Melamine update: 10 June 2009

On 7 November 2008 the Agency changed the way it presents the latest information about products tested in the UK and found to be contaminated with melamine.

The Agency will still use Food Alerts for Action to notify the public and enforcement authorities about any products considered to be a risk to public health – or where the company has not taken appropriate action to withdraw the product. These products will be added to the list below and feature in a separate news story.

Contaminated products that are not a risk to health will also be added to the list below but will no longer be issued as separate Food Alerts for Information or feature in a separate news story.

You can find out more about food alerts towards the end of this page. The way the Agency alerts the public about all other food products will remain the same.

For information about melamine in animal feed, see our animal feed section.

Products found in the UK (sampled in November 2008) – published 10 June 2009

Local authority/business	Product details	Melamine levels (mg/kg)	Action
Southwark Council	Importer: Double Happiness Wholesale Ltd Product: Strawberry Flavour Stick Biscuits Best before: 3 December 2009 Size: 46g Batch: 080602	4.0	Withdrawn/destruction

Products found in the UK – published 25 November 2008

Local authority/business	Product details	Melamine levels (mg/kg)	Action
Liverpool City Council	Importer: Double Happiness Wholesale Ltd Product: Strawberry Flavour Stick Biscuits Best before: 3 December 2009 Size: 46g Batch: 080602	8.0	Withdrawn/destruction
Liverpool City Council	Importer: Double Happiness Wholesale Ltd Product: Almond and Chocolate Flavour Stick Biscuits Best before: 3 December 2009 Size: 46g Batch: 080602	5.8	Withdrawn/destruction

Products found in the UK – published 21 November 2008

Local authority/business	Product details	Melamine levels (mg/kg)	Action
Gloucestershire County Council Trading Standards Officer	Importer: Double Happiness Wholesale Ltd Product: White Rabbit Creamy Candies Best before: 20 November 2009 Batch: 7809057	110.0	Withdrawn/destruction
Gloucestershire County Council Trading Standards Officer	Importer: Double Happiness Wholesale Ltd Product: White Rabbit Creamy Candies Best before: 20 November 2009 Batch: 7809057	98.0	Withdrawn/destruction

Products found in the UK – published 14 November 2008

Local authority/business	Product details	Melamine levels (mg/kg)	Action
London Borough of Haringey	Importer: Loon Fung Ltd Product: Koala's March Chocolate Biscuit Best before: 7 November 2009 Batch: LB4101C	4.2	Withdrawn/destruction

Products found in the UK – published 11 November 2008

Local authority/business	Product details	Melamine levels (mg/kg)	Action
Hoo Hing Ltd	Importer: Hoo Hing Ltd Product: 'Oriental Home' Almond and Chocolate flavour stick biscuits Best before: 3 December 2009 Batch: 080602	7.2	Withdrawn/destruction
Spencer & Fleetwood Ltd	Importer: Spencer & Fleetwood Ltd Product: Lollipop Boob (chocolate) Best before: January 2010 Batch: (0806996) Lot# LB 8202	17.0	Withdrawn/destruction

Products found in the UK – published 7 November 2008

Local authority/business	Product details	Melamine levels (mg/kg)	Action
Spencer & Fleetwood Ltd	Importer: Spencer & Fleetwood Ltd Product: Cheeky Chocolate Bottoms Best before: January 2010 Batch: (0806996), Lot#: LB8202	60.0	Withdrawn/destruction
Spencer & Fleetwood Ltd	Importer: Spencer & Fleetwood Ltd Product: Lollipop Boobs (Chocolate) Best before: January 2010 Batch: (0806996), Lot#: LB8202	58.6	Withdrawn/destruction
Spencer & Fleetwood Ltd	Importer: Spencer & Fleetwood Ltd Product: Chocolate Bottom (Cheeky Chocolates Milk Chocolate Bottom) Best before: January 2010 Size: 42g Batch: Lot#:LB8202 (10/10/08)	15.0	Withdrawn/destruction
Spencer & Fleetwood Ltd	Importer: Spencer & Fleetwood Ltd Product: Chocolate Boobs (Fifi's Boobies Au Chocolat) Best before: January 2010 Size: 80g Batch: Lot#: LB8202 (02/10/08)	15.0	Withdrawn/destruction
Scobie (Llarn) Ltd	Importer: Scobie (Llarn) Ltd Product: Chocolate Body Pen Best before: May 2010 Batch: 0807160	153.0	Withdrawn/destruction
Scobie (Llarn) Ltd	Importer: Scobie (Llarn) Ltd Product: Strawberry Body Pen Best before: May 2010 Batch: 0807160	259.0	Withdrawn/destruction
Scobie (Llarn) Ltd	Importer: Scobie (Llarn) Ltd Product: Chocolate Pot Best before: May 2010 Size: 40g Batch: 0807160	126.0	Withdrawn/destruction
Bristol City Council Trading Standards Service	Importer: Double Happiness Ltd Product: Strawberry Flavour Stick Biscuits Best before: 2 December 2009 Batch: LOT 080602	11.0	Withdrawn/destruction
Essex County Council Trading Standards Service	Importer: Jazz Trading Co Ltd Product: White Rabbit Creamy Candies Best before: 20 December 2009 Bar code: 6901786 150023 Pack size: 227g	7.5	Withdrawn/destruction
Lucky Dip (Nottingham) Ltd	Importer: Lucky Dip Ltd Product: Lucky Dip Delicious Christmas Treat Pop Best before: 30 September 2009 Pack size: 25g Batch code: 258	28.9	Withdrawn/destruction
Lucky Dip (Nottingham) Ltd	Importer: Lucky Dip Ltd Product: Lucky Dip Delicious Halloween Treat Chocolate Pop Best before: 30 September 2009 Pack size: 25g Batch code: 258	46.2	Withdrawn/destruction
London Borough of Hounslow - Food Safety Team	Importer: Jazz Trading Co Ltd Product: White Rabbit Candies Best before: 20 December 2009 Pack size: 454g	18.0	Withdrawn/destruction
Essex County Council Trading Standards Service	Importer: SeeWoo Foods Ltd Product: Koala Brand Chocolate Snack (Cookies) Best before: July 2009 Pack size: 49g Product code: A04593 Product code: 11207	5.5	Withdrawn/destruction

Products rejected at the UK border – published 7 November 2008

Port health authority	Product details	Melamine levels (mg/kg)	Action
Suffolk Coastal Port Health Authority	Importer: Interlink Direct Ltd Product: Soft Milk Candy (Melon flavour) Brand: Oishi Best before: 22 January 2010 Size: 120g	3.3	Destruction
Suffolk Coastal Port Health Authority	Importer: Interlink Direct Ltd Product: Soft Milk Candy (Strawberry flavour) Brand: Oishi Best before: 22 January 2010 Size: 120g	11.0	Destruction
Suffolk Coastal Port Health Authority	Importer: Interlink Direct Ltd Product: Soft Milk Candy Brand: Oishi Best before: 22 January 2010 Size: 120g	5.0	Destruction

The European Commission has said that products from China containing milk products should be tested for melamine. Any products found to contain more than 2.5mg/kg of melamine must be withdrawn from the market and destroyed. These requirements came into effect on 15 October 2008 and are laid down in Commission Decision 2008/798/EC, which can be found on the Commission website towards the end of this page.

The Food Standards Agency works with port health authorities and local authorities to ensure EU controls are strictly enforced. There has been a longstanding ban on the import of milk and other products of animal origin from China as controls on the food industry in China do not meet the very strict requirements set in the EU.

If there is a problem with a food product that means it should not be sold, then it might be 'withdrawn' (taken off the shelves) or 'recalled' (when customers are asked to return the product). Food alerts are the FSA's way of letting local authorities and consumers know about problems associated with food and, in some cases, providing details of specific action to be taken. They are issued under two categories:

• Food Alerts: for Action
• Food Alerts: for Information

You can get FSA alerts either by email or SMS text. Visit the Get Alerts page at the link below to find out how.

You can also subscribe to our Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed for food and allergy alerts. RSS is a format for distributing news content and is a simple way to keep up to date with the latest news on a website. When we publish via RSS, you can automatically get the updated content via a 'news aggregator' or 'news reader'. Our RSS feed will contain a brief summary and link back to our web content. Click on ‘What is RSS’ on the left of this page for more details.