Fears grow around world over tainted Chinese milk

By Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters) - Fears are growing around the world about the safety of Chinese dairy products after thousands of babies in China fell ill from drinking tainted milk formula, with bans and recalls in place in several countries.

Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Bangladesh, Gabon, Burundi and the Philippines are some of the countries testing Chinese dairy products or pulling them from the shelves altogether.

China announced earlier this month that some locally made milk powder had been contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine, which can cause kidney stones, and the scandal has since widened to include even a popular milk sweet.

China's Commerce Ministry said on Monday its regional offices must ensure that exports of food, and especially dairy products, were safe.

"Do not cover up incidents where exports have serious quality or safety problems, and report them as soon as possible," it said in a statement on its website (www.mofcom.gov.cn ).

In Hong Kong, two girls were suspected of having kidney stones after drinking tainted milk, while Taiwan banned all China dairy products from Sunday due to contamination fears.

Hong Kong health officials urged parents to take children to hospital if they see traces of blood in their children's urine or if they cry excessively for no apparent reason.

"In serious cases, the stones can lead to kidney failure, in that case, parents must take children to hospital immediately," Chow Chun-bong, consultant paediatrician at Princess Margaret hospital, told a news conference.

On Monday, Taiwan's government set up a milk-testing station in Taipei for concerned consumers.

"Of course I'm worried. I bought 20 vats, at a discount," said Lu Chi-e, 60, of Taipei, one of a half dozen people who lined up at the milk-testing station.

OTHER BANS

Singapore and Malaysia have also banned Chinese dairy imports, while the poor central African countries of Gabon and Burundi, to which China has said contaminated milk powder was exported, have put curbs on Chinese milk product sales.

Japan's top government spokesman, Nobutaka Machimura, told reporters that the Health Ministry had asked 90,000 companies to check if their imported products, including processed foods, had been contaminated with melamine.

He said that if melamine was found, the ministry would ban the product and provide information to relevant industries and provincial governments.

Japan's Marudai Food Co. Ltd withdrew buns made with milk supplied by China's Yili, a Marudai official said on Monday, adding there had been no reports of illness from the buns.