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China has launched a nationwide probe into all baby milk powders
after a contaminant linked to the deaths and illness of thousands
of pets in the United States last year was found in one brand of
formula.
Chinese authorities this week were investigating whether tainted
formula lead to the death of one infant and caused kidney stones in
dozens of others, reviving memories of a fake formula scandal four
years ago in which at least 13 babies died.
One baby died in northwestern Gansu province from kidney stones, a
rare complaint in infants, and more than 50 others had developed
kidney stones there and in other provinces this year.
Investigations showed that most of the babies had drunk Sanlu-brand
formula, state media said.
The Sanlu Group, a Hebei province-based dairy producer partly owned
by New Zealand dairy export giant Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd.,
issued an immediate recall of milk formula made before August 6,
saying about 700 tonnes of melamine-contaminated powder were in
circulation, Xinhua said on Friday.
Calls to the company went unanswered.
Melamine, which is used as an ingredient in plastics, fertilizers
and cleaning products, was highly suspected to have contaminated
batches of Sanlu-brand milk formula, China's Ministry of Health
said late on Thursday.
Melamine has been used by Chinese suppliers of animal feed
components to artificially bolster its apparent protein
content.
Veterinarians linked it to the formation of kidney stones and
kidney failure in thousands of deaths and illnesses in pets in the
United States last year.
China's quality watchdog, the Administration of Quality,
Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), had launched a
probe into all baby milk producers, Xinhua said.
"The results (of the investigation) will be announced to the public
in a timely manner," AQSIQ said in a statement on its
website.
Severely punished
China's Health Ministry pledged to punish those responsible.
"(Authorities) in collaboration with local governments will
determine the cause and the responsibility and severely punish
those responsible," the ministry said.
The World Health Organisation said it was in close consultation
with Chinese health authorities.
"We are monitoring the situation in China and for potential wider
implications for other countries," WHO China representative Hans
Troedsson told Reuters in an emailed statement.
It was unclear whether any of the problem formula had been
exported.
The United States' Food and Drug Administration warned consumers on
Thursday not to buy or use baby formula from China, which is banned
in the United States.
The health scare broke after Xinhua quoted doctors at a hospital in
China's northwestern Gansu province as saying that fake milk powder
from one brand could have been responsible for kidney stones
developing in 14 patients, all under 11 months.
Dozens of other cases of babies developing kidney stones had
emerged at other hospitals in Gansu and in at least six other
provinces.
Kidney stones are small, solid masses that form when salts or
minerals normally found in urine crystallise inside the
kidney.
If they become large enough, they can move out of the kidney, cause
infection and lead to permanent kidney damage.
In 2004, at least 13 babies in eastern Anhui province died after
drinking fake milk powder that investigators later found had no
nutritional value, a scandal that rocked the country and triggered
widespread investigations into food and health safety.
China is the world's second-biggest market for baby milk
powder.
