What Foods Sold In Thailand Are Tainted With Melamine?

[Old Man River]

When there was a problem with melamine in pet food last year, information was easy to obtain as the US FDA regularly published recalled items. In addition, the good people at TV kept a running thread in the Pets Section which posters were constantly updating. Now, the Thai government appears to be more worried about trade issues with China than protecting its citizens and it doesn't appear that anyone on TV is keeping a list either.

If anyone has found any websites with lists of tainted foods, please post them so we can all help each other.

One website I have found so far is below:

http://blogs.wsj.com/chinajournal/2008/10/...=googlenews_wsj

Note, the White Rabbit candy that has been found in the US to have high levels of melamine is sold in Thailand as well.

[Old Man River]

Note, the China Journal's website (Wall Street Journal) that I attached above lists Pocky as being melamine tainted. Pocky is widely sold in Thailand and many of our kids eat it. Still, there has not been anything on it from the Thai FDA nor any other Thai related website that I am aware of.

Other than the Wall Street Journal's China edition, has anyone found any info on Pocky as to its melamine content?

[cathyy]

Pocky was listed in a Bangkok Post article, along with Oreo wafers, Snickers, M&Ms, and milk chocolate Dove bars if they were made in China.

Dutch Mill brand yogurt has low-level contamination that is at "safe" levels. I would suppose it's because yogurt is typically made using about 1/4 cup of milk powder to 2 liters of milk to get a creamier texture, so the contaminated milk powder would be a very small quantity in the resulting yogurt.

In general, anything using milk solids or milk powder is suspect, no matter where it was made, as you don't know if the milk powder they used was imported from China. I give my morning coffee a suspicious look after I add the creamer...and wonder if it's safe to drink.

[dumball]

Pocky was listed in a Bangkok Post article, along with Oreo wafers, Snickers, M&Ms, and milk chocolate Dove bars if they were made in China.

Dutch Mill brand yogurt has low-level contamination that is at "safe" levels. I would suppose it's because yogurt is typically made using about 1/4 cup of milk powder to 2 liters of milk to get a creamier texture, so the contaminated milk powder would be a very small quantity in the resulting yogurt.

In general, anything using milk solids or milk powder is suspect, no matter where it was made, as you don't know if the milk powder they used was imported from China. I give my morning coffee a suspicious look after I add the creamer...and wonder if it's safe to drink.

Melamine is also a side product of street vendor food , i do not eat it because of the prevalence of Motazumas revenge , even Thais suffer from this , mostly caused by a lack of good hygenic practisies , flame me , but do not tell me you do not or have not suffered from this personally , ever , it is impossible to maintain good hygene on the side of a road , period .

[Steve2UK]

Pocky was listed in a Bangkok Post article, along with Oreo wafers, Snickers, M&Ms, and milk chocolate Dove bars if they were made in China.

Dutch Mill brand yogurt has low-level contamination that is at "safe" levels. I would suppose it's because yogurt is typically made using about 1/4 cup of milk powder to 2 liters of milk to get a creamier texture, so the contaminated milk powder would be a very small quantity in the resulting yogurt.

In general, anything using milk solids or milk powder is suspect, no matter where it was made, as you don't know if the milk powder they used was imported from China. I give my morning coffee a suspicious look after I add the creamer...and wonder if it's safe to drink.

Melamine is also a side product of street vendor food , i do not eat it because of the prevalence of Motazumas revenge , even Thais suffer from this , mostly caused by a lack of good hygenic practisies , flame me , but do not tell me you do not or have not suffered from this personally , ever , it is impossible to maintain good hygene on the side of a road , period .

I have never suffered from this - and I have eaten from/at such places a lot over several years. Pick your place and use (what should be) common sense in doing it.

How is melamine a side product of street vendor food?

[dumball]

Pocky was listed in a Bangkok Post article, along with Oreo wafers, Snickers, M&Ms, and milk chocolate Dove bars if they were made in China.

Dutch Mill brand yogurt has low-level contamination that is at "safe" levels. I would suppose it's because yogurt is typically made using about 1/4 cup of milk powder to 2 liters of milk to get a creamier texture, so the contaminated milk powder would be a very small quantity in the resulting yogurt.

In general, anything using milk solids or milk powder is suspect, no matter where it was made, as you don't know if the milk powder they used was imported from China. I give my morning coffee a suspicious look after I add the creamer...and wonder if it's safe to drink.

Melamine is also a side product of street vendor food , i do not eat it because of the prevalence of Motazumas revenge , even Thais suffer from this , mostly caused by a lack of good hygenic practisies , flame me , but do not tell me you do not or have not suffered from this personally , ever , it is impossible to maintain good hygene on the side of a road , period .

I have never suffered from this - and I have eaten from/at such places a lot over several years. Pick your place and use (what should be) common sense in doing it.

How is melamine a side product of street vendor food?

Formalin is what i meant to mention , but i feel almost sure i read an article/post/reference to melamine here on TV , i have an excellent memory , but regret it has become somewhat short in my declining years .

[cathyy]

Why would Thai food stalls be adding industrial chemicals to their food? It makes no sense. It would increase their expenses with no benefit. The Chinese dairies are adding the melamine to diluted milk to make it pass quality tests for protein content. The nitrogen in the melamine gives a false higher protein result on a quick protein test.

Back to the original subject, Cadbury bars are now confirmed as contaminated, the milk chocolate and hazelnut ones. Also a couple brands of 2 in 1 and 3 in 1 coffee, Mr. Brown and some Chinese brand. Also Lipton Milk Tea and Blue Cat flavored drinks.

[nidhogg]

Why would Thai food stalls be adding industrial chemicals to their food? It makes no sense. It would increase their expenses with no benefit. The Chinese dairies are adding the melamine to diluted milk to make it pass quality tests for protein content. The nitrogen in the melamine gives a false higher protein result on a quick protein test.

Back to the original subject, Cadbury bars are now confirmed as contaminated, the milk chocolate and hazelnut ones. Also a couple brands of 2 in 1 and 3 in 1 coffee, Mr. Brown and some Chinese brand. Also Lipton Milk Tea and Blue Cat flavored drinks.

can you support that with a link to your source please?

As far as I am aware (and certainly prepared to be corrected) its only certain cadburys products that are made in China and they are not exported to thailand:

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/200...late-safe-in-us

Cadbury is withdrawing a range of its chocolate products and Choclairs -- all made at Cadbury's Beijing plant -- from the market in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Australia.

Cadbury products made at that plant are only exported to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Australia.

[cathyy]

Nidhogg is correct. I am getting my info from the Bangkok Post, CNN, and the US FDA website. Not all listed products are mentioned as being sold in Thailand. I am, however, wary of the same product from a different plant; many corporations buy supplies in bulk and have them shipped to every plant. Your level of paranoia may vary.

[Old Man River]

I have a problem trusting the Thai FDA? While other country's health departments were jumping all over this to protect their citizens, we heard nothing for a long while from the Thai FDA. Then, some comments are made and it is followed up by a statement by Thailand's new minister of health saying he is fearful that comments about melamine tainted foods may damage trade relations with China. He said this publicly.

How many of us remember Newin saying there was no bird flu in Thailand as people were dying of it in hospitals?

I think we need to rely on our own sources, and I would prefer to err in the side of safety. I have heard that the cheese in some crackers are suspect.

[lazeeboy]

if say the chocolate mentioned above is tainted in thailand ,what sort of quantity would you have to eat to get ill,1 bar or many bars?i do like chocolate and still eat it ,am i dicing with death..

[cathyy]

It all depends on the level of contamination. Some of the Hong Kong Cadbury bars had many times the "safe" level. It seems to be much more dangerous for small children than adults, too. I think the occasional chocolate bar isn't going to give you kidney stones.

[Familyonthemove]

Good piece of research by the European Food Standards Agency http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/efsa_locale...11902098433.htm which says there's a threshold effect .... no health effects until you hit a limit then you can get kidney damage.

An adult has a higher tolerance than a child, and on a normal diet an adult (outside China) will not hit the limit. A child on a normal diet is also OK, but a child who eats a lot of products containing powdered milk (chocolate, biscuits, milk drinks etc) could exceed the limit in theory.

So it looks like if you keep kids on a normal healthy diet they will be fine. EU has introduced extra controls on baby formula since the report, as clearly this would be most acute risk.

Also seen a report that Oreos, Snickers, M&M's cleared in Thailand following tests. White Rabbit sweets still withdrawn.

So I'm just keeping my daughter off long life milk drinks, yoghurts and chinese import sweets and snacks - just to be on the safe side.

I'm still scoffing chocolate as I'm sure there's worse things for an adult to eat.

[Old Man River]

Good piece of research by the European Food Standards Agency http://www.efsa.europa.eu/EFSA/efsa_locale...11902098433.htm which says there's a threshold effect .... no health effects until you hit a limit then you can get kidney damage.

An adult has a higher tolerance than a child, and on a normal diet an adult (outside China) will not hit the limit. A child on a normal diet is also OK, but a child who eats a lot of products containing powdered milk (chocolate, biscuits, milk drinks etc) could exceed the limit in theory.

So it looks like if you keep kids on a normal healthy diet they will be fine. EU has introduced extra controls on baby formula since the report, as clearly this would be most acute risk.

Also seen a report that Oreos, Snickers, M&M's cleared in Thailand following tests. White Rabbit sweets still withdrawn.

So I'm just keeping my daughter off long life milk drinks, yoghurts and chinese import sweets and snacks - just to be on the safe side.

I'm still scoffing chocolate as I'm sure there's worse things for an adult to eat.

Are UHT milk items less safe than what is sold as fresh milk in Thailand? I had understood that fresh milk in Thailand is first mixed with dry milk powder. I would think that this is how Dutch Mill became tainted. Still, a kid has to drink milk.

I have never heard anything negative about Alacta, which is a long life milk product that my kid loves. I am sure it is fine, but if you do hear anything about it please pass it along.

[Farma]

Why would Thai food stalls be adding industrial chemicals to their food? It makes no sense. It would increase their expenses with no benefit. <snip>

You may be surprised to learn this goes on a lot especially in the fresh food markets.

There’s nasty chemicals used to keep fish looking fresh, others so bean sprouts grow faster and last longer, so called flavour enhancer/binding agents for meatballs etc.

There are health teams that go around with mobile labs making random checks but they can’t be there all the time.

[Old Man River]

I have never heard of the ones in the link below, but perhaps some others have. Leave it to other countries to find tainted products from Thailand.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081013/ap_on_...ainted_biscuits

[Old Man River]

I have never heard of the ones in the link below, but perhaps some others have. Leave it to other countries to find tainted products from Thailand.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081013/ap_on_...ainted_biscuits

I was looking at the Sri Lankan cookies when I made the comment above. S&P milk cookies are another story.

Beware.