Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Multinational Nestlé announced Thursday that it has agreed to a Taiwan government request and temporaraily withdrawn two China-made milk product lines, Neslac and KLIM, from the market there, but it argues strongly that all evidence shows the products are safe.
Chinese officials have arrested 22 people suspected of producing the melamine that has been used in baby milk, in northern Hebei province, after seizing 220kg of the material in a raid. BBC
No milk for sale here! (Beijing, 1985, copyright E Wallace)
Vevey, Switzerland (Genevalunch) - Multinational Nestlé, whose market in China was worth CHF1.6 billion in sales in 2006 and climbed by about 10% in 2007, says independent laboratory tests show its milk products are safe and have no melanine.
Update Tuesday 23 September: International concern is growing, as the number of children known to have fallen sick rises, reports CNN. The government in China said late Monday that 13,000 children remain in hospital, most being treated for kidney stones, and another 40,000 fell ill but have recovered. Li Changjiang, the quality supervisor for the country, resigned. The Chinese government earlier said eight hotlines have been set up in provincial areas and more are expected, to help families deal with children falling ill from melamine-tained baby milk. Four children have died and 6,200 have developed kidney stones, the government said Saturday, 20 September. Chinese government site
The tainted powdered baby milk scandal in China is growing, with the government announcing Wednesday the death of a third baby, and the news that 6,000 children have become sick from milk with melamine added. The government also said that two producers had exported the milk, to Bangladesh, Burundi, Gabon, Myanmar and Yemen. The tampered product can cause kidney failure. China is starting a “sweeping” check of the milk of all producers in the country after melamine was found in products from 22 companies. AFP. Xinhua
Powdered baby milk that was apparently tampered with, possibly contaminated with melamine, has so far put more than 1,200 babies in hospital and it has killed two children, in China. The Sanlu company, which makes the milk, is 43% owned by New Zealand company Fonterra, and that country’s president, Helen Clark, is accusing the company and local governments in China of responding too slowly. Some 10,000 children may have drunk the milk. BBC, China Daily, New Zealand Herald
