A withdrawal of Kirin Milk Tea, made in China, has commenced in Australia by importers and wholesalers. The action began on 3 October 2008 and follows Australian test results showing levels of melamine in product available here. Retailers should not sell the product and consumers are advised not to consume Kirin Milk Tea made in China. Consumers should dispose of the product safely out of the reach of children. The product, sold primarily at Asian food stores, is the fourth product recall in Australia... ...Read more »
Cadbury’s Chocolate Eclairs, withdrawn from Australian shelves on Monday, have been found to be safe by the Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety but the precautionary recall remains in place until Australian results come through. The confectionery giant announced a recall of their Chocolate Eclairs product - the only Cadbury product sold in Australia that is made at their Chinese plant - after concerns about the level of melamine were established. “We have received preliminary results that... ...Read more »
Australian food safety agencies have today advised that they continue to actively investigate and respond to melamine contamination of some products containing dairy ingredients made in China and elsewhere. Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is coordinating action among Federal, State and Territory food agencies, including: * working with importers and food manufacturers in Australia to ascertain if products contain Chinese dairy product as an ingredient possibly contaminated with melamine; *targeted... ...Read more »
Confectionery giant Cadbury has withdrawn 11 products made in China, one of which - Chocolate Eclairs - is sold in Australia. Cadbury instigated a precautionary recall of Chocolate Eclairs from retailers shelves yesterday afternoon after preliminary tests revealed melamine, the chemical at the centre of the milk scandal, may be in the product. The company added that Pascal Eclairs, which are made in Australia, were not affected by the recall. The amount of melamine found is not yet known, but FSANZ... ...Read more »
Activist group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has begun an unusual, some may even say bold, campaign to get cow’s milk replaced with human breast milk. They have dispatched a letter to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, co-founders of American ice cream icon Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Inc., urging them to replace the cow’s milk in their products with human breast milk. PETA’s request comes in the wake of news reports that a Swiss restaurant owner will begin... ...Read more »
In the wake of the Chinese milk scandal, which has led to the deaths of four babies and made of 54,000 infants ill, international food safety and health authorities are working together to determine the level of melamine in food that will present negligible risks to public health. “Since the identification of the problems in China, food safety authorities all around the world have been working to identify public health threshold levels for melamine,” Dr Geoff Allen, NZFSA (New Zealand... ...Read more »
Following the contamination of Chinese milk products with the chemical melamine, China has removed over 7,000 tonnes of dairy products (primarily powdered and liquid milk) from retail outlets and food standards bodies around the world are testing Chinese milk-based imports and issuing precautionary product recalls. Australian food safety authority FSANZ yesterday instigated a recall of White Rabbit candies after White Rabbit candies in New Zealand and Singapore were found to contain high levels... ...Read more »
The Rudd Government is seeking to abolish an 11 cents per litre levy on fresh milk, with legislation introduced to Federal Parliament yesterday. The levy was established by the Howard Government in 2000 to fund an adjustment package for the dairy industry as it moved through deregulation. Around $240 million a year has been collected through the levy, to provide payments to around 13,000 dairy businesses over eight years. Consumers will benefit from a modest saving on the price of fresh milk when... ...Read more »
Australian Food Regulators have commenced a formal request today to wholesalers and importers to voluntarily withdraw White Rabbit Brand Candies from shops pending further results of testing for melamine.Testing in New Zealand released late today has confirmed that this product contains sufficiently high levels of melamine which may, in some individuals, cause health problems such as kidney stones if consumed in high quantities over a long period. The product is sold in retail packs through Asian... ...Read more »
The number of infants sickened by tainted milk products has swelled to 53,000 according to the latest reports from the Chinese Government, with China’s Chief Quality Supervisor, Li Changjiang, stepping down in the wake of the scandal. Li is the highest ranking official brought down so far by the dairy product contamination scandal, according to the official news agency of the Chinese Government (Xinhua). Wu Xianguo, the Communist Party chief of Shijiazhuang City - where Sanlu Group, the first... ...Read more »