Melamine in milk &you- Our rights to know!!!!!!!!!

China milk poisoning incidents make everyone afraid to look at the daily news report. Everyday the reports are changing. No one can clearly tell us what to eat and not to eat. Enforcement seem so lagging that what should be banned is not banned but still looming large on our food production.

For me, the best way to learn is not from hearsay but to ask lots of questions, questions that may seem silly to others but may be a lesson learnt never too late for others.Its our right to know and lobby for safe food.

1.What really is poisoned milk?

It is the milk powder mixed with "MELAMINE". Melamine is an organic compound not soluble in water and does not react to acid.

2. What is Melamine use for?

It is an industrial chemical use in the production of melamine wares.It is safe to use melamine wares for hot food

It is also used in home decoration."US resistant board"got it? Melamine is use in industrial production! It cannot be eaten

3.Why is Melamine added in milk powder?

The most important nutrient in milk is protein. And Melamine has the same protein that contains "NITROGEN"; it has 66% nitrogen mass and is only dangerous in powder form and when added to food.

Adding Melamine in milk reduces milk content and it is cheaper then milk so it lowers capitalization. It can give the business man more profit!

Below is Melamine. It doesn't look like milk! It doesn't have any smell, so it cannot be detected.

4.When was it discovered?

Wayback in the Year 2007 in US when cats and dogs died suddenly. Then they found that pet food from China contained Melamine.

Starting 2008, there was an abnormal increase in infant cases of kidney stones in China:-

August 2008 : China Sanlu Milk Powder was tested with Melamine.

September 2008 : The New Zealand government asked China to check this problem

September 21, 2008 : lots of food products in Taiwan were tested with Melamine

5.What happens when Melamine is digested?

Melamine remains inside the kidney. It forms into stones blocking the tubes. Pain will be eminent and person cannot urinate. Kidney will then swell.Although surgery can remove the stones, but it will cause irreversible kidney damage. It can lead to loss of kidney function and will require kidney dialysis or lead to death because of uremia.

6.What is dialysis?

In fact, it should be called "blood washing". It is filtering all of the body's blood into the machine and then go back to the body. The whole process takes 4 hours and it is necessary to dialysis once for every 3 days for the rest of your life!

A small hole is required in the arm to insert the sub-dialysis catheter

7.Why is it more serious in babies?

Because the kidney is very small and they drink a lot of milk powder. China currenty has 13,000 infants hospitalized. It does not matter how much a human being took Melamine. The important point is "It cannot be EATEN "

8.What are the foods to be avoided?

In this China`poisoned milk` context, foods that contain dairy products should be avoided.Remember: Foods with creamer or milk should be avoided. Or at least check it out with your nearest Ministry of Health department in your country.

9.What do we do next?

Avoid the `above foods` that are found to contain melamine for at least six months. If you have snack bar, restaurant or coffee shops , STOP selling those `dairy products` for the meantime.

Mothers - if you have infants at home, change to mother's milk or find other substitutes.

Women, especially mothers and wives, can champion for the good cause by keeping watch over the food that is supposed to be banned and act accordingly.

Learn to read more carefully the label on your food product and be aware of where and what the product is made from. The bar code will indicate the place/country of origin and the label will inform you of its contents -makeup .

For your information, the first 3 digits of the barcode is the country code wherein the product was made.

Sample all barcodes that start with 690.691.692 until 695 are all MADE IN CHINA. 471 is Made in Taiwan

This is our human rights to know.

00 ~ 13 USA & CANADA

30 ~ 37 FRANCE

40 ~ 44 GERMANY

49 ~ JAPAN

50 ~ UK

57 ~ Denmark

64 ~ Finland

76 ~ Switzerland and Lienchtenstein

628~ Saudi-Arabien

629 ~ United Arab Emirates

740 ~ 745 - Central America

All 480 Codes are Made in the Philippines.

Once again - IT IS OUR HUMAN RIGHTS TO KNOW - yes, to know whether our food is contaminated with Melamine or not. I hope the little information above will make us more informed and help us to understand what the whole world is shouting about.

YOU CAN MAKE THE DIFFERENCE IF YOU KNOW YOUR FACTS RIGHT !!!!