Remember Melamine? It's Baaaack!

This time the melamine is in

• Snickers Peanut Funsize
• M&Ms chocolate milk made by Mars
• KitKat wafers made by Nestle
• A biscuit manufactured by Lotte Confectionery Co.

And, I gather the products were spotted in South Korea.

China has not been having a good time with its export industry lately. Between poisoned cough syrup, pre-infected consumer electronics, and now poisoned baby food and candy, the protectionists have some very real talking points.

Me, I'm not upset that the coffee cup I'm using wasn't made in Minnesota. (It was made in China, actually.) The computer I have wasn't made in Stearns County, where I live, and a small spittoon I'm using as a pen holder was made in England.

For something like 8,000 years here in North America, and over 9,000 years elsewhere, people have been trading with foreigners to get what they need and want. The definition of "foreigner" has extended a bit in the last several millennia, but from Catal Huyuk, to the Beaker culture, to the International Trade Association of Greater Chicago, we've been using things that weren't made locally.

Get used to it.

What does bother me a bit is that China, and some other places, aren't on the same page as America when it comes to quality control. But with huge profits to be made, I think China will learn: fast.

One more thing: Hats off to CNN, for this: "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said small amounts of melamine -- less than 2.5 parts per million -- are not harmful in most foods, except baby formula." Zero-tolerance makes as much sense in food standards as it does anywhere else.

In the news:

• "More melamine found in chocolate bars"
  CNN (October 4, 2008)