Chinese product quality and safety

[waltky]

At least in Mexico you just get Montezuma's revenge...

South Korean diplomat dies after eating tuna sandwich in China
Aug. 22, 2007 — A senior South Korean diplomat in Beijing became fatally ill after eating a tuna sandwich last month — a death that has left the envoy's family and his government asking China for an explanation.

The family of Whang Joung-il, 52, is worried about a government cover-up at a time when China is in the throes of a crisis over tainted products. Whang, who was the No. 2 diplomat at the South Korean Embassy in Beijing, suffered severe stomach pains and vomiting after eating the sandwich from a nearby eatery on the night of July 28. He checked himself into Beijing's Vista Clinic the next morning and died two hours later.

China's government immediately got involved. It carried out an autopsy the following day to determine the cause of death, but no results have been revealed. The family said China's Health Ministry informed the South Korean Embassy in Beijing on Aug. 5 that it had reached a tentative conclusion that Whang died of "acute myocardial infarction," a kind of heart attack.

Earlier this month, the South Korean Foreign Ministry summoned a top Chinese diplomat in Seoul to ask for an explanation. "We've asked China to give us an outcome that is fair, objective and acceptable," a South Korean Foreign Ministry official said on condition of anonymity, citing the issue's sensitivity. China is expected to announce the results of the autopsy later this month, he said.

More Deseret Morning News | South Korean diplomat dies after eating tuna sandwich in China

See also:

From China, reused chopsticks
23 Aug 2007, A Beijing factory recycled used chopsticks and sold up to 100,000 pairs a day without any form of disinfection, a newspaper said on Wednesday, the latest in a string of Chinese food and product safety scares.

Counterfeit, shoddy and dangerous products are widespread in China, whose exports have been rocked in recent months by a spate of safety scandals, ranging from pet food to medicine, tires, toothpaste and toys. Officials raided the factory and seized about half a million pairs of recycled disposable bamboo chopsticks and a packaging machine, the Beijing News said.

The owner, identified only by his surname Wu, said he had sold the recycled chopsticks for 0.04 yuan a pair and made an average of about 1,000 yuan ($130) a day. Wu, who had no license to sell the goods, said he had sold 100,000 pairs a day when business was good. China, on track to overtake the US this year as the world's second-largest exporter, lacks the manpower to enforce food and drug safety regulations at home or for export. Imports are generally carefully scrutinised.

A lack of business ethics and a spiritual vacuum after China embraced economic reforms in the late 1970s have been blamed for unscrupulous business practices and corruption. In Guangzhou, capital of booming Guangdong province in south China, Mayor Zhang Guangning vowed to bankrupt serious violators of food and product safety.

MORE

[waltky]

Granny says, "No wonder dey got so many people over there...

Sex a major factor in Chinese corruption cases
Monday 3rd September, 2007 - China’s state media has broadcast statistics for some of China’s recent high profile corruption cases.

Out of the 16 recent cases where high-ranking officials were sacked for corruption, fourteen of the offenders had illicit lovers.

Some of the most notorious recent scandals have involved sexual misconduct, like the former mayor of Shanghai who stole from pension funds partly to finance a string of mistresses. The top prosecutor's office has opened its files, it says, to draw attention to the fight against corruption.

Some observers see the new moral mood as a sign that more official misdeeds will be exposed and punished, others believe it may be a political manoeuvre to manipulate certain officials out of office.

Sex a major factor in Chinese corruption cases

[waltky]

No wonder the babies were crying...

China in new fake milk powder scandal
September 11, 2008 - A HEALTH scare in China involving babies developing kidney stones after drinking possibly fake milk formula is spreading across the country.

One baby had died from kidney stones in northwest Gansu province, Xinhua quoted health officials as saying, but it was not clear if there was any link to milk powder in that case. The health scare has revived memories of a grim scandal involving fake milk powder that killed at least 13 babies in eastern China in 2004. An unknown number of infants in at least seven provinces and regions were suffering from kidney stones after drinking milk formula marked "Sanlu", Xinhua news agency said, citing local media reports.

Xinhua yesterday quoted doctors at a hospital in Gansu as saying that "fake milk powder" from one brand could have been responsible for kidney stones developing in 14 patients, all infants under 11 months. Cases of babies developing kidney stones had emerged in three other hospitals in Gansu and also in Jiangsu, Shandong, Hunan, Anhui, Ningxia and Shaanxi provinces, Xinhua said. Health officials in Gansu were investigating, Xinhua said.

Dairy company Sanlu Group said that the products "may be fake" and that it had sent people to Gansu to conduct its own investigation, Xinhua said, quoting a company spokesman surnamed Zhang. Parents of the affected babies, mostly from remote and poor rural areas, had bought the milk powder at much cheaper prices than usual, Xinhua said.

Kidney stones are small, solid masses that form when salts or minerals normally found in urine crystallise inside the kidney. If they become large enough, they can move out of the kidney, cause infection and lead to permanent kidney damage. In 2004, at least 13 babies in eastern Anhui province died after drinking fake milk powder that investigators later found had no nutritional value, a scandal that rocked the country and triggered widespread investigations into food and health safety.

China in new fake milk powder scandal | NEWS.com.au

[waltky]

Check to see if baby formula bought is from China...

FDA issues warning on imported Chinese baby formula
September 12, 2008 - The agency says that dozens of children in that country have fallen ill and at least one died from kidney problems after consuming tainted formula.

Federal officials on Thursday warned consumers to avoid buying any infant formula imported from China, citing reports of dozens of babies in that country who fell ill with kidney stones after drinking a brand called Sanlu, resulting in at least one death.

The warning was aimed at Chinese American communities across the United States, including Southern California, home to one of the largest ethnic Chinese populations in the nation. Importing Chinese-manufactured baby formula into the U.S. is illegal, but federal officials say they know of at least one case in which a Chinese brand was found in a New York store in 2004.

"We're concerned that there may be some formula that has come in illegally and could potentially be in the ethnic Chinese markets," said Janice Oliver, a deputy director at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition in College Park, Md.

MORE

See also:

China vows 'serious punishment' in formula probe
Sep 12, `08 - China's government vowed "serious punishment" on Friday after a major dairy recalled 700 tons of milk powder linked to a rash of illnesses in infants, and the case reignited fears about Chinese product safety.

U.S. authorities warned American consumers to avoid all Chinese infant formula, though a New Zealand company that owns a stake in the Chinese producer said it believed none of the powder was exported from China. Sanlu Group Co., China's biggest milk powder producer, ordered the recall after more than 50 babies suffered kidney stones and one died, the official Xinhua News Agency said. It said Sanlu's tests found it was tainted with melamine, a chemical used in plastics.

"Those responsible will face serious punishment," said Health Ministry spokesman Mao Qunan, quoted by Xinhua. People who answered the phone at Sanlu said managers were not available to comment.

China has suffered a string of safety incidents over tainted toothpaste, toys, seafood and other products that caused deaths or injuries. The incidents damaged foreign confidence in the safety of Chinese goods and prompted a shake-up of the country's regulatory system in an effort to reassure consumers.

The Health Ministry launched a nationwide investigation, ordering local officials to report all possible cases and "is urgently organizing experts to conduct research and treatment," a ministry statement said.

More http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080912/D935273O0.html

[waltky]

China probes all milk powder in scare...

Milk powder tainted with melamine
September 12, 2008 - CHINA has launched a nationwide probe into all baby milk powders after a contaminant linked to the deaths and illness of thousands of pets in the US last year was found in one brand of formula.

Chinese authorities this week were investigating whether tainted formula lead to the death of one infant and caused kidney stones in dozens of others, reviving memories of a fake formula scandal four years ago in which at least 13 babies died. One baby died in northwestern Gansu province from kidney stones, a rare complaint in infants, and more than 50 others had developed kidney stones there and in other provinces this year. Investigations showed that most of the babies had drunk Sanlu-brand formula, state media said.

The Sanlu Group, a Hebei province-based dairy producer partly owned by New Zealand dairy export giant Fonterra, issued an immediate recall of milk formula made before August 6, saying about 700 tonnes of melamine-contaminated powder were in circulation, Xinhua said today. Calls to the company went unanswered.

Melamine, which is used as an ingredient in plastics, fertilisers and cleaning products, was "highly suspected" to have contaminated batches of Sanlu-brand milk formula, China's Ministry of Health said yesterday. Melamine has been used by Chinese suppliers of animal feed components to artificially bolster its apparent protein content. Veterinarians linked it to the formation of kidney stones and kidney failure in thousands of deaths and illnesses in pets in the US last year.

China's quality watchdog, the Administration of Quality, Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), had launched a probe into all baby milk producers, Xinhua said. "The results (of the investigation) will be announced to the public in a timely manner," AQSIQ said in a statement on its website. China's Health Ministry pledged to punish those responsible. "(Authorities) in collaboration with local governments will determine the cause and the responsibility and severely punish those responsible," the ministry said.

The World Health Organisation said it was in close consultation with Chinese health authorities. "We are monitoring the situation in China and for potential wider implications for other countries," WHO China representative Hans Troedsson said. It was unclear whether any of the problem formula had been exported. The US Food and Drug Administration warned consumers yesterday not to buy or use baby formula from China, which is banned in the US.

More China probes all milk powder in scare | NEWS.com.au

See also:

Beijing: Dairy knew milk was tainted
September 13, 2008 -- No indication why milk powder producer failed to warn consumers immediately; The number of sick babies has risen to 140; Kidney problems in infants were reported as early as mid-July

A Chinese dairy that sold baby milk powder linked to kidney stones in infants and one death knew weeks before it ordered a recall that the product contained a banned chemical, the Health Ministry said Saturday, as the number of sick babies rose to 140. A Health Ministry statement gave no indication as to why Sanlu Group, China's biggest milk powder producer, failed to warn consumers immediately. Employees who answered the phone Saturday at the ministry's news office and at China's product safety agency said they had no more information.

In August, Sanlu's testing "revealed melamine in the baby milk powder and showed that it was contaminated," a ministry statement said. It was not known when Sanlu alerted authorities about its findings. The dairy only announced a recall Thursday of 700 tons of formula made before August 6. A New Zealand dairy cooperative that owns part of Sanlu said Friday it believed none of the tainted powder was exported.

Kidney problems in infants were reported as early as mid-July but authorities failed to launch a food safety investigation, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Another news report said the dairy received complaints as early as March. Investigators are questioning 78 people about the contamination, which occurred when dairy farmers added melamine to the milk, possibly to make its protein content appear higher, Xinhua said. Melamine is rich in nitrogen, and standard tests for protein in bulk food ingredients measure nitrogen levels.

The incident reflects China's enduring problems with product safety despite a shake up of its regulatory system following a spate of warnings and recalls about tainted toothpaste, faulty tires and other goods. The biggest group of victims of dangerous goods has been in China itself, where shoddy or counterfeit products are common. Infants, hospital patients and others have been killed or injured by tainted or fake milk, medicines, liquor and other products. The number of infants suffering kidney stones after being fed the Sanlu formula has risen to 140, the official China Daily newspaper said. Some 59 were in Gansu, a poor province in the northwest, where one child died.

MORE

[waltky]

Chinese milk scandal leads to 2 arrests...

More Babies May Be Sick From Tainted Milk
Sept. 16, 2008 - 2 Brothers In China Accused Of Adding Dangerous Chemical To Milk; 2 Infants Died, Hundreds Sickened

China's Health Ministry is warning that its investigation into contaminated milk powder may uncover additional cases of babies who have fallen ill from the tainted product. The official Xinhua News Agency on Tuesday quoted the ministry as saying medical agencies were prepared for additional cases. The company at the heart of the problem, Sanlu Group Co., has apologized for its contaminated milk powder, which has been linked to the deaths of two infants and sickened more than 1,200 others in a widening food scandal.

Chinese police arrested two brothers suspected of adding a dangerous chemical to milk they sold to a company that produced infant formula that killed two babies and sickened more than 1,200 others, officials and state media reported Monday. The two brothers, surnamed Geng, run a milk collection center in Hebei province and are accused of adding melamine, a chemical used in plastics, to the milk to make it appear higher in protein, the official Xinhua News Agency said. They sold about three tons of contaminated milk a day, the report said, citing Hebei police spokesman Shi Guizhong.

Chinese investigators say melamine may have been added to the milk to fool quality tests after water was added to fraudulently increase the milk's volume. Melamine is rich in nitrogen and standard tests for protein in food ingredients measure nitrogen levels. China's Health Ministry on Monday said two infants have died from drinking the contaminated milk powder and 1,253 have been sickened. Vice Health Minister Ma Xiaowei told a news conference that 913 of the infants were only slightly affected and their condition was not considered life threatening. However, 340 remained hospitalized and 53 cases were considered especially severe, he said.

More More Babies May Be Sick From Tainted Milk, 2 Brothers In China Accused Of Adding Dangerous Chemical To Milk; 2 Infants Died, Hundreds Sickened - CBS News

See also:

More Chinese baby milk powder brands contaminated: state TV
16 Sept.`08 - A chemical blamed for killing two infants in China has been found in 69 brands of baby milk powder nationwide, state television said on Tuesday, in a potential dramatic escalation of the scandal.

The government has ordered a halt to the sale of the 69 brands tainted with the chemical melamine, said the report by state-run CCTV, adding the products were made by 22 different companies. The tainted milk powder has sickened more than 1,200 infants across several provinces in a scandal that erupted last week but so far had focussed solely on the Sanlu brand. "In order to ensure the safety of the milk products, the relevant government departments have pulled them from shelves, sealed them, recalled them and destroyed them," CCTV said in its nightly news broadcast.

The scandal had prompted a nationwide probe and the additional tainted brands appeared to have been detected through testing linked to that investigation. Police have arrested two more suspects, state press said Tuesday, bringing the total to four arrests, in reports that warned more sick babies were expected. The government has blamed the scandal on milk collectors deliberately contaminating the milk, possibly to boost its protein content.

Police in Hebei province said that in the two latest arrests, both suspects confessed to adding melamine, Xinhua news agency said. The government has criticised Sanlu for not going public sooner with the health concerns, which began to emerge as early as March, or after tests in early August showed melamine in the product. The scandal is the latest to rock China's food industry, which has been tarnished by a series of health scares over dangerous products in recent years.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5...bmP9OKEPpUxdyA

[waltky]

Granny says, "Now there's a new oxymoron fer ya - 'Chinese quality official'...

Probe finds 20 percent of China milk companies in scandal
Tue Sep 16, 2008 - Twenty percent of Chinese dairy firms probed in the wake of a baby milk health scare have been found to have produced melamine-tainted formula, state media reported on Tuesday.

Chinese quality officials last week ordered a nationwide probe into all baby milk powders after it was reported that dozens of children had developed kidney stones after drinking tainted formula produced by the Sanlu Group. Two infants have since died and more than 1,200 diagnosed with kidney illness in a growing scandal that authorities have warned may be yet to peak. The head of the state-owned company has been sacked.

The results of the government-led probe announced on Tuesday showed that Sanlu Group, which has been the focus of public anger over the scandal, is by far from the only offending company. Out of 109 dairy producers checked, 22 had been found to have produced batches of milk contaminated with melamine, including Beijing Olympic Games supplier Yili and other major brands, state television said, citing China's quality watchdog.

State-owned Sanlu, 43 percent owned by New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra, topped the list of offenders with all 11 batches checked found to be tainted with melamine, a banned toxin linked to pet deaths in the United States last year.

More Probe finds 20 percent of China milk companies in scandal | International | Reuters

[waltky]

Mebbe it wouldn't be a good idea to play 'Got Milk?' ads in China just now...

Nearly 13,000 Children Hospitalized in China as Milk Scandal Widens
21 September 2008 - Chinese state media say the number of children hospitalized after drinking milk products contaminated with an industrial chemical has risen to nearly 13,000.

China's official Xinhua news agency said nearly 40,000 infants who drank tainted baby formula have been treated by hospitals on an outpatient basis. Xinhua, citing China's health ministry, said 104 of the children who doctors hospitalized are still in critical condition.

In the first reported case outside mainland China, health officials in Hong Kong confirmed Saturday that a three-year-old girl has developed severe kidney problems. The girl became ill after drinking a contaminated Chinese-produced milk beverage for the last 15 months. Hong Kong authorities have also found a small amount of melamine in Chinese-made Nestle brand milk.

A World Health Organization official said Sunday that Chinese government agencies failed to communicate with each other at the start of the scandal. The official, Western Pacific director Shigeru Omi, said the Chinese government needs to improve its laboratory testing facilities and reporting systems. But he said China is moving in the "right direction" by recalling products and stepping up food safety inspections.

Four children have died after drinking baby formula contaminated with the chemical melamine that was produced by Chinese dairy manufacturer Sanlu group. Chinese investigators have found the same chemical in the milk products of at least 22 other companies. Melamine can cause foods - such as watered-down milk - to appear to be higher in protein.

Bangladesh, Brunei, Burundi, Gabon, Malaysia, Singapore and Tanzania have banned milk products from China. Burmese authorities are promising to seize and destroy Chinese milk products. Eighteen people have been arrested in connection with the milk scandal. A group of lawyers offering legal aid to families affected by the scandal is pushing for the government to provide compensation.

VOA News - Nearly 13,000 Children Hospitalized in China as Milk Scandal Widens

[waltky]

Is China tryin' to poison the world or what???...

Police bust 'toxic shoe' ring
September 27, 2008 - ITALIAN police say they have confiscated some 1.7 million counterfeit shoes made with leather containing illegal toxins, most of them from China.

Operation Toxic Shoes began in May and 21 Chinese and seven Italians were being prosecuted for selling counterfeit products and threatening public health, a police spokesman said.

Shoes containing hexavalent chromium compounds, which are illegal in Italy due to their high toxicity and potentially carcinogenic effect, were seized in Tuscany, police said.

A police unit responsible for financial crimes seized counterfeit imports which were mostly made in China but were labelled as "real leather" and "made in Italy", police said.

More than €20 million ($35.1m) of merchandise was seized in one of Tuscany's largest sweeps in recent years. The operation led to 45 searches including in three other Italian regions outside Tuscany.

Police bust 'toxic shoe' ring | NEWS.com.au

See also:

China stops tainted sweet sales
Friday, 26 September 2008 - A Chinese sweet maker has stopped domestic sales of one of its best-known brands after it was found to contain the industrial chemical melamine.

The company, Guanshengyuan, has already halted exports of the popular White Rabbit candy, made from milk. It is the latest development in a spreading food safety scandal involving milk contaminated with melamine. Traces of the chemical have also been found in Hong Kong and Japan in products containing Chinese milk.

They are among a growing number of countries which have already banned or restricted imports of Chinese products containing milk. Four babies have died and more than 53,000 children have so far been made ill by drinking contaminated powder milk in China. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has meanwhile urged five countries to immediately recall all milk powder imported from China.

The UN issued a worldwide alert two weeks ago, but Bangladesh, Burma, Burundi, Gabon and Yemen are known to have imported large amounts from two Chinese companies implicated in the scandal. The WHO also warned that several companies had been selling the tainted milk powder without licences, making it impossible to establish where all of the affected products could be.

'Big lesson'

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dem bunches o' dummies - ya ain't s'posed to milk the cow after ya scratches yer butt...

China's Milk System "Out Of Control"
Sept. 23, 2008 - Poor Oversight Allowed Manufacturers To Poison Thousands Of Children For Profit, Agriculture Minister Says

China's agriculture minister acknowledged Tuesday that the country's milk-gathering system was "out of control" and led to abuses that put contaminated dairy products in stores across Asia, sickening some 54,000 babies and killing four. At least six Asian countries banned or curbed imports of Chinese dairy products, and the World Health Organization warned of possible smuggling of melamine-tainted infant formula across borders. The European Union told customs authorities to keep a closer eye on food imports from China. Melamine, used to make plastics and fertilizer, has been found in infant formula and other milk products from 22 Chinese dairy companies. Suppliers trying to cut costs are believed to have added it to watered-down milk because its high nitrogen content masks the resulting protein deficiency.

Since the discovery of tainted milk was made public, China's government has scrambled to respond. Recent days have seen a number of arrests and forced resignations of officials as reports of sickened children spread outside the Chinese mainland to Hong Kong and Macau. Chinese state television reported that the company at the center of the scandal, Sanlu Group Co., received complaints about tainted formula beginning last December and waited eight months to tell the local government, which then waited another month before informing higher authorities.

Agriculture Minister Sun Zhengcai told a meeting with the health and public security ministries that the industrial chemical melamine was likely added at stations that collect milk from small individual dairy farmers. "Since milk stations began only in recent years, the country now has no specific method of supervising them, or clear-cut supervision department. The purchasing process of raw milk is basically out of control," Sun said, according to a summary of his comments posted Tuesday on his ministry's Web site. "We must crack down on them with the greatest determination and the toughest measures," Sun said in the meeting held late Monday.

A group of 316 Chinese milk producers and retailers issued a joint statement promising to keep the dairy industry clean, state broadcaster China Central Television reported late Tuesday. Among other things, producers promised to reject sub-standard raw materials, strictly inspect production, and take responsibility for product quality. Retailers also promised closer inspections. Sanlu had no comment Tuesday about the allegations on state television.

More China's Milk System "Out Of Control", Poor Oversight Allowed Manufacturers To Poison Thousands Of Children For Profit, Agriculture Minister Says - CBS News

See also:

Ignorance, Delays Worsened Chinese Milk Crisis
Friday, September 26, 2008 - In Hong Kong, tests on White Rabbit candies showed they contained an "unsatisfactory" level of melamine. Chinese officials pulled the popular candies store shelves Thursday, because they probably contain tainted milk.

China’s deepening tainted dairy scandal took another turn Friday as a leading candy maker announced it was stopping sales inside the country, following reports that the product had tested positive for melamine in other countries. Amid growing suspicions of a high level cover-up, the World Health Organization said the incident had been aggravated by delays in reporting the problem, the result of “probably a combination of ignorance and deliberate failure to report.”

“If information had been reported as soon it was learned, we would not have seen an incident of this scale,” WHO China representative Hans Troedsson told reporters in Beijing. Four babies have died and more than 50,000 fallen ill as a result of infant milk formula contamination with melamine. Traces of the chemical, which is used to make plastic and fertilizer and can cause kidney problems, have been found in liquid milk, frozen yogurt desserts. China Daily said Friday White Rabbit confectionery products, which contain powdered milk and are exported to more than 50 countries and regions, were the latest to come under scrutiny.

The Shanghai-based makers of the popular candy earlier recalled exports after authorities in Singapore reported melamine contamination, and on Friday said domestic sales were being suspended. The Xinhua news agency quoted company’s vice-manager, Ge Junjie, as saying that tests being carried out had yet to produce results, but that all sales had been stopped. Dozens of countries around the world have ordered checks, recalls or bans on various Chinese products as a result of the scandal.

More http://www.cnsnews.com/public/conten...x?RsrcID=36367