Tainted body paint recalled in Australia

30 October 2008

SYDNEY – Australian couples who were heavy users of a chocolate-flavoured body paint were urged Wednesday to change brands after Boxer Lovers Body Pen Set was found to contain the poisonous chemical melamine linked to the deaths of four children in China.

"Our advice is that consumers shouldn’t consume it, and if they have it they should dispose of it safely," Food Standards Australia New Zealand spokeswoman Lydia Buchtmann said.

"It’s a very low risk. You’d have to consume a high quantity over a long period of time to become ill."

Melamine, a chemical used in the plastics industry, was used illegally in China to increase the protein levels in milk and milk products.

The body paint, used mostly as a sex aid, was withdrawn from sale by its importer.

[Dpa / Expatica]