Melamine tainted food products resurface in China

During the Beijing Olympics of 2008, China was covering up the “baby-milk” scandal which surfaced right after the Olympics.

That was 2008. Now, in 2010, the problem is back. The following tweet caught my eye:

“Three Chinese companies have been found selling food products laced with melamine, the chemical blamed for the deaths of six babies in a huge dairy scandal in 2008, state media said Monday.”

And, upon research, there is indeed such an article now on the AFP (Agence-France Presse) newswire, excerpted here:

In the latest reported case, authorities in the southwestern province of Guizhou found that the products, said to include “popsicles,” contained levels of the industrial chemical above allowable limits, the China Daily said.

One official quoted in the newspaper said the products may have contained tainted milk that was recalled after the scandal but had found its way back on to the market.

The paper said the food companies involved had blamed the problem on milk powder bought from suppliers.

In the 2008 scandal, melamine was found to have been added to milk in China to give the appearance of a higher protein content.

It found its way into a range of products including baby formula, leading to the death of six infants and making almost 300,000 ill, according to official figures.

The scandal triggered an uproar in China and abroad, and many products containing Chinese dairy were taken off shelves around the world.

A total of 21 people have been reportedly convicted. Two have been executed and others were given jail sentences ranging from two years to life. Another three executives face possible trial in February….

The products were made in March and April last year 2009, months after the government declared the melamine scare over.

The three firms were Zibo Lusaier Dairy Company in eastern China’s Shandong province, Tieling Wuzhou Food Company in northeastern Liaoning province, and the Laoting Kaida Refrigeration Plant in northern Hebei province, it said.

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he full article can be read at: http://tinyurl.com/y8btqrr