Nearly 12,900 Chinese children sick from milk (UPDATE: 53,000)

Nearly 12,900 Chinese children sick from milk

China said Sunday the number of children sickened by baby formula tainted with the banned industrial chemical melamine has doubled to nearly 12,900 as the government confronts a scandal over widespread contamination of the milk supply.

More than 80 percent of the 12,892 children hospitalized in recent weeks were 2 years old or younger, the Health Ministry said in a statement posted on its Web site late Sunday. Four children have died.

The ministry said most of the children sickened consumed infant formula from one company, the Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group Co. The dairy is at the center of one of China's worst food safety scandals in years.

More...

I have been reading about this for a couple of days now, but the reported numbers were nothing like this!!!

What an awful thing.

:shk:

[edit on 22-9-2008 by loam]

I feel ashamed that one of New Zealand's biggest companies (Fonterra) is involved in this scandal.
Basically it boils down to greed. They knew of the situation months ago and kept quiet.
Interestingly, and related by greed, our dairy prices have sky-rocketed recently, putting what was once a staple beyond the means of many, while the dairy farmers enjoy a large payout....it also annoys me that they are converting a lot of land to dairying here....land that requires huge amounts of irrigation, without which it would be unsustainable...

Greedy buggers....boycott them please!

More here

This is a disgrace and China needs to be held responsible for this by the world community.

The series of defective products that have negatively affected the lives of children is indefensible and it is time that either the Chinese enter the twenty-first century in terms of their model of capitalism or the world must just say no to Chinese products, regardless of inconvenience it may cause in the short run.

China has become the world's manufacturer because they have convinced the business world that they can do the job better and cheaper. That's the hallmark of the free market, but if they can't or won't deliver, the other side of that coin is for consumers to buy elsewhere or not buy at all.

reply to post by ChChKiwi



Yeah, this part is real pathetic:

Number one issue for Fonterra is the health of the children and the decision was made at the beginning that it is better to… we would have more influence on this situation if we worked within the Chinese system, as opposed to standing outside the system.

We could not see where we could have an appropriate influence in getting the product off the shelves.

Criminals.

[edit on 21-9-2008 by loam]

reply to post by GradyPhilpott


In terms of a market response, I will not let my child play with certain toys manufactured in China-- particularly where I believe lead paint may be a concern.

reply to post by loam



That's a smart and appropriate choice.

Most of us don't have the equipment or the inclination to test every product we put into the hands of children.

The burden is on the manufacturers to prove that their products are safe.

The civilized world simply cannot let these atrocious practices to continue.

We are learning more about this situation by the hour:

Nearly 53,000 Chinese Children Sick From Milk

The number of children in China sickened by dairy products tainted with the banned industrial chemical melamine has jumped to nearly 53,000, the government said Sunday as it vowed to crack down on those responsible for one of China's worst food safety scandals in years.

More than 80 percent of the 12,892 children hospitalized in recent weeks were 2 years old or younger, the Health Ministry said in a statement posted on its Web site late Sunday. Four children have died and 104 of the hospitalized children are in serious condition.

Another 39,965 children received outpatient treatment at hospitals and were considered "basically recovered," the ministry said.

OMG.

[edit on 22-9-2008 by loam]

UPDATE:

Tainted milk crisis hits more global companies

Snackers, beware: Your favorite chocolate or creamy treats might contain milk contaminated with melamine.

The list of companies facing potential recalls grew Friday as reports of foods tainted with the industrial chemical melamine, which has been blamed in the deaths of four Chinese infants, spread to a widening range of products.

Food companies around the globe are rushing to assess their products and in some cases setting new strategies to prevent problems.

The foot print of this thing is huge.

What a lot of people don't take into consideration is the fact that we get a lot of our supplies from China. It could say it is made in the US or North America but it could still have ingredients from countries like China, India and etc.

Investigations in China have revealed the presence of melamine in dozens of milk and milk products. Many foods and beverages manufactured in China-- such as instant coffee containing a creamer, tea with powdered milk, instant packaged breakfast cereal, candy, and other products— contain milk or milk products.

Tens of thousands of infants in China have become sick with kidney stones or kidney failure associated with the consumption of infant formula containing melamine. There have been at least four deaths, and thousands more have been hospitalized.
Daily News

My brother had kidney stones and they hurt real bad. China keeps taking shortcuts at the expense of our lives. We do a lot of business with China and their board of directors seem not to care.

I want to suggest that they tell us where each ingredient came from. That way I can try as best I can to avoid ingredients from these countries.

MORE:

Cadbury recalls Chinese-made chocolates: Firm says tests 'cast doubt' on product safety amid fallout over tainted milk

British chocolate maker Cadbury said Monday tests have "cast doubt" on the safety of its Chinese-made products and ordered a recall, the latest foreign company affected by China's tainted milk scandal.

Tests "cast doubt on the integrity of a range of our products manufactured in China," Cadbury said without elaboration in a statement issued from its office in Singapore.

It wasn't immediately clear whether the tests revealed melamine, the industrial chemical at the center of China's recent milk scandal.

China needs to understand the concept of Quality Control.

Theyre a communist dictatorship- why cant they enforce a law which mandates quality control? Or why cant they have a government screening system for their products?

Their produce is cheap monetarily, but there could soon be a backlash from consumers. Indeed the price in human terms was too great in this case.

I was reading a post here yesterday about melamine being discovered in pet food way back in April 2007.

Just how long has this melamine problem been around and how far will it spread?

Cadburys chocolate was the latest one, which I heard about this morning, and we've been listening to this Chinese baby milk problem for around 2 weeks now.

I'm quite surprised that this issue isn't getting more attention (well actually I'm not that surprised and that is very sad!)