By Colleen Hurley, RD, Certified Kids Nutrition Specialist Perhaps adding additional credo to the reasons to breastfeed list, China is in the hot seat again with yet another tainted childrens product. Only this time, the product in question is infant formula. In response to reports of a contaminated milk-based formula, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a Health Information Advisory. The Advisory is to assure Americans that there is currently no apparent threat to infant formulas sold in the US, as all companies must meet special requirements to sell formula in the United States. Currently, no Chinese formula manufacturers have passed the necessary protocols to sell formula in the US but FDA officials are still investing specialty markets that sell Chinese products. The FDA goes onto to advise parents and caregivers to avoid giving any infant formula made in China to babies or children. In addition, the FDA encourages parents to contact their health care professional if they notice any change in their babys health status or have any questions pertaining to the health of their infant. As of today, Chinese officials report the number of babies fallen ill from the contaminated formula has doubled to more than 1,200. The majority of the infants involved have developed kidney stones. Of the babies infected, 53 cases have been reported as serious while 340 remain in the hospital. The contaminated infant formula company, Sanlu, is 43% owned by New Zealand dairy company Fonterra. The milk-based formula was tainted with a chemical called melamine, commonly used to produce plastics, glues, and cleaning products. Melamine was injected into the Sanlu infant formula to artificially boost the protein content of the milk. Chinese officials are currently investigating where in the production process the melamine was added, yet New Zealands prime minister is accusing Chinese officials of attempting to cover up the scandal. Fonterra claims they suspected an issue with the formula months ago and have been trying to get an official recall of the infant formula. China certainly does not have a good track record when it comes to product safety, yet their publicly announced overhaul of their product safety system following the toy recalls has proven ineffective. The FDA is asking state officials to work with the agency to ensure removal of any China made infant formula and to warn members of the Asian community to avoid the use of any infant formula made in China.