Two more Chinese snacks found tainted with melamine

SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- Korea's food watchdog said Tuesday that two more snacks imported from China were found to be contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine, bringing the local number of tainted food items to six amid a broadening Chinese food scandal.

High levels of melamine were detected in Ritz Cracker Sandwiches Cheese, produced
by Nabisco Food Suzhou Co., a Chinese subsidiary of the U.S. brand, and Savory
Rice Crackers by Danyang Day Bright Foods Co., a China-based subsidiary of
Thailand's Day Bright Group.
The popular Nabisco snack was found to contain particularly large amounts of
melamine, up to 23.3 parts per million, while Danyang's product reportedly
contained 1.77 ppm, the Korea Food and Drug Administration said.
Korean suppliers have imported 87 tons of Ritz Cheese and 218 tons of the rice
snack this year. The watchdog said 28 tons of the rice snack have been recalled,
while the figure for Ritz Cheese was not yet available.
The new detections brought the number of contaminated items to six. Traces of
melamine were detected earlier in "Misarang Custard" and "Misarang Coconut"
cakes, manufactured in China and sold by South Korea's Haitai Confectionery and
Food Co., as well as in non-dairy creamer used in instant coffee mixes, which
were imported from Hong Kong but made in China.
Melamine is a nitrogen-based chemical that can pose serious health risks if taken
in large quantities. It is used widely in kitchen utensils, but if added to
dairy-based food items the nitrogen can artificially increase protein levels,
translating into higher dairy prices.
Chinese health officials have said the use of melamine in dairy products has
killed at least four infants and left 54,000 others ailing from kidney stones or
other illnesses.
In response to the growing milk scandal emanating from Korea's largest trading
partner, the government has brought up a sweeping package of monitoring measures
to address consumer concern.
Importers will have to mark the place of origin just below the brand name on the
front label of their products, not the back. Also, when tainted food items are
recalled subtitles will be broadcast across television screens to ensure measures
to remove the items off shelves are prompt.
Related to tighter monitoring regimes for food, the Ministry for Food,
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said it has ordered all imported dairy
products to be checked for melamine, regardless of their country of origin.
"Melamine will be officially introduced on the checklist of dairy imports," said
an official.
The official then said that state laboratories are in the process of checking all
533 types of dairy products that have been sold on the market, with tests to be
concluded by Oct. 6 at the latest.
Seoul also plans to check all processed meat like ham and sausage by the middle
of next month to check for possible melamine contamination.
The ministry, meanwhile, said it found the harmful chemical in dog food made by a
local company and is investigating how the product was tainted with the
industrial chemical.
Starting last Thursday, inspectors have been collecting feed samples from more
than 650 local feed manufacturers to root out any health risks.
yonngong@yna.co.kr