MELAMINE SCANDAL
Provincial public health offices have begun asking shops and department stores to pull Mali non-sweetened condensed milk off the shelves after the Food and Drug Administration ordered manufacturers to recall the product. FDA tests found the Thai Dairy Industry's product to contain 92.82 milligrammes per kilogramme of melamine, well in excess of the safe level of 2.5 mg/kg.
Public Health Minister Chalerm Yubamrung, meanwhile, continued to insist that drinking milk and other food products with milk ingredients were safe.
Rattanachai Jullanate, chief of Ayutthaya provincial public health office, yesterday ordered all public health district offices to inspect shops in their areas after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ordered a nationwide recall of the unsweetened condensed milk.
Mr Rattanachai warned vendors to comply with the order or face a maximum of two years' imprisonment, or a 20,000-baht fine or both.
In the northern province of Phayao, officials also asked shop owners to pull the product from their shelves.
Supak Wongprasit, chief of Phayao's Chiang Kham district health office, said officials have been instructed to inform local residents about melamine contamination.
A health source said people in the province's Phu Sang district had stopped buying all Mali milk products after news about melamine contamination spread. They were choosing other brands instead.
Mr Chalerm said drinking milk and other food products with milk ingredients sold in local markets were safe for consumption.
He made his remark to allay fears over melamine contamination, saying the FDA had thoroughly checked the products.
There were five labs, including the Medical Science Department's, that can test for melamine contamination, he said.
''I have asked the lab staff to expedite testing and quickly report test results to the public to raise consumer confidence,'' Mr Chalerm said.
Medical Science Department chief Manit Theeratantikanond said it takes two days to test for melamine. The department had tested around 200 samples since the Chinese milk scam broke last month
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