Melamine, again!

An unfamiliar word suddenly has become hot in town talks. Melamine, a stuff that is supposed to be used in non-food industry, has been found in Sanlu baby milk powder in China, and so far has caused one infant death and kidney stones in dozens of babies. The contamination is confirmed by China's Ministry of Health on Friday.

This latest case of food safety scandal reminds me of Anhui Fuyang baby milk powder scandal in 2004, in which harmful milk powder caused hundreds of babies suffer from malnutrition. Sanlu's case is far more serious than the previous one, because Sanlu is a famous brand in China and its distribution channel is nation wide, so it's not a surprise to see more reports about kidney stone baby popping out in different places as time goes by.

Since the questionable baby milk powder had enjoyed the privileging status as an quality-inspection-free product before the safety problem was detected, the scandal will damage the reputation of the national accreditation system for food quality as well, and it will take a lot of effort and longer time for the authority to restore the confidence of consumers.

Wiki provides a thorough description of this material, and it's updated to the latest development of Sanlu milk powder scandal. From the existing reports, the diary farmers add melamine into diluted milk to pass the test of protein content.

This harmful material has been used discreetly in manufacturing animal feed, as a cheaper alternative to real soy bean protein. The issue was addressed last year in the case of pet food being exported from China to the US, and this NYT report provides detailed background.

In retrospection, if that pet food scandal was highlighted in the food industry last year, probably some preemptive measures would be taken to improve the method of testing protein content.

The question is how come those diary farmers can simply add melamine to diluted milk and pass the quality check? Punishing those who are directly responsible for providing fake milk is just the first step. Sanlu group and the quality accreditation authority must also be held accountable, and a thorough investigation should be conducted, followed by the improvement of the testing method.