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Medpage Today

“Pointing to the hazards of melamine-containing products from China, the FDA said today it is creating an internal science and policy workgroup to keep a critical eye on the international food supply.Detecting contamination in the increasingly international food supply is “a necessary job of the FDA,” said Randall Lutter, Ph.D., the agency’s deputy commissioner for policy, at a meeting of the agency’s science board.

“And after the melamine contaminations from China — first in pet food last year, and more recently in milk — it is vital to develop a strategy for identifying and preventing potential illnesses, he said. (See: FDA Finds Melamine in Asian Milk Drinks)

“The workgroup will have the assignment of pinpointing companies that appear to be at a high risk for contaminating the food supply with chemicals.”

“There is a fundamental need for us to understand better the economic incentives and cultural norms in other countries,” said Dr. Lutter. This, he added, means recognizing when spiking the food supply with chemicals is likely when it means enough extra profit for a manufacturer so that it offsets any potential penalties.

“During the recent melamine outbreak, FDA officials suspect that melamine may have been added to infant formula to inflate protein levels cheaply.”

Source:  Medpage Today, October 31, 2008