BEIJING: China has launched nationwide checks for melamine tainted milk products after the industrial compound, which killed at least six children in 2008 reappeared in products on shop shelves an official newspaper said yesterday.
In the latest cases, some companies were found to have made products using melamine-contaminated milk powder that was recalled after the massive scandal but had found its way back to the market, the People's Daily reported, citing a conference held by the State Food and Drug Administration.
At a weekend meeting on food safety issues chaired by Health Minister Chen Zhu, officials decided to launch an emergency 10 day campaign "to thoroughly check potential problems in food safety", the newspaper said.
"There are still some businesses and individuals that ignore the safety and health of the public and are blinded by greed," it added.
Dairy products from at least five manufacturers - in Shanghai, Shaanxi Shandong, Liaoning and Hebei - have been pulled from shelves after they were found to have recycled tainted milk powder, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Last month, batches of dairy products made by four Chinese companies were forced off market shelves in the south-western province of Guizhou, after they tested positive for melamine. The four companies were Shanghai Panda Dairy Company, Zibo Lusaier Dairy Company, Tiding Wuzhou Food Company and the Laoting Kaida Refrigeration Plant. Some of the tainted frozen milk products and
cartons of milk dated from early last year.
Melamine, an industrial chemical used in the manufacture of plastics and fertiliser, gives milk products the appearance of having a higher protein content.
Laoting Kaida Refrigeration was among companies named in the original melamine scandal in 2008, when six children died and 300,000 were sickened after drinking baby formula contaminated
with the chemical. Melamine can cause kidney stones and kidney failure.
There have so far been no reported deaths or illnesses from the latest batches of tainted milk.
REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE