FDA tightens down on Chinese food imports containing milk

FDA tightens down on Chinese food imports containing milk The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will restrict Chinese food imports that contain milk-based ingredients.
   The FDA said in a Nov. 12 import alert that its districts may 'detain without physical examination all milk products, all milk derived ingredients, and finished food products containing milk from China.'
   In September, infant formula, laced with melamine, sickened more than 53,000 infants in China, and contributed to the deaths of four.
   The FDA said its action is necessary after agency analyses detected levels of melamine and cyanuric acid in a number of Chinese-made food products, such as candy and beverages. 'These contaminated milk components appear to have been dispersed throughout the Chinese food supply chain,' the FDA said.
   'Reports of contamination have come from more than 13 countries in Asia, Europe and Australia, in addition to the United States,' the agency said. 'Additional products from various manufacturers continue to be found to be contaminated with melamine.'
   It's estimated that China exports about $3.8 billion in food to the United States each year. It's unclear yet what impact the FDA restrictions will have on these shipments.
   To view the import alert, access online www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/ora_import_ia9930.html.