Nestlé confident about products despite recall

Swiss food multinational Nestlé has recalled one of its milk products from the Hong Kong market after tiny amounts of the chemical melamine were found in it.

The recall was made at the request of the authorities in Hong Kong.

However, Nestlé expressed confidence that none of its products in China is made from milk adulterated with melamine.

A company statement pointed out that melamine is found in minute quantities throughout the food chain, and that this is not a risk for consumers. At 1.4 parts per million, the amount found in the UHT milk which had been withdrawn was 25 times lower than the maximum permitted by the European Union.

“The problem in Hong Kong China at the moment is that there are no defined limits for the melamine content in food products,” a Nestlé spokeswoman told swissinfo. She added that the authorities in Hong Kong are currently working on this.

The recall comes in the wake of a scandal in China where nearly 53,000 infants have fallen sick after being given milk adulterated with melamine.

The Nestlé product withdrawn in Hong Kong is not a baby formula, and is not sold directly to the public, but to the catering trade. No melamine has been found in other Nestlé dairy products sold in China.