By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
Anxiety over products containing the toxic chemical melamine is growing as the contamination is also being found in coffee creamer products imported from China and a range of other milk dairy products.
The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) said Friday it discovered that Yuchang F.C.’s coffee creamer imported from China was contaminated with melamine.
Of the 41 tons of imported ``Vegetable Creamer Powder F25’,’’ only 16 tons have been confiscated, with the rest already distributed to fast food chains, discount stores, hotels and operators of coffee vending machines.
``We’ve ordered a recall of the product and imposed a ban on the imports,’’ a KFDA official said.
Melamine is a protein-rich chemical used in the production of plastics and glues. At least four infants have died in China and more than 50,000 taken ill through consuming milk powder and other dairy products containing traces of the chemical.
The KFDA also banned the distribution and marketing of 304 dairy products imported from China until it completes an examination. It will disclose the list of products on its homepage (www.kfda.go.kr).
The authorities ordered a recall Thursday of two contaminated snack products, ``Misarang Custard’’ sold by Haitai Confectionary and ``Milk Rusk,’’ a snack imported by J&J International from Hong Kong.
Moreover, some snacks imported from China even contained cancer-causing substances, but only 1 percent of these harmful biscuits have been recalled so far, according to a KFDA report to the National Assembly.
Lawmakers slammed the food agency for a lack of preemptive countermeasures in the face of growing food safety concerns.