Melamine, Chemical Dyes—What’s the Next Poison to Spike Burmese Food?

FIRST it was the melamine scandal, in which a harmful chemical was found in milk and dairy products sold in Burmese stores. Then came the pickled tea scandal, also involving chemical additives—followed by a similar scare over tainted shrimp paste. Burmese consumers are having an increasingly difficult time finding risk-free foodstuffs in the markets these days.

The Ministry of Health has banned sales of dozens of brands of pickled tea and shrimp paste, along with various kinds of traditional medicine. The ban on pickled green tea, known as laphet, was a particularly serious blow for many Burmese consumers, who rely on pots of it to get through the day.A gold-colored chemical textile dye, Auramine O, was found in 43 brands of laphet, while a second dangerous dye, Rhodamine B, was found in 37 brands of shrimp paste, another common delicacy in Burmese kitchens.

Rhodamine B, which is used to dye textiles, paper and even leather, is particularly harmful. A report in the Burmese language newspaper Myanma Ahlin said it could cause ulcers, nervous disorders and even cancer.

“The problem we’re facing now is worse than the impact of melamine-tainted milk powder because chemical dye is used in a lot of food in Myanmar [Burma], including junk food and snacks eaten at schools by young children,” Than Htut Aung, a publisher and editor of several news weeklies in Burma, told the AP news agency.

Traditional medicines made in Burma have been blamed for cases of lead and arsenic poisoning among Burmese children living in the US.

Singapore and Malaysia have both banned imports of laphet after Burmese pickled tea was found to be tainted with chemical dye. Thailand, which has a large Burmese immigrant population, still allows the importation of laphet.

Old eating habits die hard among Burmese consumers, however, and the banned items are still sold secretly by many shops.