TNT BEEFS UP INFRASTRUCTURE TO FURTHER SUPPORT FREIGHT SERVICES

TNT Express, the leader in global express freight services, today announced the completion of the latest in a series of infrastructural enhancements undertaken by the company as it further readies itself for expected demands and developments in the freight services sector.

TNT recently upgraded its 3,500 square metre Pasay depot, increasing operational warehouse space by 33 percent with changes to the floor layout, making the company better equipped to accommodate palletised shipments and capable of handling airline palettes as well. This follows an increase in the company’s fleet size by 10 percent, adding several vans and two (2) six-wheelers, with a capacity to carry shipments weighing more than five tonnes, in 2008.

Cetin Yalcin, country general manager, TNT Philippines, said, “These are some of the changes that we’ve implemented to complement the continuous surge in demand for our freight services. Our team has also been undergoing various training and we are set to conquer bigger and heavier shipments while providing TNT’s brand of service excellence.”

Since the introduction of TNT’s Freight Services[1] in 2008, demand for freight services continues to grow. In Southeast-Asia alone, the freight volume increased by 40 per cent in the same year and demand is still growing.

TNT Philippines expects double digit growth in freight services despite current economic conditions, with the bulk of shipments coming from the semicon, electronics, industrial, garments, and print industries. Local products such as Philippine crafts and ornaments are also shipped for export via TNT’s freight services.

“TNT is optimistic in our role in providing alternative—and better—means of bringing local shipments to the world. It is our firm commitment to constantly innovate, not only in the services that we offer, but also on our equipment, our people and on our local operations as we bring the best of Philippine products to the world,” adds Cetin.

To further underline its freight capability, TNT launched a direct mail campaign for local freight traders. Emphasising on its expertise and capability in bringing shipments of any size and weight, anywhere—TNT credits this feat on the expertise of its 75,000-strong manpower, strengthened by its air and road networks, more than 2000 depots, 26,000 trucks, and 47 planes.
ENDS


NOTES TO EDITORS:

TNT's three bespoke freight services:

Express Freight
Fast door-to-door delivery before the end of business on the next or earliest possible business day.
▪ Pick-up today before end of business, for guaranteed delivery the next or earliest possible business day
▪ Delivery to more than 200 countries worldwide
▪ For freight shipments up to 500kg
▪ Available as export and import service

Economy Freight
Economical, day-definite, door-to-door delivery for less urgent freight to most destinations worldwide.
▪ Pick-up today before end of business, for guaranteed delivery on a specified date within 2-5 working days
▪ Delivery to more than 200 countries
▪ For freight shipments up to 1500kg
▪ Available as export and import service

Freight Plus
The flexible solution for freight shipments that require special handling or delivery options tailored to meet you or your client's needs.
▪ Tailored pickup and delivery times
▪ No size or weight limits
▪ Delivery to Door or Delivery to Airport
▪ Special handling including dangerous goods and temperature control
▪ Choice of road and air services

About TNT
TNT provides businesses and consumers worldwide with an extensive range of services for their mail and express delivery needs. Headquartered in Amsterdam, TNT offers efficient network infrastructures in Europe and Asia and is expanding operations worldwide to maximise its network performance. TNT serves more than 200 countries and employs more than 161,500 people. Over 2007, TNT reported EUR 11 billion in revenues and an operating income of EUR 1,192 million. TNT is listed on the Amsterdam stock exchange. The company recognises its social responsibility, and has formed partnerships with the United Nations World Food Programme and the United Nations Environmental Programme to fight hunger and pollution. More information about TNT can be found on its website http://group.tnt.com.
About TNT Express Philippines
TNT Express Worldwide (Philippines) Inc. started its operations in March 1982, with its first office in Makati City. Its seminal beginnings expanded with a move, in 1997, to its current office. It now occupies 4,300 square meters at a prime cargo center adjacent to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and has an available warehouse area of 600 square meters. TNT Philippines employs more than 300 employees and owns 83 vehicles, and has at least 115 flights per week. It has a satellite office located in the Central Business District (Makati City), Shaw Blvd in Ortigas, Laguna and Cebu. TNT Philippines is the first company in its industry to be recognized by the International Quality Centre - a UK based international recognition panel for the Investors in People (IiP) Standard. The company is also certified in ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001:2004 and OHSAS 18001:1999.
[1] TNT’s Freight Services is a selection of three bespoke services – Express Freight, Economy Freight and Freight Plus – will offer customers a door-to-door, day-definite delivery service based on specified transit times schedules, fast tracked customs clearance and full track and trace visibility.

Ang Magagawa ng OFW Bukod sa Magpadala ng Pera

Note: forwarded email message

Mga pwedeng pang gawin ng OFW at Pinoy abroad para makatulong sa Pilipinas bukod sa pagpapadala ng remittance. Mula sa librong KAPENG ARABO:

Kung magbabakasyon, piliin ang ilang lugar sa Pinas. Napuntahan mo na ba ang world-class resorts ng Bora, Palawan, Puerto Gallera, Pagudpod, Dakak, at Camiguin? Nabisita mo na ang UNESCO heritage site ng Vigan at Fort Ilocandia? Naramdaman mo na ba ang calmness ng isla ng Batanes? O makalaglag-pangang wonders ng Bohol? Nasubukan mo na bang maglangoy kasama ng whale sharks ng Sorsogon? Hindi natin kailangan pang gastusin ang pera natin sa ibang lugar. Sa ‘pinas na lang, solve ka na. In the end, tayo pa rin ang makikinabang.
Gawin misyon ang makapag-recruit ng at least 1 turista sa ‘Pinas sa buong OFW lifetime. Malaking tulong ito sa industriya ng turismo.
Kung bibili ng damit o gamit, gawin mo na sa Pinas. Isipin na lang kung may isang milyong Pinoy na nagbabakasyon sa isang taon, at bibili ng tig-iisang damit. Aba ! Laking tulong sa namumuhunan. Mas ok kung Pinoy product pa. Pero kung foreign brand naman, sa Pinas mo pa rin bilhin. At least sa Pinas pa rin papasok ang tax non.
Sa Pinas na rin bumili ng pasalubong. Halos lahat naman ng meron sa labas ng bansa, mayron na rin sa atin.
Kung may extra ka rin lang naming pera, pag-aralin ang kamag-anak o kung sino mang napipisil mong walang kakayanan. O kung wala ka namang kamag-anak, puwedeng sumangguni sa mga organisasyong may katulad na layunin.
Magtayo ng negosyo sa Pinas kahit maliit lang. Huwang munang asamin kumita ng malaki, basta mapaikot lang ang puhunan. Isipin na lang muna na training ito para mas malaking business venture sa future.
Hindi natin kailangan gumawa ng malalaking effort para makakuha ng malaking results. Kadalasan pa nga ang pagkalunod natin sa malalaking undertaking ang pumapatay sa hangarin nating makagawa ng magagandang bagay. Dapat simulan natin sa mga simple lang. Mga simpleng bagay pero may malalim na kahulugan.

JOINING HANDS AGAINST THE GLOBAL CRISIS

JOINING HANDS AGAINST THE GLOBAL CRISIS

Malacañan Palace, Manila
09 February 2009


Communiqué

Preamble

We, stakeholders representing the business sector, labor (formal and informal sectors), the academe, church-based groups, non-government organizations, and government, believe in the resiliency of the Filipino, the excellence of our workers, and the economic dynamism that has propelled the country to unparalleled fiscal stability amid global challenges.

We convene at the Heroes’ Hall, Malacañan, Manila on 09 February 2009 to signify our collective resolve to join hands to address the adverse effects of the crisis, as advocates of hope and national unity, through concrete steps and institutional partnerships at the national and community levels.

We call on the Filipino people to unite behind efforts and initiatives to promote business viability and growth, preserve and create jobs, and provide support for affected domestic and overseas workers.

In this spirit, we join hands against the global financial crisis and commit to:


Support for Business Growth

1. We support efforts to reduce the cost of doing business through:

· Government to continue its efforts to bring down the cost of power

· Mandatory implementation of automated import/export processing including electronic processing of payments

· Acceleration of BOC computerization (liquidation module)

· Faster transaction for import permits for non-PEZA registered firms

· Relaxation of criteria for extension of income tax holiday

· Explore the possibility of suspending tariff reduction for 5 years or one product cycle

· Provision of subsidy for fuel of bus transport to and from the work place

· Lowering the costs of business licenses and permits

· Review of revenue regulations on allowable tax deductions like expenses for trainings and research

· Promote best practices among local governments on how to cut steps in the acquisition of business permits and other relevant procedures

· Strict enforcement of existing government regulations such as EO 45 regarding timeframes for approval of applications and the release of required clearances, permits, and licenses

2. We call for policies to improve marketing of products

· Provision of government assistance on research and development, and packaging (tax incentives, compliance to standards), particularly for the Herbal and Health and Wellness Industry

· Consumer advocacy groups to advocate for “Buy Filipino Products” here and abroad

· DFA and DTI to optimize economic diplomacy to promote Philippine products, preserve existing markets and search for viable opportunities to link local suppliers with global markets

3. We will extend comprehensive package of assistance to emerging industries and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)

· DTI One-Town-One-Product (OTOP)

· Landbank of the Philippines [LBP] and the Development Bank of the Philippines [DBP] Technical Assistance on Entrepreneurial Skills using its Development and Business Assistance Centers nationwide

· Work with government television and radio stations to promote MSMEs and OTOP

· DoT to integrate MSMEs and OTOP in its domestic tourism programs as a way to showcase indigenous products and local traditions

· DOLE, DENR and DOE to pursue initiatives supportive of creating and sustaining Green Collar Jobs


4. We call for intensified efforts to curb all forms of smuggling with the private sector as integral partner in the implementation of measures,

· Strengthen operations of the Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group

· Stronger enforcement of EO 156 and RA 8506 on the entry of 2nd hand cars.

5. We support the credit enhancement of borrowers in terms of credit guarantee from the Philippine Export- Import Credit Agency and the Small Business Corporation. We call for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas [BSP] to provide incentives to participating banks providing credit to the sectors affected by the crisis.

6. We recommend the representation of the export community and overseas service providers to the Philippine Export-Import Credit Board.

7. We pursue policies toward providing tax breaks and incentives to business, through administrative action for the waiver of liquidation requirements for imported materials of export products sold in DTI-sponsored trade fairs (for cancelled orders)

8. We support initiatives to promote and encourage corporate social responsibility (CSR) among firms


Support to Workers’ Safety Nets

1. We commit support for livelihood projects to provide income to workers through new allocation of:

· PhP 1 Billion under the “LBP Negosyo Program for Global Financial Crisis Affected Workers” and the DBP Livelihood Program

· PhP 1 Billion Loan Portfolio under the OWWA Filipino Expatriate Livelihood Support Fund (FELSF)

· PhP 1.38 Billion under the DENR Livelihood Investment in support for displaced workers in the uplands

· PhP 3.5 Million under the DOE Micro-Finance for the Transport Sector

· Php 402 Million under the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program

· Php 50 Million for the DOLE’s Reintegration Program

2. We support the allocation of at least 1.5% of the 2009 operating budget of government agencies solely for the temporary hiring of displaced workers and their dependents for projects such as Green Collar Jobs, reforestation and NARS.

3. We support the creation of emergency employment opportunities through government pump-priming projects, particularly

35,000 Jobs for Bantay-Gubat and other DENR projects for the upland displaced workers
36,500 Jobs from Farm-to-Market Road Projects of DA
81,134 Jobs from Irrigation Projects of DA
10,400 Jobs from Organic Fertilizer Production Project of DA
3,645 Jobs from Goat Dispersal Project of DA
27,222 Jobs from Out-of-School Youth (OYSTER) Program – Roadside Maintenance of DPWH
23,550 Jobs from TUPAD and ISLA Programs of DOLE
1,022 Jobs from Laguna Water Lily Development of DTI
506,082 Jobs from DPWH
100,000 Jobs from the Repair of Classrooms and Schoolbuildings of DepEd and SUCs

4. We support the creation of employment opportunities, in particular the projected 80,000 to 100,000 jobs among member-firms of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) and other jobs that will be created in other buoyant industries like food manufacturing, tourism, pharmaceuticals, and the healthcare industry.

5. We support the efforts of the recruitment, manning industry and trade unions to fill up 400,000 overseas jobs based on POEA registered active job orders of accredited principals and local agencies through government-private sector partnership on strategic skills training, upgrading and ethical recruitment practices to address the problem of job-skills mismatch and the conduct of jobs fairs to facilitate access to job vacancies.

6. We support fast and efficient access of displaced workers to services through the LGU-based one-stop worker assistance centers and in municipalities/cities severely affected by the crisis, initially in Calamba, Laguna; Rosario, Cavite; Angeles City, Pampanga; and Cebu City to house all government services such as:

ü Profiling of displaced workers and dependents
ü Issuance of certificate of eligibility for all assistance packages
ü Information on all assistance packages for displaced workers
ü Information on job vacancies
ü Job-matching/placement
ü Livelihood assistance
ü Training and scholarship vouchers
ü Issuance of pre-employment documents

7. We support fast and efficient access of displaced workers to services through PEZA among firms based in PEZA zones one-stop worker assistance centers such as:

ü Profiling of displaced workers and dependents
ü Issuance of certificate of eligibility for all assistance packages
ü Information on all assistance packages for displaced workers
ü Information on job vacancies
ü Job-matching/placement
ü Livelihood assistance
ü Training and scholarship vouchers
ü Issuance of pre-employment documents

8. We pursue public-private partnerships to facilitate job placement/training and retooling of affected workers

· People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) and the PESOPHIL Federation to assist DOLE in profiling displaced workers and identifying job vacancies where they may be re-employed

· DOLE in consultation with industry and business groups to undertake manpower planning

· Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII), Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), Philippine Association of Service Contractors (PALSCON), Local and Foreign Chambers, Local and Overseas Recruitment Agencies to assist DOLE in information dissemination on assistance packages and in job placement

· Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), Federation of Free Workers (FFW) and other trade unions, organizations for migrant labor, seafarers, the CBCP-Caritas Filipinas Foundation, Inc., and other church-based groups, Blas F. Ople Policy Center, and non-government organizations, to act as conduits of government for information dissemination on assistance packages, and for training, retooling and livelihood projects

· Technological Resource Center (TRC) to assist the DOLE National Reintegration Center for OFWs (NRCO) in training or retooling of displaced overseas Filipino workers

· PMAP and other organizations with electronic job-matching facilities to link up with DOLE Registry of Displaced Workers and their dependents

· DOLE to facilitate private-sector led marketing missions especially in countries where Philippines has bilateral agreements and in pioneer countries of work opportunities.

9. We commit to assist in sustaining quality education/training of affected workers and their dependents

· TESDA to provide displaced workers:

ü Massive training in communities
ü Enterprise-based group training for work with industries/ sectors/associations and other bodies for sectoral skills demand
ü Free skills assessment and certification
ü Free workplace language skills proficiency assessment
ü Scholarships for the Ladderized Education Program
ü On-Site Scholarships for OFWs
ü Training of TVET Trainers

· DOLE to prioritize children of displaced workers as SPES beneficiaries

· CHED to strengthen interventions on faculty training toward quality education

· PMAP to promote employment among member firms of students who are children of displaced workers during summer or school breaks

· SSS to employ children of displaced workers for summer jobs under its Mitigation Plan for Displaced SSS Members, both OFWs or local workers

· OWWA to expand Scholarships for dependents of displaced overseas Filipino workers

· OWWA to strengthen and expand its free computer literacy programs for OFWs and their families through its TULAY Program in partnership with Microsoft and the Blas F. Ople Policy Center

· DBP to expand its Endowment Education Program for dependents of displaced workers

· DOLE and DOH to implement the Nurses Assigned in Rural Services (NARS) Program aimed at increasing employability of unemployed registered nurses, through training and development in government health facilities in rural areas and undeserved communities, towards the improvement of local health care delivery systems and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG)


10. We support continued access of affected workers and their dependents to health services

· PHILHEALTH to extend validity of health insurance coverage to displaced workers, from the present three months to one-year from termination, without requiring additional premium

· Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities (PACU) to extend free medical and dental services to affected workers under its integrated medical mission

· DSWD, DOLE, PMAP and concerned LGUs to provide free psycho-social counselling for workers coping with job loss

11. We support assistance to affected workers with financial obligations

· SSS, GSIS and Pag-Ibig Fund to grant loan restructuring, extension of condonation of penalties and surcharges

· SSS and GSIS to provide education loan assistance to dependents of displaced members

· OWWA to provide transition subsidies to affected members who enlist for livelihood assistance or job placement service based on a criteria to be decided by its Governing Board;

· POEA to prioritize the deployment of displaced OFWs with pending financial obligations due to unfinished work contracts in its government placement programs.

12. We commit to a nationwide campaign against illegal recruiters and human traffickers who prey on displaced and unemployed workers

· LGUS and the DILG to work closely with the POEA and partner-NGOs on an intensified campaign against illegal recruitment and human trafficking

· Strengthening of the Inter-Agency Council Against Human Trafficking through legislation and budgetary support

13. We commit to the promotion of decent work and preservation of jobs amid a global financial crisis

· DoLE to intensify its capacity-building programs for the informal sector and organized labor

· NLRC to accelerate disposition of cases while giving due attention to cases involving displacements due to the financial crisis

· For LGUs, DTI and DOLE regional offices to put up joint monitoring teams to ensure quick response and access to free legal advice and voluntary arbitration to workers affected by the global crisis particularly those who are non-union members

· For DOLE to conduct inspection visits to ensure that safety and health issues and principles of decent work are not shortchanged in the name of the financial crisis

· For DFA to instruct all posts overseas to monitor immigration and labor policies that affect migrant workers and disseminate the same to the Filipino communities while undertaking regular dialogues with OFW leaders, foreign employers, and the host government involved.


Legislative Measure

We call on Congress to support all these commitments by passing the pending Bill on the Stimulus Package.


Monitoring of Commitments

We commit to monitor the progress and implementation of these commitments through regular consultative meetings among all signatories to this Communiqué.

A Secretariat shall be established to monitor these commitments.

Signed this 9th day of February 2009 at Heroes’ Hall, Malacañan Palace, Manila, Republic of the Philippines.

Restoring Trust: Time to Rescue the Real Economy

By Juan Somavia
Director General of the ILO


GENEVA - The current crisis has hit the financial sector hard.
But what about people and the real economy?

Though we don't know how long and how serious the financial
crisis will be, we do know that if we fail to act decisively, the impact
on the lives, working conditions and hopes of millions of people will be
strong, global and systemic.

The current search for better financial regulation and a global
surveillance mechanism of checks and balances is a welcome step. But we
must reach beyond the financial system. This is not simply a crisis on
Wall Street; it is a crisis on all streets.

We need an economic rescue plan for working people and the real
economy, with rules and policies that deliver decent work and productive
enterprises. We must better link productivity to salaries and growth to
employment. People must have trust that the economy is working for
them.

This message is urgent. The International Labour Organization
has completed a first estimate of how this crisis is going to impact the
day-to-day lives of people at all levels of society.

We project that world unemployment could increase by 20 million
by the end of 2009-surpassing the 200 million mark of global unemployed
for the first time. People working in such sectors as construction,
automotive, tourism, finance, services and real estate will be hit
hardest first.

What*s more, the number of working poor living on less than a
dollar a day could rise by some 40 million-and those living on two
dollars a day could rise by more than 100 million.

And grim as these numbers are, they could prove to be
underestimates if the effect of the current economic contraction and
looming recession are not quickly confronted.

Above all, we must focus on people, on enterprise, on the real
economy. What does that mean? Four things:

First, get credit flowing. Emergency measures have been and are
being taken.

Second, support those who are most vulnerable. That means a
variety of measures including pension protection, unemployment insurance
and credit for small and medium enterprises, which are a primary source
of jobs today.

Third, decisive public policies and smart regulation that
rewards hard work and enterprise once again. We are battered by the
whirlwind of a financial system that lost its moral compass. We have
to come back to the basic legitimate function of finance, which is to
promote the real economy-to lend so that entrepreneurs can invest,
innovate, produce jobs and products. Let*s get back to what finance
is meant to do - to finance the real economy.


Fourth, and critically, we must address the underlying
challenges. Long before the current financial crisis, we were already
in a crisis of massive global poverty and growing social inequality,
rising informality and precarious work-a process of globalization that
had brought considerable benefits but for many had become unbalanced,
unfair and unsustainable.

We need to get the balance right and concentrate on rescuing
people and production. It*s about saving the real economy.

Let*s remember that people judge their lives and their futures
mainly through their life at work. Now more than ever, we must focus on
making sure the policies and support are in place to meet people*s
core demand for a fair chance at a decent job.

In order to keep economies and societies open, relevant
international organizations must come together to develop a new
multilateral framework for a fair and sustainable globalization.

Trade talks are stalled, financial markets are on the brink,
climate change continues, any reconstruction will have to find ways to
integrate financial, economic, social, labor and environmental policies
within a sustainable development approach.

We cannot respond to the sub-prime crisis with sub-prime
policies. This is the time to think and act in bold and innovative ways
to confront the huge challenges before us.

Melamine Questions and Answers

1. What is melamine?

Melamine is an industrial chemical rich in nitrogen that is used in making plastics, glues and whiteboards. In the recent case in China , melamine had been used by unscrupulous traders to mask the dilution of milk with water. Because it is high in nitrogen, the addition of melamine to a food artificially increases the apparent protein content as measured with standard tests. Reports of this practice being used in China have caused widespread concern about the safety of foods using milk and milk products produced in China .

2. Is melamine unsafe?

Melamine itself is relatively safe in low amounts. It is not believed to cause cancer or birth defects based on studies in animals. At very high doses it can have bladder effects but no kidney effects have been seen in animal studies. When Melamine is combined with a related chemical, cyanuric acid, the mixture can cause kidney stones and toxic effects in the kidney.

3. How can melamine get into my food?

Melamine can be present at very low levels through transfer from adhesives and plastics containing melamine that come into contact with food. Occurrence of melamine at these levels is permitted and is well below the safety limits established by authorities in the United States and the European Union.

4. How did melamine end up in milk powder in China ?

Recently, melamine and related chemicals have been found to have been deliberately and illegally added to milk in China in an apparent attempt to hide the fact that the milk was diluted with water. In this situation, it is possible that the melamine that was added also contained cyanuric acid as an impurity and this combination of high levels of melamine and cyanuric acid would account for the serious effects seen in children in China . The contamination of milk is particularly serious for infants and small children who rely on milk for most of their nutrition.

5. Have unsafe levels of melamine been found in other food products?

In 2007, melamine was found in wheat gluten and rice protein concentrate exported from China and used in the manufacture of pet food in the United States . This caused the death of a large number of dogs and cats due to kidney failure.

6. I just read a report that melamine has been detected in my favorite food. Should I be worried?

If you are an adult, the mere detection of melamine is not a cause for concern as long as the amount detected is within established safety limits. Health authorities in Australia/New Zealand (FSANZ), Europe (EFSA) and the U.S. (FDA) have established a safety limit of 2.5 parts per million (ppm) melamine for all food products except infant formula. This means that it has been considered that foods containing up to 2.5 ppm of melamine do not pose a risk to human health.

For milk and infant formula most authorities apply a limit of 1 ppm of melamine.

7. I may have consumed some milk products contaminated with melamine. What should I do now?

The risk of harmful effects depends on the amount of melamine consumed. Most food products made in China containing milk powder that have been analyzed for the presence of melamine either have no detectable melamine or levels within generally accepted safety limits. Your risk is very small if the food you consumed is only a small part of your diet.

If you remain concerned you should consult your family physician.

8. How is melamine in food regulated?

Addition of melamine into food is not approved by the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius, or by any national authorities. The United States has established safe levels of melamine as an indirect food additive from adhesives and plastics that come into contact with food. Also, the pesticide cyromazine can be converted to melamine and approved uses of that pesticide take this into account. Of course deliberate contamination of food with melamine is illegal. The FDA has recently concluded that presence of melamine in food at or below 2.5 ppm should not be a cause for public health concern. This is similar to the conclusions of the EU, New Zealand and Singapore .

9. What actions have been taking to take/keep contaminated products out of the market place?

Governments around the world are analyzing food products that may contain milk or milk products from China and taking action to remove from sale any products that are found to be in violation of established safe limits.

Private companies are redoubling their efforts to ensure that their products are not contaminated and to take action where contamination is found.

10. Who should I contact for enquiries on affected products or for health concerns?

You should consult your local health authorities either directly or on their websites. Some useful links are provided below.

11. “A Food” was found to have 0.5 ppm melamine yet was declared ok to sell, what’s going on?

The mere detection of melamine is not a cause for concern as long as the amount detected is within established safety limits. New Zealand has established a safety limit of 2.5 parts per million melamine for all food products except infant formula. European authorities have proposed a limit of 2.5 parts per million in general foods. For milk and infant formula most authorities apply a limit of 1 ppm of melamine

The risk of harmful effects depends on the amount of melamine consumed. Most food products made in China containing milk powder that have been analyzed for the presence of melamine either have no detectable melamine or levels within generally accepted safety limits.

12. How reliable are these tests for melamine?

There are several test methods for melamine and the ability to detect melamine at very low levels is difficult and highly variable. Most methods can distinguish well between dangerous adulteration and low level presence of melamine.

Melamine can be present at very low levels through transfer from adhesives and plastics containing melamine that come into contact with food. Occurrence of melamine at these levels is permitted and is well below the safety limits established by authorities in the United States and the European Union.

What the Experts Are Saying:

WHO :

Melamine-contamination event, China, September 2008 and Questions and Answers on melamine

• The Chinese event appears to be the result of deliberate contamination of diluted milk with melamine to make it appear to have normal levels of protein measured by standard tests.
• Toxic effects are more likely to occur when melamine is present along with a related compound, cyanuric acid
• Contaminated products in China have been found to contain levels much higher than the safety thresholds for melamine established by the EU and the U.S:

“Melamine and Cyanuric Acid: Toxicity, Preliminary Risk Assessment and Guidance on Levels in Food.”

• This preliminary guidance was developed to assist national authorities in making decisions regarding possible health concerns of melamine content found in food.

EU (EFSA) : EFSA assesses possible risks related to melamine in composite foods from China

• Adult consumption of chocolate and biscuits made from contaminated milk powder should not be a concern.
• Average consumption of these products by children should also not be a concern but worst case high level consumption of highly contaminated products by children could exceed EU safety levels.
• It is not known if worst-case assumptions for children exist in Europe

Australia/New Zealand : risk assessment for dairy foods and foods containing dairy based ingredients adulterated with melamine

• A maximum level of 1 mg/kg for melamine in infant formula is considered appropriate.
• A maximum level of 2.5 mg/kg for melamine in dairy-based foods and foods containing dairy-based ingredients is appropriate and acceptable
• Foods with low levels of dairy-based ingredients, such as candies and biscuits, are likely to be infrequently consumed and in small amounts so they are not considered to be a high-risk food for potential dietary exposure to melamine even if the dairy ingredient has been adulterated

Singapore Agriculture and Veterinary Authority (AVA) : Consumers need not to be unduly concerned over melamine incidents

• Products in Singapore which have been found to contain melamine should not be an undue concern for consumers
• Levels of melamine detected in products in Singapore are much lower than the amounts found in contaminated milk in China and are within safety limits established by the U.S. FDA.

United States FDA : Interim Melamine and Analogues Safety/Risk Assessment

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration conducted an interim safety assessment of the safety of melamine-related consumption. Key findings were:
• "FDA is currently unable to establish any level of melamine and melamine-related compounds in infant formula that does not raise public health concerns.
• In [other] food products, FDA concludes that levels of melamine and melamine-related compounds below 2.5 parts per million (ppm) do not raise concerns
• The FDA explains how the 2.5 mg/kg food safety limit has been calculated based on the TDI of 0.63 mg/kg body weight.

Food Safety and Quality Division, Ministry of Health Malaysia :

• The Minister of Health Malaysia had declared that permissible levels of melamine were set at 2.5 parts per million (ppm) for adult food products and 1ppm for baby food.

source: ww.afic.org