Since the trace amount of the discovered melamine was less than the designated risk factor, the name of the manufacturer was withheld. However, that same manufacturer had tested previously with no result.
Tom Daschle, as the head designee of the HHS will oversee the FDA. This test was below the US designated risk threshold, but why have any? Or to the other points, how much was really tested, and why did the manufacturer’s test produce no result?
In addition, part of the discussion we must have is more than about one time incidences. We must better evaluate cumulative effects over time with one or more trace contaminants. These types of tests have been lacking, leaving us, the consumer, to have to guess. Since food contamination is now a global issue, perhaps this kind of testing should be multinational.
U.S. finds trace of melamine in baby formula
Reuters
Published: November 26, 2008
By Susan Heavey
[U.S. health officials have found trace amounts of the chemical melamine in one sample of infant formula sold in the United States, a Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman said on Tuesday.
“There’s no basis for concern because we’re talking about trace levels that are so low … that there’s absolutely no risk,” FDA spokeswoman Judy Leon said.
Melamine-tainted formula was found earlier this year in China, where thousands of children fell ill and several died. In September, the FDA sought to assure parents and said there was no similar contamination threat in the United States….]
http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2008/11/26/europe/OUKWD-UK-FOOD-MELAMINE-INFANTS.php
I Own My Vote, PUMA, The Denver Group, Just Say No Deal
Grab and Keel 
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