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SINGAPORE: Singapore authorities have given the assurance that the risk of melamine poisoning to Singaporeans is low. There have been growing concerns after three China-made products in Singapore were found to be laced with the industrial product.
Authorities said the tainted products will have to be consumed over a prolonged period of time before one gets really sick. That's because the body can safely take in and purge some amount of melamine.
The Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) of melamine as established by the US Food and Drug Administration is 0.63 mg/kg body weight.
This means that an adult weighing 60 kg or a child weighing 30 kg can ingest 37.8 mg of melamine and 18.9 mg of melamine respectively, everyday, over a lifetime without any appreciable health risk.
37.8 mg is about the size of a grain of rice.
The Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) cited an example of drinking about 80ml of liquid everyday for an entire lifetime, before the ill effects of melamine take root.
The Ministry of Health also cited an example of an adult weighing about 60kg who ate 47 pieces of the white rabbit candy everyday over a lifetime and the health risk for this adult will still be very low.
For a child who weighs 30 kg, that's about 400 ml of the Dutch Lady Strawberry Flavoured milk daily over a lifetime.
And so there's very little chance that a child will be affected unless his sole source of food is tainted milk.
However, worried parents can still look out for certain symptoms.
Professor Yap Hui Kim, Head of Paediatric Nephrology, National University of Singapore, said: "In infants there will be a pain. And if there is a pain when one urinates, an older child will be able to tell you. Or they would scream when they're passing urine. Many of them will also come down with fever, will be unwell, and will vomit."
To date, government hospitals have not treated any child affected by melamine toxicity as a result of consuming contaminated milk or milk products.
Melamine is also not known to cause deformities in unborn infants.
According to a doctor from KK Hospital, there've also been no calls from parents with queries on this. The doctor added there is no cause of alarm as the amount of melamine found in the products sold in Singapore is too low to cause kidney stones.
The AVA added that it is widening checks to include products made in other countries but may contain China milk-based ingredients.
Dr Chua Sin Bin, CEO, AVA, said: "We have contacted our importers to track down from the suppliers whether their products are manufactured with China milk, as an ingredient. If it is stop it and don't import from them."
He added the AVA will also include melamine under its export certification process to ensure food found in Singapore is certified melamine-free.
Although only three China-made products have been found tainted in Singapore, the AVA said it cannot rule out more of tainted products, as it continues its battery of tests.
As to why melamine was not detected earlier, Dr Chua said 300 chemical compounds come into the market every year. So it needs to take a pragmatic approach to its tests.
He added that no agency in the world conducts food tests for melamine.
He said: "It is a very abnormal occurrence. It is because someone cheated and intentionally added this into the product to beat the system and nobody could dream of that."
Consumers can call the AVA at 6325 7625 or the Ministry of Health at 1800-2254 122 if they have queries.
National Environment Agency (NEA) officers have also been deployed to check on bakeries, cake shops, hawker centres, coffeeshops and school canteens to ensure vendors do not use tainted products. - CNA/vm
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