The body paint's importer has voluntarily withdrawn the product.

Today's recall follows advice from Canadian and UK authorities whose test results show low levels of melamine in the sex paint product.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) spokeswoman Lydia Buchtmann said those who had consumed the body paint product were not likely to be affected unless large quantities were consumed.

"Our advice is that consumers shouldn't consume it and if they have, it they should dispose of it safely,'' Ms Buchtmann said.

"It is a very low risk, you'd have to consume a high quantity over a long period of time to become ill.''

Ms Buchtmann said both FSANZ and international authorities' test results had established there was no evidence of melamine contamination of fruit and vegetables grown in China and imported to Australia as previous reports had suggested.

Banned Foods Trivia about 7 banned foods

The following is a list of some foods and beverages that have been banned either because the particular species is endangered or because, if ingested, they can seriously threaten the health, safety, and well-being of the consumer.

1. Japanese Puffer Fish (fugu)

Pufferfish, fugu

Also known as blowfish, these creatures are so named for their ability to inflate themselves to several times their normal size by swallowing water or air when threatened.

Although the eyes and internal organs of most puffer fish are highly toxic, the meat is considered a delicacy in Japan and Korea. Still, nearly 60 percent of humans who ingest this fish die from tetrodotoxin, a powerful neurotoxin that damages or destroys nerve tissue. Humans need only ingest a few milligrams of this toxin for a fatal reaction to occur.

Most puffer fish poisoning is the result of accidental consumption of other foods that are tainted with the puffer fish toxin rather than from the ingestion of puffer fish itself. Symptoms include rapid numbness and tingling of lips and mouth, which are generally resolved within hours to days if treated promptly.

2. Absinthe

Absinthe ban lifted in USA

Absinthe has been found to be the cause of negative neurological effects.

Banned in 1905 in the U.S, this ban was only recently lifted in 2007!
In Switzerland the ban was lifted in 2000.
Absinthe has been found
to be the cause of negative
neurological effects.
The exact origin of absinthe is unknown,
but this strong alcoholic liqueur was probably first commercially produced
around 1797. It takes its name from one of its ingredients, Artemisia absinthium, which is the botanical name for the bitter herb known as wormwood.

Green in color due to the presence of chlorophyll, it became an immensely
popular drink in France by the 1850s. Said to induce creativity, produce hallucinations, and act as an aphrodisiac, the bohemian lifestyle quickly embraced it, and absinthe soon became known as la fee verte (the green fairy). But in July 1912, the Department of Agriculture banned absinthe in America for its “harmful neurological effects,” and France followed in 1915.

The ban was lifted in the United States in

3. Foie Gras- I am not sure on this one, since Trader Joe’s still sells pate and I know restaurants still sell it. So I did a little research. It was banned in Chicago in 2006, then the resturants and Chefs brought a lawsuit against the city to allow it back. It seems they got their foie gras back in May 2008.
See NYT article here.

Banned due to this type of cruel feeding

Foie gras, which literally means “fatty liver,” is what actor Roger Moore calls a “delicacy of despair.” When Moore discovered how geese were tortured to create the hors d’oeuvre, he was so appalled that he teamed up with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) and APRL (Animal Protection and Rescue League) to educate the public.

In order to create foie gras, ducks and geese are painfully force-fed up to four pounds of food a day by cramming it down their throats through metal pipes until, according to Moore, “they develop a disease that causes their livers to enlarge up to ten times their normal size!”

Investigations into foie gras farms have revealed such horrible, unabashed cruelty to animals that the dish has been banned in many countries and many parts of the United States.

4. Casu Marzu Maggot Cheese (ok, this one sounds sick!)

Casu Marzu Maggot Cheese

Casu marzu, which means “rotting cheese” in Sardinian, is not just an aged and very smelly cheese, it is an illegal commodity in many places. Casu marzu is a runny white cheese made by injecting Pecorino Sardo cheese with cheese-eating larvae that measure about one-half inch long.

Tradition calls for this cheese to be eaten with the maggots running through it. Sardinians claim these critters make the cheese creamier and that it’s absolutely delicious. This cheese is widely, but not openly, eaten in Sardinia, even though the ban on it is only enforced sporadically.

5. Sassafras

Now recognized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a potential carcinogen, sassafras is the dried root bark of the sassafras tree native to eastern North America. Throughout history, sassafras has been used for making tea, as a fragrance for soap, a painkiller, an insect repellent, and a seasoning and thickener for many Creole soups and stews.

But the best-known use of sassafras lies in the creation of root beer, which owes its characteristic flavor to sassafras extract. In 1960, the FDA banned the ingredient saffrole — found in sassafras oil — for use as an additive because in several experiments massive doses of sassafras oil were found to induce liver cancer in rats. It should come as no surprise that chemicals and artificial flavors are used to flavor root beer today.

6. Blackened Redfish ( I wondered why I never see this on the menu anymore!)

Yummy blackened redfish, all fished out I guess!

In 1980, New Orleans chef Paul Prudhomme publicized his recipe for blackened redfish, which is still very popular today. The recipe was so popular that it sparked a blackened redfish craze in the 1980s, which so severely threatened the redfish stock that the Commerce Department had to step in and close down fisheries in July 1986.

In Florida, strict conservation measures were enforced for two years, and to this day, the state requires that anglers keep only one redfish per day and release any that do not fall into the 18- to 27-inch limit, handling their catch as little as possible to assure that the fish survives upon release.

7. Ortolan (I had never heard of this bird before)

Cute little birdy, he is only a mouthful, poor guy.

In the same cruel fashion as foie gras, this tiny bird has little to sing about, as historically it was horribly tortured before being eaten as a gastronomic treat by the aristocracy of France.

Its fate was often to be captured, have its eyes poked out, and be put in a small cage, then force-fed until it grew to four times its normal size. Next the poor bird would be drowned in brandy, roasted, and eaten whole.

Now considered a protected species in France, the ortolan is also in decline in several other European countries. Nevertheless, hunters still kill about 50,000 birds per year even though it is illegal to sell them.

BPA – Can you really trust the FDA?

FDA’s objectivity regarding BPA questioned
10/27/2008 4:29:38 PM

WASHINGTON — Federal lawmakers are investigating the relationship the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) may have with the chemical industry regarding the FDA’s draft assessment that bisphenol A (BPA) is safe, an October 24 USA Today article reports.

The congressional action was launched in part after The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the FDA’s assessment of BPA was based on reports from the plastics industry and those with a financial stake in the chemical used to harden plastics, such as polycarbonate water bottles.

The findings of the FDA draft report are at odds with the conclusions of the FDA’s own advisers from the National Toxicology Program (NTP), who announced in September that the chemical is of “some concern” relating to the development of the brain, behavior and the prostate gland in fetuses, infants and children.

The Journal Sentinel reported that the FDA will not reveal who prepared its draft assessment on BPA, but FDA documents obtained by the newspaper show that the work was done primarily by those with ties to the chemical industry, including Stephen Hentges of the chemical manufacturer trade association American Chemistry Council’s group on bisphenol A.

The newspaper reported that Hentges commissioned a review of all studies of the neurotoxicity of the chemical and submitted it to the FDA. “The FDA then used that report as the foundation for its evaluation of the chemical on neural and behavioral development,” the Journal Sentinel reported.

The Journal Sentinel also reported that the congressional committee also is evaluating the role that an FDA-hired consulting group, Virginia-based ICF International, had in preparing the draft. Other ICF clients include the American Chemistry Council and the American Petroleum Institute.

Also being scrutinized is the fact that the chairman of the FDA subcommittee that is reviewing the FDA’s assessment of BPA heads a research center that has accepted a $5 million gift from a retired medical device manufacturer who says BPA is safe. BPA is used in the manufacture of some medical devices.

The Journal Sentinel reported that FDA subcommittee chairman Martin Philbert received $5 million from Charles Gelman, who told the Journal Sentinel that he had expressed his views that BPA is “perfectly safe” to Philbert in several conversations. “Philbert at first denied ever having been contacted by Gelman about bisphenol A. He now says that he is aware of Gelman’s views but is not influenced by them,” the newspaper reported.

The subcommittee’s review of the BPA report was expected to be released any day with a presentation in Washington on October 31. Consumer advocacy groups, including the Environmental Working Group (EWG), have said that many scientific studies suggest BPA may cause serious harm. The EWG issued a statement on October 23 saying that the Journal Sentinel’s investigative report “proves a glaring conflict of interest that should render the draft meaningless.”

The Canadian government on October 18 declared that BPA is a toxin and that it is banning its use in baby bottles, as WaterTech Online™ reported, and attorneys general from Connecticut, New Jersey and Delaware have asked 11 companies to stop using BPA in baby bottles and formula cans, USA Today reported.

To read the full USA Today article, click here.

To read the full Journal Sentinel report, click here.

For related information on this story, click here.

What is BPA or Bishenol A?

Bisphenol A, commonly abbreviated as BPA, is an organic compound with two phenol functional groups. It is a difunctional building block of several important polymers and polymer additives. With an annual production of 2–3 million tonnes, it is an important monomer in the production of polycarbonate.

Suspected of being hazardous to humans since the 1930s, concerns about the use of bisphenol A in consumer products grabbed headlines in 2008 when several governments issued reports questioning its safety, and some retailers pulled products made from it off their shelves.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an industrial chemical used to make polycarbonate plastic resins, epoxy resins, and other products.


esearchers tested more than 2000 people between the ages of six and 85. And 93 percent of them tested positive for BPA, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.