BEIJING (AFP) — China on Friday vowed to punish those responsible for contaminating baby milk powder that has killed one infant and sickened dozens, as it emerged the producer knew about the problem a month ago.
The health ministry said an initial investigation had confirmed the tainted milk powder was to blame for the nationwide spate of cases of kidney stones in babies, the state Xinhua news agency reported.
Investigators also found the producer of the formula, Sanlu, knew it was contaminated with melamine in August, but did not release the information until after reports of sick babies began to emerge this week, the ministry said.
"Those responsible for the contaminated milk will face severe punishment," Xinhua quoted an official with the government investigation team as saying.
Shops across China including global retailing giants Wal-Mart and Carrefour pulled the milk powder from shelves Friday after Sanlu issued a nationwide recall, in the latest safety scandal to rock the country's food industry.
The country's health ministry has issued guidelines on how to treat infants suffering from kidney stones after drinking the tainted formula.
The affair has had repercussions overseas, with the US Food and Drug Administration reportedly alerting US markets to beware of Chinese-made baby formula.
The World Health Organisation said it was monitoring the situation and providing "technical assistance" to the Chinese authorities in their probe, although it was not clear if any of the suspect powder has been exported.
"We are monitoring the situation in China and for potential wider implications for other countries," Hans Troedsson, WHO Representative in China, said in a statement.
Media reports said dairy farmers were suspected of lacing milk used in the Sanlu brand formula with melamine, an industrial chemical which can cause kidney stones, to boost its protein content.
Melamine, a chemical used in making plastics, glues and other products, was at the centre of a US recall of pet foods containing Chinese-made additives last year.
"This was caused by dairy farmers illegally adding melamine to the milk to raise the protein content," the China News Service quoted Sanlu as saying.
Xinhua news agency said 78 "suspects" had been summoned for questioning in the case by police in Shijiazhuang, a city near Beijing where Sanlu is based.
They include dairy farmers and milk dealers, it reported.
At least 59 babies have developed kidney stones in the northwestern province of Gansu alone, which is also where the fatality occurred, while seven other provinces and regions around the country have reported similar cases.
According to the health ministry, the Sanlu Group late Thursday ordered the recall of 700 tonnes of the baby milk powder produced before August 6, after internal company investigations showed the formula had been contaminated.
The group is a leading state-owned dairy company based in northern China's Hebei province that had plans to list on the Shanghai stock exchange this year.
The company's public relations office did not answer phone calls on Friday, while no notices about a recall or apologies were posted on its website.
China has in recent years endured a series of high-profile safety scandals over its food and other products sold overseas as well as domestically.
In 2004, 13 infants in eastern China's Anhui province died of nutritional deficiencies after being fed sub-standard milk powder that Chinese press said involved pirated Sanlu products.
More than 170 other babies, most raised in rural areas of Anhui, suffered from symptoms including malnutrition, swollen heads and stunted growth.
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