Chinese babies as far as I knowPhilBilly said:That's really sad. It makes me think more about the stuff the Chinese have been putting in our food/products.
Are these people poisoning their own babies or other peoples babies?
I mean are the parents poisoning their own children or is this a gubmint conspiracy or are these just sick freaks sneaking it into other peoples formula?fallon said:Chinese babies as far as I know
I believe...and someone can correct me if I'm wrong here...the way I heard it was that the dairy company is adding the chemical to their powdered milk and selling it to the formula companysPhilBilly said:I mean are the parents poisoning their own children or is this a gubmint conspiracy or are these just sick freaks sneaking it into other peoples formula?
sadly enough that doesn't shock me at alleleventy1!! said: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.
breastfeeding being more common wouldn't have changed any of this. Formula is not poison and isn't to blame for thisMindy said:*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...
Urea and formaldehyde? Piss and embalming fluid. And no one thought there might be anything wrong with eating the stuff? :arghh: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.
Since then it's been considered terrible for food.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.
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.