Milk scare after Saudi finding
Originally published in Gulf Times on December 4, 2008
OUT of the five samples that the Saudi authorities declared as tainted with potentially dangerous chemical melamine on Tuesday, one was still found on the shelves of Doha shops as of yesterday.
Traces of melamine were found in tins of Nestle Nesvita Pro-Bones milk powder from four different production dates in 2007 and 2008, the Saudi Food and Drug Authority’s (SFDA) website said on Tuesday.
The tainted powder was discovered in a random survey of 52 samples of imported products containing milk powder.
“The SFDA found five samples from all the samples tested … tainted with high levels of melamine,” it said, adding that samples of the Malaysia-manufactured Apollo Chocolate Wafer Cream snack bars also contained melamine.
The SFDA did not say what levels of melamine were found or what are considered unsafe.
At least six children have died of kidney failure and 294,000 have fallen ill in China this year after consuming dairy products containing melamine, Beijing said on Monday.
The questionable Nestle NesVita products were manufactured by Shuangcheng Ltd in Heilongjiang, China – and produce from the same factory is available in Qatar as well.
In a statement, Nestle’s headquarters in Switzerland said the products are safe and that the milk powder had already been withdrawn from the Saudi market.
“All Nestle dairy products sold in Saudi Arabia – just as anywhere else in the world – are absolutely safe for consumption. No Nestle product is made from milk adulterated with melamine,” the company said.
Nestle NesVita is available in 400g, 900g and 1.8kg tins in Qatar for approximately QR18, QR32 and QR63.
A 900g pack found on the shelf yesterday at a major co-operative store showed that the Nestle NesVita pro-Bones low fat is made up of skimmed cow milk, milk fat, lactose, milk calcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, soya lecithin, vitamins and minerals and said it is “not to be used for infant feeding”.
The manufacturing date on the tin read 12/11/2007 and it bore batch no 73161142 G. The 900g tin pack that Saudi authorities put on their website as contaminated was manufactured on 19/11/2007 – a difference of seven days.
Nestle NesVita pro-Bones was earlier marketed as ‘Nestle Klim’.
A ‘fat free’ vanilla flavoured variety is also available in Qatar within the NesVita product line, but it is produced in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, the European Union yesterday decided to ban imports of Chinese food for infants and young children containing soya after the recent discovery of melamine-tainted products.
Nestle also markets other well-known dairy products such as Nido, Milo and Nesquik in Qatar, but none of them found in Qatar came from China.
A Nestle Qatar Trading official said: “As regards Qatar, you may note that the product has not been withdrawn, in view of its proven safety for consumption and in agreement with the Qatar Authorities.”
Raef Labaky, Communication and marketing services director Nestle Middle East, told Gulf Times: “On 18 October 2008, the Saudi Arabian authorities requested a precautionary trade withdrawal of milk products made in China, awaiting analytical results. In accordance with Nestle’s corporate business principles, the company immediately complied with the authorities’ request and organised a trade withdrawal of Nesvita Pro Bones Low Fat.
“On December 3, 2008, the Saudi Arabian authorities said they found traces of melamine in the already withdrawn Nesvita Pro Bones Low Fat. The product, which is not available on the market anymore, was tested by Nestle as well as by an accredited independent laboratory previously.
“The results were well below the limits defined by a number of governments, including Canada, New Zealand, the European Union, and by international organisations such as the World Health Organisation (WHO).”
Qatar General Organisation for Standards and Metrology chief, Mohamed bin Saif al-Kuwari told Gulf Times: “You will have to call the Ministry of Public Health of the National Health Authority (NHA). If they request us to investigate we can do so at our labs.”
A NHA official said: “As it is after hours, we can follow this up first thing tomorrow morning.”
Melamine found in milk powder, says Saudi – Page 7
As Published
