China's tainted milk scandal escalates

19 September 2008

The Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) found the high level of contamination, after testing the compound that has so far been the cause of death of four infants. Moreover, the nationwide inspection of milk revealed that the contamination ran wider than the tainted milk powder, which now seems to be the tip of the ice-berg. 

AQSIQ has accused two of China's top dairy producers in a statement on its website (www.aqsiq.gov.cn), amidst claims of claims of delays and cover-ups. Almost a tenth of milk batches from the Mengniu Dairy and Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co Ltd. have tested positive for melamine, which is banned in food, since it can cause kidney stones and lead to renal failure in infants.

Chinese officials also said that though most milk was safe to drink, public trust has been rocked by a number of food scares involving eggs, pork and seafood during recent years. 

Melamine, which is derived from coal contains about 66 per cent nitrogen and shows protein levels in dairy products to be higher than what they really are, as protein tests are based on the nitrogen levels present. Melamine is also used to make plastics and in tanning leather. It was found as a contaminant in exported pet food last year, and was said to be the cause of the deaths of thousands of cats and dogs in the US.

Reports in the media said that at last count around 6,244 children had taken ill with kidney stones after drinking powdered milk that was contaminated with melamine. Additionally, four infants died, and another 158 are suffering from acute kidney failure.

Melamine was also found in products of a second dairy company. Hong Kong's Food and Environmental Hygiene Department also found melamine in Yili's ``Natural Choice Yogurt Ice-bar with Real Fruit,'' Wellcome said in a statement. Wellcome, a supermarket chain owned by Dairy Farm International Holdings Ltd., has said that it will cease selling ice cream made by Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group, having found the melamine compound in a sample.