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A lot of people agree with the fact that the strongest nemesis of Mother Nature is progress. Progress has come to a chain of events connected with environmental issues like climatic change and the greenhouse effect, the exhaustion of natural resources like minerals and gases, flora, fauna, marine life and the displacement of other living creatures, among others. These human-caused phenomena have generated man to explore survival methods at the expense of others.

In September 2008, the whole world was disgusted and shocked by a lot of infant formula manufacturing companies in China which turned out to be using a harmful chemical in its products. This

news was actually supported evidence, and was not just a marketing ploy by competitor companies.

In December 2008, about 300,000 people, of whom 50,000 were infants, triggered the death of six of the babies due to the consumption of contaminated milk. It turned out that the milk products were tainted with melamine way beyond the legally allowed amount. The chemical is alleged to have been added to milk products to raise its protein content. This chemical is a durable plastic material that has been used to allow milk manufacturing companies to get the approval of the Chinese government in terms of protein requirements in milk products.

What was more worrying was the magnitude of the contamination, not just of milk products but also of other dairy and farm products. The fact is, about 20 percent of dairy companies tested in China sold products that were positive of melamine. Animal feeds and meats such as pork, fowl and fish also tested positive for the chemical. It was not clear, however, if this was simply because of the illegal reuse of previously recalled contaminated products which had escaped government scrutiny.

Studies reveal that melamine is the major cause of kidney problems among children three years old and below in particular, an age bracket where milk consumption is crucial for growth and development. Exposure via ingestion is said to have increased the number of cases of kidney stones and eventually, renal failure. Children in contact with melamine are 1.7 percent more at risk compared to those who are not. After the finding of the melamine adulterated milk products, 683 children below the age of 3 years old in Beijing were clinically determined to have kidney stones, and this was attributed to the consumption of melamine-tainted formula products. The wide ranging long-term complications, however, still remain to be unidentified as cases are still being studied as of now.
Melamine is not even the only harmful component of most of these items, so if you have babies and toddlers at home, make sure everything is safe. Toddler beds and cloth diapers are just some of the products you can be at ease with, considering that young children instinctively put things into their mouths as part of their development.

About the Author:
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