http://www.theage.com.au/world/toxic-milk-back-on-the-shelves-in-china-20100203-ndln.html
Toxic milk back on the shelves in China EDWARD WONG February 4, 2010 China has launched an emergency inspection of dairy products after reports that tainted items the government ordered destroyed in a food safety scandal two years ago were still on the market. The suspect dairy products contain melamine, an industrial chemical added to make them appear more nutritious, the official newspaper China Daily reported. The chemical led to the deaths of at least six children and sickened 300,000 people in late 2008, according to the Chinese government. Melamine was discovered in a wide range of dairy products after the scandal erupted. The government ordered the destruction of all suspect products, but some ''unscrupulous'' companies had repackaged them for sale, Health Minister Chen Zhu said, according to China Daily. Melamine-laced dairy milk powder had resurfaced mostly as an ingredient in processed food such as ice-cream and condensed milk, the newspaper said. Mr Chen said the recall of tainted products was ''an uncompleted task that has to be completed''. The announcement will further undermine confidence in food and other products from China, which have sparked a series of safety scandals in recent years. As recently as late January, three Chinese companies were found selling melamine-tainted dairy products that authorities said were leftovers from the contaminated product recall, China Daily reported. Chinese officials last month said they had arrested three executives of Shanghai Panda Dairy in April and charged them with reselling contaminated products. NEW YORK TIMES [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
