-Marilyn Collins
There is no need for Guyanese to be concerned at the moment in the wake of the deaths of four babies and the sickening of thousands of others who consumed milk from Chinese company, Yili, according to head of the Food and Drugs Analyst Depart-ment, Marilyn Collins.

Collins speaking to Stabroek News yesterday  said her inspectors have been checking for the contaminated milk products but none was found.
However, she did observe that some milk products, such as Cadbury, and Heinz and Mars products such as Milky Way and M&Ms, may have been made in China but this is not stated on the packets. She said there have been cases where this has happened but the company may say on the packet that the item was made in the country where the company is based. She pointed out that for this very reason the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has been stressing that companies should state on packages the country where the item was made.

Marilyn Collins

And Collins said also that it may be necessary for her department to send out an advisory on the issue as Chinese nationals who come to Guyana could be using the products.
The infant baby milk and other products have been found to contain traces of melamine, a chemical used in the manufacture of plastic.

White Rabbit

Meanwhile, over in Trinidad stocks of White Rabbit Creamy toffees and several biscuits which were made in China have since been removed from shelves in that country.
According to the Trinidad Express, that country’s Ministry of Health in a release on Tuesday announced that the removal of the products came in the wake of what is happening in China.
The ministry said that it was feared that some of the products made in China with milk from the same company may still be on store shelves. And the Ministry of Health’s inspectors in that country have also increased their scope to identify products containing the milk which led to the removal of the products.

According to international news agencies Cadbury was forced to withdraw 11 brands of chocolate from the Far East market while Heinz has said it would stop using Chinese milk in its food processing operations in mainland China and Hong Kong.

Food giant Unilever has also recalled Lipton-brand milk tea in Hong Kong after traces of melamine were found.
China has pulled 7,000 tons of milk and milk products from the supply chain since leaders were told of the contamination by the New Zealand government a few weeks ago.
Sanlu, the country’s biggest producer of baby formula and part-owned by a New Zealand company, had received complaints about children suffering from kidney stones after drinking its products since December. But it awaited full test results before informing local authorities, which then covered up the crisis fearing social unrest and embarrassment before the Olympics.

In all, milk supplies from 22 companies have been found to be affected. Melamine is thought to have been added to supplies by farmers and middlemen because it can disguise low protein readings in watered down and poor quality milk.

Chinese police have so far detained 36 people and formally arrested and charged 27 in connection with the scandal. (Oluatoyin Alleyne)