The official news agency for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) printed a story last September about the safety of the melamine-contaminated milk which ChinaScope, a Chinese media watchdog group, says is highly misleading. The impression is given that a much respected U.S. regulatory agency, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), concludes from its laboratory tests that China’s melamine-contaminated milk is safe to drink.
On Sept. 19, 2008, the Xinhua News Agency reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) had conducted scientific evaluations on the safety margin for melamine
This was at the time when reports on melamine-contaminated milk powder were mounting daily, and by late November, over 50,000 infants in China had been hospitalized, treated and discharged, according to China’s Health Ministry, and at least four were reported dead.
In its report, Xinhua quoted the Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China regarding FDA testing of contaminated milk from China:
“According to medical experts, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), along with our own health authorities, had conducted scientific evaluations on the safety margin for melamine. By the strictest testing standards, it is safe for an adult with an average weight of [132 pounds] to drink less than two liters of milk (or 8 bags, with 250 ml per bag) with the above amount of melamine per day. To date there are no diagnosed cases of stones in urinary system due to drinking these milk products. [emphasis added].”
However, in response to an Epoch Times’ inquiry, FDA spokeswoman Judy Leon said they have never published information on the safety margin of melamine. Instead, FDA released information warning U.S. consumers not to purchase any infant formula milk powder from China. Read more...