China Recalls Infant Formula

At least this time they did not harm anyone here ! but the fact that this has happened again is just disgusting !, For me the trust of China was never there, but it has been forced on us through trade agreements , you can hardly find anything American made anywhere , What bothers me is that what I see as another nail in there coffin of crappy , and inferior imports , some people in our Government see it as an opportunity to help them learn from their mistakes!, regardless of how many jobs we have lost!!!

THE New York Times HONG KONG -- China’s Health Ministry announced on Friday a nationwide inquiry into the safety of all infant formulas as investigators from six government agencies descended on a milk powder factory that produced formula that has been linked to one baby’s death and kidney problems in at least 50 more.

The producer of the suspect formula, the Sanlu Group, recalled 700 tons after determining on Thursday that it had been contaminated with melamine, an industrial chemical, according to the official China Daily newspaper.

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The discovery of contaminated formula is a setback for the country’s efforts to reassure its own citizens and overseas buyers that the “made in China” label is trustworthy after a series of incidents involving everything from toys to pet food.

Contamination with melamine is especially embarrassing. Chinese pet food laced with melamine killed thousands of pets last year in the United States and the Chinese government promised at the time that it would prevent melamine from entering food products for people.

For people in China, the death of a baby from tainted infant formula brings to mind a national scandal four years in which 13 infants died after drinking substandard formula that carried the Sanlu brand but had been produced by counterfeiters.

China’s Health Ministry promised “serious punishment” on Friday for those found responsible for the presence of melamine in the Sanlu formula. The majority of the babies who have fallen sick had definitely consumed the Sanlu formula, the ministry said in a statement on its Web site.

Top Chinese doctors have been asked to perform urgent research into treatment for babies suffering kidney stones and kidney failure after drinking the formula, the ministry said. Doctors across the country were ordered to report any further cases of babies with kidney difficulties.

China also reported the problem to the World Health Organization, in an attempt to improve its reputation for transparency in health issues. China hid the emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, for four months in late 2002 and early 2003, drawing international criticism when the disease spread to Hong Kong and then around the world.

An ingredient of plastics and fertilizers, melamine is sometimes added by dishonest merchants to animal feed in China. The melamine causes a common test of animal feed to show that the feed contains more protein than it actually has.

Sanlu ordered its recall and promised its own investigation after determining that batches of its formula manufactured before Aug. 6 had been contaminated with melamine.

Sanlu officials did not answer calls to the company’s headquarters in Shijiazhuang, in Hebei Province. It was not clear what production changes were made on Aug. 6 that prompted the company to conclude that formula produced after that date was safe.

There have been reports of babies developing kidney stones and kidney failure in at least seven provinces. A cluster of cases in Gansu Province in western China triggered the recall.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration said that no infant formula from China has been approved for import. But the F.D.A. advised consumers to be cautious because limited quantities might have found their way into some ethnic grocery stores.