I got this from a mailing list I'm on, and thought others might be interested.
Warmly,
Fleur Bickford BSc., RN, LLLL
Ontario, Canada
From: Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine <abm@...>
Date: 2008/9/25
*For immediate release *
* Contact Karla Shepard Rubinger, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. (914) 740-2100 ext.
2153, **krubinger@...*
* Toll From Tainted Chinese Formula Climbs to 53,000; Producer Received
Complaints in 2007*
* New Rochelle, NY, September 25, 2008* – The number of infants in China who
have fallen ill as a result of formula tainted by melamine, has reached
53,000 and is responsible for the deaths of at least three infants. (*New
York Times, * September 24, 2008)
A report released by the Xinhua News Agency indicates the Sanlu Group, the
producer of the tainted formula, had received consumer complaints about
their product as early as December 2007, and repeatedly made efforts to hide
information about possible contamination. Melamine, a chemical compound used
mainly as a fire retardant, has been identified as the contaminant in the
formula which has now led to the recall of Chinese-made dairy products in
China and other parts of Asia as well.
In response to these continuing reports of tainted Chinese baby formula, the
*Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine
(*www.bfmed.org<http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe3016707c60007f721770&ls=fdf41276766d007\
c7d147675&m=ff281776736c&l=fe5d157575620c787612&s=fe6a16747665037f7714&jb=ffcf14\
&t=>
)* *urges public agencies worldwide to renew education and support for
breastfeeding. The tragic and unnecessary deaths of infants in China , and
the sickening of thousands of others, remind us of a truth health experts
have long understood: with extremely rare exceptions, breastmilk is
unquestionably the safest method of infant feeding. Much attention has
been focused lately on ways in which food and other supply chains in China
should be more carefully monitored and regulated, a problem which has proven
to be ubiquitous, deeply engrained in the Chinese economy, and thus far
highly unmanageable.
In the case of infant feeding, however, very little has been said about what
would appear to be the most effective long-term strategy to protect infants
against future feeding catastrophes, namely, the promotion of
breastfeeding. The melamine scandal, together with the terribly
catastrophic earthquake that ravaged so many Chinese communities last May,
should have demonstrated to China and to the entire world that breastfeeding
is a practice that all societies should cherish, safeguard, and promote.
This stark reminder of the potential dangers of artificial milk, underscores
the importance of promoting, protecting, and supporting breastfeeding
worldwide.
Dr. Caroline Chantry, President of the *Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine*,
pointed out " China is not the first, or only country to fall prey to
contaminated baby formula. But we must make it the last. And we do know
how."
According to the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), a recent
decline in funding world-wide for public education and training of health
professionals to support breastfeeding, has resulted in a decline of
hospitals implementing the WHO/UNICEF Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. The
Initiative incorporates ten steps for successful breastfeeding, and forbids
the unethical promotion of breastmilk substitutes in health facilities. And
the * Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine* continues to promote professional
education through its conferences, publications, and its peer-reviewed
journal *Breastfeeding Medicine
*(www.liebertpub.com/bfm<http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe2f16707c60007f721771&ls=fdf412\
76766d007c7d147675&m=ff281776736c&l=fe5d157575620c787612&s=fe6a16747665037f7714&\
jb=ffcf14&t=>
).
The *Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine* is a worldwide organization of
physicians dedicated to the promotion, protection and support of
breastfeeding and human lactation through education, research, and advocacy.
An independent, self-sustaining, international physician organization and
the only organization of its kind, ABM 's mission is to unite members of
various medical specialties through physician education, expansion of
knowledge in breastfeeding science and human lactation, facilitation of
optimal breastfeeding practices, and encouragement of the exchange of
information among organizations.
* Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.,* is a privately held, fully integrated media
company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many
promising areas of science and biomedical research, including *Breastfeeding
Medicine, *the official Journal of the * Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine .
* A complete list of the firm's 60 journals, books, and newsletters is
available at
www.liebertpub.com<http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe2e16707c60007f721772&ls=fdf41276766d\
007c7d147675&m=ff281776736c&l=fe5d157575620c787612&s=fe6a16747665037f7714&jb=ffc\
f14&t=>.
* Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine* 140 Huguenot St., New Rochelle, NY
10801-5215
www.bfmed.org<http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe3016707c60007f721770&ls=fdf41276766d007c7\
d147675&m=ff281776736c&l=fe5d157575620c787612&s=fe6a16747665037f7714&jb=ffcf14&t\
=>
Phone: 800-990-4 ABM / (914) 740-2115 Fax: (914) 740-2101
This e-mail was sent by:
*The Mary Ann Liebert Companies*
140 Huguenot Street, 3rd Floor
New Rochelle, NY 10801-5215, USA
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