Vigilance needed to ensure safe infant food

                   WHO and FAO alert countries to possible spread of

                            melamine-contaminated dairy products

      WHO and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are urging affected countries to ensure safe feeding of millions of infants following the ongoing melamine-contaminated milk crisis in China. The two agencies also call on countries to be alert to the possible spread of melamine-contaminated dairy products.

      “While breastfeeding is the ideal way of providing infants with the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development, it is also critical to ensure that there is an adequate supply of safe powdered infant formula to meet the needs of infants who are not breastfed”, said Dr Jorgen Schlundt, Director of the WHO Food Safety Department.

      Replacing powdered infant formula with other products such as condensed milk, honey mixed with milk, or fresh milk is inappropriate as such products would put at risk the safety and nutritional status of this vulnerable population group, the two agencies advised.

      “Restoring consumer confidence is critical. Melamine-contaminated products should be removed from the food chain in order to prevent further exposure. The safe supply of dairy products needs to be restored immediately,” said Dr Ezzeddine Boutrif, Director of the FAO Nutrition and Consumer Protection Division.

Safe feeding for infants

      WHO recommends that all infants should be fed exclusively with breast milk for the first six months of life. No other liquid or food, not even water, is needed during this period. Thereafter, infants should receive adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding continues up to two years of age and beyond.

      Following reports of findings of imported melaminecontaminated products in several countries over the last two weeks, countries should closely monitor their markets. The two agencies highlighted that melamine-contaminated products could reach markets in other countries through both formal and informal trade. Getting information about the origin of the product, up-to-date recall information or in some cases testing for melamine contamination might be considered. If found contaminated, appropriate actions such as product recall and safe disposal should be taken, based on an assessment of the risk to human health.      

Safe supply of food critical 

      Food safety is not the sole responsibility of public authorities. The food industry is also responsible for ensuring a safe supply of food to the consumer. “It is critical that the industry strongly invests in food safety and adopts a food safety culture covering the food chain from raw materials through to the final product,” said Dr Boutrif.

      Incidents such as melamine contamination in China not only impact food safety and human health but also put the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of dairy farmers at risk. “There is a need for countries to do major investment in strengthening their food control and food-borne disease surveillance systems as it could minimize the potential occurrence of food safety incidents like this one”, said Dr Schlundt. 

      The melamine-contaminated dairy products event first came to the attention of the international organizations on 11th September. Both WHO and FAO have used the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) to inform and update national food safety authorities on this crisis, one of the largest in recent years.

      Over 54,000 children have sought medical treatment in China after drinking melamine-contaminated infant formula. Almost 12,900 are currently hospitalized. 

      Melamine is commonly used in food contact materials (e.g. containers, labels, etc.) and can also be used in agriculture production such as fertilizer. Whether this has a potential for carry-over into food at low concentrations (usually in the range of microgram per kilogram) and further impact on human health may need further evaluation.

      Melamine on its own is of low toxicity. But animal studies have suggested that kidney problems occur when melamine is present in combination with cyanuric acid, a potential impurity of melamine. The level of melamine found in the contaminated infant formula has been as high as 2,560 miligram per kilogram of food, while the level of cyanuric acid is unknown.

                                                                          Available in: http://www.who.int 

              Anxiety Medication: Over Prescribed and

                              Causing Overdoses

      According to a story on NBC New York, more and more patients are ending up in New York City hospitals having over dosed on Xanax. Xanax is in the benzodiaziepine family of drugs and it’s used to treat anxiety, nervousness, and panic attacks by decreasing brain activity.

Xanax Overdoses Way Up

NBC New York reports:

      Between 2004 and 2009, New York City emergency room visits involving Xanax and other anti-anxiety prescription drugs known as benzodiazepines increased more than 50 percent. That’s up from 38 out of 100,000 New Yorkers in 2004 to 59 out of 100,000 New Yorkers.

      It’s not the drug by itself that causes the overdoses, but used in combination with other drugs and alcohol, it creates a toxic cocktail which isn’t easily metabolized in the body.

      The drug is habit forming and withdrawal symptoms can include sweating, shaking, difficulty falling asleep, difficulty concentrating, depression, and nervousness. Many fear that the drug is being over prescribed. 

      “I don’t believe they take the time with the patients to figure out what the problems are,” Cali Estes, a drug counselor said to NBC New York. “A doctor who is running short on time and nurses and probably isn’t paid as much as he or she used to be finds it easier to say, ‘OK, this person has a problem, here’s your script, have a nice day. Where’s my next patient?’” 

Whitney Houston’s Death Tied to Xanax and Other Drugs

      Whitney Houston’s recent death is raising questions as to this and other sedatives. Xanax is most often criticized by those in the psychiatric community because it only lasts 6 to 20 hours.

Forbes reports: 

      On the face of it, this seems like a great combination – you get a quick hit of anxiety relief and the drug leaves your system within a 24-hour period. But in practice what often happens is that because the drug acts so quickly and dissipates quickly, the patient begins taking more of it to maintain the effect. Two pills a day turns into four, which turns into six and so forth.

      According to the CDC, prescription drug overdose is now the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S., topping automobile accidents for the first time in 30 years. Currently, Xanax is the 11th most widely prescribed drug in the nation.

                                                     Available in: http://blogs.discovery.com