Malignant milk?

ON THE heels of the mad cow disease,
the British government is faced
with another food safety crisis.
This time the crisis centres around
powdered baby milk thought to
contain potentially hazardous chemicals. However, the government has
insisted that there was no cause for
alarm. The controversy began after a
study suggested that cancer and
damage to human fertility could
be caused by phthalates in some
milks. This group of chemicals is
commonly found in plastic packaging, though at levels well below
safety standards set by the European
Union.

Tim Boswell, junior agriculture
minister, ruled out any risk to babies,
their parents and the public. But he
refused to divulge the names
of the brands which contained
the chemicals. John Chisolm, deputy
chairperson of the British Medical
Association said, "Mothers will find
this very frightening. They have a right
to know the facts, so that they can
choose milk that is safe." The latest row
has again raised the demand for setting
up an independent food standards
agency.