Milk Scandal Sparks Fear of Imports

(The Press Association)

At least nine countries - as far away as Kenya - have banned Chinese dairy imports in response to a widening tainted milk scandal that has claimed the lives of four Chinese babies.

Several more countries, from Canada to Australia, have increased their testing of Chinese food imports amid fears that compromised ingredients may have contaminated other products, like yoghurts, cookies and candies.

The scare has been most acutely felt in Asia, where worried parents on rushed their children to hospitals for check-ups after China said that formula laced with a toxic chemical had sickened 54,000 infants.

As the reports of sick babies multiplied — with at least five reported outside the mainland in the Chinese territories of Hong Kong and Macau — even countries that don't import Chinese dairy began sounding alarms.

The European Union, for instance, urged customs authorities to step up checks on imports of “composite products,” such as bread or chocolate, to ensure they contain no traces of contaminated milk.

The crisis was initially thought to have been limited to Chinese milk powder laced with melamine, an industrial chemical used to make plastics and fertiliser that can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure.

But recent testing found melamine in samples of liquid milk taken from 22 Chinese companies — including the country's two largest dairy producers, Mengniu Dairy Group Co. and Yili Industrial Group Co. — and prompted nationwide recalls of milk and dairy products.

Growing public fears led some schools and stores to pull more products as a precaution. Even major international food makers such as Kraft Foods were hit by unconfirmed rumours of recalls of numerous snacks, including Oreo cookies and M&Ms.