Throughout China, several thousand infants and small children have taken ill with urinary tract dysfunction, kidney stones and kidney failure. There have been at least three confirmed deaths.
The Chinese government considers the issue a nationwide or even worldwide scandal, and worries about the serious damage it has done to the whole dairy industry, perhaps even the "made in China" icon.
San Lu Group, a 43% stake of which was acquired by New Zealand-based Fonterra Co-operative Group for 864 million yuan in 2006, is seen to be the main but not the only culprit. Another foreign brand on the black list is Kocci, a China- Australia joint venture.
Fonterra Co-operative Group is the world’s biggest dairy products provider, with annual revenues of about $8.5 billion. Fonterra Co-operative Group exports 90% of its dairy products to 140 countries.
So far no problem has been found among other foreign milk powder makers, such as Abbott, Meadjohnson, Nestle, Wyeth or Dumex. Nestle and others said they would continue sourcing raw milk in China.
Chinese brands on the black list include some famous domestic companies such as Yashili, Yili, Mengniu, and Shengyuan. Among all the products containing melamine, San Lu formula milk powder contains on average 2563 mg melamine per kilogram, the highest among all brands. The melamine content of other brands is about 0.09 to 619 mg per kilogram.
Among domestic enterprises being inspected, only Guangzhou-based Yashili has exported milk powder, to Bangladesh, Burma, and Yemen. But no melamine has been found from reserved samples, nor has it been found in dairy products supplying the Beijing Olympics, or liquid milk made after September 14.
To guarantee food security, AQSIQ has directed relevant departments to take further supervisory measures. Quality control departments will send inspectors to all dairy product makers to supervise their milk sourcing and production process, and strictly test finished products.
Melamine is a low toxicity chemical product, and can cause urinary and reproductive system damage if taken in large amounts or over a prolonged time. Most of baby kidney stone cases reported are connected with San Lu baby formula milk powder. Babies may excrete small stones themselves by drinking more water, but they need medical attention if they suffer dysuria (painful urination) or urine turbidity (cloudiness).
The Administration of Industry and Commerce of Hebei Province declared that by the afternoon of September 14, the province had mothballed 29.39 tons of tainted milk powder.
Hebei officials said the police had arrested 4 suspects in this case and put another 22 suspects into criminal detention.
A man surnamed Ma, who was arrested on September 15, owns a milk station that collected over 3 tons of milk from about 400 cows every day.
To pad his profits, Ma was diluting the milk he sold to San Lu with water. In November, 2007, Ma bought about 200 kg of a non-edible chemical containing melamine, which he would add to the water. Melamine is known to hide the dilution of protein in the milk. The police found about 15 kg of remaining chemical at Ma’s home.
Another suspect, a 43-year old named Zhao, manages a cow breeding company in Lu Quan, in Hebei Province. Zhao bought 80 kg of melamine in April this year that he mixed into the company’s milk sold to San Lu Group.
"My company owns over 100 New Zealand cows. The milk they produce smells, and San Lu refused to accept it. I heard from others that this stuff (melamine) can eliminate the smell, and adds to the protein content of the milk," said Zhao.
Among 7 suspects who have recently been put into detention, one is an illegal melamine seller who sold most of his melamine to San Lu’s milk providers. "I know they mix melamine into milk, and this is illegal. Taking too much this kind of stuff is not good for people’s health," said him.
Â
Â