Melamine Milk: The Mayhem Continues . . .

Just one month ago, China was reveling in its Olympic glory, with Michael Phelps winning his seventh gold medal.  The pet food/toy/cough syrup/(your scandal here) problems of 2007 seemed like a distant memory, as citizens from all over the world came together for a collective kumbaya.

Flash forward just one month, and the China coverage isn’t quite as glowing.  Rather than hearing about the impressive achievements of the Paralympic athletes, we’ve been inundated with grave reports of another scandal. 

1,253 infants have been diagnosed with kidney stones as a result of drinking formula laced with melamine.  53 are in critical condition, and two have even died from the bad formula, which was distributed by Sanlu Dairy.

Though melamine is insoluble by the human body, it can be added to various products to give them the appearance of a higher nutritional content.  Melamine also made an appearance in last year’s pet food fiasco. 

Authorities believe that some third-party vendors, who sold to Sanlu, are responsible for the bad milk.  China’s Ministry of Health has already apprehended two brothers and two other men, who had put melamine in their milk products after Sanlu had rejected the initial offerings.  It’s unknown whether or not others were involved.

Beyond the obvious problems of harm to children, there’s also been significant criticism that the government hasn’t acted fast enough.  Despite the deaths, the Sanlu Board knew of the tainted formula August 2nd, but no recalls occurred until September 11th.  (For a timeline of the events, check out Seagull Reference.)

Other complaints occurred as early as March, which makes the September recall, conveniently after the Olympics, a bit suspicious.

Fronterra, a New Zealand company, which owns 43% of Sanlu, wanted the government to recall the products as soon as the board knew of the contaminated products.  According to New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, the Chinese authorities didn’t react until the New Zealand government pressured them to do so.

This pressure didn’t really happen until after the Olympics were over, and the Chinese media could report on some of the “sensitive issues” that were off-limits during the Games, including food safety. 

While there’s plenty of coverage throughout the Chinese media, many stories have framed the issues in a more positive light, noting that the government is providing free health care to babies who have been injured, and that two of the guilty parties have already been helped.

The blogosphere, however, hasn’t been quite as kind, with accusations of Sanlu paying off disgruntled customers to keep them quiet.  

Unfortunately, at this point, the extent of the damage remains somewhat unknown.  Melamine traces have been found in milk products like yogurt and ice cream from 22 Chinese dairy providers.

Even Taiwanese importers have recently found melamine within Sanlu products ranging from bread to mooncakes.