Trace melamine found in infant formula

[Guest guest]

A very important article because the reporter makes clear that focusing

only upon melamine in formula is misleading because other sources abound

in the modern economy.

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*Trace melamine found in infant formula*

Schmidt, Canwest News Service

Published: Thursday, December 11, 2008

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=1063679

OTTAWA - Three-quarters of infant formula for sale in Canada this fall

had trace amounts of melamine and the highest levels were found in an

organic product sold by a Canadian company, Health Canada reported Thursday.

The " snapshot " of the Canadian market found that 60 of 80 samples from

retail and grocery stores in the Ottawa area had melamine levels ranging

from 0.00431 to .346 parts per million (ppm). Two batches of My Organic

Baby soy-based powder formula had the highest melamine levels (. 334 and

..346 ppm). The baby food company is a subsidiary of Vancouver-based

alternative beverages group Clearly Canadian.

Health Canada considers all the trace levels to be safe because they

fall below Canada's new allowable level for infant formula, which

dropped this week from one ppm to 0.5 ppm based on a recommendation by

the World Health Organization.

" To put these findings into perspective, based on the findings of the

survey, the average infant would have to consume over 130 kilograms of

formula per day to approach the new tolerable daily intake, " the

department said in a statement.

Despite these assurances, some parents and public-health advocates say

the synthetic chemical, widely present in the environment because of its

use in the production of resins, cleaning products, fertilizers and

pesticides, should not be found even in trace amounts in infant foods.

Health Canada conducted the tests to determine background levels in the

wake of the melamine milk scandal in China, where infant formula was

intentionally contaminated with melamine - with fatal consequences - in

an attempt to artificially increase the protein content.

House brands from Loblaws, Wal-Mart, Sobeys and Shoppers Drug Mart sold

infant formula with traces of melamine as high as 0.094 to 0.183 ppm.

One batch of Costco's Kirkland brand was tested, in which Health Canada

found no detectable levels.

The four corporate giants accounting for most of infant formula sales -

Abbott Laboratories, Nestle, Mead and H.J. Heinz - also sold

products with traces of melamine, but at lower levels than these house

brands.

All six Heinz products contained traces of melamine, as did eight of 17

Nestle products. Eleven of 18 types of formula produced by Abbott and

sold under the Similac and Isomil brands had traces, compared to 14 of

19 Mead products, sold under Enfamil, Enfapro and Enfagrow brands.

" Differences between brands do not necessarily reflect differences in

consumer exposure to background levels of melamine and should not be

used as indices of good product choice for consumers, " the Health Canada

report states.

Pete Paradossi, a spokesman for Mead , emphasized this point in a

statement, adding Health Canada used " new, extremely sensitive testing

methodology that is able to detect extremely low background levels "

found in the food chain.

" Given the many approved uses of melamine, including some animal feed,

it is not unexpected to detect trace amounts in foods, " he said.

" With that said, Mead wants to assure parents and health care

professionals that our products are safe and they can continue to use

them with confidence. We maintain stringent standards for all of our raw

material suppliers and at all of our manufacturing sites to ensure the

highest quality and safety of our products. "

Joe Shields, spokesman for My Organic Baby, said company tests using the

validated methodology of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration showed no

detectable levels of melamine.

" These are really limits of detection, not quantification in our mind.

These are so trace amounts, " he said of My Organic Baby infant formula,

manufactured in Vermont.

Still, Shields said the infant formula industry is working to find the

source. " We are trying to identify where these micro-trace levels would

come from, whether it be from packaging or the resins that are used to

seal these containers. But it is not in any of the ingredients in the

formula itself. There's no reason to add it. The reality is it's in the

environment at this point. "

These assurances from industry and government don't provide much comfort

to Gibb-Carsley. The Ottawa mom began supplementing breast milk

with formula when her son was five months old; in her case, Evan, who is

now 15 months, was fed two Nestle products, one of which Health Canada

found had trace amounts of melamine.

" My concern is that perhaps it's only trace amounts in one product, but

what if it's trace amounts in another product and another product and

another product, and there's a cumulative effect? " said Gibb-Carsley.

" My main concern is when you choose a product for your baby, you are

assuming it is perfectly safe, there are no trace amounts of anything

harmful in it. "

Sterken, national director of the Toronto-based Infant Feeding

Action Coalition, isn't surprised Health Canada found trace amounts of

melamine in so many infant formulas since " there are high levels of

certain contaminants circulating in ingredients that are purchased on

the global market. " But she said the findings show companies can produce

them without any trace so doing so should be the goal, rather than just

trying to stay under the permissible standard.

" What of course is a problem is that levels of safety can never be

determined for infants. When we look at exposure particularly for

(premature babies), the neonats have the highest exposure ... They're,

of course, the most vulnerable infants. Infant formula is used, feed

after feed, month after month, for the first six months, as the

exclusive food. So there's a continuous exposure at a very vulnerable

developmental age of a particular contaminant. "

© Canwest News Service 2008

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