China: Third baby dies from tainted milk formula

[Amelia]

China: Third baby dies from tainted milk formula

September 17, 2008

CNN

BEIJING, China (CNN) -- A third baby has died and at least 6,200 children have fallen ill after drinking formula tainted with the same chemical involved in a massive pet food recall last year, Chinese officials said Wednesday.

China's largest producer of milk, Mengniu Dairy Group, announced the recall of three batches of formula made in January after tests showed they were contaminated with melamine, said Li Changjiang, China's director of quarantine and inspection.

Though it should not be added to food ingredients, suppliers in China sometimes put it in food to make a product appear to be protein rich. Melamine has nitrogen, and standard tests for protein in bulk food ingredients measure levels of nitrogen.

More than 1,300 infants are hospitalized with illnesses including malnutrition, kidney stones and acute renal failure.

On Monday two brothers were arrested who Chinese officials say supplied three tons of milk each day to the Sanlu Group, which makes baby formula.

They could face death if convicted, according to state-run newspaper China Daily. The siblings' raw milk had been watered down and a chemical added to fool quality checks, the newspaper said.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/16/china.tainted.formula/index.html

[Gail]

Oh how tragic!!

[Dottie]

If this type of thing is done to people of their own country, what could be done to the thousands of products that are sold each day in the U.S.A.????

[Amelia]

U.S. adds precautions to keep out tainted milk

FDA widening inspections to focus on food shipments from Asia

Sept. 19, 2008

AP

WASHINGTON - Although no trace of infant formula from China has turned up in this country, U.S. authorities said Friday they are taking added precautions to keep out tainted milk products.

The Food and Drug Administration has widened its inspections at ports of entry to focus on shipments of bulk food ingredients from Asia that are derived from milk, such as milk concentrate and whole milk powder. Spokeswoman Judy Leon also said the agency will issue an alert this weekend warning consumers not to buy milk products from China on the Internet.

The latest food safety scandal in China began with infant formula, but it now turns out that products ranging from bottled milk to yogurt also appear to have been adulterated with melamine, a chemical that in lab tests can make watered-down milk seem protein-rich. More than 6,000 Chinese children have taken ill with kidney problems after being fed contaminated formula, and at least four have died.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26797707/