On October 10, San Kuan pulled its hard milk candies off the shelves in China. At present, over thirty countries have either banned or limited diary product imports from China. The Public Security Bureau has arrested the principal suspect as the source of melamine contamination.
On Friday, a Chinese representative criticized countries that are still banning Chinese milk and other dairy products since the discovery of melamine contamination during the WTO meeting in Geneva. Chinese officials said that the milk powder was accidentally contaminated and that China is already devoted to dealing with the issue.
The Chinese officials said that no melamine contamination has been found since September 20. They urged the 153 members of the WTO to base import restrictions on scientific risk assessments and to use the global trade body’s official notification mechanism if they impose a ban.
Another Candy Brand Questioned
Despite China’s protest against the import bans, on that same day San Kuan pulled its Ahersi brand milk candy off the shelves due to unclear test results. The flavors of the milk candy included strawberry, coffee and chocolate. This is the second brand of milk candies suspected of melamine content.
The manufacturer issued a statement that it entrusted an independent laboratory to examine their products. The test results show that the candies produced in Shanghai and Shenzhen are safe, but more test results are pending. In the meantime, the company has decided to discontinue sales.
Suspect Arrested
The Handan Hebei Province police have arrested suspect Zhang Yujun for the melamine contamination. Media in mainland China quoted investigators, saying that from September 2007 to August 2008, Zhang had produced over 600 tons of melamine tainted protein powder and made a profit of over 500,000 yuan.
Courts Slow to Process Melamine Case Filings
There are still many cases of melamine poisoning reports against San Lu being filed in the courts. One parent of a young boy in Henan Province filed a case last month, but the court has yet to issue a notice. Their lawyer, Ji Cheng, is currently following up on the case.
Ms. Ling, whose son had been drinking San Lu milk since birth, pointed out that many victimized families still have not heard from the court after filing their cases. Ms. Ling criticized the courts for neglecting their duties. She said, “If [the courts] haven’t been pressured by the authorities, why haven’t they filed the cases yet?”
On Friday, Guanghua Hospital in Hong Kong reported that a ten year-old boy developed kidney stones after drinking melamine contaminated milk. The boy had drunk three to four 250 ml boxes daily of Eli high-calcium, low-fat milk for the past six years. Family members took him to the hospital when he developed hyperuria. Upon examination, he was discovered to have two kidney stones in the right kidney.
On Friday, the Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety announced that the 99 dairy product samples they examined all passed quality tests.
