Milan, Sept 26 - Products containing melamine should be removed from trade to ensure safe infant feeding, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Friday, responding to a scandal over Chinese milk products.
More than a dozen countries in Asia, Africa and Europe have banned imports of Chinese dairy products after thousands of Chinese children got sick after drinking infant milk formula tainted with melamine, an industrial chemical. Other countries from Australia to Yemen have recalled milk products.
"Restoring consumer confidence is critical," Ezzeddine Boutrif, director of FAO's nutrition and consumer protection division, said in a statement also issued on behalf of the World Health Organisation.
"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," Boutrif said.
More than 54,000 children have sought medical treatment in China related to the use of melamine-contaminated infant formula and almost 12,900 have been hospitalised, the FAO, a United Nations unit, said in the statement.
Melamine, a low toxicity chemical, is used in food contact materials, such as labels and containers and can be used in fertilisers. It has yet to be confirmed if it can carry over into food and harm human health, FAO said.
FAO said breast-feeding was the safest way to feed babies. It quoted WHO as recommending all infants be breast-fed for the first six months of life and get adequate and safe complementary foods while breast-feeding continues up to 2 years of age and beyond.
Both agencies urged countries to monitor their markets and said melamine-contaminated products could hit markets through both formal and informal trade.
The European Commission proposed on Thursday to test and restrict imports of food products from China containing powdered milk.