March 18, 2009
Jordan extends ban on Chinese dairy products
The Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA) on Monday (Mar 16) extended a ban on the import of Chinese dairy products.
Last year, the administration suspended the import of Chinese milk products after contaminated milk powder was linked to the deaths of two infants and the illnesses of more than 1,200 others in China, JFDA general director, Mohammad Rawashdeh, told The Jordan Times Tuesday (Mar 17).
He added that the decision, which went into effect in mid-September, barred the import of Chinese dairy products into Jordan for a three-month period, pending safety assurances from China.
Rawashdeh said the JFDA Tuesday (Mar 17) informed the Jordan Customs Department of the ban's extension as they did not receive any notifications from China after the three-month period.
The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) issued an advisory last September alerting Asian and ethnic markets across the US that China-produced infant formula may have been contaminated.
The addition of melamine, an industrial chemical, into the formula was linked to the development of kidney ailments in babies in China.
The JFDA, at the time, conducted an investigation to determine whether melamine had been used in the production of any imported infant formula. Despite no contamination was found, the administration imposed the ban as a precautionary measure.
