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Australia recalls products in tainted milk scandal
2008-10-20
SYDNEY, Australia - Australian officials ordered the recall of a milk drink and cake brand after tests showed they were contaminated with melamine, bringing to six the number of Chinese-made products withdrawn in Australia following China's tainted milk scandal. A spokeswoman for Food Standards Australia New Zealand said Monday that Orion brand Tiramisu Italian Cake with Cheese Cream and Dali Yuan brand First Milk vanilla-flavored drink were recalled Friday after government tests revealed the Chinese-made products contained low levels of melamine, the industrial chemical that has sickened tens of thousands of Chinese children. A sample of the cakes was found to contain 4.4 parts per million of melamine, while the milk drink had 5.8 ppm, Food Standards spokeswoman Lydia Buchtmann said. The agency has set the safe limit at 2.5 ppm. The other products previously recalled in Australia are Kirin Milk Tea, Lotte Koala Biscuits, Cadbury Eclairs and White Rabbit candies. Milk powder contaminated with melamine has been blamed for the deaths of four infants and for sickening about 54,000 others in mainland China. Hong Kong has also found 10 children with kidney stones who had consumed Chinese-made milk products. Melamine is used in the manufacturing of plastics, fertilizer, paint and adhesives. Health experts say ingesting a small amount poses no danger, but in larger doses, the chemical can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure.
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