Milk Shake-up Continues to Jostle

Source: Xinhua/Agencies

An additional 31 batches of milk powder were found to contain melamine but most products of this kind on the market were safe, the country's food safety watchdog said on Wednesday following a nationwide special check on the chemical.

Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming (R) chats with a baby's parents at a supermarket in Beijing, September 26, 2008. [Xinhua]

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said it had tested 265 batches of milk powder produced by 154 different companies prior to Sept 14, and found that 31 produced by 20 domestic dairy companies were tainted by the chemical melamine.

The new batches tested were mostly milk powder products for adults.

The melamine content in the Sanlu brand reached 6,196 mg per kg in its so-called high iron and zinc formula, the highest among all the samples.

On Wednesday the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC), which supervises product quality at the retail level, ordered all tainted products to be pulled off shelves.

The contaminated goods were to be sealed at the site and prevented from re-entering the market, said the SAIC on its website.

Industry and Commerce organs at all levels were asked to post notices including the brand and batch numbers of the tainted milk powder in shopping malls, supermarkets and other dairy markets, in a bid to inform and warn the consumers.

And AQSIQ said yesterday that none of the chemical melamine was found in 418 samples taken from newly-produced liquid milk of the nation's major brands in the most recent inspection.

No problems were discovered in samples from the latest tests of 65 domestic brands nationwide including top-selling brands such as Yili, Mengniu, Sanyuan, Wandashan and Yinqiao, among others, according to the AQSIQ.

Chinese inspectors found the chemical melamine in 69 batches of baby milk powder produced by 22 companies nationwide in the middle of last month.

The authorities then ordered a halt to the sale of the tainted products, which included such well-known brands as Sanlu, Mengniu, Yili and Yashili, among others.

Industry and Commerce offices have been told to post notices in retail outlets that include brands and batch numbers of the tainted milk powder.

Relevant departments have begun an investigation of the companies implicated to find the source of the problem and punish those responsible.

Tian Wenhua, board chairwoman and general manager of Sanlu Dairy, was detained by police for questioning and fired from her posts in the wake of the tainted milk powder scandal.

About13,000 infants nationwide were hospitalized with kidney problems and four were killed after drinking baby formula tainted with melamine, a toxic chemical added to raw milk to falsely increase protein levels.

Lawsuit against Sanlu

The parents of a baby allegedly sickened in the country's tainted milk crisis are suing Sanlu, in the first known lawsuit stemming from the scandal, a lawyer said yesterday.

Although product liability lawsuits have become more common in recent years, the lawyer, Ji Cheng, said he would not know until next week if the court in Henan province would take the case.

"The court will make the decision whether to accept this case after the National Day holiday," Ji said.

The hospitalized 14-month-old from Henan province was, fed - from birth - infant formula made by Sanlu Group Co, according to a report by Caijing, a leading business magazine.

Lawyers said they had not heard of any other civil lawsuits being filed in response to the melamine contamination of liquid milk, yogurt and other products made with milk in the country.

Ji said one of the sick child's parents filed a lawsuit in a court in Zhenping county recently seeking 150,000 yuan (,000) in compensation from Sanlu for medical, travel and other expenses incurred after the child developed kidney stones. The amount could increase because the child is still being treated.

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Editor: Jessie Hwang