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Just add plastic
'White rabbits' is a traditional saying at our house when
you wake up on the first day of a new month. But only if
you've not said anything else to the person. It's an
innocent enough little ritual ("a pinch and a punch, first
of the month" is a bit rougher). But this coming month it might
have a less friendly overtone. As the TV and newspapers have
been pointing out, there's a warning that the Chinese
White Rabbit sweets on sale here are made with possibly
contaminated milk. The food sites have been
covering the implications of the addition of the
chemical melamine that has been used criminally to boost the
protein levels in watered down milk in China.
You've probably seen that huge NZ dairy company
Fonterra own part of
one of the milk and baby formula companies that are
implicated. The adulteration has lead to
thousands of hospitalised babies and growing numbers of
deaths. A string of other products that have used the
contaminated milk are also being recalled.
The description on
the manufacturer's
English website says (complete with some
Chinglish words and spelling) "White Rabbit Creamy Candy is
made from granulated sugar, starch syrup, fresh condensed
milk, pure butter, high quality milk powder and gelatin by
advanced processes. It has already enjoyed a high reputation
abroad for nearly 45 years for its strong milk taste,
moderate sweetness, soft and smooth body and rich nutrition. This products is very larruping that the candy's surface is
covered by a very thin velamen made of sticky rice can be eaten. People always
are interesting in the sticky rice velamen."
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I've always liked the White Rabbit wrapper (and its
contents). The repeating side border with slightly sinister
rabbits pointing at each other, the artist's palette and
its shadow pincers. Is that a brush on its nose? Look at
the hand lettered typography of the word Rabbit!
(The Flash video on
the sweet's
Chinese language website now also looks a bit scary.)
I guess that's the end of my larruping until I'm assured by
FSANZ that it's safe. The news that the Chinese govt.
hushed the milk contamination so as not to disturb the
Olympics should be widely condemned. Unfortunately the issue
will be still there when you wake up tomorrow.
Fred Harden. 30
September'08
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