Halloween Candy Recall Cites Melamine Contamination Risk
The melamine nightmare appears to have arrived in North American in time for Halloween. The Canadian government has issued a recall of Pirate's Gold Milk Chocolate Coins, distributed by Sherwood Brands and sold by Costco.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued no similar recall.
"This product is being recalled due to positive test results for melamine," stated the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). The Gold Coins were sold nationally through Costco, and also may have been sold in bulk packages individually at other dollar and bulk stores, the CFIA warned.
Melamine is the chemical linked with children's deaths and illnesses following contamination of milk and milk products in China, as well as pet deaths and illnesses following contamination of pet food. Melamine is widely used for industrial purposes, but also can be used to spike food products to artificially inflate protein content.
In China, the melamine scare was ratcheted up even further by news that food inspectors found eggs contaminated with high levels of melamine. An estimated 50,000 children in China have been sickened from melamine contamination, and four reportedly have died.
Read about the Canadian recall at inspection.gc.ca.
Read about the egg contamination in China at nytimes.com.
