Over the past week, our scientists have been exchanging information with their international colleagues. Last night, the European Food Safety Authority updated its opinion on the estimated tolerable daily intake (TDI) of melamine and left it unchanged at 0.5 mg/kg bodyweight (ie, for every kg a person weighs they can safely consume 0.5 mg every day – for a 20 kg child this is 10 mg; for a 70 kg adult the safe amount is 35 mg).”
Based on this figure, which is very close to but lower than that of the United States, NZFSA has adopted a conservative threshold of 5 ppm for most foods. This means that it has been considered that foods containing up to 5 ppm of melamine do not pose a risk to human health. However for starter infant formula, this level will be set to the current level of test detection of 1 ppm.
If NZFSA detects amounts above these levels, a risk assessment will be undertaken, taking into account how much melamine is in the food and how much is likely to be eaten in a day. If it is likely that anticipated consumption levels of the food will cause people to exceed the 0.5 mg/kg bodyweight tolerable daily intake, or there is a suspicion of adulteration, then the appropriate regulatory action will be taken.
大大指的是這段吧,全文看完再說吧,紐西蘭的標準是5ppm?
聯合報:三聚氰胺容許量》紐國5ppm 歐盟2.5ppm
歐盟和紐西蘭的食品安全官方網站,昨天都緊急貼出三聚氰胺容許量最新公告,其中歐盟將容許量訂為二點五ppm(百萬分之一濃度),衛生署雖已初步掌握, 但不敢告訴台灣民眾。...而英國食品標準局的網站,這兩天也在網頁發布歐盟食品安全委員會有關三聚氰胺容許量,也是訂為二點五ppm,並指歐洲販售乳製品含三聚氰胺風險很低。
聯合報這則新聞若不是來源有誤又不查證,就是刻意誤導或造假!
一〉根據紐西蘭政府網站,紐西蘭幼童單日危險量為 1 ppm:
"However for starter infant formula, this level will be set to the current level of test detection of 1 ppm."
二〉歐盟食品管理局網站公佈的TDI〈每人每日容忍量〉標準依然 0.5 ppm體重,。請注意,這是每人每日容忍量〈請見下面說明〉,不是產品容許含量上限:
"High levels of melamine can primarily affect the kidneys. EFSA applied the TDI of 0.5 mg/kg body weight for melamine in a specific case of contamination in 2007[3]." (mg/kg = ppm)
三〉英國食品標準局的網站,原文在:
http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive ... p/melamine
裏面的確提到,來自中國牛奶成份超過15%的產品必需受檢,三聚氰胺成份超過 2.5mg/kg的產品必須被銷毀。
"All products from China containing more than 15% milk as an ingredient, or products where the percentage of milk content cannot be established, will be subject to documentary, identity and physical
checks, including laboratory analysis, to determine that any levels of melamine present in the product do not exceed 2.5 mg/kg. Those products with more than 2.5mg/kg will be destroyed."
可是,事情就這樣了嗎?請注意,後面都還有一段:
"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."
由於中國的食品工業不符合歐盟的規定, 所以來自中國的牛奶及動物製品已經長期被禁止進口。
歐盟是全面禁止中國乳製品的。
歐盟網站上的容許值只是說,在這樣〈不知危害有多大〉的危機發生之下,你吃多少大概不會立刻死,可是長期危害還是不清楚。請見該文件中:
[3] Because there is uncertainty with respect to the time scale for development of kidney damage, EFSA used the TDI of 0.5 mg/kg body weight which is protective for exposure over a lifetime in considering possible effects of exposure to melamine over a relatively short period, such as might occur with repeated consumption of melamine contaminated products
而且強調,在不完全的數據下,歐盟是用最壞的〈高劑量〉情況,做最壞的推測。歐盟食品管理局強調,目前並不知道這樣的三聚氰胺污染是否會在歐洲發生〈因為中國乳製品在歐洲全面禁止〉。
In the absence of available data for contaminated milk powder, EFSA also used the highest value of melamine, reported in Chinese infant formula as a basis for worst case scenarios. EFSA stressed that it is not known at the moment whether such theoretical high level exposure scenarios could occur in Europe.
衛生署的做法卻是去訂容許上限。
還有一個問題,歐盟既然已經禁止進口了,為什麼還要驗呢?
歐盟雖然已禁止中國乳製品,但是某些原產地不是中國的製品,仍有可能使用中國奶粉為原料:假設非歐盟某國進口了中國奶粉製造餅乾等產品賣到歐盟,原產地會被標示為該國,不受歐盟對中國奶製品的禁令,而成為把關上的漏洞。
歐盟的檢驗標準,是為了補這樣的安全漏洞,和台灣的情況完全不能相提並論,因為台灣之前是允許中國奶製品直接進口的。
歐盟在採行了這兩個互相配套的措施後,市面上沒有中國的乳製品,對原料來自中國但在其他國家加工生產的漏網之魚,會透過上述檢驗把風險降到最低。