Egg products from China contain melamine, says S Korea

by Sanjay Jha | October 22, 2008 at 03:30 am

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After baby milk, dog feed, now there is news that even eggs from China are contaminated. South Koreans have found melamine in the eggs importated from China.

South Korea said on Wednesday that powdered egg and other processed egg products from China have been found to contain minute traces of the ha

rmful chemical melamine. Five out of nine samples tested between October 17 - October 20 produced traces of melamine, South Korea’s agriculture ministry said.

The five samples were produced by two Chinese companies, Dalian Hanovo Foods Co and Dalian Greensnow Egg Products Development.

South Korea has imported about 622 tonnes of processed egg products from China this year and most of it has already been consumed or distributed to end-users, the ministry said in a press statement.

The ministry immediately suspended the import of egg products from the two Chinese companies and asked Beijing quickly to investigate the cases.

It also said it had been testing all kinds of Chinese dairy products since September 28 but they had tested negative for the chemical.

Melamine, an industrial chemical that artificially increases protein content in dairy products, caused an uproar in China last month after traces were discovered in baby milk formula.

Several infants died and tens of thousands more were taken ill.