Samples of the Chinese milk impounded in Dar es Salaam and sent to South Africa in October for tests have been found to be contaminated with...
Samples of the Chinese milk impounded in Dar es Salaam and sent to South Africa in October
for tests have been found to be contaminated with the killer chemica, melamine, The Citizen
can reveal.
A confidential report seen by The Citizen indicates that the chemical was found in three of
the nine samples the Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA) provided during the
investigation.
The authority had seized 34 tonnes in its crackdown on milk imports following the Chinese
scare, but the sample tested and found to contain melamine, was taken from seven tonnes, which a single trader had imported.
The news confirms the fears that Tanzania might have narrowly escaped disaster, with traders
having imported contaminated milk from China, where baby milk laced with melamine caused the deaths of four children last July, and had by September infected 94,000
other people across several continents.
Yesterday, the TFDA Director-General, Dr Singonda Ndomondo, confirmed receiving a
report from South Africa, indicating that the Chinese milk was contaminated.
The news will shock many consumers and might jolt the market, considering that about 70
per cent of the milk and milk products consumed in Tanzania are imported. With a population of
more than 4 million, Dar es Salaam needs at least a million litres of milk a day, but the
local processors are able to supply less than 60,000 litres a day.
?Yes, it is true that some of the samples we sent to South Africa have tested positive with
melamine chemicals, but everything will be made public on Thursday (tomorrow),? Dr Ndomondo said by telephone, when contacted for comment.
She said the authority, whose responsibility is to ensure the safety of drugs and food sold to
millions of consumers every day, would issue the full report on the Chinese milk saga at a press
briefing in Dar es Salaam.
Dr Ndomondo declined to discuss what steps TFDA was taking to mitigate the consequences of the findings until the full report was tabled before the authorities.
However, The Citizen independently established that the TFDA planned to destroy the
seven tonnes of the contaminated Chinese milk impounded.
A total of 34 tonnes of imported powdered milk was seized from several traders in September,
after the board banned imports of Chinese milk.
Local tests didn?t yield anything, hence the decision to send the samples to South Africa,
which has more sophisticated laboratories. A source told The Citizen that
the Dar es Salaam trader who brought in the contaminated milk cargo had been informed about the findings.
He said: ?A condemnation certificate has been issued to him. Among other things, he will
be required to pay for the cost of destruction of the tainted milk.? However, The Citizen
couldn?t establish when this will be done.
Tanzania reacted quickly to an alert issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) at the height of the Chinese milk saga.
TFDA also suspended the issuing of import licences for milk products until the investigation
is concluded.
Senegal, Liberia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ivory
Coast, and Togo also slapped bans on Chinese milk imports after investigations in China found in
milk traces of melamine, a chemical used to make plastics.
The Chinese milk scandal involved milk and infant formula, and other food materials and
components, which had been adulterated.
The scandal broke on July 16, after 16 babies who had been fed on milk powder produced by
Shijiazhuang-based Sanlu Group were diagnosed with kidney stones.
With China's wide range of export food products, the scandal has affected countries on all the
continents.
According to scientific journals, melamine is a hard synthetic substance better known for its
flame retardant properties.
The nitrogen-rich molecule is sometimes illegally added to food products in order to increase
their apparent protein content.
It has also been employed as a non-protein nitrogen, appearing in soy meal, corn gluten meal and cottonseed meal used in cattle feed.
Melamine is known to cause renal and urinary problems in humans and animals when it reacts with cyanuric acid inside the body, sometimes present in drinking water and in animal feed, so its use in food production is universally banned.
Melamine adulteration of food products made headlines when pet food was recalled in Europe and the United States in 2007.
A number of arrests were made following the scandal in China.
The head of Sanlu, seven local government officials, as well as the director of the
administration of quality supervision, inspection and quarantine were sacked or forced
to resign over the scandal.
The WHO described Chinese milk saga as one of the largest food safety concerns it has had to
deal with in recent years. In late October, it was discovered that the problem had
spread to eggs and possibly other food categories.
habari hii ipo katika gazeti la Citizen na serikali bado imepoa haitoa taarifa watu wakaelewa nini kinaweza kuwasibu na wapi wakimbilie kikiwapata. Haki ya mlaji ipo wapi?
for tests have been found to be contaminated with the killer chemica, melamine, The Citizen
can reveal.
A confidential report seen by The Citizen indicates that the chemical was found in three of
the nine samples the Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA) provided during the
investigation.
The authority had seized 34 tonnes in its crackdown on milk imports following the Chinese
scare, but the sample tested and found to contain melamine, was taken from seven tonnes, which a single trader had imported.
The news confirms the fears that Tanzania might have narrowly escaped disaster, with traders
having imported contaminated milk from China, where baby milk laced with melamine caused the deaths of four children last July, and had by September infected 94,000
other people across several continents.
Yesterday, the TFDA Director-General, Dr Singonda Ndomondo, confirmed receiving a
report from South Africa, indicating that the Chinese milk was contaminated.
The news will shock many consumers and might jolt the market, considering that about 70
per cent of the milk and milk products consumed in Tanzania are imported. With a population of
more than 4 million, Dar es Salaam needs at least a million litres of milk a day, but the
local processors are able to supply less than 60,000 litres a day.
?Yes, it is true that some of the samples we sent to South Africa have tested positive with
melamine chemicals, but everything will be made public on Thursday (tomorrow),? Dr Ndomondo said by telephone, when contacted for comment.
She said the authority, whose responsibility is to ensure the safety of drugs and food sold to
millions of consumers every day, would issue the full report on the Chinese milk saga at a press
briefing in Dar es Salaam.
Dr Ndomondo declined to discuss what steps TFDA was taking to mitigate the consequences of the findings until the full report was tabled before the authorities.
However, The Citizen independently established that the TFDA planned to destroy the
seven tonnes of the contaminated Chinese milk impounded.
A total of 34 tonnes of imported powdered milk was seized from several traders in September,
after the board banned imports of Chinese milk.
Local tests didn?t yield anything, hence the decision to send the samples to South Africa,
which has more sophisticated laboratories. A source told The Citizen that
the Dar es Salaam trader who brought in the contaminated milk cargo had been informed about the findings.
He said: ?A condemnation certificate has been issued to him. Among other things, he will
be required to pay for the cost of destruction of the tainted milk.? However, The Citizen
couldn?t establish when this will be done.
Tanzania reacted quickly to an alert issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) at the height of the Chinese milk saga.
TFDA also suspended the issuing of import licences for milk products until the investigation
is concluded.
Senegal, Liberia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ivory
Coast, and Togo also slapped bans on Chinese milk imports after investigations in China found in
milk traces of melamine, a chemical used to make plastics.
The Chinese milk scandal involved milk and infant formula, and other food materials and
components, which had been adulterated.
The scandal broke on July 16, after 16 babies who had been fed on milk powder produced by
Shijiazhuang-based Sanlu Group were diagnosed with kidney stones.
With China's wide range of export food products, the scandal has affected countries on all the
continents.
According to scientific journals, melamine is a hard synthetic substance better known for its
flame retardant properties.
The nitrogen-rich molecule is sometimes illegally added to food products in order to increase
their apparent protein content.
It has also been employed as a non-protein nitrogen, appearing in soy meal, corn gluten meal and cottonseed meal used in cattle feed.
Melamine is known to cause renal and urinary problems in humans and animals when it reacts with cyanuric acid inside the body, sometimes present in drinking water and in animal feed, so its use in food production is universally banned.
Melamine adulteration of food products made headlines when pet food was recalled in Europe and the United States in 2007.
A number of arrests were made following the scandal in China.
The head of Sanlu, seven local government officials, as well as the director of the
administration of quality supervision, inspection and quarantine were sacked or forced
to resign over the scandal.
The WHO described Chinese milk saga as one of the largest food safety concerns it has had to
deal with in recent years. In late October, it was discovered that the problem had
spread to eggs and possibly other food categories.
habari hii ipo katika gazeti la Citizen na serikali bado imepoa haitoa taarifa watu wakaelewa nini kinaweza kuwasibu na wapi wakimbilie kikiwapata. Haki ya mlaji ipo wapi?
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