<"https://www.yourlawyer.com/practice_areas/toxic_substances">Melamine-tainted Topaz brand Wafer Rolls are finally being recalled nationwide by National Brands Inc. of Spring Valley, NY.  According to OregonLive.com, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced last month that Topaz brand Wafer Rolls had tested positive for melamine, but the FDA had no authority to remove products from shelves. According to OregonLive.com, the agency had been working with National Brands to get the recall implemented.
The recall involves 4.76oz (135gm) and 12.3oz (350gm) cans of Topaz brand Wafer Rolls. The contaminated Topaz Wafer Rolls were distributed nationwide through retail stores and are sold in four flavors:Â Vanilla, chocolate, hazelnut chocolate, and mocha-cappuccino and include the following:
- Topaz Wafer Rolls with Chocolate Flavored Cream Filling:Â Lot numbers L8085A, L8219A, and L8245A.
- Topaz Wafer Rolls with Hazelnut Chocolate Flavored Cream Filling:Â Lot numbers L8085D, L8219D, and L8245D.
- Topaz Wafer Rolls with Vanilla Flavored Cream Filling:Â Lot numbers L8085B, L8219B, and L8245B.
- Topaz Wafer Rolls with Mocha Cappuccino Flavored Cream Filling:Â Lot numbers L8085C, L8219C, and L8245C.
Consumers are advised by the FDA to stop using and not consume the recalled Topaz Wafer Rolls and to return the recalled product to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-866-238-5201, Monday to Friday 9:00 to 5:00, Eastern Standard Time.
Melamine, a toxic industrial chemical used in the manufacture of fertilizer, fire retardants, and plastics, has been at the center of a global scandal originating in China over the adulturation of a wide variety of food products with a variety of contaminants. In particular, melamine has been used in that country to falsify protein levels. Because melamine contains such high nitrogen contents, it can be used to make certain foods appear high in protein in certain tests, enabling producers and manufacturers to pass off sub-standard products as protein-rich. The melamine milk scandal first broke after tens of thousands of Chinese babies were sickened, hospitalized, or died as a result of melamine contamination. Since, the government there has admitted that not tens of thousands, but hundreds of thousands fell ill as a result of melamine contamination.
In sufficient quantities, ingesting melamine can cause kidney problems, including kidney stones and kidney failure, and in the case of at least six children, death. Melamine has been found in dozens of products exported globally from China including milk teas and coffees, cocoas, yogurts, candies, cookies, biscuits, cheeses, eggs, and crackers, prompting international recalls. It is also believed eggs became contaminated following feed contamination, which has since been linked to certain livestock, including chickens and pigs, and now, experts are looking at possible contamination in seafood grown in China.
