Public Anger As China Recalls Milk In Toxic Food Scare

BEIJING -- Chinese store shelves were emptied of some of the country's most popular dairy brands Friday, as shoppers vented their fury amid a snowballing crisis over the poisoning of the nation's milk supplies.

The government ordered a mass recall of dairy products after authorities revealed a deadly industrial chemical, initially discovered only in milk powder, had also been detected in liquid milk, yoghurt and ice cream.


Public Anger As China Recalls Milk In Toxic Food Scare


AFP

BEIJING -- Chinese store shelves were emptied of some of the country's most popular dairy brands Friday, as shoppers vented their fury amid a snowballing crisis over the poisoning of the nation's milk supplies.

The government ordered a mass recall of dairy products after authorities revealed a deadly industrial chemical, initially discovered only in milk powder, had also been detected in liquid milk, yoghurt and ice cream.

"All problem products have been banned from our stores," an unnamed executive at Jian-Mart, a popular supermarket chain, said.

Authorities initially blamed the chemical, melamine, for killing four babies and sickening more than 6,000 others with symptoms including kidney stones, difficulty in passing urine, and vomiting.

But there were fears the problem could be much worse after other dairy products were found to be at risk of contamination.

Only black coffee was being served at some Starbucks outlets after the government identified one of its main suppliers, Mengniu, as having tainted milk.

A Starbucks spokeswoman in Shanghai and a waiter in one of its Beijing outlets confirmed milk wasn't on the menu.

"We had to stop serving it today because the milk is being inspected. We have to wait for the results," the unnamed waiter said.

Mengniu, Yili and Guangming -- three of the biggest dairy brands in China -- were named by the government Thursday night as having melamine in some of their milk.

The government agency in charge of product quality supervision Friday issued detailed findings from a comprehensive national check, showing 24 of the 295 batches it tested from the three dairies were contaminated.

"The manufacturers should of their own accord recall all products where melamine has been detected," the agency said on its Web site.

Officials at the firms couldn't be reached for comment.

The recall came after the government announced Wednesday that the baby milk powder from 22 dairy companies contained traces of melamine.

Melamine is normally used to make plastics but it can also allow milk and other food products to appear to have a higher protein content than they actually do.

It has become apparent in recent days that people or companies in China have been deliberately watering down the milk to cut costs, then adding in the melamine to boost apparent protein content to regular levels.

Some Chinese news reports said the scam had been ongoing for years, with China's chaotic and corrupt food safety system unable either to detect or prevent it.

Cathy Wang, a jewelry retailer in Beijing, called for the government to take the toughest action possible against those responsible.

"The criminals deserve to be sentenced to death and there should be a public trial. They are more evil than murderers," Wang said.

"And the supervisory authorities, they should be punished harshly as well for neglecting their duty."

At a Beijing supermarket, Cui Hongchun, 36, expressed concern and fury over previously buying milk for his eight-year-old son from one of the suspect brands.

"I'm very worried about the milk we bought because it claimed to contain high levels of protein," he said. "I will sue them if the milk causes any problems for my boy."

The government has already announced the arrest of 18 people for their roles in allegedly providing the melamine or mixing it into milk.

In Singapore, authorities warned consumers Friday not to eat a Chinese-made yoghurt ice bar after tests found a sample containing low levels of the toxic chemical.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore has "advised importers and retailers to remove this product from the market and withhold them from sale immediately, pending the result of AVA's investigation and tests."