No further melamine-contaminated food found: report

SEOUL, Sept. 29 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's health authorities said Monday they have found no further melamine-contaminated processed foods here amid growing concerns over snacks and other dairy products imported from China.

The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) said in a statement that it has
conducted an investigation on an additional 44 products as of midnight Sunday and
that there were no traces of melamine detected. Around 40 percent of the total
428 products subject to the probe were found to be to melamine-free, it added.
Melamine is a nitrogen-based chemical that can pose health risks if taken in
large quantities, causing kidney problems. If added to food, the nitrogen can
artificially increase apparent protein content levels, translating into higher
prices.
Food concerns are growing here as Chinese health officials said four children
have died from consuming milk tainted with melamine, and about 54,000 others have
developed kidney stones or other illnesses.
So far, four products here have been found to be contaminated with the industrial
additive, including coffee creamer and snacks containing ingredients produced in
China. No South Korean victim has yet been reported.
The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, meanwhile, said that
it has ordered a check on locally made baby formulas, ice cream, butter and
cheese in response to public requests.
In the past, the ministry countered requests by pointing out that Chinese powered
milk was never imported and did not take steps to check the contents of locally
made processed foods.
"Tests on locally made foods started Friday," an official, who declined to be
identified, said. He confirmed that some 500 samples are being tested at
laboratories, but stressed that none have been found to be contaminated.
"If there were a problem, it would surely have been reported by now," he said,
adding that Seoul will notify the public on preliminary results even before
complete tests have been conducted in order to alleviate fears.
The ministry in charge of food production then said that besides Chinese and
locally processed food, plans are underway to check imports from other countries
for signs of the chemical.
Related to the ongoing scare, the government and the ruling Grand National Party
said Sunday that they will introduce measures to greatly improve the transparency
of what ingredients are used in processed food.
yonngong@yna.co.kr