Introduction: The Sanlu milk powder incident has made people extremely worried about domestic food safety! However, even in the United States, where food safety is most strictly regulated, there are still causes for concern! On March 3, a U.S. non-profit research organization, the "Environmental Working Group," said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), under the Department of Health and Human Services, had recently discovered a chemical substance used in rocket and missile fuel—perchlorate—in 15 brands of infant formula on the U.S. market. Please see [Science Exploration] Secret Unveiled: Foreign Milk Powder Contains Carcinogens!
In a statement issued that day, the research institute said that the relevant study report by the CDC was published last month in the British journal Radiation Science & Environmental Epidemiology, but "did not attract much attention." According to this report, perchlorate was found in 15 brands of infant formula on the U.S. market, among which the two best-selling brands were both derived from cow's milk. In 2000, these two brands accounted for 87% of the U.S. infant formula market share. However, the report did not specify which 15 brands had the above-mentioned issue.
The statement said that the types of baby formula tested by CDC researchers included four kinds, such as sugared milk powder and soybean milk powder. It was found that all four types of formula from the 15 brands contained perchlorate, with the highest perchlorate content found in sugared milk powder.
The statement pointed out that perchlorate is a chemical substance commonly used in rocket and missile fuel during the Cold War period. "Multiple studies have shown that perchlorate is a potent thyroid toxin, which may affect the brain development of fetuses and infants." The CDC report warned that when the aforementioned formula containing perchlorate is mixed with water—even if it only contains trace amounts of perchlorate—the perchlorate content will exceed the safety standard recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). However, the CDC did not analyze the extent of harm caused by perchlorate to humans in this study.
American media quoted a spokesperson for the CDC as reporting that due to only a few sampling inspections having been conducted, it is currently difficult to determine whether the perchlorate content in various types of formula from the same brand universally exceeds the safety standard.
Previous research by the "Environmental Working Group" found that drinking water systems in at least 28 states in the U.S. were contaminated with perchlorate. The EPA also inspected approximately 4,000 public water supply systems, detecting perchlorate in the drinking water of around 160 water supply systems, with 31 exceeding the safety standard.