The European Union has banned imports of baby food containing Chinese milk as a toxic chemical that was illegally added to China's dairy supplies turned up in candy and other Chinese-made goods that were quickly pulled from stores worldwide.
The move comes after the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) recommended the withdrawal of a Chinese-manufactured sweet brand with milk-product ingredients from shelves here.
White Rabbit Creamy Candies are being sold in Chinese and Asian outlets in Ireland and the FSAI has advised they be pulled from the market as a precautionary measure.
Customers who may have bought the sweets are being told not to consume them.
Four Chinese babies have died and 54,000 have fallen sick due to the contamination. In addition to the ban, the European Commission has called for more checks on other Chinese food imports.
Chinese baby formula contaminated with melamine has been blamed for the deaths and illnesses in China. Health experts say ingesting a small amount of the chemical poses no danger, but melamine - used to make plastics and fertilizer - can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure. Infants are particularly vulnerable.
All European Union imports of products containing more than 15 per cent of milk powder will have to be tested under the new rules due to come into force today.
Food safety experts in the EU, which imports about 21,500 tons of Chinese confectionary products, said there is only a limited risk in Europe from the food imports. But the European Commission says it is acting as a precaution in the face of the growing health scare.
The World Health Organization and UNICEF, the UN Children's Fund, issued a joint statement yesterday expressing concern about the crisis.
"Whilst any attempt to deceive the public in the area of food production and marketing is unacceptable, deliberate contamination of foods intended for consumption by vulnerable infants and young children is particularly deplorable," the statement said.
Melamine has been found in infant formula and other milk products from 22 Chinese dairy companies. Suppliers trying to cut costs are believed to have added it to watered-down milk because its high nitrogen content masks the resulting protein deficiency.
China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said China wants to work with food safety authorities of other countries over concerns about its dairy products, and China's state broadcaster CCTV said yesterday there have been no positive tests of melamine on major brands of milk, yogurt and other liquid dairy products after Sept. 14.
The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture said that 29 provincial areas nationwide had set up working groups to regulate the dairy product market.
AP