April 11, 2011

China's nitrate-tainted milk case may be intentional
 
 
According to China's media, the nitrate-tainted milk case which caused three children to be killed and 36 others to be sick in China's northwestern Gansu province last week might be intentional poisoning.

Local investigators in Pingliang city said they had arrested suspects in connection with the nitrate-laden milk that caused 39 people to seek hospital care last Thursday (Apr 7), according to the media. It did not give details on the suspects' identities or motives.

Nitrate, which is used to cure meat, has no use as a milk additive, according to a health bureau official.

The three children who died after consuming the tainted milk were all under two years old. As of Sunday, 17 of the victims remained hospitalised but were in stable condition.

China's food sector has suffered from frequent poisonings and toxin scandals, and the fast-growing but fragmented dairy sector has been at the heart of those worries.

Earlier this year, Chinese quality authorities sought to calm renewed public alarm after reports that some manufacturers had illegally added a leather protein powder to dairy products to cheat protein-content checks.

In 2008, at least six children died and nearly 300,000 became ill from powdered milk laced with melamine, an industrial chemical added to low quality or diluted milk to fool inspectors by giving misleadingly high readings for protein levels.