Almost 13,000 Chinese children were reportedly contaminated from a Nestle made formula. The number of cases has more than doubled since the original report of sickness on Sept. 12. Reports of sickness have also spread beyond mainland China and four children have died.
Traces of melamine have been found in the powder formula. This chemical is commonly used in wood finishes and adhesives. The Chinese government has stopped sales of the Nestle product and ordered a recall.
Nestle, however, is disputing the findings. Nestle released a statement saying, "Following press reports in Hong Kong earlier today claiming that traces of melamine had been found in a Nestle growing up milk, Nestle is confident that none of its products in China is made from milk adulterated with melamine...The Hong Kong Government's Food and Environmental Health Department has just released a report declaring that NESLAC Gold 1+, which was mentioned in the media reports, is safe and that no melamine was detected in the product."
Pet food contaminated with melamine from China caused the deaths of thousands of U.S. pets. The outbreak is being taken seriously and so far 18 people have been arrested.
2 comments:
A BBC aritcle claims that at least 22 companies are involved in this recall, not just nestle. The article said that the accused put the melamine in to make the diluted product look higher in protien. It seems that its more of a Chinese product regulation problem (and also a problem of making money without concern for killing babies)than a problem with nestle...I wouldnt be surprised if Chinese start buying more imported milk formula since they might not trust domestic companies. I think we can also see an increase in government inspection of food products, at least for the near future.
In this article, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080921/ap_on_re_as/as_china_baby_formula_recall, the Chinese milk with the melamine in it has been found in other areas outside of China, such as Hong Kong and Singapore, because of this Japan, Malaysia, and Brunei have taken the Chinese-made dairy products off of the shelves. This isn't the first time a Chinese company has been accused of having chemicals in products, because last year the Philippines pulled a popular Chinese milk candy from the shelves because it was claimed to have formaldehyde in it.
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