Philippines says testing China milk products
MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippines is testing milk products from China and will slap a ban on them if they are found contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine, the health minister said on Monday.
"We will have to recall all these products if there is evidence they contain melamine," Health Secretary Francisco Duque III told local radio.
China's health ministry said the number of Chinese infants sick in hospital after drinking tainted milk formula had risen to nearly 13,000 and Premier Wen Jiabao gave an assurance that companies responsible will face harsh punishment.
Manila's Bureau of Food and Drugs is currently doing a random testing of "made in China" milk products across the country, but director Leticia Gutierrez said there is no evidence to show that products from Sanlu Group, China's biggest maker of infant milk powder, are being sold in the Philippines.
"As far as the Sanlu milk products are concerned, we do not have an importer licensed to import them. They're not supposed to be in the market," Gutierrez told Reuters.
Sanlu said two weeks ago that babies developed kidney stones and other complications after drinking the tainted milk. But the company failed to publicly disclose the problem throughout August when Beijing hosted the Olympic Games, officials said.
Gutierrez said the tests will include samples of imported products from major Chinese dairy companies, Mengniu Dairy Co and Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group.
After the testing, the bureau will come up with a list of milk products that are deemed unsafe, hopefully within the week, Gutierrez said.
"We'll be sharing the results (of the tests) with the public as soon as we have collected enough data," she said.
Trade Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya warned consumers against buying milk products without labels amid reports that there may be Chinese milk products smuggled into the country that are finding their way into small bakeshops.
(Reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr.; Editing by Bill Tarrant)
