China

Three babies die, thousands ill in milk scandal

Article published on the 2008-09-17 Latest update 2008-09-17 14:43 TU

A child is checked for kindey stones in Sichuan province
(Photo: Reuters)

Officials in China said on Wednesday that three babies have died from drinking milk made from contaminated powder and that 6,244 infants have fallen ill. Two of the 22 companies implicated in the scandal have been found to be exporting to Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

The number of sick children announced on Wednesday by Health Minister Chen Zhu is five times Tuesday's official figure, with 1,327 still in hospital, 158 of them suffering or recovering from acute kidney failure.

Chen said that the children had consumed powder tainted by melamine over a period of months.

Shopworkers remove contaminated milk powder from the shelves
(Photo: Reuters)

Melamine is usually added to plastics and glues but appears to have been added to the milk products to make them appear richer in protein. China's two biggest dairy companies were among those found to have contaminated products.

A cabinet meeting on Wednesday concluded that "the dairy market is chaotic, flaws exist in supervision mechanisms, and supervision work is weak," according to state-run CCTV.

Officials say that two companies export to Bangladesh, Burundi, Gabon, Myanmar and Yemen, although there is no indication as to whether products there are contaminated. Melamine has been found in a yoghurt ice-bar made by Yili, one of China's biggest dairy companies in Hong Kong.

There have been a series of safety scares over Chinese products over the last few years, says Beijing-based journalist Jasper Becker.

"There are many small producers here who are trying to make money in a very competitive market," he told RFI. "Very often the companies which have been caught out have been able to bribe enforcement officials and get away with it until there is some kind of national scandal."

In France on Wednesday retail giant Conforama wirhdrew chairs made by Chinese company Linkwise after hundreds of buyers compalined of developing painful eczema.

French paper Le Parisien said that a dozen people have been hospitalised after buying the chairs, while a doctor links the outbreak to an anti-mould substance which was used too abundantly.