farm | food | videos | price | information | history

10187View
2m 2sLenght
14Rating

More than 6,200 infants have become sick and four babies have died in China after being fed baby formula laced with melamine, a banned industrial chemical.... The Hong Kong government also announced Sunday that tests found melamine in Chinese-made Nestle milk. The Dairy Farm milk was made by Nestle's division in the Chinese coastal city Qingdao, it said. The Swiss food and drinks giant issued a statement Sunday saying that none of its China-made dairy products contained melamine. "Nestle once again expresses confidence that none of its products in China is made from milk adulterated with melamine," the statement said. It did not specifically respond to the Hong Kong report of tainted Dairy Farm milk. Meanwhile, Singapore said Sunday melamine was detected in samples of White Rabbit-brand Creamy Candy. The popular Chinese milk candy was pulled from shelves in the Philippines last year after health officials there claimed it was tainted with formaldehyde.... Already on Friday, Singapore suspended the sale and import of all Chinese milk and dairy products including milk, ice-cream, yogurt, chocolate, biscuits and candy, as well as any other products containing milk from China as an ingredient. Japan, Malaysia and Brunei have also recalled or banned Chinese-made dairy products. Since the problem of tainted milk products became public knowledge less than two weeks ago, the crisis has spread to include almost all of China's biggest dairy companies. A top official with the World Health Organization said Sunday that delays in releasing critical information about contaminated Chinese milk had hampered Beijing's ability to rapidly deal with the problem and warn consumers. ...The scandal began with complaints over milk powder by Sanlu Group Co. — one of China's best-known and most respected brands. But it quickly became a much larger crisis as government tests found that one-fifth of the companies producing baby milk powder had melamine in their products. A New Zealand stakeholder in Sanlu has said it was told before the start of the Beijing Olympics on Aug. 8 that there was a problem. The dairy farmers' group Fonterra, which owns 43 percent of Sanlu Group, told the New Zealand government, which informed Chinese officials. The public was not told until Sept. 11 that the powder, used in baby formula and other products, was laced with melamine. Melamine is used in making plastics and is high in nitrogen, which registers as protein in tests of milk. Though health experts believe ingesting minute amounts poses no danger, melamine can cause kidney stones, which can lead to kidney failure. Infants are particularly vulnerable. Some of the farmers who sell milk to Chinese food companies are thought to have used melamine to disguise watered-down milk and fatten profit margins hurt by rising costs for feed, fuel and labor. Food and product safety scandals have been a feature of Chinese life. Only last year, the government promised to overhaul inspection procedures after exports of medicines, toys, pet food ingredients and other products killed and sickened people and pets in North and South America. The chemical in the dangerous pet food was the same as in the milk scandal — melamine. ~Fox News http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZJiRnmB7vI&feature=related