WKU News

China's tainted milk crisis that killed four infants and sickened 53,000 babies across the country spreads in other parts of the world.

After Chinese authorities decided to pull 4,247 tons of milk powder and 1,562 tons of liquid milk from the shelves in an attempt to put an end to the tainted-milk scandal, in the United States, the Food and Drug Administration on Friday announced that some instant coffee and tea drinks containing a nondairy creamer made in China, had been recalled for fear of contamination with melamine. The FDA recommended that consumers avoid Mr. Brown instant coffee and White Rabbit candy, products which are made in China. The Shanghai-based maker of White Rabbit said it stopped domestic sales after the Hong Kong government's Center for Food Safety found the popular vanilla-flavored candy contained more than six times the legal limit of melamine.

Officials in Hong Kong said thy have found foods tainted with the chemical. In Taiwan, Pizza Hut said its cheese packets tested positive for melamine. The chemical was also found in a popular brand of candy in Asia and Britain and even in ham and sausage products in Japan.

The diary products were reportedly contaminated with melamine, an industrial chemical product usually used to produce plastic materials. Melamine, which is high in nitrogen, can cause kidney stones and other organ problems.

Many countries have banned or recalled Chinese dairy products and health officials said they had tested milk-based products imported from China.

In China, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce has launched a nationwide inspection of all dairy producers, wholesalers and retailers.

Chinese regulators found that the Sanlu-brand milk formula, made by Sanlu Group - China's premier baby milk brand, was tainted with the chemical melamine. Sanlu's general manager Tian Wenhua was fired and detained by police Wednesday, the Xinhua news agency said. The political fallout continued, with the mayor of Hebei province's capital, Shijiazhuang, and four other city officials from Shijiazhuang, where Sanlu is based, being fired.

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