China: tainted milk death count rises to two
CHINA: China on Monday reported one more infant death from tainted
milk powder, bringing to two the number of babies killed in an expanding
scandal that drew an official product recall only after New Zealand blew
the whistle.
The latest death blamed on infant milk powder made by the Sanlu Group
occurred in Gansu province, a poor region in the northwest that was also
home to the only other fatality blamed on chemical-laced milk, the
official Xinhua news agency reported.
China has recorded nearly 500 babies falling ill from the tainted
milk powder, including 102 in Gansu. Sanlu, a milk powder producer 43
percent owned by New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra, was ordered to halt
production last week after investigators found the chemical melamine in
its powder was causing kidney stones in infants.
Farmers or dealers supplying milk to Sanlu may have diluted it with
water and then added melamine, used in plastics, fertilisers and
cleaning products, to make the milk's protein level appear higher than
it actually was.
Local Chinese officials only acted after the New Zealand government
contacted the central government in Beijing, New Zealand Prime Minister
Helen Clark said on Monday.
"They have been trying for weeks to get official recall and the local
authorities in China would not do it," Clark told TVNZ. "I think the
first inclination was to try and put a towel over it and deal with it
without an official recall."
Chinese media first reported on Sept. 10 that babies had fallen ill
after drinking the formula, and Sanlu on Sept. 11 issued a recall of its
product made before Aug 6.
But Sanlu had begun receiving customer complaints in March that
babies' urine was discoloured and that some had been admitted to
hospital, officials have said.
Fonterra said on Sunday it had been told in August that its Chinese
partner was selling contaminated milk, and the New Zealand company said
it was seeking a meeting with the Chinese government to discuss the
issue.
Beijing, Monday,
Reuters
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