.Melamine scare worries Asia's trick-or-treaters
MANILA, Philippines (AP) - Trick or treat? But no melamine, please.
As the busiest night for kids descended on some Asian households Friday, many parents were spooked by a real threat lurking inside candy, especially those made in China - the industrial chemical melamine.
"Of course, it's always better to look and be careful and make sure that nothing slips by," said Felix Barrientos, who took his masqueraded child to the front lawns of Manila's posh Magallanes gated community, where residents set up stalls with candy bowls.
"We more or less know which ones are on the banned list. It has been widely disseminated," he said.
Similar stories were heard in other parts of Asia, where Halloween parties are mostly reserved for American expatriates and other foreigners but have of late caught on with wealthier Asians.
In Bangkok, Thailand, Chompoonuch Kitsomsub, a mother of four, said she is not buying any candy from China. She took her kids trick-or-treating in an expatriate neighborhood where they "serve safe candy."
Her daughter, 5-year-old Yayee Kitsomsub, dressed as Batgirl, said, "We know we need to be careful because bad people put bad things in the candy."
Milk powder contaminated with melamine has been blamed for the deaths of four infants and for sickening about 54,000 others in mainland China.
Melamine is used in the manufacturing of plastics, fertilizer, paint and adhesives, and has been added to dairy products to make them appear more nutritious. Health experts say ingesting a small amount poses no danger, but in larger doses, the chemical can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure.
Magallanes and many other wealthy communities in Manila have adopted U.S.-style Halloween traditions, but giving away candy and dressing in spooky costumes is still a novelty for the rest of the Philippines, where half of the population wallows in poverty.
Outside the high walls, smooth roads and freshly cut grass, there are no carved pumpkins and corn stalks and most people are preparing for Saturday's All Saints Day, one of the most important days in the Roman Catholic calendar when Philippine families head to cemeteries to pay respects to the dead.
But for those with money to spread around, the fear of melamine is this Halloween's biggest scare.
"I'll go through their candies and check and make sure that everything is OK," said Rachel Traupe, an American expat with a daughter dressed like Princess Fiona from "Shrek."
Other parents expressed similar worries, saying they would screen candy and weed out those made in China.
Agile Zamora, a mother dressed in black with a witch hat, said she was careful where she bought her supply of sweets.
"I worry about melamine, but we bought this in a good store," she said while handing over packed cookies to a crowd of ghosts, witches, a Spider-Man and lots of small bloodied faces.
Philippine health officials have banned all Chinese-made milk products until they are tested, but only about half a dozen Chinese dairy products have been found to be contaminated with melamine.
Brazilian Lucy Beauchamp was buying sweets at a Bangkok supermarket for kids trick-or-treating in her apartment building.
"I'm trying to find things that don't have any milk - that's the key," she said. "Nobody is really going for the chocolate. This time, Halloween is going to be lots of jellies."
But Beauchamp said it was difficult to determine if a product originated in China, complaining that labels in Asia often had so many languages that the writing was too small to read, and in some cases were covered with Thai-language labels that she couldn't understand.
She pointed to a bin of small chocolates wrapped in bright foil and covered with white, Thai-language stickers. "This one here is probably 100 percent Chinese, and I won't touch it!"
MyWay
As the busiest night for kids descended on some Asian households Friday, many parents were spooked by a real threat lurking inside candy, especially those made in China - the industrial chemical melamine.
"Of course, it's always better to look and be careful and make sure that nothing slips by," said Felix Barrientos, who took his masqueraded child to the front lawns of Manila's posh Magallanes gated community, where residents set up stalls with candy bowls.
"We more or less know which ones are on the banned list. It has been widely disseminated," he said.
Similar stories were heard in other parts of Asia, where Halloween parties are mostly reserved for American expatriates and other foreigners but have of late caught on with wealthier Asians.
In Bangkok, Thailand, Chompoonuch Kitsomsub, a mother of four, said she is not buying any candy from China. She took her kids trick-or-treating in an expatriate neighborhood where they "serve safe candy."
Her daughter, 5-year-old Yayee Kitsomsub, dressed as Batgirl, said, "We know we need to be careful because bad people put bad things in the candy."
Milk powder contaminated with melamine has been blamed for the deaths of four infants and for sickening about 54,000 others in mainland China.
Melamine is used in the manufacturing of plastics, fertilizer, paint and adhesives, and has been added to dairy products to make them appear more nutritious. Health experts say ingesting a small amount poses no danger, but in larger doses, the chemical can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure.
Magallanes and many other wealthy communities in Manila have adopted U.S.-style Halloween traditions, but giving away candy and dressing in spooky costumes is still a novelty for the rest of the Philippines, where half of the population wallows in poverty.
Outside the high walls, smooth roads and freshly cut grass, there are no carved pumpkins and corn stalks and most people are preparing for Saturday's All Saints Day, one of the most important days in the Roman Catholic calendar when Philippine families head to cemeteries to pay respects to the dead.
But for those with money to spread around, the fear of melamine is this Halloween's biggest scare.
"I'll go through their candies and check and make sure that everything is OK," said Rachel Traupe, an American expat with a daughter dressed like Princess Fiona from "Shrek."
Other parents expressed similar worries, saying they would screen candy and weed out those made in China.
Agile Zamora, a mother dressed in black with a witch hat, said she was careful where she bought her supply of sweets.
"I worry about melamine, but we bought this in a good store," she said while handing over packed cookies to a crowd of ghosts, witches, a Spider-Man and lots of small bloodied faces.
Philippine health officials have banned all Chinese-made milk products until they are tested, but only about half a dozen Chinese dairy products have been found to be contaminated with melamine.
Brazilian Lucy Beauchamp was buying sweets at a Bangkok supermarket for kids trick-or-treating in her apartment building.
"I'm trying to find things that don't have any milk - that's the key," she said. "Nobody is really going for the chocolate. This time, Halloween is going to be lots of jellies."
But Beauchamp said it was difficult to determine if a product originated in China, complaining that labels in Asia often had so many languages that the writing was too small to read, and in some cases were covered with Thai-language labels that she couldn't understand.
She pointed to a bin of small chocolates wrapped in bright foil and covered with white, Thai-language stickers. "This one here is probably 100 percent Chinese, and I won't touch it!"
MyWay
posted by madtom at 10:58 AM
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