Reflections Continue...

Mummy has been meeting up with different friends over the last few days that we have been back in Singapore. Through their conversations, it then became obvious to Mummy that a lot of people are not totally informed of what's the inside causing the entire milk scandal... The banned list is growing longer and longer on a daily basis and Mummy just wonders how would one ever remember what product of what brand is banned. They will probably avoid that brand totally. Friends tell mummy that they are now avoiding all made in China items, including vegetables, milk, clothes etc... Mummy's totally astonished... It's not that Mummy is siding with China on this issue (adding such artificial content is definitely incorrect), but she does think that it is not possible to avoid everything made in China given that China is such a huge agricultural and manufacturing country. And of course, us having reside there, we can't avoid the "Made in China" stuff at all. So Mummy's key is always "consume in moderation". Of course, it's different for babies, given that they are still developing and their tolerance level is much much lower (that explains why Mummy is stocking up for me).

As to friends who do not understand the milk scandal issue, Mummy thinks that she should explain this on my blog, so that at least her friends understand what's going on.

Why melamine is added
Melamine has been added to the milk as the milk suppliers (who are trying to earn better profits) diluted the milk with water. Melamine contains nitrogen levels that can falsely increase the protein content of the milk. The melamine content is probably not detected by the brands when they purchased milk from these suppliers as this content should not be present in the milk itself. It is artificially added without the brands' knowledge.

Do not panic...
Here's a quote from an article published in the EU that Mummy has read on the website "Even if present in foods in Europe, milk powder contaminated with melamine is not likely to cause the kind of public health disaster that is occurring among Chinese infants. Because the harm caused by melamine is related to someone's weight, it is far less harmful to older children and not likely to be dangerous for adults. Also, for children and adults in Europe, melamine-contaminated milk powder is one small component of a broader diet." In SanL*'s case, it was because the milk suppliers added way too much melamine and this has caused the deaths and casualties we have been seeing in the news."