Fifteen more Chinese dairy companies have been identified as
producing milk products contaminated with the industrial
chemical melamine, after a series of new tests, further
broadening a scandal affecting products ranging from baby
formula to chocolate.
Thirty-one samples of Chinese milk powder provided by 20
companies were found tainted with melamine after new testing
was conducted, according to data posted on China's food
safety administration's website.
Out of the 20 companies identified as producing goods with
melamine, 15 had not been named after previous testing. The
contaminated samples were mostly milk powder products for
adults.
Melamine contamination has been blamed for the deaths of four
children and kidney ailments among 54,000 others. More than
13,000 children have been hospitalized and 27 people arrested
in connection with the contamination.
It was a national holiday in China and product safety
officials could not be reached for comment.
Melamine, which is high in nitrogen, is used to make plastics
and fertilizers and experts say some amount of the chemical
may be transferred from the environment during food
processing.
But in China's case, suppliers trying to boost output are
believed to have diluted their milk, adding melamine because
its nitrogen content can fool tests aimed at verifying
protein content.
Levels of melamine discovered in batches tested varied
widely, from as much as 6,196 milligrams per kilogram to as
little 1.3 milligrams per kilogram.
Chinese health officials have said no harm comes from
consuming less than 0.63 milligrams per kilogram.
In the most recent tests, nine of the batches containing
melamine were produced by the company at the center of the
scandal, Sanlu, a 43 percent stake of which is owned by New
Zealand dairy cooperative Fonterra. No date for the testing
was given.
The scandal was worsened by an apparent cover-up by companies
involved and the ignoring by safety officials of tips and
warnings from parents and doctors.
Top Sanlu executives and government officials in the northern
city of Shijiazhuang, where the company is based, have been
forced to resign.
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