2008 Chinese milk scandal
2008 baby milk scandal
In September 2008 Sanlu came to international attention due to product concerns regarding its infant milk formula, which was discovered to have been contaminated with melamine, a non-alimentary chemical which causes kidney stones. Three infants have so far died and excess of 6,200 babies have been made ill, with many said to be "in serious condition".[1]. Melamine was apparently added by suppliers to increase the apparent protein content. As at 15 September 2008, 19 people have been detained by the Chinese authorities. Two brothers named Geng who ran a milk collection center in Hebei were arrested for allegedly supplying three tonnes of adulterated milk daily to the dairy. Batch-rejection due to quality checks and rising cost of cattle feed were cited as possible motives for the deception.[2]
The dairy management is said to have been aware of the problem since June 2008, according to company sales representatives.[3] However, minister of Health officials said that Sanlu had begun to receive customer complaints as early as March 2008.[4] Fonterra was alerted to the contamination on 2 August, and is said to have pushed hard for a full public recall. There was an immediate trade recall, but Fonterra said that local administrators refused an official recall.[2] Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, instructed senior ministers to bypass local channels and inform Beijing officials upon learning about the tainted milk on 5 September.[2] Clark said: "I think the first inclination was to try and put a towel over it and deal with it without an official recall."[5] Various English-language newspapers have speculated that China's desire for a perfect summer Olympic Games contributed to the delayed recall of the baby milk, alleging that guidelines issued to Chinese media that reporting food safety issues, such as cancer-causing mineral water, were "off-limits".[5][6][7] although the Central government denied this.[2] Hebei provincial vice-governor said his administration was only notified by Shijiazhuang on 8 September.[4]
On 15 September, the company issued a public apology for the contaminated milk powder;[3] Sanlun was ordered to halt production, and to destroy all unsold and recalled products. Authorities reportedly seized 2,176 tons of milk powder in Sanlu's warehouses. An estimated 8,218 tons of product had been recalled, and another 700 tons was on its way back to Shijiazhuang.[8]
After testing samples from 491 batches of products sold by all 109 companies producing baby milk powder, the State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said that all 11 samples from Sanlu failed the melanine test,[9][10] and concentrations reached 2.56 grams per kg, the highest among all the samples tested. Tainted samples were found among other suppliers, and the range was from 0.09 - 619 mg/kg.[9]
Tian Wenhua, Chairman and General Manager of Sanlu and Party Secretary was stripped of her party and functional posts during an extraordinary meeting of the Hebei provincial standing committee of the CCP; four Shijiazhuang officials, including vice mayor in charge of food and agriculture, Zhang Fawang, were reportedly removed from office.[11][10]
Censorship
Mainland media has been ordered to tone down coverage of the unfolding scandal to prevent unrest. News editors have been ordered to adhere to the official copy of Xinhua. Traditionally, media knows to avoid negative news coverage, and CCTV has shifted reporting emphasis on the forthcoming launch of Shenzhou VII.[3] The announcement of the AQSIQ test results was relegated to the final item on the CCTV evening news.[10]
- ^ "Chinese Baby Formula Scandal Widens as 3 Deaths Are Announced". BBC. 17 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c d Al Guo, "First arrests made in tainted milk scandal", Page A4, South China Morning Post (16 September 2008) Cite error: The named reference "alerted" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ a b c Raymond Li, "Censorship hammer comes down over scandal", Page A5, South China Morning Post (16 September 2008)
- ^ a b Kristine Kwok, "Officials knew of tainted milk for a month", Page A4, South China Morning Post (17 September 2008)
- ^ a b "Chinese milk powder contaminated with melamine sickens 1,253 babies". The Times. 15 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Sunday Morning Herald
- ^ "China accused over contaminated baby milk". The Daily Telegraph. 15 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Xinhua, "China to destroy 10,000 tons of tainted baby formula", chinaview.cn (15 September 2008)
- ^ a b Xinhua, "China seizes 22 companies with contaminated baby milk powder", chinaview.cn (16 September 2008)
- ^ a b c Klaudia Lee, "Tests find tainted baby milk at 21 more firms", Page A1, South China Morning Post (17 September 2008)
- ^ Xinhua, "Officials, company manager sacked following baby milk powder scandal", chinaview.cn (16 September 2008)