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Music-dad · 10-03-2008, 03:21 PM

I heard about this, and listened to a CBC broadcast about it.

The company in question, had been absolved from testing and regulation for some reason, and thought they would get away with it. They did it knowingly and it is appauling, just like they knowingly painted kids toys with toxic paint way back when.

Sad when the almighty dollar becomes more important than safety and well-being.....give me 5 mins alone with them in a dark alley.

eleventy1!! · 10-03-2008, 03:41 PM

A correspondent on NPR said that the Chinese government was aware of this problem and the injuries it was causing for many months before finally going public. They wanted to avoid bad press before and during the Olympics.

PhilBilly · 10-03-2008, 07:04 PM

That sounds about par for the course.

fallon · 10-03-2008, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eleventy1!!

A correspondent on NPR said that the Chinese government was aware of this problem and the injuries it was causing for many months before finally going public. They wanted to avoid bad press before and during the Olympics.

sadly enough that doesn't shock me at all

fallon · 10-04-2008, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mindy

*Sigh* so sad for those poor babies. Just one of the reasons I wish breastfeeding was more common.

Not that it should be in formula anyway, but still. How awful...

breastfeeding being more common wouldn't have changed any of this. Formula is not poison and isn't to blame for this

zeitgeist · 11-12-2008, 12:36 AM

I'm never happy, particularly with stories like this, not knowing the facts about what's being discussed.

What is Melamine?

Quote:

Melamine is an organic compound that is often combined with formaldehyde to produce melamine resin, a synthetic polymer which is fire resistant and heat tolerant. Melamine resin is a very versatile material with a highly stable structure. Uses for melamine include whiteboards, floor tiles, kitchenware, fire retardant fabrics, and commercial filters. Melamine can be easily molded while warm, but will set into a fixed form. This property makes it ideally suited to certain industrial applications.

Melamine resin is manufactured by mixing urea with formaldehyde under heat and pressure. The substances begin to polymerize and are forced into a mold which will create the desired shape. Under pressure, melamine releases water, which could make the plastic unstable if it is not removed. The materials finish polymerizing and create a finished product, melamine resin.

Urea and formaldehyde? Piss and embalming fluid. And no one thought there might be anything wrong with eating the stuff?

Quote:

Aside from common commercial uses, melamine became a topic of much discussion in early 2007, when veterinary scientists determined it to be the cause of hundreds of pet deaths, because of pet food contamination. Prior to these reports, melamine had been regarded as non-toxic or minimally toxic.

Since then it's been considered terrible for food.

So how and why could it have made its way back into the food supply?

Quote:

How the same substance that had killed pets and was officially banned in China as an additive in food just last year wound up in baby formula and so many other food products is a story of desperate farmers, complicit chemical companies, and government officials who looked the other way. All were part of a system that allowed the network of melamine dealers to thrive.

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