By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) said Sunday that it had detected the harmful chemical melamine in four chocolate and cream puff products.
The KFDA said the contaminant was detected in ``Snickers Peanuts Fun Size'' and ``M&M's'' from Mars Korea; ``KitKat Mini'' from Nestle; and ``Choudy'' from Lotte Confectionary.
This is the first time that the contaminant has been detected in a product made by a Korean company's local subsidiary in China, and brings the number of contaminated food items to 10.
The food agency ordered all the products to be taken off shelves. ``We ordered a recall of the products right after the melamine was detected,'' it said in a statement.
Snickers and M&M's, produced by Mars Foods, the multinational food maker's local subsidiary in China, contained 1.78 parts per million (ppm) and 2.38 ppm of melamine, respectively. KitKat mini made by Nestle Tianjin had 2.89 ppm.
Nestle Korea said the KFDA detected traces of melamine in one batch of eight Nestle confectionery items tested, with no melamine detected in the other seven products. It said in a statement posted on its website that it has complied with the authorities' request. However, it said South Korea has no clear regulations on maximum levels of melamine in foods and the conditions under which the authorities conducted their tests were unclear.
Mars Korea also said in a statement that it will recall the products as it is legally obliged to do so, but added that the melamine levels announced by the KFDA do not pose a health risk.
Choudy is a cream puff product produced by Lotte Qingdao Food, Lotte's Chinese local subsidiary. Four samples made on different dates were found to contain 2.4-3.36 ppm of the toxic chemical.
Choudy is also the first melamine-containing product to be found made by a Korean firm's local subsidiary. ``Misarang Custard'' and ``Misarang Coconut,'' Haitai Confectionary items that were earlier found to be contaminated, were made in China under an original equipment manufacturing (OEM) arrangement.
The food authorities have been testing food products made of powdered milk from China. Among 428 items on the test list, the KFDA had finished examining 295 as of Sunday, with 10 among them being found to be contaminated.
In a separate case, the KFDA has begun inspecting imported vegetables, following news reports that melamine was detected in vegetables and mushrooms in China. Products under test will include not only those from China but also those from all countries.
In the meantime, Rep. Baek Won-woo of the main opposition Democratic Party proposed a bill to allow class action suits against distributors of harmful foods. The bill will allow consumers to file a suit when more than 50 people suffer damage from a food item.
rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr
|
Home l Archives l Learning Times | Sitemap | Subscription l Media Kit l PDF
