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They are poisoning our children and they don't care !

oldflame	They are poisoning our children and they don't care ! posted Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:17:00 GMT (11/26/2008)
California Post 1532 of 1581 Since 12/13/2004	FDA finds traces of melamine in US infant formula Reuters – A child suffering from kidney stones receives medical treatment at a hospital in Hefei, Anhui province … Traces of the industrial chemical melamine have been detected in samples of top-selling U.S. infant formula, but federal regulators insist the products are safe. The Food and Drug Administration said last month it was unable to identify any melamine exposure level as safe for infants, but a top official said it would be a "dangerous overreaction" for parents to stop feeding infant formula to babies who depend on it. "The levels that we are detecting are extremely low," said Dr. Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. "They should not be changing the diet. If they've been feeding a particular product, they should continue to feed that product. That's in the best interest of the baby." Melamine is the chemical found in Chinese infant formula — in far larger concentrations — that has been blamed for killing at least three babies and making at least 50,000 others ill. Previously undisclosed tests, obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act, show that the FDA has detected melamine in a sample of one popular formula and the presence of cyanuric acid, a chemical relative of melamine, in the formula of a second manufacturer. Separately, a third major formula maker told AP that in-house tests had detected trace levels of melamine in its infant formula. The three firms — Abbott Laboratories, Nestle and Mead Johnson — manufacture more than 90 percent of all infant formula produced in the United States. The FDA and other experts said the melamine contamination in U.S.-made formula had occurred during the manufacturing process, rather than intentionally. The U.S. government quietly began testing domestically produced infant formula in September, soon after problems with melamine-spiked formula surfaced in China. Sundlof said there have been no reports of human illness in the United States from melamine, which can bind with other chemicals in urine, potentially causing damaging stones in the kidney or bladder and, in extreme cases, kidney failure. Melamine is used in some U.S. plastic food packaging and can rub off onto what we eat; it's also contained in a cleaning solution used on some food processing equipment and can leach into the products being prepared. Sundlof told the AP the positive test results "so far are in the trace range, and from a public health or infant health perspective, we consider those to be perfectly fine." That's different from the impression of zero tolerance the agency left on Oct. 3, when it stated: "FDA is currently unable to establish any level of melamine and melamine-related compounds in infant formula that does not raise public health concerns." FDA scientists said then that they couldn't set an acceptable level of melamine exposure in infant formula because science hadn't had enough time to understand the chemical's effects on infants' underdeveloped kidneys. Plus, there is the complicating factor that infant formula often constitutes a newborns entire diet. The agency added, however, that its position did not mean that any exposure to a detectable level of melamine and melamine-related compounds in infant formula would result in harm to infants. Still, the announcement was widely interpreted by manufacturers, the news media and Congress to mean that infant formula that tested positive at any level could not be sold in the United States. The Grocery Manufacturers Association, for example, told its members: "FDA could not identify a safe level for melamine and related compounds in infant formula; thus it can be concluded they will not accept any detectable melamine in infant formula." It was not until the AP inquired about tests on domestic formula that the FDA articulated that while it couldn't set a safe exposure for infants, it would accept some melamine in formula — raising the question of whether the decision to accept very low concentrations was made only after traces were detected. On Sunday, Sundlof said the agency had never said, nor implied, that domestic infant formula was going to be entirely free of melamine. He said he didn't know if the agency's statements on infant formula had been misinterpreted. In China, melamine was intentionally dumped into watered-down milk to trick food quality tests into showing higher protein levels than actually existed. Byproducts of the milk ended up in infant formula, coffee creamers, even biscuits. The concentrations of melamine there were extraordinarily high, as much as 2,500 parts per million. The concentrations detected in the FDA samples were 10,000 times smaller — the equivalent of a drop in a 64-gallon trash bin. There would be no economic advantage to spiking U.S.-made formula at the extremely low levels found in the FDA testing. It neither raises the protein count nor saves valuable protein, said University of California, Davis chemist Michael Filigenzi, a melamine detection expert. According to FDA data for tests of 77 infant formula samples, a trace concentration of melamine was detected in one product — Mead Johnson's Infant Formula Powder, Enfamil LIPIL with Iron. An FDA spreadsheet shows two tests were conducted on the Enfamil, with readings of 0.137 and 0.14 parts per million. Three tests of Nestle's Good Start Supreme Infant Formula with Iron detected an average of 0.247 parts per million of cyanuric acid, a melamine byproduct. The FDA said last month that the toxicity of cyanuric acid is under study, but that meanwhile it is "prudent" to assume that its potency is equal to that of melamine. And while the FDA said tests of 18 samples of formula made by Abbott Laboratories, including its Similac brand, did not detect melamine, spokesman Colin McBean said some company tests did find the chemical. He did not identify the specific product or the number of positive tests. McBean did say the detections were at levels far below the health limits set by all countries in the world, including Taiwan, where the limit is 0.05 parts per million. "We're talking about trace amounts right here, and you know there's a lot of scientific bodies out there that say low levels of melamine are always present in certain types of foods," said McBean. Mead Johnson spokeswoman Gail Wood said her company's in-house tests had not detected any melamine, and that the company had not been informed of the FDA test results, even during a confidential agency conference call Monday with infant formula makers about melamine contamination. The FDA tests also detected melamine in two samples of nutritional supplements for very sick children who have trouble digesting regular food. Nestle's Peptamen Junior medical food showed 0.201 and 0.206 parts per million of melamine while Nestle's Nutren Junior-Fiber showed 0.16 and 0.184 parts per million. The agency said that while there are no established exposure levels for infant formula, pediatric medical food — often used in feeding tubes for very sick, young children — can have 2.5 parts per million of melamine, just like food products other than infant formula. The head of manufacturing for Nestle Nutrition in North America, Walter Huber, said in an interview that the company took samples alongside FDA officials who visited a manufacturing plant, and that those samples showed similar results to what FDA found for the two pediatric medical foods. Huber added that Nestle didn't fund cyanuric acid in any of the samples. The FDA shared its results with Nestle a few weeks ago, Huber said. He said he wasn't sure whether Nestle had tested other of its products beyond what it did related to the FDA. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., who heads a panel that oversees the FDA budget, said the agency was taking a "marketplace first, science last" approach. "The FDA should be insisting on a zero-tolerance policy for melamine in domestic infant formula until it is able to determine conclusively based on sound independent science that the trace levels would not pose a health risk to infants," DeLauro said. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., a frequent critic of the FDA, said: "If no safe level of melamine has been established for consumption by children, then the FDA should immediately recall any formula that has tested positive for even trace amounts of the contaminant." Several medical experts said trace concentrations would be diluted even in an infant, and are highly unlikely to be harmful. "It's just a tiny amount, it's very unlikely to cause stones," said Stanford University Medical School pediatrics professor Dr. Paul Grimm. Dr. Jerome Paulson, an associate professor of pediatrics at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., said he didn't think the FDA's decision was unreasonable. He added, however, that the agency should research the impacts of long-term, low-dose exposure, "and not just assume it's safe, and then 15 years from now find out that it's not." On the Net: The FDA's melamine guidance: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/melamine.html This is absolutely unacceptable ! Here in the good "ol US of A we think we are safe from being bad foods or products but we are just as bad as China ? Unbelievable and unacceptable ! It's time to boycott these companies who do this ! How is everyone ? I don't shine around too much lately kind a weening myself from JWD as it is sadly leaving us. God Bless you Simon & Ag. God bless us all & Have a great and Merry Christmas & And a blessed New Year. I don't know if I will be back here before it quits so I will thank you to all the beautiful people I have met here, really some very intelligent people here at JWD and some very dear hearted people. It has been a wonderful trip with all of you, I hope that someday we meet , if I don't meet you here on earth then I will see you on the flip side. God Bless, Merrill
fokyc	Re: They are poisoning our children and they don't care ! posted Wed, 26 Nov 2008 10:16:00 GMT (11/26/2008)
England, Gloucestershire Post 761 of 1035 Since 5/30/2006	Latest information re UK can be found here: http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2008/nov/latestonmelamine Melamine is an industrial chemical that should not be present in food. fokyc
kurtbethel	Re: They are poisoning our children and they don't care ! posted Thu, 27 Nov 2008 06:08:00 GMT (11/27/2008)
California Post 729 of 1909 Since 5/20/2007	It's profitable for the republicans-in-charge to be slipped some cash and look the other way.
jgnat	Re: They are poisoning our children and they don't care ! posted Thu, 27 Nov 2008 13:09:00 GMT (11/27/2008)
Alberta Post 15793 of 15872 Since 7/4/2002	Nowhere in the article does it tell how much was found in the samples? In Canada, the food and drug administration has set a standard and tested against the standard. Products that exceeded that amount were recalled. http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concen/2008melinfoe.shtml Edited to add: FDA article and recalls. http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/melamine.html
NewLight2	Re: They are poisoning our children and they don't care ! posted Thu, 27 Nov 2008 20:53:00 GMT (11/27/2008)
Post 858 of 874 Since 12/29/2000	These threads take you to a pet forum, but they have researched the melamine issue in milk and foods very well. Both threads contain many links to source documents - well worth the reading! Melamine found in US made baby formula This is the first thread that was started when the babies deaths from China first broke out: (Melamine Suspected) Chinese Officials Say Baby Formula Tied to Kidney Stones
NewLight2	Re: They are poisoning our children and they don't care ! posted Thu, 27 Nov 2008 21:14:00 GMT (11/27/2008)
Post 859 of 874 Since 12/29/2000	jgnat, Here are the amounts that have been found so far: "According to FDA data for tests of 77 infant formula samples, a trace concentration of melamine was detected in one product — Mead Johnson's Infant Formula Powder, Enfamil LIPIL with Iron. An FDA spreadsheet shows two tests were conducted on the Enfamil, with readings of 0.137 and 0.14 parts per million." The quote was taken from here: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j7SAbhJj3By_isZUoRAgTOPHzwkQD94M8T7G1
sammielee24	Re: They are poisoning our children and they don't care ! posted Fri, 28 Nov 2008 00:01:00 GMT (11/28/2008)
Post 2727 of 4114 Since 12/9/2004	The FDA also first said that there was NO safe amount of melamine - and now that it's been found here, they are saying that 'some' is safe. First it's deliberately put in the milk but now it's an accident. Go figure.....sammieswife.
NewLight2	Re: They are poisoning our children and they don't care ! posted Fri, 28 Nov 2008 15:22:00 GMT (11/28/2008)
Post 860 of 874 Since 12/29/2000	http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D94MVD4G0&show_article=1 Calls for national infant formula recall spread Nov 26 09:19 PM US/Eastern By MARTHA MENDOZA and JUSTIN PRITCHARD Associated Press Writers Disclosure that laboratory tests have detected traces of contamination in several major brands of infant formula generated concern and confusion Wednesday, with a national consumer's group and the Illinois attorney general demanding a Food and Drug Administration recall and the federal agency saying it had released inaccurate information on what chemicals were found in which top selling products. As worried parents called manufacturers looking for guidance about the presence of melamine and a key byproduct in U.S.-made formula, the FDA reiterated its position that the baby food is safe and parents should continue feeding it to their babies, contending the extremely low levels of contamination do not present a health danger. Also, a spokesman for one major manufacturer criticized the FDA for its release of the inaccurate information. "We're getting inundated by calls from moms confused about the situation," said Pete Paradossi, a spokesman for Mead Johnson, one of the three major manufacturers of U.S.-made formula involved in the problem detections. v Melamine is the industrial chemical found in Chinese infant formula—in far larger concentrations—that has been blamed for killing at least three babies and making at least 50,000 others ill. The FDA and other experts said the melamine contamination in U.S.-made formula had occurred during the manufacturing process, rather than intentionally as was done in Chinese production. The manufacturers insist their products are safe. "The levels that we are detecting are extremely low," said Dr. Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. "They should not be changing the diet. If they've been feeding a particular product, they should continue to feed that product. That's in the best interest of the baby." Part of the confusion Wednesday stemmed from the FDA's own statements. While proclaiming that the very low concentrations detected of melamine and a similar compound called cyanuric acid pose no health danger to infants, the FDA has maintained it is unable to identify any exposure level of melamine in infant formula "that does not raise public health concerns." Further complicating the situation was inaccurate data that FDA released to The Associated Press, which was first to disclose the formulas' brand names and other details in an investigative report Tuesday. A spreadsheet the AP obtained from the FDA under a Freedom of Information Act request stated that Mead Johnson's Infant Formula Powder, Enfamil LIPIL with Iron contained traces of melamine. On Wednesday, FDA spokeswoman Judy Leon said that spreadsheet contained an error—that the FDA had incorrectly switched the names of the Mead Johnson product with Nestle's Good Start Supreme Infant Formula with Iron. That meant, Leon said, that the Nestle's Good Start had melamine while Mead Johnson's Enfamil had traces of cyanuric acid. The FDA said last month that the toxicity of cyanuric acid is under study, but that in the meantime it is "prudent" to assume that its potency is equal to that of melamine. Problems with melamine-spiked formula surfaced this fall in China, where unscrupulous manufacturers intentionally dumped it into watered-down milk to falsely elevate protein levels. The concentrations in China were as much as 2,500 parts per million—about 10,000 times greater than what the FDA found in the U.S. The FDA said there have been no reports in the United States of human illness from melamine. The chemical, which legally can be used in product packaging and a solution to clean manufacturing equipment, can bind with other chemicals in urine, potentially causing damaging stones in the kidney or bladder and, in extreme cases, kidney failure. Mead Johnson spokesman Paradossi said he was frustrated that the FDA had provided inaccurate information for worldwide distribution by the AP. He said the FDA informed his company of the test results, as well as the inaccurate disclosures only Wednesday, during an emergency conference call the agency staged with major manufacturers and the industry's trade group. During a similar call Monday, the FDA told the industry about the upcoming AP investigative report. Nestle did not returns calls seeking comment Wednesday. At the same time, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan called on the state's public health department and the FDA to recall both the Nestle and Mead Johnson products—and urged the companies to take that step regardless of what any government agency does. Madigan also criticized the FDA's handling of its test results. "The agency apparently withheld the results of its testing from the public for over three weeks, and then only disclosed the information in response to a FOIA request by The Associated Press," she wrote in a letter to Michael Leavitt, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA. As for possible consideration of a recall, the FDA's Leon said: "The agency would only seek to remove a product on the basis of a risk, based on scientific evidence. That's not what we're talking about here." v Consumers Union said that the FDA's assurances are of small comfort to parents and caregivers. "The FDA originally said there was no safe level for these contaminants in infant formula. So this formula is contaminated," said Jean Halloran, the group's director of Food Policy Initiatives. "It is very disturbing to us that no recall has been requested." She urged the FDA "to immediately make public all of the results of its tests for melamine contamination in food," even those with levels below what would trigger agency action." Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., a frequent critic of the FDA, also has called for recalls. During a series of calls with formula manufacturers starting Monday—put together hurriedly, according to several participants, as the AP was preparing to publish its story—the FDA has told manufacturers it has taken 230 samples of various products, including pediatric supplements and ingredients used in infant formula. Leon said that 87 of those samples are of infant formula, and that 77 of those have been analyzed. Under the corrected information she relayed Wednesday, the results were: —Nestle's Good Start Supreme Infant Formula with Iron had two positive tests for melamine on one sample, with readings of 0.137 and 0.14 parts per million. —Mead Johnson's Infant Formula Powder, Enfamil LIPIL with Iron had three positive tests for cyanuric acid, at an average of 0.247 parts per million. Separately, a third major formula maker—Abbott Laboratories, whose brands include Similac—told AP that in-house tests had detected trace levels of melamine in its infant formula. Those levels were below what FDA found in the other formulas, an Abbott spokesman said, and below any nation's safety guidelines. v The three firms—Abbott Laboratories, Nestle and Mead Johnson—manufacture more than 90 percent of all infant formula produced in the United States. Associated Press Writer Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar contributed to this report from Washington, D.C.
LDH	Re: They are poisoning our children and they don't care ! posted Fri, 28 Nov 2008 23:18:00 GMT (11/28/2008)
California Post 8039 of 8174 Since 12/18/2000	I chose to nurse. I had none of these fears, and if I had another baby today I would do the same. You can NOT convince me that Nestle, Carnation and whoever else are making this product to SAVE LIVES. Infant formula is a convenience product, and as such, those those desire the 'convenience' will reap the by-products of said 'convenience.' For what it's worth, the percentage of women who are unable to breast feed their babies due to medical conditions, etc etc, is negligible. If these companies were waiting for my dime, there gonna have to keep on waiting.
LDH	Re: They are poisoning our children and they don't care ! posted Fri, 28 Nov 2008 23:19:00 GMT (11/28/2008)
California Post 8040 of 8174 Since 12/18/2000	The three firms—Abbott Laboratories, Nestle and Mead Johnson—manufacture more than 90 percent of all infant formula produced in the United States. It's all about the money.
jgnat	Re: They are poisoning our children and they don't care ! posted Sat, 29 Nov 2008 14:24:00 GMT (11/29/2008)
Alberta Post 15797 of 15872 Since 7/4/2002	The Canadian link suggest that there is a background trace of melamine in the environment. The Canadian food agency has set an interim "maximum of 1.0 part per million (ppm*)" The article that NewLight quotes found "readings of 0.137 and 0.14 parts per million" So I would say it is an exaggeration to say that "they are poisoning our children and they don't care".
rebel8	Re: They are poisoning our children and they don't care ! posted Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:08:00 GMT (11/30/2008)
New York Post 5214 of 7105 Since 1/13/2005	It's even worse than most people know. Find out how many items you use daily that are actually carcinogenic or otherwise toxic. http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.org/index.php?nothanks=1 Skin Deep is a safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products brought to you by researchers at the Environmental Working Group. Skin Deep pairs ingredients in more than 40,000 products against 50 definitive toxicity and regulatory databases, making it the largest integrated data resource of its kind. Why did a small nonprofit take on such a big project? Because the FDA doesn't require companies to test their own products for safety.
StAnn	Re: They are poisoning our children and they don't care ! posted Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:24:00 GMT (11/30/2008)
Ohio Post 1204 of 2181 Since 2/16/2008	I breastfed my son. We also try, as much as possible, to do 100-mile eating, i.e., only consuming products produced by local farmers who live within 100 miles of our home. And we have a garden, to raise our own organic foods. Yesterday I attended a wedding. At the reception, I was able to pick up five dozen beautiful organic brown eggs from another guest. We network a lot! My husband and I have a ten year plan to buy 7-15 acres and move out of town. We intend to pursue a more self-sufficient lifestyle. We're constantly doing as much as we can at our current home in town to boost our self-sufficiency. The primary reason we are pursuing this is that we were both raised on farms and know how good and healthy food can be. We are very concerned about the foods we have to buy at stores primarily because the food is controlled by huge corporations, not family farmers anymore. It's all about profits, not quality. Also, melamine apparently can leach out of plastic food containers and into the food. (Can't give you a link to that.) Which is why we advocate storing food in jars. We have lots of things stored in Mason jars and pickle jars in our household! StAnn
restrangled	Re: They are poisoning our children and they don't care ! posted Sun, 30 Nov 2008 19:12:00 GMT (11/30/2008)
Post 4681 of 5941 Since 6/10/2006	As LDH and others have mentioned, I chose to nurse my children....with my first son, the hospital tried to stop it as he had jaundice. So they fed him formula and sugar water until we got home. It took me several days but I got him to nurse. I almost gave up, but the 70 year old pediatrician encouranged me by saying.....you are the expert, not the new born. He will not starve. Sure enough once started he didn't give it up until he was over 2. So if you nurse your babies, no matter what the melamine level you will never have to worry. It is important not to microwave anything in plastic containers because all kinds of chems. leach out of the plastic into food. On another note did anyone see that the meat in 3 major grocery chains in Arizona, 40 percent of all meat is contaminated with the intestinal super bug that goes through hospitals. It isn't killed with cooking and it may take up to 2 weeks before you get sick? My younger son just suffered for 3 days with what we thought was the flu....now I think otherwise. No one else got sick. I am to the point where I don't want to serve meat any more. I love the 100 mile eating idea from Staan. I know it takes time and effort, but really, with the exposure of all these greedy bastards on the internet....its the only way you can protect your family..... Kind of like the WTBS getting exposed.......the more knowledge you have the better off you will be. r.
jgnat	Re: They are poisoning our children and they don't care ! posted Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:36:00 GMT (12/1/2008)
Alberta Post 15798 of 15872 Since 7/4/2002	I've noted a few mothers who hope to keep their child free of all contaminants by breast feeding. I've got bad news for you. There's trace amounts of persistent chemicals, especially chemicals like DDT and PCB's, in breast milk as well. Why? Because certain persistent chemicals are all through our environment. They are in you, so they go to your baby as well. The same goes for heavy metals like mercury. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/09/magazine/09TOXIC.html

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