WHO CAC Rome Annual Meeting lowers the upper limit of melamine content

The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), jointly established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), held its annual meeting in Rome, Italy these days to formulate standards for food additives or drug residues. The latest news from foreign media indicates that the committee revised the conclusion it made two years ago in response to the Chinese tainted milk incident and lowered the upper limit of melamine content in infant liquid milk to 0.15 mg per kilogram.

According to the latest news published on the official website of the World Health Organization (WHO), CAC issued a statement on the 4th, saying that everyone at the meeting decided to reduce the limit of "melamine" in infant liquid milk from 1 mg/kg two years ago to only 0.15 mg/kg. As for the content in food and animal feed, it remains at 2.5 mg/kg. It is expected that the Chinese authorities will amend existing food regulations based on this standard and ban and severely punish unscrupulous manufacturers.

The melamine-tainted milk scandal that broke out in 2008 brought shame to mainland China in the international community. A total of six babies died and tens of thousands of children suffered from physical discomfort. Experts emphasize that pollution in nature or during the manufacturing process may cause trace amounts of melamine to be present in some foods. In this case, "zero detection" is somewhat difficult, so this upper limit is set, but it cannot be used as a food additive.

In the same report, CAC also set regulations for common carcinogenic aflatoxins in dried fruits, salmonella in sliced ​​watermelon, norovirus in seafood, etc. It also requires food manufacturers around the world to clearly label the nutritional ingredients and content on the packaging so that consumers can buy with peace of mind and eat healthily.