Asia Food Tainting Spreads, Leading to Recall in U.S.

Two weeks after Chinese companies began recalling infant milk formula because of contamination by an industrial chemical, foods tainted with that chemical are now turning up in other parts of China and Asia, sparking fears in other parts of the world.

In Hong Kong, Heinz foods recalled its vegetable formula baby cereal this week after some samples of it tested positive for Melamine. A Pizza hut in Taiwan said that cheese packets were discovered and they were similarly contaminated. On Friday officials in Macao, a Chinese territory, said that the chemical had turned up in Koala-shaped cookies made by a Japanese-owned company. This week several African nations moved to ban imports of Chinese dairy products. In the Untied States, the FDA said that some instant coffee and tea drinks, all containing a nondairy creamer from China, had been recalled for fear of contamination. This is the first recall in the States growing out of the melamine scare. The King Car Food Industrial Company of Taiwan had called back products sold under Mr.Bron label, which are usually sold in stores specializing in Asian foods. The company's tests in Taiwan had determined that its nondairy creamer was contaminated by melamine. So far there has been no contaminated products found on American shelves. Milk-based products imported from China into the United States in recent weeks have been undergoing extensive testing, according to the FDA. So far there has been no signs of contamination. king Car Food recently began buying nondairy creamer from China, where Shandong Duqing Inc. produces it, according to Linda Chen, the manager for the Sunny Maid corporation, the importer. These instances are increasing fears that products from China's dairy industry could pose health risks worldwide. More than 50,000 children have gotten sick from melamine-tainted dairy products, according to the Chinese government. In recent years exports of food ingredients from China have boomed and some health experts say that it may take some time to determine whether melamine seeped into food products that incorporated any of those ingredients. On Friday the World Health organization warned health officials around the world to be alert for dairy products that come from China that could be tainted. Similar warnings have been issued by health officials in Europe and the United States. The Chinese government are investigating the safety of the country's dairy supply and that has left supermarkets shelves in China empty of domestic dairy brands. The Chinese dairy industry had another setback on Friday, when one of China's biggest candy makers said it halted sale of a popular brand, White Rabbit Creamy Candy. after tests found some candies tainted with melamine. Meanwhile many big companies are scrambling to assure customers that their products are safe. Starbucks has already replaced fresh milk with soy milk in many of its stores in China and McDonald's said that the ice cream in its restaurants in China was untainted. The company Kraft said its Oreo cookies did not contain dairy fillings from China.