UN condemns China milk scandal

Hong Kong: The World Health Organisation (WHO) and Unicef said on Thursday China's contaminated milk powder scandal was "deplorable" as more countries in Asia and Europe banned imports of Chinese milk products.

Beijing is battling public alarm and international dismay after close to 13,000 Chinese children crowded hospitals, sick from infant milk formula tainted with melamine, a cheap industrial chemical that can be used to cheat quality checks.

"Deliberate contamination of foods intended for consumption by vulnerable infants and young children is particularly deplorable," the WHO and Unicef, the United Nations agency for children, said in a joint statement. But they added that Beijing's plan to overhaul its food safety would help prevent a recurrence.

"We are confident that firm actions are being taken by China's food safety authorities to investigate this incident fully."

"We also expect that following the investigation and in the context of the Chinese government's increasing attention to food safety, better regulation of foods for infants and young children will be enforced," the two organisations said in a statement.

They also urged mothers to breast feed their infants, a need further underscored by "alarming examples" of tainted formula scandals in China and around the world.

While the scandal has triggered arrests and official sackings in China, the repercussions began to spread overseas.

Taiwan Health Minister Lin Fang-yue tendered his resignation after 25 tonnes of potentially tainted milk powder were imported to the island, the Taiwanese Central News Agency reported.

China's poor track record in coming clean on past product safety scandals including toys, toothpaste, pharmaceutical and pet food ingredients has seriously dented the country's credibility.

Despite Beijing's reassurances its milk products are now safe and the situation was under control, several countries continued to take steps against milk imports from there.

Ban

India became the largest and most populous country to announce a ban on Chinese milk and milk products yesterday, with the ban to remain in force for three months.

Vietnam and Nepal halted sales of all Chinese milk products and would now increase testing of such imports. Vietnam health officials warned tainted Chinese milk may have been sold in its remote, impoverished central region. South Korea started from Wednesday to recall milk products.

Details

What is melamine?

It is a white powder used in plastic-making. It was first synthesised by a German scientist in the 1830s.

What is it used for?

Its most common form, melamine resin, a mix of melamine and formaldehyde, is used in the manufacture of formica, floor tiles, whiteboards and kitchenware.

Why add melamineto milk powder?

Melamine is rich in nitrogen, and relatively cheap. Adding it to sub-standard or watered-down milk makes the milk's protein level appear higher. Standard quality tests estimate protein levels by measuring nitrogen content.

Health effects

Little scientific information exists about the compound's effects on humans. However, even if victims who have developed kidney stones due to tainted milk consumption have these removed, the melamine could crystallise in small kidney tubes and block connecting ducts, resulting in kidney damage or even renal failure, many health experts fear.

Who has been affected?

So far four infants have died in China, and about 13,000 more have been hospitalised. Four Hong Kong children have also become sick after consuming toxic milk powder.

More than 80 per cent of the sick are under two years old. Young babies that depend solely on milk are most vulnerable.

Gorillas are latest victims

Two gorillas are suspected of becoming the latest victims of China's tainted milk-powder health scandal, showing the early signs of kidney stones, local media reported yesterday.

The gorillas, both from Hangzhou Wildlife World in eastern Zhejiang province and aged one and three, had been diagnosed with crystallisation in their urine, according to a report on the website of the Hangzhou newspaper (www.hangzhou.com.cn)

Both had been fed with milk powder made by Sanlu Group, at the heart of the scandal in which four infants have died and thousands have fallen sick with kidney stones.