Retailers in Britain and Australia have taken Chinese sweets off its shelves due to fears over the contaminated milk product scandal.
Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, said in a statement: "As a precautionary measure we have withdrawn White Rabbit Candies from the very small number of UK stores that sell them as part of our ethnic range."
A spokeswoman for the supermarket said the decision was taken yesterday and the products were removed from the shelves immediately.
Four children have died and some 53,000 children have become sick in China after consuming milk products tainted with melamine, a product normally used to make plastics.
The scandal has prompted a host of nations to ban, or at least scrutinise, Chinese dairy imports.
White Rabbit Candies have also been removed from sale in Australia after authorities warned it contained a toxic chemical, officials said today. Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) said retailers in Australia had been asked to remove the sweets from their shelves.
In New Zealand, officials warned people against eating the sweets after they were found to be contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine.
Food Standards Australia and New Zealand said the testing released today confirmed the White Rabbit lollies contained enough melamine to cause health problems if consumed in high quantities over a long period.
"People are advised not to consume these milk-based sweets imported from China," it said in a statement.
"It is unlikely that there could be a problem if consumed in small amounts but people with concerns about the consumption of this product should seek medical advice."
The New Zealand Food Safety Authority issued a similar warning for the sweets, which are sold in Asian supermarkets. A Radio New Zealand report said the authority does not have the legal authority to issue a recall.
"This is a serious concern," the authority's deputy chief executive said in a statement. "We cannot discount the likelihood of health risks resulting from the consumption of these sweets."
Taiwan will also remove 160 products containing Chinese milk and vegetable-based proteins from store shelves, a senior health official said today.
The announcement by Department of Health vice minister Sung Yen-jen is Taiwan's toughest response yet to the escalating tainted China milk crisis.
President Ma Ying-jeou, who cruised to victory in March elections on a platform of closer economic ties with the mainland, said: "I condemn the mainland manufacturers that have produced fake milk and dairy creamer."
His statement came two days after Taiwan banned the import of the China-made milk products and vegetable-based proteins.
*AFP / AP
The specs
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Start times
5.55am: Wheelchair Marathon Elites
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The Baghdad Clock
Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
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How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
