CHINA:CONSUMERS IN China were fearful for the safety of dairy products yesterday after a toxic baby milk scandal, which has resulted in the deaths of two infants and made thousands ill, blew up to include milk products from the country's best-known dairy companies.
So far two children have died of kidney failure and 1,200 more have developed kidney stones from drinking the toxic formula. Thousands more children may yet fall ill, the government warned.
"Hospitals should try their best to meet rising demands for diagnosis and treatment because the number of parents who take their children for medical check-ups could rise drastically in the future," said Chinese deputy health minister Ma Xiaowei.
A government health investigation showed 20 per cent of dairy companies had produced batches of milk containing melamine, an industrial chemical added to milk to make it seem like it has a higher protein content.
The scandal is the latest crisis to affect China's product safety record and has rattled consumer confidence in food products in China. In 2004, at least 13 babies in Anhui province died after drinking fake milk powder that had no nutritional value.
Hong Kong supermarket chain Wellcome yesterday withdrew a yoghurt ice-cream bar produced by China's biggest dairy product maker, Yili, after it was found to contain melamine.
Chinese health officials began an investigation into all baby milk powders after reports of children in at least seven provinces developing kidney stones after drinking tainted formula produced by the Sanlu group.
The results of the investigation have shocked Chinese consumers. Out of 109 dairy producers checked, 22 were found to have produced batches of milk contaminated with melamine.
New Zealand's Fonterra Co-op has a 43 per cent stake in Sanlu and the New Zealand government said it had pushed for an investigation after local authorities ignored pleas to have the tainted milk tested.
Sanlu has since admitted it knew of the contamination in early August, more than a month before the public recall issued last week.
There had been complaints to the company since March that babies' urine was discoloured and that some infants had been admitted to hospital after drinking the formula.
Sanlu chairwoman Tian Wenhua has been sacked over the scandal. Two men were arrested yesterday for allegedly adding melamine to milk, bringing to four the number of people arrested in relation to the contaminated milk.