Experts draw link between tainted milk, kidney stones
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Scientists in China and Hong Kong have established for the first time in a study that consuming the plastic-making chemical melamine can cause kidney stones in people.
At least six children died and 290,000 fell ill in China last year after consuming milk formula tainted with melamine, which was added to cheat protein tests. But the causal link between melamine and kidney problems the children suffered was never scientifically established until now.
The experts studied urine samples of 15 mainland Chinese toddlers with kidney stones and compared those taken from 20 children in Hong Kong who also consumed tainted milk but who did not develop stones.
“We proved that melamine alone can cause stones … Our conclusions are that the higher the concentration of melamine in the urine, the bigger the stones,” said Lawrence Lan, associate consultant at the pediatrics surgery department in Hong Kong’s Queen Mary Hospital.
The experts also found what they considered to be a “safe level” of melamine in urine, above which the person may be prone to develop kidney stones.
“Everyone with stones had melamine levels above that level, and those without stones had melamine concentrations below that level,” Lan said.
The study was published in the International Journal of Clinical Chemistry and Diagnostic Laboratory Medicine.
The milk scandal battered already dented faith in China-made goods and prompted massive recalls of dairy and other food products around the world.
Melamine is used to make fertilizers, plastics and other industrial goods. Rich in nitrogen, it later found its way into food products to fool tests for protein.
It has also been detected in eggs, chocolates, ice creams, yoghurts and other foods.
China has suffered other food additive scandals in the past, including the use of carcinogenic chemicals as food colorings.
(Reporting by Tan Ee Lyn, Editing by Dean Yates)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Related Posts:
By Tan Ee Lyn HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong will soon begin testing meat, vegetables and processed food for melamine, a move that underlines concerns about environmental contamination and food safety, experts say. Thousands of children in China fell sick with kidney problems in recent months after consuming milk that had been mixed with the plastic-making
Full Post: Hong Kong to test meat, vegetables for melamine
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BEIJING (Reuters) - China will launch a pre-Lunar New Year crackdown on food safety, the Health Ministry said on Monday, focusing on illegal use of additives after a milk scandal last year killed at least six babies and made thousands sick. The campaign would focus on seven provinces, including Hebei where the milk contamination scandal began,
Full Post: China to launch pre-New Year food safety campaign
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BEIJING (Reuters) - China has lifted to six the number of children believed killed from drinking toxic milk formula, months after a scare that has battered confidence among local and foreign consumers. The Health Ministry had until now said four infants died from kidney stones and other complications after consuming milk powder tainted with melamine, an
Full Post: China raises death estimate from tainted milk to six
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BEIJING (Reuters) - China is to publish a blacklist of food additives which make products taste better or appear nutritious but are damaging to health, state media said, as it struggles to restore faith in the “made in China” brand. China has weathered a series of health scares in recent months, the most recent being tainted
Full Post: China to draw up blacklist of dangerous ingredients
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BEIJING (Reuters) - China, fighting a health scandal over melamine found in milk and other food products, now says it is investigating melamine tableware, following reports it might be harmful to health when hot. Quality inspectors told Xinhua news agency they were organizing tests of melamine tableware “following reports that some products contained poisonous ingredients.” Melamine is
Full Post: China now probes melamine tableware scare