Tainted Milk: The Scandal Saturates

News has gone from bad to worse for China/st1 :country-region>'s dairy farmers.  First baby formula from Sanlu Dairy was on the hot seat, now 22 of 175 Chinese dairy firms, comprising 20% of China/st1 :country-region>'s domestic dairy supply, have recalled products due to melamine levels.  /span>

Melamine is a chemical compounded added to give foods the appearance of a higher protein content, but without offering any nutritional value.  /span>

So far, the melamine has had the most detrimental results for infants.  Three babies have died, more than 1,300 are still hospitalized, and 6,244 have been sickened from the bad formula.  Six Sanlu suppliers have been arrested for using melamine in their products, and general manager Tian Wenhua, has been fired./span>

Beyond Sanlu's struggles, are concerns of the scope of the scandal, since not even China/st1 :place>'s biggest milk company, the Mengniu Dairy, and Olympic sponsor Yili are safe.  Furthermore, from a geographical vantage point, Taiwanese importers have already found melamine traces in bread and cakes from the mainland, and Hong Kong supermarkets have had to recall yogurt and ice cream from mainland China/st1 :country-region>.  /span>

Are the tainted products listed the only ones with quality issues, or are there others?  What about other types of food that consumers trust?      /span>

As far as Chinese food crises go, dairy isn't the worst possible option Nearly 93% of Chinese adults have some degree of lactose intolerance, so a dairy crisis doesn't quite have the same ramifications as a comparable crisis in the U.S./st1 :place> 

In 2005, Chinese consumers only accounted for 13% of the world's milk consumption, but demand for dairy, particularly yogurt and ice cream has been on the rise.  Between 2000 and 2006, China/st1 :country-region>'s milk production increased from 8.6 million tons to 32.2 million tons.  

Given this tremendous growth, cutting corners via melamine, while not ethical or justified, is somewhat understandable.  Many farmers had to do something to adjust to the growing demands, and if they weren't able to produce enough milk on their own, they had to find another way to supply "nutrients," even at tremendous health costs to consumers.         /span>

Of course, many unanswered questions remain, and most of them cannot be resolved as easily as just finding the melamine-milk manufacturers.   There is the overarching question of how China/st1 :country-region> can successfully overcome these economic growing pains, in order to achieve high levels of quality control while also keeping up with growing demands.  /span>

It's possible that the situation will might seem worse before it improves, and there will probably be others that follow in the upcoming months and years.  Although this scandal has had some pretty devastating consequences, it has been a salient reminder of the potential consequences for poor business ethics, and need for reforms.  /span>