February 24, 2009
Wyeth's milk powder receives kidney stone complaints in China
About nineteen families in China complained Monday (Feb 23) that their children had developed kidney stones after drinking the milk powder made by Wyeth.
Wyeth is the second foreign company following Dumex, a unit of France's Danone, to face such accusations.
There were more than 100 children who reportedly fell ill after consuming Dumex milk food but the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said last week Dumex's baby food was melamine-free.
AQSIQ said in a September report that Wyeth's products were free of melamine.
Wyeth stated it had sent samples of 919 batches of milk products imported before September, and all of its China-made milk powder products, to government designated testing centers. None were found to contain melamine.
The company added that all products imported after September were tested before entering China to ensure they were safe, and all domestically manufactured products were tested by local quality control authorities before entering the market.
The AQSIQ said on Sunday (Feb 22) it has tested 2,935 batches of baby formula since September and all of them were qualified. No particular brands were mentioned in the report.
The Ministry of Health said last week that it was conducting a nationwide epidemiological study into the Dumex case, as it did with Wyeth, to investigate the cause of the kidney ailments. No conclusion had been made as of Monday.
In addition, health experts have said it is too early to point fingers at milk powder producers.
Chen Junshi, a senior researcher with the National Institute for Nutrition and Food Safety, said despite the rarity in young children, kidney stone ailments can be triggered by various reasons, such as feeding habits or families' living environments.
Tang Zhiqing, a dairy industry analyst who has worked for both domestic dairy firms Bright Dairy and Mengniu, gave a different perspective to the Wyeth's complaints by saying complaints against Dumex and Wyeth were probably started by rival firms hoping to gain a competitive advantage.
Meanwhile, Wyeth suffered a dent to its reputation due to the allegations. About 61 percent of about 10,000 respondents of an online poll said the complaints will affect their future purchasing decisions.
