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Tainted milk sickens 6,000 babies in China
Beijing (AFP) Sept 17, 2008 China said Wednesday more than 6,000 babies had fallen ill and three died after drinking milk powder contaminated with a toxic chemical, as it vowed massive efforts to contain a widening food scandal. In the latest debacle to tarnish the "Made in China" label, authorities admitted two of 22 companies found to have melamine in their milk powder were exporting abroad, and that tainted yogurt had been found in Hong Kong. Melamine, a chemical normally used to make plastics and glues, appeared to have been added to make the products seem richer in protein, and China's two biggest dairy companies were among those found to have contaminated products. "Everyone in our family is very worried," said Qi Yunzhong, a teacher at a primary school in northwest China's Gansu province whose son got kidney stones after drinking tainted milk powder. "Every day there is a long line out in front of the hospital. The families are worried and everyone has stopped using milk powder," he told AFP by phone. In Beijing, Health Minister Chen Zhu said 6,244 infants across the country had fallen ill and three died after consuming the milk powder over a period of many months. The number of sick was up fivefold from official numbers given Tuesday. While many had now recovered, 1,327 remained in hospital, of whom 158 were suffering or recovering from acute kidney failure, Chen said as he gave the government's first detailed account of the scandal. China's Cabinet, in a meeting headed by Premier Wen Jiabao, criticised "flaws" in dairy market supervision, state TV said, in an admission of official failures. "(The scandal) has shown us that the dairy market is chaotic, flaws exist in supervision mechanisms, and supervision work is weak," state-run CCTV said in summarising the conclusions of the Cabinet meeting. Speaking at the same briefing Chen, the head of the nation's product quality watchdog, Li Changjiang, said every dairy producer in China would be tested to ensure the safety of their products. Meanwhile, authorities waited to see if tainted products turned up overseas after officials said two of the companies had exports to Bangladesh, Burundi, Gabon, Myanmar and Yemen. Li of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, gave no indication if the exports were contaminated but said the companies involved were recalling their products. Bangladesh said Wednesday that food and commerce officials would meet this weekend to determine whether tainted products had entered the South Asian nation. Li also confirmed melamine was found in a yogurt ice-bar made by Yili, one of China's two biggest dairy producers, which was sold in the southern territory of Hong Kong. Hong Kong supermarket chain Wellcome has recalled the product, and Li said authorities would investigate how melamine got into it. State-run Xinhua news agency reported late Wednesday that 22 people were being questioned in connection with the contaminated milk and that six had been arrested. The arrested included two villagers charged with selling melamine and adding it to milk sold to the Sanlu Group, an owner of a private food additive shop who sold the chemical to milk dealers and two milk sellers who admitted to selling the tainted product. Xinhua did not provide information on the sixth person, and it was unclear if their number of six arrests included the sacked chairwoman of Sanlu Group, who has been detained. The scandal is the latest to rock China's food industry, which has been tarnished in recent years by a series of health scares over dangerous products, some of which have been exported. In one of them, melamine was also found in Chinese pet food exported to the United States last year that killed dogs and cats. Amid last year's scandals, which also extended to products such as toys containing lead-based paint, Chinese authorities vowed to improve the safety of its food and manufacturing industries. However, the scandal has given rise to questions over whether authorities had initially tried to cover up the crisis. New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said this week her country "blew the whistle" on the continued sale of the milk powder after Chinese authorities refused to act. The first of the baby deaths occurred May 1, more than four months before the scandal became public. Related Links China News from SinoDaily.com
Chinese armchairs linked to French eczema outbreak
Paris (AFP) Sept 17, 2008A French retailer said Wednesday it has withdrawn a range of Chinese-made armchairs and sofas from sale after hundreds of buyers complained of developing a painful eczema rash. |
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