With all the scares and international attention China has been receiving because of its adulterated milk, which has spread to other products that use milk, such as candy, biscuits etc., Australia has taken the additional step to start testing for melamine in fruits and vegetables.
There are fears in Australia, (which last year imported more then $85 million of food items from China, which are mostly frozen and canned products) that the vegetables and fruits from China may be contaminated with melamine.
Australian authorities from Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) are looking into the allegations and setting up testing protocols to ensure the safety of the products.
At this stage, Lydia Buchtmann of FSANZ, says they are looking into the reports and conducting risk assessments, but as of today, no contamination has been uncovered.
In the meantime more testing both in China and in Australia.
More news:
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24465192-36398,00.html
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/newsroom/factsheets/factsheets2008/melamineinfoodsfromchina/riskassessmentandref4064.cfm
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/newsroom/factsheets/factsheets2008/melamineinfoodsfromchina/index.cfm
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,434364,00.html
Technorati Tags: China, melamine, Australia, vegetables
