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Topaz Wafer Rolls Recalled on Melamine Fears

Industrial chemical contaminates more food products

By Lisa Wade McCormick
ConsumerAffairs.com

December 21, 2008

• Virginia Child's Kidney Problems May Be Due to Melamine-Tainted Candy • Chinese Companies Pay $160 Million Over Melamine Scandal • Topaz Wafer Rolls Recalled on Melamine Fears • Melamine Triggers Recall of Cocoa from Canada • Vietnam Company Recalls Biscuits Due to Melamine • USDA Will Test Meat Products for Melamine • Melamine Found in Walgreens Chocolate Bars • Chinese Infant Death Toll from Tainted Formula Rises • Some Melamine in Infant Formula is OK, FDA Says • FDA Finds Melamine in U.S. Infant Formula • FDA Blocks Chinese Products Over Melamine Fears • Melamine Scandal Continues to Expand • FDA's Melamine Decision Scares Consumers • DeLauro Raps FDA On Melamine Risk Guidelines • FDA Issues Report On Melamine and Food Safety • Melamine-Tainted Chinese Candy Shows Up in U.S. • Hershey's Says Chocolates Are Safe from Chinese Melamine Scandal • Cadbury Recalls Chinese-Made Chocolates Due to Melamine • Melamine Scare Spreads to Mr. Brown Coffee • Chinese Gorillas Fall Ill as Melamine Scandal Widens • FDA Updates Chinese Infant Formula Warning • Asian Baby Death Toll From Infant Formula Rises • FDA Issues Warning on Chinese-Made Infant Formula

Melamine contamination continues to trigger recalls of food products. In the latest melamine scare, National Brands Inc. has recalled all its 4.76-ounce and 12.3-ounce cans of Topaz Wafer Rolls.

The wafer rolls involved in this action were sold in four flavors and distributed at retail stores nationwide. The Spring Valley, New York, company said it has not received any reports of illnesses linked to the products. Customers with questions about this action can call the company at 866-238-5201.

This is the second melamine-contamination issue the company has faced in recent weeks.

In late November, the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection warned consumers not to eat National Brand's Topaz Wafer Rolls with Hazlenut Chocolate-Flavored Cream Filling because of melamine contamination.

A sample of those products — tested by the Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station Laboratory — revealed the wafer contained 5 parts per million (ppm) of melamine and the cream filling had more than 7 ppm.

That is well above the 2.5 ppm standard for melamine set by the Food and Drug Administration,

The Chinese-made wafers were sold at Ocean State Job Lot stores in Connecticut and identified as Lot # L821 99D.

Melamine is a chemical used to make plastic and fertilizers. It is not approved for use in human or animal food marketed in the United States — and manufacturers are not allowed to deliberately add it to any food for U.S. consumers.

Concerns about melamine — and its intentional adulteration in imported foods — have repeatedly surfaced in the past year.

In September, Chinese officials discovered melamine in powered infant formula made in that country. Officials learned some dairy plants purposely added the chemical to milk products to make them appear to have higher protein levels.

That contamination is blamed for the deaths of at least six babies in China and the illnesses of thousands of other infants.

Doctors say melamine can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure.

China's melamine-tainted milk scandal has since spread from infant formula to dozens of other food products sold around the world, including candy, coffee, and pretzels.

Melamine is also blamed for the deaths and illnesses of thousands of dogs and cats in the United States in 2007.

FDA officials discovered the chemical in imported wheat gluten from China used to make dog and cat food. Those findings triggered the largest pet food recall in U.S. history.

Although melamine is not supposed to be in animal or human food, the FDA recently concluded that levels below 2.5 parts per million (ppm) do not raise health concerns.

The only exception is infant formula. The FDA now says melamine levels of 1 ppm in infant formula are safe. That is a reversal of the zero tolerance policy for melamine the agency adopted in October.

At that time, the FDA said it was "unable to establish any level of melamine and melamine-related compounds in infant formula that does not raise public health concerns."

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