Tipoff Uncovers Huge Undeclared Powdered Milk Find

[george]

Tipoff uncovers huge undeclared powdered milk find

BANGKOK: -- The Food and Drug Administration has confiscated 3,750 kilograms of powdered milk of unconfirmed origin from a local company in Min Buri district.

Dr Pipat Yingseri, secretary-general of the FDA, said Monday that after the FDA received a tip-off from a citizen about a huge batch of powdered milk stored in a townhouse, he ordered inspectors to investigate and they found 150 plastic bags, each containing 25 kilograms of the dairy ingredient. None of the bags came with documentation supporting the source of production.

The company's staff told the FDA that the stock was purchased from a dealer, who imported it from Australia, not from China.

The FDA seized all of the powdered milk to investigate the manufacturer and importer and to test for melamine contamination.

Powdered milk is designated as a specially controlled product, whose import details must be declared.

-- The Nation 2008-10-21

[Sathip2008]

"MAI PEN RAI" kills ...

[animatic]

Tipoff uncovers huge undeclared powdered milk find

BANGKOK: -- The Food and Drug Administration has confiscated 3,750 kilograms of powdered milk of unconfirmed origin from a local company in Min Buri district.

Dr Pipat Yingseri, secretary-general of the FDA, said Monday that after the FDA received a tip-off from a citizen about a huge batch of powdered milk stored in a townhouse, he ordered inspectors to investigate and they found 150 plastic bags, each containing 25 kilograms of the dairy ingredient. None of the bags came with documentation supporting the source of production.

The company's staff told the FDA that the stock was purchased from a dealer, who imported it from Australia, not from China.

The FDA seized all of the powdered milk to investigate the manufacturer and importer and to test for melamine contamination.

Powdered milk is designated as a specially controlled product, whose import details must be declared.

-- The Nation 2008-10-21

Powdered milk is the new yaba....

Well:

At least someone at FDA is making some kind of effort, or show,

at getting the stuff off the streets and shelves where babies can get fed this crap.,

Even if Chalerm isn't worried about anything except embarrassing China....

He never seems to notice when he embarrasses Thailand though.

At least no one is getting shot when they go get it.

Sounds like POSSIBLY some guy in Oz needed to dump his questionable product

and somebody here wanted to buy it cheap. No lables of origin is suspicious for sure.

[jayjayjayjay]

Tipoff uncovers huge undeclared powdered milk find

BANGKOK: -- The Food and Drug Administration has confiscated 3,750 kilograms of powdered milk of unconfirmed origin from a local company in Min Buri district.

Dr Pipat Yingseri, secretary-general of the FDA, said Monday that after the FDA received a tip-off from a citizen about a huge batch of powdered milk stored in a townhouse, he ordered inspectors to investigate and they found 150 plastic bags, each containing 25 kilograms of the dairy ingredient. None of the bags came with documentation supporting the source of production.

The company's staff told the FDA that the stock was purchased from a dealer, who imported it from Australia, not from China.

The FDA seized all of the powdered milk to investigate the manufacturer and importer and to test for melamine contamination.

Powdered milk is designated as a specially controlled product, whose import details must be declared.

-- The Nation 2008-10-21

Powdered milk is the new yaba....

Well:

At least someone at FDA is making some kind of effort, or show,

at getting the stuff off the streets and shelves where babies can get fed this crap.,

Even if Chalerm isn't worried about anything except embarrassing China....

He never seems to notice when he embarrasses Thailand though.

At least no one is getting shot when they go get it.

Sounds like POSSIBLY some guy in Oz needed to dump his questionable product

and somebody here wanted to buy it cheap. No lables of origin is suspicious for sure.

BTW_ 3750kg is not a HUGE find, it is a meer drop in the ocean as far as milk powder goes. This would last any one of the large 5 dairys in Thailand about 1/2 hours processing, IF THAT!

I think your getting your wires crossed here........ This is not Melimine contaminated power from Australia. "Sounds like POSSIBLY some guy in Oz needed to dump his questionable product"

In my years in the dairy industry, controls within Australia are very strict when it comes to powered milk handling. The Australia laws allow for natural melinime to be detected in milk products, but tests are carried out regularily to ensure adulteration does not occur:

"Maximum melamine levels in food

In summary, FSANZ has concluded that:

• A maximum level of 1 mg/kg for melamine in infant formula is considered appropriate.
  
• A maximum level of 2.5 mg/kg for melamine in dairy-based foods and foods containing dairy-based ingredients is appropriate and acceptable.
  
• A level of melamine above 2.5 mg/kg of food is indicative of food adulteration.
  
• For infant formula, even at relatively low levels of adulteration an infant will quickly exceed the Tolerable Daily Intake for melamine, if consuming formula only.
  
• Foods with low levels of dairy based ingredients, such as candies and biscuits, are likely to be infrequently consumed and in small amounts so they are not considered to be a high-risk food for potential dietary exposure to melamine even if the dairy ingredient has been adulterated.
  

Infant formula Infant formula products in Australia are produced under strict standards to ensure their safety and nutritional value and can be used normally. Australia does not import infant formula products from China due to quarantine restrictions. This has been confirmed by AQIS. Food regulators have conducted targeted inspections at wholesale and retail level and have found none of the Chinese infant formula product on shelves."

I personally think you will find Australian products and quality of testing to be yield some of the highest quality food in the world

Instant Formula products are a banded import from China to Australia. Looks like AQIS was ahead of the game on this one. Unfortuneately the Thai FDA were not!

Edited October 21, 2008 by jayjayjayjay

[animatic]

jjjj

I was meaning that in Oz / NZ they were the ones who blew the whistle on the Chinese problem first.

IF one guy there who suspoected that hehad a bad batch, wouldn't want to assume he might not want

to dump it out of country unlabled. No country and industry is without it's unscrupulous charachters...

When the USA started clamping down more and more on cigarette manufacturers,

they retargeted the 3rd world big time.

Nothing against Ausies in this,

only take's one bad apple for this.

[Samuian]

.....edit...No country and industry is without it's unscrupulous characters...

There are countries which face a certain amassing of bad characters it seems in times...reading this mornings papers...

However, nothin' to do with any Nation, it's citizens or any given Nationality!

Guess it was ready to GET labeled "made in Oz"

[h90]

3.7 tons is nothing...by no means that is huge....

[dumball]

Only small as long as your chidren are not the ones consuming it , if it should be contaminated , but how much more has gone else where from the same scourse ? .

[JustinCredible]

3.7 tons is nothing...by no means that is huge....

3,750 1 kilo boxes / tins = 3,750 potential deaths if the stuff is contaminated!!

It might NOT be huge, but ONE death is too many!!

Stop trying to be a "smart ass" and think about the potential dangers to children.

[h90]

3.7 tons is nothing...by no means that is huge....

3,750 1 kilo boxes / tins = 3,750 potential deaths if the stuff is contaminated!!

It might NOT be huge, but ONE death is too many!!

Stop trying to be a "smart ass" and think about the potential dangers to children.

how do you calculate that?

[Old Man River]

"Maximum melamine levels in food

In summary, FSANZ has concluded that:

• A maximum level of 1 mg/kg for melamine in infant formula is considered appropriate.
  
• A maximum level of 2.5 mg/kg for melamine in dairy-based foods and foods containing dairy-based ingredients is appropriate and acceptable.
  
• A level of melamine above 2.5 mg/kg of food is indicative of food adulteration.
  
• For infant formula, even at relatively low levels of adulteration an infant will quickly exceed the Tolerable Daily Intake for melamine, if consuming formula only.
  
• Foods with low levels of dairy based ingredients, such as candies and biscuits, are likely to be infrequently consumed and in small amounts so they are not considered to be a high-risk food for potential dietary exposure to melamine even if the dairy ingredient has been adulterated.
  

Infant formula Infant formula products in Australia are produced under strict standards to ensure their safety and nutritional value and can be used normally. Australia does not import infant formula products from China due to quarantine restrictions. This has been confirmed by AQIS. Food regulators have conducted targeted inspections at wholesale and retail level and have found none of the Chinese infant formula product on shelves."

Would you happen to know how this compares with the Thai FDA's standards?

[richabb1]

"Maximum melamine levels in food

In summary, FSANZ has concluded that:

• A maximum level of 1 mg/kg for melamine in infant formula is considered appropriate.
  
• A maximum level of 2.5 mg/kg for melamine in dairy-based foods and foods containing dairy-based ingredients is appropriate and acceptable.
  
• A level of melamine above 2.5 mg/kg of food is indicative of food adulteration.
  
• For infant formula, even at relatively low levels of adulteration an infant will quickly exceed the Tolerable Daily Intake for melamine, if consuming formula only.
  
• Foods with low levels of dairy based ingredients, such as candies and biscuits, are likely to be infrequently consumed and in small amounts so they are not considered to be a high-risk food for potential dietary exposure to melamine even if the dairy ingredient has been adulterated.
  

Infant formula Infant formula products in Australia are produced under strict standards to ensure their safety and nutritional value and can be used normally. Australia does not import infant formula products from China due to quarantine restrictions. This has been confirmed by AQIS. Food regulators have conducted targeted inspections at wholesale and retail level and have found none of the Chinese infant formula product on shelves."

Would you happen to know how this compares with the Thai FDA's standards?

Without digging thru a lot of files, one would presume the Thai levels would be about the same as most of the regulations are based on international guide lines from either US, EU or FAO as is the case with other agricultural chemicals etc. Enforcement of the law is another issue altogether.

3.5mt is nothing in the big picture and doubt that this would even get to any infant formulations companies. Obviously this case is a fall guy.

The problem at the moment with smuggled milk powder in Thailand (I am presuming here) but with some understanding of the industry is not milk baby dry products (though some milk companies are dubvious) but more serious is the potential abuse in the second tier of food manufacturing, cookies, candy, local breads etc that would be looking and would/ will take advantage of a cheaper product with out the conscious of quality.

Quite possibly a major concern / root of the problem is the antiquated tarrif systems still in place to protect the local milk industry. Lets say AU /NZ milk powders even though a FTA was agreed upon still are only diminishing tarrifs so still quite high in comparison with either black market or the 0% tarrifs from China in the China Asean FTA. So smugglers or legit imports can get a product from China cheaper. Also and someone could verify this, expect that the antiquated quota system in Thailand is still in place that caps quantity of one tarrif rate for a year and then has a huge out of quota tarrif. This would be capping legit quantities of milk powder into the country each year. With the growth of milk products and derivitives that use milk powder in the last 10 years or so, little wonder smuggled product is entering the market. The system has failed and then been abused.

[Scott]

The latest I've seen on this issue is that they have now found melamine contamination in eggs in Hong Kong. Eggs and milk (including dried eggs and dried milk) is used in a lot of baked goods. Whether this finds it way into Thailand or not, I don't know, but given the amount of food products coming from China, it wouldn't surprise me.

So, I guess we can get ready for round two of this drama.