealed Wednesday that 10 people in three families in Chiba and Hyogo prefectures showed symptoms of food poisoning between Dec. 28 and...

China toxic dumplings spark food scare in Japan By George Nishiyama Thu Jan 31, 1:50 AM ET Dozens more people in Japan on Thursday said they fell sick after eating Chinese-made food, a day after Japanese food companies recalled pesticide-contaminated dumplings from China that sickened 10 people. The food scare has triggered a nationwide probe into possible additional cases of food poisoning, while Japan's top government spokesman questioned China's attitude to food safety only weeks after the country said it had improved standards. Japanese media and opposition lawmakers have also suggested Japan's initial response to the problem may have been...

(WASHINGTON) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has targeted five regions around the world where it would like to establish a greater presence to monitor the safety of exported food, drugs and other goods, the top FDA official said on Thursday. FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach told reporters at a briefing on food safety that it would like to establish offices in Asia, especially in China and India, Europe, Central and South America and the Middle East. "There are a variety of things that I envision could come from this that will be a multiplier of our ability to...

(DENVER, CO) -- Last summer DC Brands International (PINKSHEETS: DCBR) announced its intention to acquire Hard Nutrition, the Denver-based vitamin and supplement company, to develop a groundbreaking new line of products. This beverage line would compete with the likes of Vitamin Water for the health conscious consumer, while delivering more bang for the buck. To accomplish this, DC Brands addressed the fundamental flaw in such products: if you put enough of the vitamins and supplements that your body needs in the water itself, you end up with a product that tastes so bad you cannot drink it. As a result,...

Kosher certification is the new darling of health-conscious consumers who misguidedly believe that biblically blessed health standards can reign in the excesses of commercial food production. Even Chinese exporters are betting that kosher certification can convince foreign consumers that their wares are safe. To companies, certification is just a marketing tool: it lends the aura of safety without offering any actual food safety benefits. Many Chinese companies were unfamiliar with the concept: One furniture maker asked for kosher certification, drawing a polite rebuff. Another facility asked to get certified as kosher even though it was smoking eel on site, a...