Australia to Examine Chinese Vegetables for Chemical Melamine
By Dune Lawrence and Jesse Riseborough
Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Australia and New Zealand have begun an inquiry into whether vegetables imported from China may be tainted with the industrial chemical melamine, a food standards regulator said.
Canberra-based Food Standards Australia New Zealand has asked regulators in other countries for any positive test results after media reports that Malaysia had found traces of the chemical in fruits and vegetables from China, Spokeswoman Lydia Buchtmann said today by telephone.
The issue may be linked to ``minor residue'' from pesticides, not to the deliberate contamination of dairy in China, said Buchtmann of the bi-national regulatory body that sets food standards for Australia and New Zealand.
Melamine, used to make plastics, has killed four babies and sickened more than 54,000 after being added to dairy products in China. China said that 10,666 babies who were poisoned by melamine-laced milk powder remain hospitalized, while 36,144 have been discharged, the official Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday.
Australia imports mushrooms, garlic and frozen vegetables from China, according to Buchtmann. As of yesterday, the country had withdrawn White Rabbit Cream Candy, Cadbury Eclairs, Lotte Koala Biscuits and Kirin Milk Tea from sale for suspected contamination.
To contact the reporter on this story: Dune Lawrence in Beijing at [email protected]; Jesse Riseborough in Melbourne at [email protected]
Last Updated: October 9, 2008 01:51 EDT
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By Dune Lawrence and Jesse Riseborough
Oct. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Australia and New Zealand have begun an inquiry into whether vegetables imported from China may be tainted with the industrial chemical melamine, a food standards regulator said.
Canberra-based Food Standards Australia New Zealand has asked regulators in other countries for any positive test results after media reports that Malaysia had found traces of the chemical in fruits and vegetables from China, Spokeswoman Lydia Buchtmann said today by telephone.
The issue may be linked to ``minor residue'' from pesticides, not to the deliberate contamination of dairy in China, said Buchtmann of the bi-national regulatory body that sets food standards for Australia and New Zealand.
Melamine, used to make plastics, has killed four babies and sickened more than 54,000 after being added to dairy products in China. China said that 10,666 babies who were poisoned by melamine-laced milk powder remain hospitalized, while 36,144 have been discharged, the official Xinhua News Agency reported yesterday.
Australia imports mushrooms, garlic and frozen vegetables from China, according to Buchtmann. As of yesterday, the country had withdrawn White Rabbit Cream Candy, Cadbury Eclairs, Lotte Koala Biscuits and Kirin Milk Tea from sale for suspected contamination.
To contact the reporter on this story: Dune Lawrence in Beijing at [email protected]; Jesse Riseborough in Melbourne at [email protected]
Last Updated: October 9, 2008 01:51 EDT
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