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[[Image:2008 Chinese milk scandal - empty milk shelves.jpg|thumb|300px|Stripped shelves in a supermarket in China as a result of the contamination]]
The '''2008 Chinese milk scandal''' is a [[Food safety in the People's Republic of China|food safety incident]] in [[mainland China|mainland People's Republic of China]] involving milk and [[infant formula]] which had been [[adulterant|adulterated]] with [[melamine]]. With China's wide range of export food products, the scandal has affected countries on all continents. By 22 September, nearly 53,000 illnesses, over 12,800 hospitalisations, and four infant deaths caused by [[kidney stone]]s and other [[renal failure]] had been reported.<ref name="sick">Scott McDonald, [http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iCL58EMBN1tqq6xujZlsaITAFpCQD93BHE880 "Nearly 53,000 Chinese children sick from milk"], ''[[Associated Press]]'' (22 September 2008)</ref><ref name="sick2">Jane Macartney, [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4800458.ece China baby milk scandal spreads as sick toll rises to 13,000], ''[[The Times]]'' (22 September 2008)</ref> The chemical appeared to have been added to milk in order to cause it to appear to have a higher protein content. The same chemical was also involved in a [[2007 pet food recalls|series of pet food recalls in 2007]]. In a separate incident, watered-down milk resulted in 13 infant deaths from malnutrition in China in 2004.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3648583.stm
|title=China 'fake milk' scandal deepens
|publisher=BBC
|date=22 April 2004
|accessdate= 2008-09-25
}}</ref>


After the initial focus on [[Sanlu Group]], the market leader, government inspections revealed the problem existed to a lesser degree in products from 21 other companies, including [[Mengniu]], [[Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Company|Yili]], and [[Yashili]].<ref name="seized">{{cite web
|date=16 September 2008
|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/17/content_10046949.htm
|title=China seizes 22 companies with contaminated baby milk powder
|publisher=[[Xinhua]]
|accessdate=
}}</ref> The issue has raised concerns about food safety and [[political corruption]] in China, and it has also damaged the reputation of China's food exports; at least 11 countries having stopped all imports of Chinese dairy products. A number of arrests occurred as a result of the scandal, and the head of Sanlu, several provincial government officials, as well as the Director of the [[Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine]] (AQSIQ) have been fired or forced to resign in response to the incident.<ref>Patsy Moy and agencies, [http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=30&art_id=72013&sid=20697103&con_type=1&d_str=20080923&sear_year=2008 "Fall guys - Sacked], The Standard (23 September 2008)</ref> The [[World Health Organisation]] referred to the incident as one of the largest food safety events it has had to deal with in recent years. It says the crisis of confidence among Chinese consumers would be hard to overcome.<ref name=voa/>


==Melamine==
== October 2008 ==
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{{main|Melamine}}
==Image copyright problem with [[:Image:Nina Conti.jpg]]==
Melamine is a man-made substance commonly employed in a variety of industrial products and processes, including the manufacture of synthetic countertops, dry erase boards, fabrics, glues, housewares, flame retardants and dyes. The nitrogen-rich molecule is sometimes illegally added to food products in order to increase their apparent protein content. It has also been employed as an additive to cattle feed to boost its nitrogen content, appearing in soy meal, corn gluten meal and cottonseed meal.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSPEK166968|title=Melamine use "rampant" in China feed business|date=25 Sept 2008|publisher=Reuters|accessdate=2008-09-26}}</ref> Melamine is known to cause [[renal failure|renal]] and urinary problems in humans and animals when combined in the body with [[cyanuric acid]],<ref name="melamine"/><ref name="FAQ">[http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2008/09/22/f-melamine-faq.html Melamine: FAQs], ''[[CBC News]]'' (22 September 2008)</ref> sometimes present in drinking water and in animal feed<ref name="FDAcyan">{{ cite web
|url=http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfCFR/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=573.220
|title=21CFR573.220 Feed-grade biuret
|date=1 April 2006
|publisher=[[FDA]]
|accessdate=2007-05-06}}</ref>, so its use in food production is banned in China and elsewhere.<ref>[http://www.who.int/csr/media/faq/QAmelamine/en/ Questions and Answers on melamine], [[World Health Organisation]], retrieved 3 October 2008</ref>


[[Image:Nuvola apps important.svg|32px|left|Image Copyright problem]]
Common nitrogen-based protein level tests used in China, such as the [[Kjeldahl method|Kjeldahl]] and [[Dumas method|Dumas]] methods, fail to distinguish between melamine and naturally occurring milk proteins, allowing the protein levels to be falsified. Introduced into milk, it can help conceal its fraudulent dilution with water.<ref name="melamine">Stephen Chen, "Melamine - an industry staple", Page A2, ''[[South China Morning Post]]'' (18 September 2008)</ref> Melamine adulteration of food products had also made headlines when [[2007 pet food recalls|pet food was recalled]] in Europe and the U.S. in 2007.
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===How it got into the milk===
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said that "it appears that melamine can be found in a variety of milk and milk products at varying levels, from low [[ppb]] to ppm ranges."<ref> [http://www.who.int/foodsafety/fs_management/infosan_events/en/index.html Melamine and Cyanuric acid: Toxicity, Preliminary Risk Assessment and Guidance on Levels in Food], [[World Health Organisation]] (25 September 2008)</ref> One academic suggests it may have been part of the food chain in China for a long time, as [[cyromazine]] (a melamine derivative) is a very commonly used pesticide in China. Cyromazine is absorbed into plants as melamine, and may therefore be present in the food chain, including in poultry, eggs, fish, and dairy products.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/dn14791-melamine-widespread-in-chinese-food-chain.html|title=Melamine 'widespread' in China's food chain|coauthors=Andy Coghlan and Reuters|date=23 September 2008 |publisher=[[New Scientist]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/4705190a11.html|title=Rush to find extent of NZ melamine contamination|date=25 September 2008|publisher=stuff.co.nz}}</ref>


--[[User:John Bot III|John Bot III]] ([[User talk:John Bot III|talk]]) 18:38, 11 October 2008 (UTC)
It is not known where in the supply chain the melamine was added to the milk. The chemical is not water-soluble and must be mixed with [[formaldehyde]] or another chemical before it can be dissolved in milk.<ref name="fret">Gillian Wong, [http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jLXpq9YQBdZkaSRyRtY6IE57xcIQD93BGRF80 China's dairy farmers fret as milk scandal grows], Associated Press (22 September 2008)</ref> ''[[Caijing]]'' reported that 99% pure industrial grade melamine, costing [[Chinese yuan|¥]]11,000 (US$1,600) per tonne, was too expensive to put into milk for the purposes of hiding dilution. They speculate that the melamine found in the tainted milk would have come from impure industrial melamine priced at ¥700 per tonne, and that Sanlu's baby formula melamine content was a result of replacing real milk protein with low cost vegetable protein (such as low grade soya powder), which had large amounts of low grade industrial melamine as filler. Low grade impure melamine would contain other more harmful material, such as urea, ammonia, potassium nitrate, and sodium nitrite. Among these, sodium nitrite is a known carcinogen.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://magazine.caijing.com.cn/20080928/77700.shtml|title= 三聚氰胺溯源 (Where the melamine comes from)|date=29 September 2008|publisher=Caijing}}{{zh}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=September 2008}}<!-- Not English, need English RS source, or verification that this is an RS source in China with a translation of relevant text in the ref -->


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''[[Caijing]]'' reported that "spiking fresh milk with additives such as melamine" was no longer a secret to Hebei dairy farmers for the past two years. Due to fierce competition for supplies, and the higher prices paid by Mengniu and Yili, Sanlu's inspection system was compromised "as early as 2005 and allowed milk collection stations to adopt unscrupulous business practices". During the same time government supervision was "practically nonexistent."<ref name=blame>{{cite news|url=http://english.caijing.com.cn/2008-10-10/110019183.html|title=Spilling the Blame for China’s Milk Crisis|date=10 Oct 2008|publisher=English Caijing|accessdate=2008-10-08}}</ref>
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=== Toll ===
On 17 September 2008, Health Minister Chen Zhu stated that tainted milk formula had "sickened more than 6,200 children, and that more than 1,300 others, mostly newborns, remain hospitalised with 158 suffering from acute kidney failure".<ref>{{cite web
|author=Anita Chang|date=18 September 2008|url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iCL58EMBN1tqq6xujZlsaITAFpCQD93915KO0|title=12 more arrested in China's tainted milk scandal|publisher=Google|work=Associated Press}}</ref> By 23 September, about 54,000 children were reported to be sick and 4 had died.<ref>{{cite web|author=Associated Press| date=24 September 2008 |url=http://news.theage.com.au/world/three-more-hospitalised-in-milk-scandal-20080924-4mp8.html|title=Three more hospitalised in milk scandal |publisher=[[The Age]]}}</ref> Nearly 13,000 Chinese infants had been admitted to hospital, 104 of them in a serious condition.<ref>{{cite web|author=Chris Buckley| date=23 September 2008 |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/0923/breaking4.htm|title=China launches export crackdown amid milk crisis |publisher=[[Irish Times]]}}</ref> An additional 10,000 cases were reported from the provinces by 26 September.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1062832/Hong-Kong-finds-traces-toxic-Chinese-milk-Heinz-baby-food-10-000-children-fall-sick.html |title=Hong Kong finds traces of toxic Chinese milk in Heinz baby food as 10,000 more children fall sick| publisher=[[Daily Mail]] |date=27 September 2008}}</ref> A [[World Health Organisation]] official said 82 percent of the children made sick by the formula were 2 years of age or younger.<ref name=outfocontrol>{{cite news|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26851704/|title=China: 'Out of control' dairy system led to abuse Contaminated formula sickened at least 54,000 babies, killing four|publisher=MSNBC|date=23 September 2008|work=Associated Press}}</ref> Non-human casualties included a lion cub and two baby orangutans which had been fed Sanlu milk powder at Hangzhou Zoo.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7635432.stm|publisher=[[British Broadcasting Corporation]]|date=25 September 2008|title=Animals sick from Chinese milk}}</ref>


[[Image:Copyright-excl.svg|70px|left]]
The government said on 21 September it would no longer issue updated figures. Reuters compiled figures reported by local media across the country, and said the toll stood at nearly 94,000 at the end of September, excluding [[Direct-controlled municipality|municipalities]]. Notably, 13,459 children had been affected in Gansu, Reuters quoted Xinhua saying. Henan had reported over 30,000 cases, and Hebei also had nearly 16,000 cases.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://africa.reuters.com/world/news/usnTRE4974YX.html |title=China milk victims may have reached 94,000|author=Yu Le|publisher= Reuters |date=8 October 2008}}</ref> More than 10,000 children are still hospitalised, with eight in serious condition according to the Chinese Health Ministry.
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== Companies ==
* [[Wikipedia:Image use policy]]
=== Sanlu ===
* [[Wikipedia:Image copyright tags]]
The scandal began with revelations of contamination of [[Sanlu Group|Sanlu]] milk products. The [[New Zealand]] dairy cooperative [[Fonterra]], which owns a 43% stake in [[Sanlu Group|Sanlu]], said they were alerted to melamine contamination on 2 August (almost a month before the issue became public), and claimed to have pushed hard for a full [[Product recall|public recall]]. Although there was an immediate trade recall, Fonterra said that local administrators refused an official recall.<ref name="alerted">
{{cite news
|author=Klaudia Lee
|date=16 September 2008
|title=NZ alerted China to tainted milk, PM says
|publisher=''[[South China Morning Post]]'', p. A1
}}</ref>


This is an automated notice by [[User:MifterBot|MifterBot]]. For assistance on the image use policy, see [[Wikipedia:Media copyright questions]]. NOTE: once you correct this, please remove the tag from the image's page. --[[User:MifterBot|MifterBot]] <sup>([[User Talk:MifterBot|Talk]] • [[Special:Contributions/MifterBot|Contribs]] • [[User:Mifter|Owner]])</sup> 15:30, 12 October 2008 (UTC)
====Warning signs ignored====
The bulletin board of the Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) indicated a rare occurrence of kidney stones in children &ndash; all causally traced to Sanlu milk formula &ndash; was flagged by at least one member of the public in June 2008<ref name="timeline">''[[Associated Press]]'', [http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5joi2sgFfZeHnug8iBioRZpD9j1BgD93C0AN00 Timeline of China's tainted milk powder scandal], Google (23 September 2008)</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://209.85.175.104/search?q=cache:mT_G9ImnPd0J:spscjgs.aqsiq.gov.cn/gzly/lyhf/200807/t20080702_80945.htm|title=Food production supervision dept reply to query no.20080630-1622-25262|publisher=google|work=AQSIQ|accessdate=2008-09-13|date=2 July 2008}}{{Dead link|date=September 2008}}</ref> and by a urologist in a paediatric hospital on 24 July 2008. Neither received definitive replies. The paediatrician, who specifically asked the AQSIQ to refer his observations to [[epidemiology|epidemiologists]], was asked to refer his query to the Health department.<ref>{{cite web|title=Food production supervision dept reply to query no.20080724-6021-28494|publisher=google|work=AQSIA|accessdate=2008-09-13|date=31 July 2008|url=http://209.85.175.104/search?q=cache:2w6bsEKZ2owJ:spscjgs.aqsiq.gov.cn/gzly/lyhf/200807/t20080731_84037.htm}}{{zh icon}}</ref><ref name="timeline" />

In June, Jiangsu media reported a two-month surge in the number of babies diagnosed with kidney disease; in July, a parent of a sick baby in Hunan questioned Sanlu’s milk powder and complained to the AQSIQ. Gansu Province sent a report to the Ministry of Heath on 16 July to alert that one local hospital had identified an increase in the incidence of kidney ailments among babies in the months earlier, and that most victims had consumed Sanlu’s baby formula. The health ministry sent investigators to Gansu in early August.<ref name=blame />

====Enter NZ Government====
Fonterra notified the New Zealand government on 5 September and three days later, the [[Prime Minister of New Zealand|Prime Minister]] [[Helen Clark]] had Beijing officials alerted directly.<ref name="alerted" /><ref>{{cite web
|date=15 September 2008
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7616346.stm
|title=Toxic milk toll rockets in China
|publisher=[[BBC News]]
}}</ref> News reports began circulating in China on 9 September,<ref name=nz22108>[http://www.odt.co.nz/news/world/22108/fonterra039s-sanlu-recalls-milkpowder-after-babies-sick Fonterra's Sanlu recalls milkpowder after babies sick], 12 September 2008, Otago Daily Times</ref>
the news broke internationally a day later by [[Reuters]].<ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSPEK25999920080910 Baby milk powder suspected in new China health scare], Reuters, 10 September 2008</ref> The state-controlled media report did not initially identify the company involved, postings on [[Tianya Club|Tianya]].cn, a Chinese social portal, named Sanlu as the culprit.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/27/AR2008092702797.html|title=China's Tainted-Milk Crisis Grows Despite Official Claims |author= Maureen Fan|date=28 September 2008|publisher=[[Washington Post]] }}</ref> Sanlu initially denied the allegations.

====Cover-up allegations====
According to accounts confirmed by media reports and health officials, the company tried to buy off critics and cover up the contamination. In a memo dated 11 August, Beijing-based [[public relations]] agency Teller International advised Sanlu to seek cooperation with major [[search engine]]s to censor negative information. It was reported that the agency had repeatedly contacted key account staff at [[Baidu]] and proposed a ¥3 million (US$440,000) budget to screen all negative news.<ref>{{cite news|author=Tim Hume |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/sundaystartimes/4708283a6005.html |title= Leaked memo alleges $640,000 'cover up' over poisoned babies scandal |publisher= Sunday Star Times |date=28 September 2008}}</ref><ref name="baidu">{{cite web
|date=13 September 2008
|url=http://tech.sina.com.cn/i/13/15472456026.shtml
|title=百度声明：从未答应屏蔽三鹿负面 (Baidu declares: We never agreed to bury Sanlu negative news)
|publisher=[[Sina.com]]
|accessdate=
|language=Simplified Chinese
}}</ref> After the memo began circulating on the internet, Baidu denounced in a communiqué on 13 September 2008 the approaches by said agency on several occasions, saying that the proposal was firmly rejected as it violated their corporate principles of unbiased and transparent reporting.<ref name="baidu" /> Fonterra said that it was following up on reports of this PR strategy.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10534647|title=Fonterra investigating claims of San Lu cover-up |date=28 September 2008|publisher=New Zealand Herald|accessdate=2008-09-28}}</ref>

Helen Clark said of the local government: "I think the first inclination was to try and put a towel over it and deal with it without an official recall."<ref name="Times">{{cite web
|author=Jane Macartney & Sophie Yu
|date=15 September 2008
|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4758549.ece
|title=Chinese milk powder contaminated with melamine sickens 1,253 babies
|publisher=''[[The Times]]''
}}</ref> Western media speculated that China's desire for a perfect [[2008 Summer Olympics|summer Olympic Games]] contributed to the delayed recall of the baby milk, citing a guidelines allegedly issued to Chinese media that reporting food safety issues, such as cancer-causing mineral water, were "off-limits"<ref name="Times" /><ref>{{cite web
|author=Stephen Hutcheon
|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/was-chinas-contaminated-milk-scandal-hushed-up/2008/09/15/1221330732015.html
|title=Was China's milk scandal hushed up?
|publisher=New Zealand Herald
|date=15 September 2008
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref name="Telegraph">{{cite web
|author=Richard Spencer
|date=15 September 2008
|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/2963808/China-accused-over-contaminated-baby-milk.html
|title=China accused over contaminated baby milk
|publisher=[[The Daily Telegraph]]
|accessdate=
}}</ref> although the Central government denied this guidance.<ref name="alerted" /> Hebei provincial vice-governor said his administration was only notified by [[Shijiazhuang]] on 8 September.<ref name="knew">{{cite news
|author=Kristine Kwok
|date=17 September 2008
|title=Officials knew of tainted milk for a month
|publisher=''South China Morning Post'', p. A4
}}</ref> However, a journalist at ''[[Southern Weekend]]'' wrote an investigative report in late July for publication about infants who had fallen ill after consuming milk powder from Sanlu. Six weeks later, senior editor Fu Jianfeng revealed on his personal blog that this report on poisonous milk powder had been suppressed by authorities.<ref name=bandurski/> While this was happening, Sanlu was honoured in a national award campaign called "30 Years: Brands that Have Changed the Lives of Chinese." The press release on the award, written by a senior public relations manager at Sanlu, passed as news content on ''People's Daily'' and in other media.<ref name=bandurski/>

A [[State Council of the People's Republic of China|State Council]] investigation revealed that Sanlu began receiving complaints about sick infants as far back as December 2007, but did no tests until June 2008. It said leading government officials in Shijiazhuang city had failed to report the contamination to provincial and state authorities (until 9 September) in violation of rules on reporting major incidents involving food safety.<ref name="probe">{{cite news|work=Xinhua|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-09/22/content_7048712.htm |title=Probe finds producer knew of toxic milk for months| publisher=[[China Daily]]|date= 22 September 2008}}</ref> According to the ''[[People's Daily]]'', Sanlu wrote a letter to Shijiazhuang city government on 2 August 2008, asking for help to "increase control and coordination of the media, to create a good environment for the recall of the company's problem products....to avoid whipping up the issue and creating a negative influence in society."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-us-china-milk.html|title=China Milk Scandal Firm Asked For Cover-Up Help|work= Reuters|date=1 October 2008|publisher=''The New York Times'' |accessdate=2008-10-01}}</ref>

====Sanctions====
On 15 September, the company issued a public apology for the contaminated milk powder;<ref name="censor">{{cite news
|author=Raymond Li
|date=16 September 2008
|title=Censorship hammer comes down over scandal
|publisher=''South China Morning Post'', p. A5
}}</ref> Sanlu was ordered to halt production, and to destroy all unsold and recalled products. Authorities reportedly seized 2,176 tons of milk powder in Sanlu's warehouses. An estimated 8,218 tons of product had been recalled, and another 700 tons was on its way back to Shijiazhuang.<ref name="destroy">{{cite web
|date=15 September 2008
|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/15/content_10008205.htm
|title=China to destroy 10,000 tons of tainted baby formula
|publisher=Xinhua
|accessdate=
}}</ref>

Tian Wenhua, Chairman and General Manager of Sanlu and Secretary of the Sanlu Communist Party chapter was stripped of her party and functional posts during an extraordinary meeting of the Hebei provincial standing committee of the [[Communist Party of China|CCP]]; four Shijiazhuang officials, including vice mayor in charge of food and agriculture, Zhang Fawang, were reportedly removed from office.<ref name="sacked">{{cite web
|date=16 September 2008
|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/17/content_10046973.htm
|title=Officials, company manager sacked following baby milk powder scandal
|publisher=Xinhua
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref name="21more">{{cite news
|author=Klaudia Lee
|date=17 September 2008
|title=Tests find tainted baby milk at 21 more firms
|publisher=''South China Morning Post'', p. A1
}}</ref> [[Shijiazhuang]] Mayor Ji Chuntang resigned on 17 September.<ref name="four">{{cite web
|date=18 September 2008
|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/18/content_10075004.htm
|title=Death toll rises to four in tainted baby formula scandal in China
|publisher=Xinhua
|accessdate=
}}</ref> [[Li Changjiang]], minister of the AQSIQ, was forced to resign on 22 September after the State Council inquest concluded that "there has been negligence in supervision", and said that the leader should take chief responsibility. Investigators also blamed the Shijiazhuang government.<ref name="fells">Josephine Ma, "Milk scandal fells product safety chief", Page A1, ''[[South China Morning Post]]'' (23 September 2008)</ref> Local Party Secretary Wu Xianguo was fired on the same day.<ref>[http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=76009&catid=24 "China's Tainted Milk Scandal Hits Exports; World Health Organization said the number of sick could rise"], ''Official Wire'' (23 September 2008)</ref>

====Arrests====
Sanlu GM Tian was charged under Articles 144 and 150 of the criminal code.<ref>[http://news.hebei.com.cn/system/2008-09-17/010106460.shtml MD of Sanlu detained for criminal charges], Hebei.com (17 September 2008) {{zh icon}}</ref> A spokesman for the Hebei Provincial Public Security Department said police had arrested 12 milk dealers and suppliers who allegedly sold contaminated milk to Sanlu, and six people were charged with selling melamine. 300 kg of suspicious chemicals, including 223 kg of melamine, were confiscated.<ref name="national">{{cite web|date=18 September 2008|url=http://www.thenational.ae/article/20080918/FOREIGN/818345561/-1/ART
|title=More arrests in China milk scandal|publisher=The National|accessdate=}}</ref> Among those arrested were two brothers who ran a milk collection centre in Hebei for allegedly supplying three tonnes of adulterated milk daily to the dairy;<ref name="firstarrest">{{cite news
|author=Al Guo |title= First arrests made in tainted milk scandal|publisher= Page A4, South China Morning Post |date=16 September 2008}}</ref> the owner of another collection centre which resold seven tons of milk a day to Sanlu, was arrested, and his operation was shut down.<ref name="fret" />

Zhang Yujun (alias Zhang Haitao), a former dairy farmer from Hebei, produced more than 600 tons of a "protein powder" mixture of melamine and [[maltodextrin]], from September 2007 to August 2008 in a village in eastern Shandong. He and eight other traders, cattle farm owners and milk purchasers who bought the powder from him were arrested in early October, bringing the total to 36.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/10/content_10176392.htm |title= Chinese police arrest suspect producing largest amount of "protein powder" in milk scandal| author=Jiang Yuxia| publisher= Xinhua |date= 10 October 2008}}</ref>

====Effect on the company====
The value of the company plunged as a result of the scandal.<ref>[http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/fonterra-posts-139-million-impairment-charge-san-lu-stake-35621 Fonterra posts $139 million impairment charge on San Lu stake], Sarah McDonald, New Zealand National Business Review, 24 vSeptember 2008</ref> On 24 September, [[Fonterra]] announced that it had written down the carrying value of its investment by NZ$139 million (two-thirds), reflecting the costs of product recall and the impairment of the 'Sanlu' brand "as a direct consequence of the criminal contamination of milk in China".<ref name="writedown">{{cite web|url=http://www.businessday.co.nz/industries/4704082|title=Fonterra takes 69pc SanLu writedown|author= Michael Field & Andrew Janes |publisher= ''Business Day'' (Fairfax Media) |date=24 September 2008 |accessdate=2008-09-25}}</ref> By 27 September, ''[[China Daily]]'' reported that Sanlu was close to bankruptcy, and might be taken over by the [[Beijing Sanyuan Foods Co.|Beijing Sanyuan Foods Company]].<ref name="takeover">{{cite web|url=http://en.ce.cn/Business/Enterprise/200809/27/t20080927_16935772.shtml|title=Sanyuan may take over tainted milk brand Sanlu|author=Wang Qian|work=China Daily|date=26 September 2008}}</ref> A Sanyuan source confirmed the company was in discussion on "a potential acquisition".<ref name="takeover" /> The company is also facing lawsuits from parents (''see [[#Anger at Sanlu]]'').

=== Chinese majors ===
On 16 September, the AQSIQ released test of samples from 491 batches of products sold by all 109 companies producing baby milk powder. It said that all 11 samples from Sanlu failed the melamine test.<ref name="seized" /><ref name="21more" /> Sanlu, whose products sell at half the price of equivalents on the market,<ref name="revoked" /> recorded the highest levels of contamination among [[2008 Chinese milk scandal/Official test faliures|all the samples tested]], at 2,563 mg/kg or [[parts per million]] ("ppm"). Products from 109 producers were tested, and tainted samples were found among 21 other suppliers (other than Sanlu), where concentrations ranged from 0.09 to 619.00 ppm.<ref name="seized" /><ref>{{cite web
|author=Tini Tran
|date=17 September 2008
|url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080917/ap_on_re_as/as_china_baby_formula_recall;_ylt=Ah6kOst99plhMAY4QLFtXkes0NUE
|title=6,200 Chinese babies ill, 3 die from tainted milk
|publisher=[[Yahoo!]]
|accessdate=
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|date=18 September 2008
|url=http://www.chinaretailnews.com/2008/09/18/1492-milk-powder-products-from-22-chinese-companies-contain-melamine/
|title=Milk Powder Products From 22 Chinese Companies Contain Melamine
|publisher=China Retail News
|accessdate=
}}</ref> There was melamine contamination in 10% of samples from Mengniu and Yili and 6% of those from Bright Dairy.<ref name="liquid">{{cite web
|date=18 September 2008
|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/19/content_10076616.htm
|title=Most liquid milk in China does not contain melamine
|publisher=Xinhua
|accessdate=
}}</ref>

On discovery that liquid milk was also contaminated, the three major producers were all stripped of their status as 'Chinese national brands'.<ref>{{cite web
|date=22 September 2008
|url=http://news.cctv.com/china/20080922/101235.shtml
|title=Yili, Mengniu, Bright Dairy lose their status as 'national brands'
|publisher=China Central Television
|accessdate=
}}</ref> Yili, [[Mengniu]] and [[Shanghai Bright Dairy|Bright Dairy & Food Co.]] recalled tainted milk powders and apologised in separate statements.<ref name="revoked">{{cite web
|author=Lee Spears
|date=18 September 2008
|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=a1rfKvOp3xwc&refer=asia
|title=China Revokes `Inspection-Free' Right as Milk Scandal Spreads
|publisher=Bloomberg
|accessdate=
}}</ref> Mengniu recalled all its baby formula, and trading in its shares on the [[Hong Kong Stock Exchange]] was suspended on 17 September.<ref>{{cite web
|date=17 September 2008
|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSHKG1516020080917
|title=China Mengniu Dairy shares suspended -HKex
|publisher=[[Reuters]]
|accessdate=
}}</ref> Shares in other dairy companies fell strongly the next day.<ref name="what">{{cite news
|date=18 September 2008
|title=Investors dump financials and dairy producers
|publisher=''South China Morning Post''
}}</ref> Mengniu's CFO attempted to reassure consumers by offering a no-quibble refund on all products, and by drinking liquid milk in front of reporters in Hong Kong. He also said that its export products were less likely to be contaminated.<ref name=lesslikely>{{citenews|author=Jasmine Wang|date=20 September 2008|title=Export milk less likely to be tainted, says mainland firm|pages= p. A2|publisher=South China Morning Post}}</ref>

On 30 September, the AQSIQ announced test results of a further 265 batches milk powder produced by 154 different companies prior to 14 September, where it found 31 batches produced by 20 domestic dairy companies were tainted with melamine.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/02/content_10141287.htm |title=New tests find melamine in 31 Chinese milk batches| publisher= Xinhua |date=2 October 2008}}</ref>

=== Foreign dairy joint-ventures ===
Mengniu-Arla, joint-venture between [[Arla Foods]], a large Danish/Swedish co-operative and Mengniu.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.financeasia.com/article.aspx?CIaNID=81828&CID=3|title=Mengniu shareholders cash in $165 million|author=Anette Jönsson|date=5 August 2008 |publisher=Finance Asia}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbbc.org/the_review/review_archive/analysis/25.html|author=Bruce Connolly|title=Big sky country offers niche opportunities|publisher= China-Britain Business Council}}</ref> On 16 September 2008 Arla CEO Peder Tuborgh regretted the "national catastrophe",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSLG30575720080916|title=Danish Arla says implicated in China milk scandal|date= 16 September 2008 }}</ref> and announced that production was stopped after three out of 28 tests taken from Mengniu showed traces of melamine, and contaminated batches had been recalled.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://politiken.dk/newsinenglish/article568581.ece|title=Arla's newly opened milk powder factory in China has temporarily stopped production |accessdate=2008-09-26}}</ref> On 22 September, Jais Valeur, Arla Executive Director, stated that the joint venture would re-establish the safety of, and confidence in, its locally produced milk powder.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://foodproductdesign.com/hotnews/mengniu-food-testing.html|title= Mengniu Food Awaits Testing Equipment |date=22 September 2008}}</ref>

==Impact==
===Chinese industry===
Central government ordered the testing of product of all dairy producers, and to this end, some 1,400 teams of inspectors (5,000 in all) were dispatched. The domestic Chinese market has grown at an average annual rate of 23% since 2000. In 2006, milk production reached 30 million tons, ten times of the volume a decade before.<ref name="path">Zheng Chu, [http://www.eeo.com.cn/ens/feature/2008/09/24/114640.html "The Path to poison-free milk"], page 9, issue 386, ''The Economic Observer'' (22 September 2008)</ref> It was valued at some ¥122 billion (US$18 billion) in 2007, and consumers have severely lost confidence in the industry.<ref name="scandalspreads">{{cite web
|author=Lee Spears & Wendy Leung
|date=21 September 2008
|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=a4krf9ZOzsh8&refer=asia
|title=China Milk Scandal Spreads; Hong Kong Girl Sickened
|publisher=[[Bloomberg]]
|accessdate=
}}</ref>

The revelations have exposed structural problems of inadequate production volume, inherent quality and poor production methods. The Inner Mongolia region produces over one-fourth of China's milk,<ref name="dirty">{{cite news
|author=Al Guo
|date=22 September 2008
|title=Dirty secrets of milk-faking capital
|publisher=''South China Morning Post'', p. A5
}}</ref> and Mengniu and Yili have invested millions to establish state-of-the-art dairy facilities in its capital, [[Hohhot]]. The companies still rely on small-scale farmers for over 90% of their production because of the capacity constraint of the modern facilities.<ref name="millions">{{cite news
|author=Al Guo
|date=22 September 2008
|title=Dairy giants involved in scandal have spent millions on factories in Inner Mongolia
|publisher=''South China Morning Post''|pages= A5
}}</ref> Both companies were said by farmers and agents to have habitually purchased milk which failed quality tests, for only two-thirds the normal price. A new policy was put in place on 17 September to stop that practice.<ref name="dirty" />

Use of other potentially harmful chemical [[Food additive|additive]]s such as [[preservative]]s and [[hydrogen peroxide]] has been reported by independent media. Quality tests can be falsified with additives: peroxide is added to prevent milk going bad; industrial [[vegetable oil]] is [[Emulsion|emulsified]] and added to boost fat levels; [[whey]] is used to increase [[lactose]] content. However, such means and technology are seldom available to ordinary farmers, meaning that the procurement chain is also implicated - milk agents are often politically well connected. The big dairy producers were complicit in producing "test-tube milk."<ref name="common">
{{cite news
|author=Josephine Ma
|date=19 September 2008
|title=Adding chemicals to milk common: insiders, Page A3
|publisher=''South China Morning Post''
}}</ref>

Consumer panic resulting from the contaminated milk has lessened demand for dairy products, causing hardship to more than 2 million Chinese farmers who have nowhere to sell their milk, and no means to support their dairy cows. Farmers have been pouring away milk, and contemplating selling cows into a buyerless market.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1844750,00.html?xid=feed-cnn-topics|title= China's Tainted-Milk Scandal Spreads|author=Austin Ramzyg|date=26 September 2008|publisher=CNN|accessdate=2008-09-27}}</ref>

Since the scandal erupted, sales have fallen by 30-40% on a comparative basis, according to the Chinese Dairy Association. The Association estimates that the financial effect of the order of ¥2 trillion, and forecasts that confidence may take up to two years to be fully restored.
<ref group=nf name=ex01><small>"中國奶業協會常務理事王丁棉向記者透露,事件對伊利、蒙牛、光明這三大品牌一線企業的打擊與影響,是較嚴重的。 “ 他们的近期产品销售业绩已一落千丈,跌至同期数据的30%—40%。就全国乳品行业而言,它所受到的负面影响也是很大的,此场危机的最低谷波峰期可能要维持至2至3个月之久,至明年中期前仍会处于一个恢复期中。过了恢复期,市场应该开始有明显的反弹,整个事件的阴影淡化直到出现全面的复苏,也许还需要1至 2年的时间。但复苏的速度完全取决于消费者消费信心的恢复与树立。”
王丁棉感慨,这次事件对中国奶业造成的经济损失粗略估计应该超过200亿以上,可谓损失惨重。"</small></ref>
In an effort to prop up sales and retain their market share, dairy firms have cancelled their common accord not to use [[sales promotion|promotions]] in order to fight the sales decline: substantial discounts (including [[BOGOF]]), free gifts and other [[point of sale]] incentives were being offered to shoppers. Their new products are conspicuously labelled "safety inspection passed" to allay consumer fears.<ref group=nf name=ex02><small>
"伊利、蒙牛都在产品包装箱的显著位置赫然加印上“安全合格”、“未检出三聚氰胺”等字样以消除消费者的疑虑"</small></ref>

=== Foreign operations in China ===
<!--This section is for companies which have voluntarily recalled products before any positive tests on their products -->
Mengniu, which had struck a deal with [[Starbucks]], was replaced by [[Vitasoy]] when the coffee retailer abandoned milk in favour of soya milk in its China operations. KFC also suspended selling Mengniu milk.<ref>[http://www.chinacsr.com/en/2008/09/26/3229-starbucks-in-china-opts-for-milk-substitutes/ "Soy: Starbucks In China Opts For Milk Substitutes"], China CSA (26 September 2008)</ref>

Tokyo-headquartered [[Lotte Group]], a major snacks maker, recalled its popular chocolate-filled [[Koala's March]] cookies in Hong Kong and Macau because of contamination, and promised to "look deeply into all the details of the manufacturing process" in order to preserve customer confidence.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/26/business/AS-China-Tainted-Milk-Quality-Control.php|title=Tainted milk crisis hits more global companies|date=26 September 2008|publisher= International Herald Tribune|work=The Associated Press|accessdate=2008-09-26}}</ref> The range was also ordered off Dutch<ref name=ritz>[http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-09-30-voa51.cfm "Cookies With Melamine Found in Netherlands"], [[Voice of America|VOA News]] (30 September 2008)</ref> and Slovakian shelves.<ref name=Inspekce/> Its Chocolate Pie was seized when samples tested positive in [[Malta]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20081011/local/more-melamine-tainted-products-seized|date=11 October 2008| title= More melamine-tainted products seized |published=Times of Malta}}
</ref>

On 29 September 2008 British confectionery group [[Cadbury]] withdrew all of its 11 chocolate products made in its three Beijing factories, on suspicion of melamine contamination. The recall affected the mainland China markets, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.flex-news-food.com/pages/19402/China/Chocolate/Food-Safety/Milk/cadbury-withdraws-china-chocolate-melamine-concern.html|title=Cadbury Withdraws China Chocolate on Melamine Concern Source: Reuters|date=28 September 2008|publisher=Reuters|accessdate=2008-09-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1749704.ece|title=Cadbury choc scare in China|date=30 September 2008|publisher=The Sun|accessdate=2008-09-30}}</ref> Tests done in Hong Kong found excessive amounts of melamine in China-made Cadbury Dairy Milk products such as 'Cookies Chocolate' and 'Hazelnut Chocolate'.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSHKG30923320081006|title=Hong Kong finds melamine in two Cadbury products|date=5 October 2008|publisher=Reuters|accessdate=2008-10-05}}</ref>

On 30 September 2008, [[Unilever]] recalled its ''[[Lipton]]'' milk tea powder after the company's internal checks found traces of melamine in the Chinese milk powder used as ingredient.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news8.net/news/stories/0908/557621.html|title=Lipton-brand milk tea powder recalled in Asia |author=Associated Press|publisher=News8 News|accessdate=2008-09-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2008-09-30-liptontea-hongkong_N.htm?csp=34|title=Lipton milk tea powder recalled in Hong Kong |author=AP|publisher=USA Today|accessdate=2008-09-30}}</ref> On the same day, [[Heinz]] recalled cases of baby cereal in Hong Kong after discovering they contained melamine. <ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2008/09/29/daily13.html|title=Heinz to stop using Chinese milk in its products|author=Business Weekly|publisher=New Mexico Business Weekly|accessdate=2008-09-30}}</ref> <ref>{{cite news| url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jKovOtOFykh1iHvH3ZZcFIiknRsQ|title=Heinz stops buying Chinese milk products|author=AFP|publisher=Google News|accessdate=2008-09-30}}</ref> Nestlé's factory in Heilongjiang was also implicated: the Taiwanese Department of Health forced the delisting of six ''Neslac'' and ''KLIM'' products on 2 October for containing minute traces of melamine, although the minister said they did not pose a significant health risk.<ref name=attacked>{{cite news|url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ijFnVbiqFVMlcEUpVtFPdJQ-_Blg |title=Taiwan minister allegedly attacked over tainted milk|work= AFP |publisher=Google| date=3 October 2008}}</ref>

=== Olympics ===
There were concerns that dairy products consumed during the [[2008 Summer Olympics|2008 Summer Olympic games]] may have been contaminated. Li Changjiang, the then Director of AQSIQ reassured the international community that all the food, including dairy products, was indeed safe. "We took special quality management measures aimed at food supply for the Games."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/17/content_10052104.htm|title= Dairy supply for Olympics safe due to "special management" |publisher=Xinhua |date=17 September 2008}}</ref>

===Outside mainland China===
Chinese Customs said that exports of dairy products and eggs in 2007 were valued at US$359 million, a year-on-year increase of 90%. Since the news of the melamine contamination began to circulate, at least 25 countries stopped importing Chinese dairy products. A number of countries have imposed blanket bans on Chinese milk products or its derivatives —among which are
<!--deliberately non-exhaustive list: WP is not a directory -->[[Bangladesh]], [[Bhutan]], [[Brunei]], [[Burundi]], [[Cameroon]], [[Chile]], [[Colombia]], [[Gabon]], [[India]], [[Ivory Coast]], [[Maldives]], [[Mali]], [[Nepal]], [[Papua New Guinea]], [[South Korea]], [[Suriname]], [[Tanzania]], [[Togo]], and the [[United Arab Emirates]] —<ref>''Reuters'', [http://www.forbes.com/reuters/feeds/reuters/2008/09/27/2008-09-27T123805Z_01_B162168_RTRIDST_0_CHINA-MILK-RECALLS-FACTBOX.html FACTBOX:China milk banned in Asia, Africa, Europe Union], ''[[Forbes magazine]]'' (27 September 2008)
</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/4700536a12.html| title=Gabon, Burundi halt sales of Chinese milk products|publisher=Stuff.co.nz|date=21 September 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|Author=Reuters|date=23 September 2008| url=http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LN320152.htm|title=Tanzania suspends milk imports from China|publisher=AlertNet.Org}}</ref><ref>{{citeweb|Author=Economic Times, India|date=29 September 2008| url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/International_Business/UAE_bans_Chinese_dairy_products/articleshow/3538353.cms|title=UAE bans Chinese dairy products|publisher=Economic Times}}</ref><!--deliberately non-exhaustive list: WP is not a directory --> joining Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore and Malaysia which have imposed specific bans on Chinese dairy products which have tested positive for melamine.<ref name="Myanmar">{{cite web|date=20 September 2008 |url=http://ph.news.yahoo.com/ap/20080920/tap-as-myanmar-china-baby-formula-recall-bb10fb8.html|title=Myanmar to take action against China milk products |publisher=Yahoo! News|accessdate=2008-09-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=23 September 2008 |url=http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080066441&ch=9/23/2008%208:19:00%20PM|title=11 countries stop milk imports from China |publisher=NDTV.com|accessdate=2008-09-23}}</ref>

The popular and ubiquitous [[White Rabbit Creamy Candy]] was blacklisted after tests by health authorities around the world identified it as being being contaminated. In Europe, the French authorities ordered all Chinese dairy products off shelves<ref>{{cite web|date=25 September 2008 |url=http://www.gmanews.tv/story/122724/France-bans-goods-containing-Chinese-milk-products|title=France bans goods containing Chinese milk products |publisher=GMA News TV}}</ref>; [[Tesco]] removed White Rabbit as a precaution from its stores in China, Malaysia and the United Kingdom.<ref name="korea">Sungwoo Park and Lee Spears, [Chinese Milk Banned in Korea, France as Concern Rises] (Update1), ''[[Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg]]'' (25 September 2008)</ref> In the United States of America, which was otherwise unaffected by the scares, the US distributor of White Rabbit candies recalled the product when samples found in [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]] showed traces of melamine.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gW3afBtSK-HCW_uMqqEC9V2iELGgD93HTG100|title=Candy with chemical in Chinese milk found in Conn.|publisher=Associated Press|accessdate=2008-10-01}}</ref> The candy's maker, Guan Sheng Yuan issued a recall to the 50 countries to which it exported.<ref>"Guanshengyuan is a subsidiary of Bright Foods - one of the dairies at the centre of the contaminated milk scandal. Its announcement that it was halting all sales of White Rabbit candy follows the decision to recall exports to more than 50 countries, after some of its sweets tested positive for melamine in Singapore earlier this week." {{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7637001.stm|title=China stops tainted sweet sales|publisher=[[BBC]]|date=26 September 2008}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" align=center width=100%
! width=175px |Country/Regions !!Products<br><small>(*''see [[2008 Chinese milk scandal/Official test faliures|official list]]'')</small>!! Reaction
|-
|{{Flag|Australia}} || White Rabbit, Koala Biscuits, Kirin milk tea, Cadbury eclairs || [[Food Standards Australia New Zealand]] issued a general warning on White Rabbit candies after testing found melamine contamination at 180 ppm.<ref>Paul Bibby, [http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/national/national/general/shops-warned-about-white-rabbit-lollies/1282102.aspx Shops warned about White Rabbit lollies], The Canberra Times (25 September 2008)</ref> The authority also pulled out Lotte Koala's March biscuits from all stores throughout the country, as a precaution after discoveries of melamine were found in them overseas, and withdrew Kirin milk tea after Australian tests showed contamination. <ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24442887-12377,00.html|title=Another China milk product withdrawn|date=3 October 2008 |accessdate=2008-10-03}}</ref>
|-
|{{Flag|Argentina}} || Yili, Cadbury, Koala's March, etc. || The National Administration of Medicines, Food and Medical Technology (ANMAT), decided as a preventive measure, to ban the import and sale of several products of Chinese origin that contain milk or any of its derivatives. The ban affects 48 different products, ranging from powdered milk to candies and cereal bars. The ANMAT published lists with the products and issued a general warning to the public to abstain from consuming them.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.puntonoticias.com/noticias_de_mar_del_plata.asp?codigo=11828|title=Prohíben 48 productos chinos por su nivel de toxicidad|date=2 October 2008 |accessdate=2008-10-02}}</ref>
|-
|{{Flag|Bangladesh}} || Cadbury Dairy Milk with various other products<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bdnews24.com/details.php?id=64064&cid=2|title=Minister says to avoid Cadbury porducts|date=2 October 2008 |accessdate=2008-10-02}}</ref> || Bangladeshi food and drugs authority administered by the Ministry of Food reacted on the issue. A minister recommended avoiding Cadbury's products following a recall elsewhere of the company's China-made chocolate. The Secretary of Food Department said that whilst they were testing, they would only advise people to avoid it for want of enough evidence to ban this product.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bdnews24.com/details.php?id=63839&cid=4|title=Cadbury withdraws China chocolate on Melamine concern|date=2 October 2008 |accessdate=2008-10-02}}</ref>
|-
|{{CAN}} ||''[[Nissin]]'' Cha Cha Dessert mix || The four largest manufacturers of infant formula in Canada confirmed to the federal department that they did not use milk ingredients from China.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080923/wl_canada_nm/canada_us_china_milk_canada_1|title=Canada expands monitoring of Chinese milk products|publisher=Yahoo! News|date=23-09-08}}</ref>The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it was satisfied that there was no evidence the contaminated [[H.J. Heinz]] product found in Hong Kong was ever imported to Canada.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.globaltv.com/globaltv/national/story.html?id=842942|title=Canada investigates after Heinz melamine recall |author=Tiffany Crawford|work= Canwest News Service|publisher=Globaltv.com|date=27 September 2008 |accessdate=2008-09-29}}</ref>
|-
|{{Flag|Chile}} ||none ||Chile announced the prohibition of any type of Chinese food products that contain Chinese milk effective 26 September 2008,<ref>{{citeweb|date26 September 2008|title=Gobierno anuncia retiro de productos lácteos chinos por alerta mundial| url=http://www.chilepotenciaalimentaria.cl/content/view/285609/Gobierno_anuncia_retiro_de_productos_lacteos_chinos_por_alerta_mundial.html|publisher=Chilepotencialimentaria.com}}</ref> and removed more than 2,000 packages with these items in order for analysis, although the Ministry of Health said that there was no evidence "that has contaminated milk in Chile"<ref>{{cite news
|date=26 September 2008|title=Gobierno de Chile retiró leche proveniente de China|url=http://www.milenio.com/node/86028 |publisher=Milenio.com}}</ref>
|-
|{{Flag|European Union}} || Koala's March, [[Ritz Crackers]]<ref name=ritz>[http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-09-30-voa51.cfm Cookies With Melamine Found in Netherlands], [[Voice of America|VOA News]] (30 September 2008)</ref> || On 25 September 2008 the EU announced a ban on imports of baby food containing Chinese milk. The [[European Commission]] also called for tighter checks on other Chinese food imports;<ref>[http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/25/china.milk/index.html EU bans baby food with Chinese milk], CNN (25 September 2008)</ref><ref>[http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080926/ap_on_re_as/as_china_tainted_milk_38 EU bans baby food with Chinese milk, recalls grow], Associated Press (26 September 2008)</ref>
|-
|{{Flag|Hong Kong}} ||various*, incl [[Yili]]<ref name=frustrated>{{citenews|author=Paggie Leung & Mary Ann Benitez|date=20 September 2008|title=HK store chains strip shelves of Mengniu goods|pages= p. A2
|publisher=''South China Morning Post''}}</ref> and [[Nestlé]]<ref name="spreads">{{cite news|author=Ng Kang-chung|date=22 September 2008|title=Milk contamination spreads to candy, coffee
|publisher=South China Morning Post, p. A1}}</ref> liquid milk, [[Cadbury Dairy Milk]]'' || Being one of the front-line territories, Hong Kong made a number of 'first' discoveries of melamine contamination. Friesland Foods recalled all of its plastic-bottled 'Dutch Lady' milk;<ref>{{citeweb
|author=Charles Hutzler|date=21 September 2008|url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iCL58EMBN1tqq6xujZlsaITAFpCQD93AESAO0
|title=China seeks public trust after milk scandal|publisher=Associated Press, Google.com
}}</ref> authorities ordered a recall of Yili products after 8 out of 30 tested positive for melamine.<ref>{{citeweb
|date=18 September 2008|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7623037.stm|title=Hong Kong recalls dairy products
|publisher=BBC News}}</ref> The first multinational brand implicated in the affair was [[Nestlé]], whose ''[[Dairy Farm]]'' Pure Milk was one of six products found to contain traces of melamine at 1.4ppm.<ref name="spreads" />

The [[Hospital Authority]] set up special unit at the [[Princess Margaret Hospital, Hong Kong|Princess Margaret Hospital]] to deal with potential cases. Hong Kong's first victim was diagnosed on 20 September.<ref name="frustrated">Ng Kang-chung, "HK parents frustrated as doctors take day off", Page A5, ''South China Morning Post'' (22 September 2008)</ref><ref>{{cite web|Author=聂晓辉|date=21 September 2008| url=http://trans.wenweipo.com/gb/paper.wenweipo.com/2008/09/21/HK0809210001.htm|title=港3岁半女童饮毒奶肾结石 (3½-year-old girl in Hong Kong formed kidney stone after consuming tainted milk)|publisher=''[[Wen Wei Po]]''|language=Simplified Chinese}}</ref> A total of six children were diagnosed with kidney problems.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/10/content_10177344.htm |title= HK reports sixth children with kidney stones after drinking tainted milk|publisher= Xinhua |date=10 October 2008}}</ref> At least three of the victims came into contact with contaminated milk whilst living on the mainland.<ref>Nickkita Lau, [http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=30&art_id=72114&sid=20706729&con_type=1&d_str=20080924&sear_year=2008 Two new patients as cake, sweets go on tainted list], ''The Standard'' (24 September 2008)</ref>

On 26 September 2008, Hong Kong government announced it had found traces of melamine in two more products made in mainland China which included another multinational brand, H.J Heinz, which recalled their Vegetable Formula Cereal.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/6025780.html|title=Baby cereal latest problem in China milk scandal|author=Anita Chang, Associated Press|publisher=Chron.com}}</ref> Several [[Cadbury plc|Cadbury's]] chocolate products were also recalled after testing positive.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/081005/html/081005en05002.htm|title=BMelamine found in 2 more Cadbury chocolates|author=HK Government|publisher=HK Government}}</ref>
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|{{Flag|India}} ||n/a || On 25 September 2008 India announced the ban on import of dairy items, including milk and milk products, from China for three months following reports of contamination.<ref>{{citeweb
|date=26 September 2008|title=India bans Chinese dairy products for 3 months|url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/Economy/Foreign_Trade/India_bans_Chinese_dairy_products_for_3_months/articleshow/3528894.cms|publisher=The Economic Times}}</ref><ref>{{citeweb|date=26 September 2008| title=India bans Chinese milk products| url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/storypage/storypage.aspx?sectionName=&id=b35c8970-b42c-48e0-8ed9-e3683240d7ae&&Headline=India+bans+Chinese+milk+products&strParent=strParentID|publisher=Hindustan Times}}</ref>
|-
|{{Flag|Indonesia}} || various*, incl [[M&M's]], [[Oreo]]s, and [[Dairy Milk|Cadbury's Dairy Milk]]|| The Health Ministry of Indonesia imposed an import ban on dairy products from China as a preventive measure, while offices of the Indonesian Food and Drugs Supervisory Agency (IFDSA) gave orders to withdraw Chinese dairy products from stores. The government of Indonesia also withdrew the local distribution permit given to the only dairy product from China.<ref>{{cite web|Author=ABC Australia|date=24 September 2008| url=http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200809/s2372844.htm?tab=latest|title=Indonesia bans Chinese milk imports| publisher=ABC Radio Australia}}</ref> The health ministry said it had found melamine in twelve products, including products from Mars, [[Kraft Foods]] and Cadbury's.<ref>{{cite web|author=Health Ministry of Indonesia|date=27 September 2008|url=http://www.depkes.go.id/index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=3202|title=Semua Sampel Produk Susu Impor Asal Cina Positif Mengandung Melamin|date=27 September 2008}} ('''Indonesian''')</ref> Mars disputed the Indonesian tests as being "impossibly high", and inconsistent with results from agencies across Asia and Europe.<ref>Diana Lee and agencies, [http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=30&art_id=72317&sid=20794230&con_type=3&d_str=20080930&sear_year=2008 Choc shock as Cadbury pulls 11 items], ''The Standard'' (30 September 2008)</ref>
|-
|{{Flag|Japan}} ||Marudai (recall), Chocolate Pillows,<ref>{{citeweb|Author=AFP|date=4 October 2008| url=http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/380211/1/.html|title=Japan importer recalls suspect Chinese chocolates
|publisher=ChannelNewsAsia}}</ref> various products ||Japan's central government was urged to suspend Chinese dairy imports by regional authorities.<ref>{{citeweb|Author=FlexNews|date=23 September 2008| url=http://www.flex-news-food.com/pages/19294/China/Indonesia/Japan/Milk/japan-indonesia-action-amid-fears-tainted-chinese-milk.html|title=Japan and Indonesia take Action amid Fears from Tainted Chinese Milk|publisher=FlexNews}}</ref><ref>{{citeweb|Author=JCN Network|date=22 September 2008| url=http://www.japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=19922|title=No Chinese Milk Used in Nestle Japan Products|publisher=JCN Network}}</ref> All importers were instructed by the government to test dairy imports from China for melamine or face huge fines and penalties.<ref>{{citeweb|Author=AFP|date=26 September 2008| url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080926/hl_afp/chinafoodsafetychildjapan_080926164829|title=Japan orders testing of China dairy products: report|publisher=Yahoo! News}}</ref>
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|{{Flag|Laos}} ||various products ||On 28 September 2008, the Laotian government stopped all imports of milk products, such as milk-flavoured toffees, milk and milk powder from China.<ref>{{citeweb|Author=SinChew|date=29 September 2008| url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080926/hl_afp/chinafoodsafetychildjapan_080926164829|title=Laos: Laos Bans Imports Of China Milk Products|publisher=SinChew}}</ref> Tests done on samples taken from markets of [[Vientiane]] revealed two milk products containing melamine.<ref>{{citeweb|Author=Vientiane Times|date=29 September 2008| url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080926/hl_afp/chinafoodsafetychildjapan_080926164829|title=Laos bans imports of China milk products|publisher=Asia News Network}}</ref>
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|{{Flag|Macau}} || various*||On 23 September 2008, a 16-month-old boy in Macau who is said to have been brought up on Heilongjiang-manufactured Nestlé powder was diagnosed with kidney stones.<ref> {{cite news| url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/24/asia/AS-Hong-Kong-Milk-Scandal.php |title=3 more children in HK, Macau sick in milk scandal|work= The Associated Press |publisher= [[International Herald Tribune]] |date=24 September 2008}}</ref> <ref>{{citeweb|work=Associated Press|date=24 September 2008| url=http://ph.news.yahoo.com/ap/20080923/tap-as-hong-kong-milk-scandal-4th-ld-d3b07b8.html|title=Macau child ill from Chinese milk powder|publisher=Yahoo! News}}</ref> Three girls who participated in a government-sponsored milk program were diagnosed with kidney stones.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.macaudailytimesnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17421&Itemid=27 |title= Three milk program girls diagnosed with kidney stones|date= 10 October 2008}}</ref> On 30 September 2008 [[Unilever]] began recalling [[Lipton]] milk tea powder after found traces of melamine during the company's internal tests.<ref>{{citenews|author=AP|url=http://article.wn.com/view/2008/09/30/Liptonbrand_milk_tea_powder_recalled_in_Hong_Kong_o/|date=30 September 2008|title=Lipton milk tea powder recalled in Hong Kong|publisher=World News Network}}</ref>
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|{{Flag|Malaysia}} || n/a || Malaysia had banned dairy items from China in early 2008 because of [[foot and mouth]] disease in Chinese cattle. Although it had not yet ascertained the full extent of products affected, the Malaysian Health Ministry extended the ban to include candies,<ref name="Msia White Rabbit tainted">{{citeweb|date=6 October 2008|url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/10/6/nation/20081006154909|title=White Rabbit candy has excessive melamine (Updated)|publisher=[[The Star (Malaysia)|''The Star'']] |work= }}</ref> chocolates and all foods containing milk on 23 September 2008.<ref>{{citeweb|date=23 September 2008 |url=http://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/ap/20080923/tap-as-malaysia-china-tainted-food-b3c65ae.html|title=Malaysia bans Chinese milk candies, chocolate|publisher= [[Yahoo!]]|work=AP |accessdate=2008-09-23}}</ref><ref>{{citeweb|date=23 September 2008 |url=http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/233690,malaysia-bans-chinese-chocolates-candies-in-wake-of-milk-scare.html|title=Malaysia bans Chinese chocolates, candies in wake of milk scare |publisher=The Earth Times|accessdate=2008-09-22}}</ref>

Dutch Lady Milk Industries, whose milk in plastic bottles was tested positive in Singapore, moved to reassure consumers that its Malaysian products were unaffected - the tainted range was from China, and were not sold in Malaysia.<ref name="Dutch Lady overseas">{{cite web|url= http://www.dutchlady.com.my/en/home.asp?page=happenings&subpage=safe_to_consumer |author=|date=20-09-08|title=Dutch Lady products safe to consume |publisher=Official Dutch Lady Milk Industries website}}</ref><ref name="Dutch Lady Msia 1">{{cite news|url= http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/9/24/nation/2100702|author=|date=24 September 2008|title=Dairy firms: Our milk products are safe|publisher=[[The Star (Malaysia)|''The Star'' Online]]}}</ref><ref name="Dutch Lady Msia 2">{{cite web|date=23 September 2008 |url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/9/23/nation/20080923135425 |title=Dutch Lady, F&N, Mars say products safe (updated) |author=Elizabeth Looi|publisher='[[The Star (Malaysia)|''The Star'']]|accessdate=2008-09-25}}</ref>
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|{{Flag|Myanmar}} || milk and infant powder (9 brands)<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-10-10-voa25.cfm|title=Tainted Milk Products Found in Burma
|publisher=VOA News |date=10 October 2008}}</ref>|| Chinese dairy goods are widely sold in Myanmar, but the Government issued no official warning and locals remain ignorant of the contamination. [[Yashili]] and Suncare recalled milk powder exported to Myanmar.<ref name="Myanmar" /> On 30 September 2008 the Myanmar government banned on all Chinese milk products throughout the country.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://ph.news.yahoo.com/ap/20080929/tap-as-myanmar-tainted-milk-d3b07b8.html| title=Myanmar bans Chinese dairy products|accessdate=2008-09-30}}</ref>
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|{{NZ}} ||[[Wahaha]]<ref>"Wahaha milk contains melamine", page A20, ''[[Hong Kong Economic Times]]'' (9 October 2008)</ref> || Tatua Co-operative Dairy Co, a large exporter of [[lactoferrin]] was alerted that melamine had been detected in its own product. The company confirmed contamination at less than four parts per million (4ppm), saying it would investigate.<ref>Associated Press, NZPA, [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10534909 Chocolate recall spreads], ''[[New Zealand Herald]]'' (30 September 2008)</ref>
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|{{Flag|Peru}} ||White Rabbit Candy, various products || On 1 October 2008 the authorities in [[Peru]] began confiscating Chinese milk products from shops mostly in [[Lima]]'s Chinatown district. Products included White Rabbit Candy, cookies, buns, chocolates and other milk-based foodstuffs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livinginperu.com/news-7516-health-peru-police-confiscate-1-000-pounds-candy-after-chinese-milk-scare|title=Peru police confiscate 1,000 pounds of candy after Chinese milk scare|accessdate=2008-10-01}}</ref> Already five types of milk-based products have been banned in Peru.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iSPhyF7ZtjFBS8ZOap3oB7vSdqNQD93ENNL80| title=Popular Chinese candy linked to tainted milk|accessdate=2008-09-26}}</ref>
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|{{Flag|Philippines}} || Yili, Mengiu, Jolly Cow<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/10/08/08/update-2-doh-finds-melamine-jolly-cow-milk-21-products-cleared|title=(Update 2) DOH finds melamine in Jolly Cow milk; 21 products cleared| publisher= abs-cbnNEWS.com |date= 8 October 2008}}</ref> || On 24 September 2008, The Philippines prohibited the importing and sale of Chinese milk, and asked stores to remove Chinese milk products from sale, and drop them off at state centres for inspection. The customs office said that there will be more strict controls on all Chinese food products. Senator Pia Juliana Cayetano, the head of the health and demographics committee, warned that some retailers might repack powdered milk for resale in smaller bags to unsuspecting customers.<ref name="asianews1">{{cite web|url=http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=13305&size=A|title=Melamine also in exported Chinese milk, Asian countries enact bans by Santosh Digal|accessdate=2008-09-25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pacificnewscenter.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3544:philippine-consumers-returning-chinese-milk-brands-back-to-grocery-stores&catid=66:philippines&Itemid=142|title=Philippine Consumers Returning Chinese Milk Brands Back To Grocery Stores|accessdate=2008-09-30}}</ref> The scares also resulted in fear of milk shortage in the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/03/2381769.htm?section=world|title=Tainted Chinese milk found in Philippines: officials|accessdate=2008-10-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200810/s2381957.htm?tab=asia|title=The Philippines caught in China milk scandal}}</ref>
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|{{Flag|Qatar}} ||n/a ||Local distributors reaffirmed that "almost nothing... from China" ever makes it to Qatar, thus dairy and baby food products sold in the states were unlikely to be affected by melamine contamination.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=244838&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16|title=Qatar in safety zone|accessdate=2008-09-30}}</ref> Qatar imposed a ban on the import and sale of White Rabbit candy, a product not officially sold in the state.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arabianbusiness.com/532641-qatar-bans-chinese-sweets-amid-contamination-scare|title=Qatar bans Chinese sweets amid contamination scare}}</ref>
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|{{Flag|Russia}} || Milk powder, various products || On 30 September 2008, Russia banned the imports of dairy products from China. Russia authorities seized two tonnes of imported dairy products made in China which contained melamine. On 3 October, milk powder containing melamine was discovered in Tomsk.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/03/europe/EU-Russia-Tainted-Milk.php|title=Tainted Chinese milk products found in Russia}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/10/03/Russia_bans_Chinese_milk_products/UPI-17111223048320/|title=Russia bans Chinese milk products}}</ref>
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|{{Flag|Slovakia}} ||Koala, [[Pepero]]<ref name=Inspekce>{{cite news |url=http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/zpravy/index_view.php?id=337904 |title=Inspekce na Slovensku opět našla melamin|publisher=České Noviny |date= 10 October 2008}}</ref> ||Three to four times the legal limit of melamine were found in chocolate biscuits and snacks not yet commercialised. Also an illegally-imported milk drink was found to contain a high concentration melamine.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/10/europe/EU-Slovakia-Tainted-Milk.php |publisher= International Herald Tribune|title=Slovakia finds melamine in chocolate snacks| work=The Associated Press |date= 10 October 2008}}</ref>
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|{{Flag|South Korea}} ||Tatua, M&M, Snickers, Kit Kat, various products<ref>{{cite news |publisher=Inquirer.net|date=2008-10-04 |title=South Korea finds melamine in New Zealand product |url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view/20081004-164597/Mars-Nestle-pull-goods-in-South-Korea |accessdate=2008-10-04}}</ref> || The South Korean government declared an official import ban on all Chinese dairy products after traces of melamine were discovered in a sample of the popular ''Mi Sarang Custard'' snacks produced in China which are distributed by [[Haitai]].<ref>{{cite web|Author=CNN|date=25 September 2008|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/25/china.milk/|title=More nations pull tainted Chinese food|publisher=CNN}}</ref> The Korean Food and Drug Administration ordered all current Chinese dairy products on the market to be recalled and destroyed.<ref>{{cite web|Author=Associated Press|date=25 September 2008|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-09-24-skorea_N.htm|title=South Korea bans Chinese food over melamine scare|publisher=USA Today}}</ref> Officials found melamine contamination in Nabisco [[Ritz Crackers|Ritz]] cheese sandwiches and in rice crackers made by a Chinese company.<ref name=ritz/> Authorities discovered melamine in lactoferrin imported from New Zealand Tatua Cooperative Diary Company.<ref>{{cite news |publisher=Reuters via Yahoo! News |date=2008-10-02 |title=South Korea finds melamine in New Zealand product |url=http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/5054495/south-korea-finds-melamine-in-new-zealand-product/ |accessdate=2008-10-02}}</ref>
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|{{Flag|Taiwan}} ||various, [[Mr. Brown Coffee]],<ref name="scandalspreads">{{cite web
|author=Lee Spears & Wendy Leung|date=21 September 2008|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=a4krf9ZOzsh8&refer=asia
|title=China Milk Scandal Spreads; Hong Kong Girl Sickened|publisher=[[Bloomberg]]|accessdate=}}</ref> Nestle products ||On 22 September, Taiwan suspended imports of all mainland Chinese milk products and vegetable-based proteins until the problem of contamination in Chinese milk supplies had been addressed.<ref>{{cite web|Author=AP|date=22 September 2008| url=http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080922/as_taiwan_chinese_milk_ban.html?.v=1|title=Taiwan bans Chinese milk products, proteins|publisher=Yahoo! Finance|accessdate=2008-09-22}}</ref>

On 23 September, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan announced that Taiwan would dispatch a delegation of experts to China on 27 September to better understand the contamination problems.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2008/09/26/2003424311|title=DOH delegation to leave on China visit tomorrow|accessdate=2008-09-25}}</ref> The Department of Health failed four Taiwanese companies' products for melamine; the [[Taipei City]] falsely named 14 bakeries as being users of contaminated milk - tests showed that none had used contaminated products. The [[Liberty Times]] reported that the bakers were angry that the government had identified the companies and threatened to sue for damage.<ref>Staff Writer, [http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=746383 DOH finds melamine in products from four Taiwanese companies; Bakers may sue over incorrect naming of businesses as product users], Pg 3, [[Taiwan News]] (24 September 2008) "Only products from one of the five companies, Tuotai, are considered safe. The companies which failed were identified as Liu Ho Chemical industries, Chia Tai foods, Fan sheng Enterprise, and Sanyi Foods."</ref>

The United Evening News reported that a two-year-old girl, who had recently arrived in Taiwan from Guangzhou, may be the first victim in Taiwan when she was diagnosed with signs of a hardening kidney on 24 September.<ref>Staff Writer, [http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=747325 Two-year-old girl may be first melamine victim in Taiwan], Pg 2, Taiwan News (25 September 2008)</ref>

One citizen voiced concern that President [[Ma Ying-jeou]]'s promise for closer ties with China would bring in more tainted Chinese products to Taiwan.<ref>{{cite news | last = Associated Press | title = Taiwanese question China ties amid milk scandal | work = International Herald Tribute | date = 25 September 2008 | accessdate = 2008-10-03 | url = http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/25/asia/AS-Taiwan-China-Tainted-Milk.php}}</ref> Criticism of the [[Kuomintang]] administration intensified during the last week of September, after the Minister of the Department of Health, led by Lin Fang-yue raised the acceptable levels of melamine in food products from zero to 2.5 ppm. The public outcry subsequent to the move forced Lin to resign.<ref>{{cite news |publisher=The China Post |date=26 September 2008 |title=DOH head quits over milk scare |url=http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national%20news/2008/09/26/176213/DOH-head.htm |accessdate=2008-09-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |publisher=Taipei Times |date=26 September 2008 |title=Health minister resigns over milk crisis |url=http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2008/09/26/2003424303 |accessdate=2008-09-26}}</ref> His successor, Yeh Chin-chuan, announced a return to the original zero-tolerance policy to melamine.<ref>{{cite news |publisher=Taiwan News |date=26 September 2008 |title=Yeh Chin-chuan takes over at Taiwan Department of Health |url=http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=749334&lang=eng_news&cate_img=logo_taiwan&cate_rss=TAIWAN_eng |accessdate=2008-09-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |publisher=The China Post |date=26 September 2008 |title=Yeh Chin-chuan successor to Lin Fang-yue |url=http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national%20news/2008/09/26/176214/Yeh-Chin-chuan.htm |accessdate=2008-09-26}}</ref> The Department of Health decision to delist six ''Neslac'' and ''KLIM'' products on 2 October, despite the minister said their melamine levels did not pose a significant health risk was criticised: a DPP whip said the government's policy and testing standards on melamine as being "unclear to nobody".<ref name=attacked>{{cite news|url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ijFnVbiqFVMlcEUpVtFPdJQ-_Blg |title=Taiwan minister allegedly attacked over tainted milk|work= AFP |publisher=Google| date=3 October 2008}}</ref> Nestlé issued a statement saying it failed to understand the delisting request, arguing that "the 0.05 ppm detection limit currently applied in Taiwan is up to 50 times below recognized and accepted international standards", and the delisting would cost the company [[New Taiwan dollar|NTD]]1 billion.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.abnnewswire.net/press/en/57647/Nestl%C3%A9_SA_(SWF:NESN)_Nestl%C3%A9_And_Taiwan_Department_Of_Health_Reaffirm_Products_Are_Safe_Nestl%C3%A9_Fails_To_Understand_Temporary_Delisting_Request.html |title=Nestlé And Taiwan Department Of Health Reaffirm Products Are Safe - Nestlé Fails To Understand Temporary Delisting Request|publisher= Asia Business News |date=4 October 2008}}</ref>

On 30 September, Liu Chao-shiuan told parliament that Taiwan would demand an apology and possible compensation from China over imported milk tainted with melamine.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thesundaily.com/article.cfm?id=26181 |title=Tainted- Milk: Taiwan demands apology and compensation from China|publisher=[[The Sun (Malaysia)|The Sun]] |date=30 September 2008}}</ref>
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|{{Flag|Tanzania}} || milk powder|| Tanzania reported on 23 September that it had suspended Chinese dairy product imports and seized about 34 tonnes of milk powder (not baby formula) from China. Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority temporarily stopped issuing of permits for importation and distribution of milk and products containing milk from China, and ordered all businesses with relevant products to surrender their stocks.<ref>{{citeweb|Author=Reuters|date=23 September 2008| url=http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/LN320152.htm|title=Tanzania suspends milk imports from China|publisher=AlertNet.Org}}</ref>
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|{{Flag|Thailand}} || [[Dutch Mill]]<ref>{{cite news|publisher=TheNation|date=1 October 2008 |title=FDA froze 60-tonne milk powder shipment from China| url=http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/10/01/national/national_30084810.php|accessdate=2008-10-01}}</ref> || On 30 September, Thai authorities introduced restrictions on Chinese dairy products after discovering melamine on two samples of imported Chinese milk powder. On the previous day, Thailand impounded about sixty tonnes of contaminated milk powder.<ref>{{cite news|publisher=Yahoo! News|date=2008-09-30 |title=Thailand tightens China dairy import restrictions |url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080930/hl_nm/us_thailand_milk_melamine_1|accessdate=2008-09-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|publisher=Reuters|date=2008-09-30 |title=Thailand tightens China dairy import restrictions |url=http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE48T1W120080930?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews1|accessdate=2008-09-30}}</ref>
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|{{Flag|United Arab Emirates}} ||n/a ||
On 25 September, United Arab Emirates enacted a ban on all dairy products in China. All supermarkets and food outlets have been directed to remove the products from their shelves.<ref>{{citeweb|Author=Economic Times, India|date=29 September 2008| url=http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/International_Business/UAE_bans_Chinese_dairy_products/articleshow/3538353.cms|title=UAE bans Chinese dairy products|publisher=Economic Times}}</ref><ref>{{citeweb|Author=Khaleej Times Online|date=29 September 2008| url=http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?col=&section=theuae&xfile=data/theuae/2008/September/theuae_September729.xml|title=UAE Bans Chinese Dairy Products|publisher=Khaleej Times Online}}</ref>
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|{{Flag|United Kingdom}} ||n/a || Tesco stopped selling White Rabbit Creamy sweets and candies in its UK stores.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.food-business-review.com/article_news.asp?guid=174CF780-21C6-4545-9F93-1CC522F11D51|title=Tesco withdraws White Rabbit Creamy Candies due to melamine contamination|accessdate=2008-09-24}}</ref>
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|{{Flag|USA}} ||Mr. Brown, Blue Cat<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01896.html |title=FDA Detects Melamine Contamination in Flavored Drink |date=6 October 2008}}</ref> || Concerned over the possibility of contaminated milk powder being sold in speciality markets serving the Asian community in the United States, the [[U.S. Food and Drug Administration|Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) issued an advisory on 12 September 2008, while assuring consumers that no formula approved for sale in the U.S. was made in China.<ref>{{citeweb
|date=12 September 2008|url=http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01883.html|title=FDA Issues Health Information Advisory on Infant Formula
|publisher=U.S. Food and Drug Administration|accessdate=}}</ref> All manufacturers and marketers of baby formula in the U.S. assured the FDA that they received no ingredients from China.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/11-tainted-formula_N.htm?csp=34|title=FDA: Melamine found in baby formula made in China|publisher=USA Today|date=11 September 2008}}</ref>
|-
|{{Flag|Vietnam}} ||milk powder || On 24 September, Vietnam banned all Chinese dairy products after finding melamine in a shipment of 101 tons of powdered milk from China.<ref name="asianews1"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.axilltv.com/bkpost-2.php?newsid=343213|publisher=[[Bangkok Post]]|title=Vietnam bans milk imported from China|accessdate=25 September 2008}}</ref>On 3 September Vietnam health ministry reported the discovery of melamine in eighteen food products imported China and three other countries in the region.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008227326_wdig04.html|title=More tainted milk turns up in Vietnam|publisher=Seattle Times|date=4 October 2008}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.13wham.com/news/world/story.aspx?content_id=1adb880a-9b90-4bd7-8cd4-ab8ab21c048a|title=Vietnam to destroy Chinese tainted milk products|publisher= [[WHAM-TV|WHAM]]|date=3 October 2008}}</ref> On 4 September, the Vietnam authorities announced that schools would stop serving milk until the origins of their supplies had been certified.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=03ECO061008|title=23 samples of milk powder poisonous|date=6 October 2008}}</ref>
|}

==Response==
====International agencies====
The [[U.S. Food and Drug Administration|US FDA]] said that while in general, food containing melamine below 2.5 parts per million did not raise concerns, its scientists were "''currently unable to establish any level of melamine and melamine-related compounds in infant formula that does not raise public health concerns''."<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE4926W220081003 |title=FACTBOX: No safe melamine level found for baby formula |publisher=Reuters |date=3 Oct 2008}}</ref> The [[European Food Safety Authority]] (EFSA) warned that children who ate large amounts of confectionery and biscuits with high milk content could theoretically be consuming melamine at more than three times above prescribed EU safety limits (0.5 mg/kg of body weight). The EFSA said that children with a mean consumption of products such as milk toffee, biscuits and chocolate containing contaminated milk powder would not be at risk, and that adults would not be at risk even in the worst case scenarios.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.flex-news-food.com/pages/19353/Chemical/China/Confectionery/European-Union/Food-Safety/Milk/Snack/Soup/melamine-intake-european-children-three-times-above-eu-safety-limits---efsa.html |title=Melamine Intake for Some European Children Could be Three Times Above EU Safety Limits - EFSA|publisher= FLEXNEWS| date=26 September 2008}}</ref>

The [[World Health Organization]], which was only notified on 11 September,<ref name="WHO2">{{cite news
|author=Margaret Harris
|date=22 September 2008
|title=WHO not notified until September 11
|publisher=''South China Morning Post'', p. A4
}}</ref> asked Beijing why it took so many months for the scandal to become public, and to establish whether failure was deliberate or due to ignorance.<ref name="WHO">{{cite news
|date=19
|title=''AFP'', Has there been a cover-up, WHO asks
|publisher=''South China Morning Post'', p. A3
}}</ref> WHO's China representative, Hans Troedsson, said the issue of who knew what and when was critical. "It is important to know if information was withheld, where and why it was withheld, was it ignorance by provincial authorities or was it that they neglected to report it? Because if it was ignorance, there is a need to have much better training and education ... if it is neglect, then it is, of course, more serious."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1843536,00.html|title=China's Poisoned-Milk Scandal: Is Sorry Enough? By Simon Elegant / Beijing|date=23 September 2008 |publisher=Time Magazine}}</ref>

Following a spate of mass national bans, the WHO urged national food safety authorities on 25 September 2008 to test Chinese dairy products for health risks before slapping on import bans or recalls.<ref>{{cite news
|work=Reuters |url=http://www.worldbulletin.net/news_detail.php?id=28785 |title=Countries should test Chinese dairy products: WHO |publisher=World Bulletin |date=25 September 2008}}</ref> WHO and [[UNICEF]] also jointly decried the "deliberate contamination of foods intended for consumption by vulnerable infants and young children", calling it "particularly deplorable."<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.independent.ie/world-news/asia-pacific/calls-for-chinese-food-ban-after-milk-scandal-1482743.html |title=Calls for Chinese food ban after milk scandal |publisher=[[Irish Independent]]| date=26 September 2008}}</ref> On 26 September, the WHO warned health officials around the world to be alert for dairy products of Chinese origin that could be tainted.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/world/asia/27recall.html?ref=asia|title=Asia Food Tainting Spreads, Leading to Recall in U.S|date=26 September 2008|publisher=The New York Times |author=David Barboza}}</ref> Anthony Hazzard, the Western Pacific director of the World Health Organization said countries had been advised by the International Food Safety Authorities (INFOSAN) to focus particularly on smuggled formula.<ref name=outfocontrol/>

The WHO referred to the incident as one of the largest food safety events it has had to deal with in recent years. It says the crisis of confidence among Chinese consumers would be hard to overcome.<ref name=voa>{{cite news|url=http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-09-26-voa45.cfm|title=China's Melamine Milk Crisis Creates Crisis Of Confidence|coauthors=Lisa Schlein Geneva|date=26 September 2008|publisher=VOA}}</ref> It saw regulation failing to keep pace with the rapid development of the food and industrial production as opening the gates to all types of misbehaviour and malfeasance. The spokesman said that the scale of the problem proved that it was "clearly not an isolated accident, [but] a large-scale intentional activity to deceive consumers for simple, basic, short-term profits."<ref name=voa/>

[[World_Health_Organization#Directors-General_of_WHO|WHO Director-General]] [[Margaret Chan]] reminded that Chinese mothers that babies which were not [[breastfeeding|breastfed]] were being deprived of the best nutrition offered by nature, while risking being exposed to the effects of melamine.<ref name=chan>{{cite news|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=a2vuxUAv62fg|title=Breastfeeding Drop Exposed in Milk Scandal, WHO Says|date=24 September 2008 |publisher=Bloomberg.com}}</ref> She added: "We need to try our very best to tell [mothers] the difference [between breast milk and formula]. Of course breastfeeding is the best food for babies." Chan said the melamine-in-milk scandal showed "the impact and power of globalisation" in food distribution and highlighted "the importance of seamless cooperation from farm to consumer."<ref name=chan/>

=== Chinese public ===
==== Anger at Sanlu ====
[[Image:D1-5822.jpg|thumb|200px|An example of the parodies which have been circulated by Chinese citizens angry over the contamination]]The case has brought anger and resentment at milk producers, and has sown uncertainty and confusion among the population: queues have formed outside Sanlu's offices for refunds. The Sanlu website was [[hacker|hack]]ed several times<ref>{{cite news
|date=19 September 2008
|url=http://bbao.blogspot.com/2008/09/sanlus-website-hacked-again.html
|title=Sanlu's website hacked again
|publisher=Googler at Artarmon
|accessdate=
}}</ref> and its name as displayed in the header bar changed to 三聚氰胺集团 ("The Melamine Group") in a play of words on the character "三" (number 3), which is the first word of Sanlu's Chinese name: 三鹿 (Three Deer);<ref>[http://www.cnbeta.com/articles/64558.htm Sanlu Group website hacked, Header bar changed to "Melamine"], cnbeta.com (12 September 2008)</ref> "Melamine" was also added as a product name by a [[hacker]].<ref>[http://files3.bbao.googlepages.com/sanlu_webpage_4.jpg "Melamine" added as a product name], Sanlu Group - Products Show (19 September 2008)</ref> As has been increasingly common practice, netizens have vented their anger on [[Internet forum|Internet bulletin boards]].<ref name="censor" /> Prevalent food scares have increased the number of on-line parodies circulated by netizens.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUKTRE48M0AD20080923?sp=true|author=Ben Blanchard |title=Chinese go online with food safety jokes|publisher= Reuters|date= 23 September 2008}}</ref> Those inspired by Sanlu have been along themes of [[passing the buck]], stones, or the virtues of not being able to urinate. Celebrities who have endorsed dairy products have also been ridiculed in [[photoshopping|photoshopped]] images.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chinasmack.com/pictures/kidney-stone-gate-netizens-make-use-sanlu-photoshops/ |title=Kidney Stone Gate: Latest Updates & Funny Sanlu Photoshops|date= 21 September 2008|publisher= Chinasmack.com}}</ref><ref name=avoid>{{cite news|url=http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2008/09/china-authorities-avoid-true-reason-behind-contaminated-milk-powder/|title=China Authorities Avoid the true Reasons For Contaminated Milk Powder|publisher=VOA}}</ref>

Before the government offered free medical treatment, some parents had reportedly spent small fortunes on medical care for their sick children.<ref name="what">{{cite news
|author=Fiona Tam
|date=18 September 2008
|title=What can I feed my baby now, poor parents ask
|publisher=p A2, South China Morning Post,
}}</ref> Children who fell ill before the scandal broke on 12 September are not entitled to free medical care offered by the State.<ref name=lawyers>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1848213,00.html|title= China Lawyers Face Pressure in Milk Cases|date=8 October 2008|author=Gillian Wong, Associated Press |publisher= Time Magazine}}</ref> Parents of at least two such victims, one from Henan and one from Guangdong, have filed writs against Sanlu despite government pressure.<ref name="cool reception">{{cite news
|author=
|date=9 October 2008
|title=Sanlu suit gets cool reception
|publisher=p A7, South China Morning Post}}</ref> parents of the Henan child have claimed ¥150,000 for medical, travel and other expenses incurred after their child developed kidney stones.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/10/02/china.milk.ap/index.html |title=Parents file lawsuit in China against dairy firm| publisher=CNN |work=AP |date= 2 October 2008}}</ref>

==== Anger at political leaders ====
There is growing resentment that country's leaders are not troubled by the food security turmoil faced by ordinary citizens: in a speech delivered by Zhu Yonglan (祝詠蘭)<!--same as 祝咏兰, but traditional script is more universally recognisable -->, Director of the State Council Central Government Offices Special Food Supply Centre (CGOSFSC) in August 2008,<ref name="asianews2">{{cite web|url=http://chinadigitaltimes.net/2008/09/chinas-tainted-food-products-only-harm-the-average-people-high-ranking-officials-have-their-own-specially-supplied-food-sources/|title=China’s Tainted Food Products Only Harm the Average People, High-Ranking Officials Have Their Own Specially-Supplied Food Sources|publisher = Digital Times|date=20 September 2008}}</ref> Zhu disclosed that her firm which was set up in 2004 to source high-quality, all-organic foodstuffs from farms working under the strictest guidelines, for supply to top political leaders, their families and retired cadres.<ref name="asianews2"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cnbc.com/id/26873844/for/cnbc|title=Amid milk scare, China's elite get special food|author= Anita Chang|date= 24 September 2008}}</ref>

<div class="toccolours" style="float: left; margin-right: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em; font-size: 85%; background:#ffffgc; color:black; width:35em; max-width: 35%; padding: 1em 1.5em 1.5em">
"The State Council Party and State Organisations Special Food Supply Centre... is supported by the State Council Logistics Base, Central Security Bureau farms, and supply bases spread over all 13 provinces, municipalities... and autonomous regions. These bases supply the 94 ministries’ and commissions’ veteran cadres with high quality organic food products... [Our] products accord with the highest standards."

...Everyone knows that at present average production facilities use large quantities of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Antibiotics and hormones are used in the raising of animals. Aquatic animal products are raised in polluted waters. All of these toxins end up in the final food products (all kinds of produce, meat, dairy products etc.). It goes without saying that these are harmful when consumed by humans."

''Zhu Yonglan, Director of the CGOSFSC - speech to Shandong KR Biomedical, 18 August 2008''<ref name=asianews2/>
</div>Ordinary Chinese are asking whether the government ever intends to do more than just apologise, after Premier Wen Jiabao apologised, saying he felt "extremely guilty" about the poisoned milk products, just as he had previously asked the people's pardon for the deaths of coal miners, the polluted drinking water, and train passengers stranded by the authorities' inadequate response to the [[2008 Chinese winter storms|severe snowstorm during the New Year]].<ref name=time-2008-09-23>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1843536,00.html|title=China's Poisoned-Milk Scandal: Is Sorry Enough?|date=23 September 2008|publisher=Time |author= Simon Elegant}}</ref>

Author Qin Geng (秦耕) said:"The big picture in this case was the interest of one-party rule above anything, not that they would put the safety of the people first". Qin concluded what the Chinese public were told by the state-controlled media the contamination of milk is a well orchestrated process, and they are "very sad, very frightened and very concerned."<ref name=avoid/>

==== Quest for milk substitutes ====
Poorer consumers reliant on local milk powder, which is approximately half the price of imported brands, have been left without alternatives to feed their children. Many have now lost faith in local brands, and others are uncertain which brands are safe. Supermarket shelves have been swept bare from product recalls.<ref name="what" /> Shops in Hong Kong have reported a rush for imported formula from [[Individual Visit Scheme|cross-border shoppers]], and some retailers are reportedly rationing their stocks.<ref name="strain">{{cite news
|author=Peter So
|date=18 September 2008
|title=Mainlanders strain powder supply in Hong Kong
|publisher=South China Morning Post, p. A2
}}</ref> Mainlanders have also been rushing to import milk powder from [[Kinmen]].<ref>{{cite web
|date=21 September 2008
|url=http://news.sina.com.hk/cgi-bin/nw/show.cgi/9/1/1/878707/1.html
|title=大陸遊客金門搶購奶粉 (Mainland travelers rushing Kinmen stores for formula)
|publisher=Sina.com
}} {{zh}}</ref> [[Wet nurse]]s are enjoying a resurgence in popularity in major cities.<ref>Vivian Wu, "Concerned parents flock to wet nurses", Page A2, ''South China Morning Post'' (22 September 2008)</ref><ref>{{cite news
|author=Barbara Demick |url=http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=20&art_id=72250&sid=20779713&con_type=1&d_str=20080929&sear_year=2008 |title=Formula fears speed return of wet nurses |publisher=The Standard |date=29 September 2008}}</ref> New Zealand media reported Chinese sailors and expatriates have been buying local dairy produce for sending back to relatives in China.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10536591&ref=rss|title=Baby food sails out with Chinese crew|date=11 October 2008|publisher=The New Zealand Herald|accessdate=2008-10-09}}</ref>

=== Chinese government ===
====Public relations====
After the AQSIQ published its tests on 491 batches of baby milk powder produced by all the 109 companies on 16 September 2008, the country's State Council attempted to reassure that formula produced by most companies in China was safe. Although 69 batches from 22 companies were found to be melamine-contaminated, it said: "the number of companies with melamine-tainted milk accounted for 20.18% of the total of milk powder companies in China. And the number of tainted batches accounted for 14.05% of the total batches tested."<ref>{{cite news|title=Most companies' baby milk powder safe - State Council|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-09/17/content_7032984.htm |publisher=China Daily| work=Xinhua|date=17 September 2008}}</ref> After publishing results of further tests on 30 September, where 265 batches produced by 154 companies, the AQSIQ once again reiterated that the majority of the country's production was safe - only 18% of samples had tested positive for melamine: "of the 290 dairies nationwide 154 dairies, representing 87% market share, 134 of these dairies had tested negative for melamine."<ref> [http://www.aqsiq.gov.cn/zjxw/zjxw/zjftpxw/200809/t20080930_91891.htm 国家质检总局公布对普通奶粉和其他配方奶粉三聚氰胺专项检测情况 (AQSIQ publishes milk powder and other formula test results)], [[Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine]] (30 September 2008) &ndash 目前，全国约有290家普通奶粉和其他配方奶粉生产企业，这次共抽检154家企业（合计市场占有率达70%以上），有134家企业未检出三聚氰胺，占87.0%；共抽检9月14日前生产的265个批次产品，有234个批次产品没有检出三聚氰胺，占88.3%{{zh}}</ref>

====Censorship====
Behind the scenes, mainland media was ordered to tone down coverage of the unfolding scandal to prevent unrest. <ref>{{cite news|url=http://csr-asia.com/weekly_detail.php?id=11501 |title=The Chinese milk crisis: Lessons for CSR |publisher= CSR Asia |date=8 October 2008}}</ref> News editors were ordered to adhere to the official copy of ''[[Xinhua]]''. Traditionally, media knows to avoid negative news coverage, and [[China Central Television|CCTV]] shifted reporting emphasis on the forthcoming launch of [[Shenzhou 7|Shenzhou VII]].<ref name="censor" /> The announcement of the AQSIQ test results was relegated to the final item on the CCTV evening news.<ref name="21more" />

''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' reported that the suppression of bad news had not improved since the scandal was uncovered: media rigidly adheres to the official line, as ordered; Chinese consumers were ill-informed about the extent of global recalls. It reported local journalists saying that discussion of the causes of the crisis, government responsibility, questions about government complicity with dairy companies, was strictly off limits.<ref name=bandurski>{{cite news|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122332462058208791.html|title=Press Controls Feed China's Food Problem |author=David Bandurski |date=7 October 2008|publisher=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref>

====Pressure on the legal profession====
A group of 90 lawyers from Hebei, Henan and Shandong - the three worst affected provinces - had made ''[[pro bono]]'' offers to assist victims, and a list of their names was published. Organisers of the group declared that they had come under pressure from officials to not to get involved in the issue. The Beijing Lawyers' Association, a part of the Communist Party apparatus, asked its members "to put faith in the party and government". Other members of the group have reportedly received less subtle requests. Authorities are said to fear social unrest if law suits were unleashed.<ref name="shun">{{cite news|author=Ng Tze-wei |title=Lawyers warned to shun milk suits |publisher= Pg A2, South China Morning Post |date=23 September 2008}}</ref> Pro-Beijing Hong Kong journal ''[[Ta Kung Pao]]'' reported that central authorities, fearful of the effect of mass law suits, held a meeting with lawyers' groups on 14 September, asking them to "act together, and help maintain stability" 「服從大局，保持穩定」<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.takungpao.com:82/news/08/09/22/ZM-964408.htm |title=冀律师透露「上面」要求/ 别涉及三鹿事件 (Lawyer reveals Central government requests not to get involved in Sanlu affair) |publisher= [[Ta Kung Pao]] |date=22 September 2008}} {{zh}}</ref>

Chang Boyang, one of the group of volunteer lawyers, said he had filed a suit in Guangdong against Sanlu on behalf of the parents of one victim. One was already filed in Henan.<ref name="cool reception"/> Chang said that Henan's justice department had ordered 14 Henan lawyers to stop helping the kidney stone victims, saying it had become a political issue. He claims he was told by the official to "follow the arrangements set out by the government", and was further threatened: "If this suggestion is disobeyed, the lawyer and the firm will be dealt with."<ref name=lawyers/>

On 11 October 2008 Ministry of Health's deputy minister Liu Qian stated on a press conference, all the foreign companies' application for compensation of dairy products recall will be dealt with on the basic of commerce,and government will use diplomatic channels to help oversea countries if they encounter problems.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.voanews.com/chinese/w2008-10-11-voa28.cfm|title=<small>( "中国卫生部副部长刘谦在亚洲国家卫生部长会议后的记者会上说，外国公司针对中国毒奶粉提出的索赔要求将在商业层面解决，但是如果索赔遇到问题，中国准备通过外交渠道提供一切帮助。他敦促所有遇到问题的公司遵循市场规则，按照法律程序解决问题" )</small> |date=10 Oct 2008|publisher=VOA Chinese|accessdate=2008-10-10}}</ref>

==== Top leaders' actions ====
AQSIQ announced the revocation of all exemptions from inspection previously granted to dairy producers, who were asked to cease citing the privilege in their advertisements. The State Council ordered an overhaul of the dairy industry, and promised to provide free medical care to those affected.<ref name="cabinet">{{cite web
|date=17 September 2008
|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/17/content_10059617.htm
|title=China's cabinet orders inspections, reform of dairy industry
|publisher=Xinhua
|accessdate=
}}</ref> Formally, the State Council released its initial findings,<ref name="probe" /> and a top-level official apology of the incident both came on 21 September. [[Wen Jiabao]] apologised while visiting victims in hospitals.
{{cquote|''This incident made me feel sad, though many Chinese have been understanding. It disclosed many problems for government and company supervision of the milk sources, quality and marketing administration... The government will put more efforts into food security, taking the incident as a warning.

''What we are trying to do is to ensure no such event happens in future by punishing those leaders as well as enterprises responsible. None of those companies without professional ethics or social morals will be let off.''|20px|20px|[[Wen Jiabao]], [[Premier of the People's Republic of China|China's Premier]] (21 September 2008)<ref name="premier">{{cite news
|date=21 September 2008
|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/21/content_10088285.htm
|title=China Focus: Chinese premier calls on sick infants
|publisher=Xinhua
|accessdate=
}}</ref>}}

In what is believed to be his first ever mention of the contamination incident, [[President of the People's Republic of China|President]] [[Hu Jintao]] said on 1 October 2008 :"Food safety is directly linked to the well-being of the broad masses and the competence of a company... Chinese companies should learn from the lessons of the Sanlu tainted milk powder incident."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://rss.xinhuanet.com/newsc/english/2008-10/01/content_10137005.htm|title=Hu Jintao underscores rural development, food safety on eve of National Day |date=1 October 2008|publisher=Xinhua}}</ref>

On 6 October, putting the blame on "illegal production and greed", the country's "chaotic dairy production and distribution order", and the "gravely absent supervision" for the crisis, the State Council announced new dairy industry regulations.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24462153-25837,00.html|title=British politician Peter Mandelson ill after yoghurt in China|date=8 October 2008|publisher=The Australian|accessdate=2008-10-09}}</ref>

==== Denial of existence of CGOSFSC ====
The speech by Zhu Yonglan of the CGOSFSC which was widely circulated by citizens on the internet stoked criticism of leaders' double standards for insulating themselves from the food-security issues faced by the general population. On 26 September, Xinhua issued a brief statement, in Chinese, denying the existence of the Centre, the award, or any person named Zhu Yonglan, saying these were "purely rumours".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2008-09/26/content_10113352.htm |title=中央国家机关食品特供中心”相关信息属谣传 (Information on Central Government Offices Special Food Supply Centre are only rumours) |publisher=Xinhua |date=26 September 2008}} {{zh}}</ref>

==== Stepped-up inspection program ====
According to a senior quality inspectorate official, the government aimed to establish nearly 400 product testing centres within the next two years, and 80 of these would be food testing centres. Working groups were established in nearly every single province in order to set up new food testing centres and replace outdated equipment.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iCQFgtK5OTblOceDxmbdN7BcRguQ |title=China scrambles to salvage reputation amid milk scandal|publisher=Google|work= AFP |date=25 September 2008}}</ref>

On 24 September 2008, China's newly appointed AQSIQ chief Wang Yong said that the government would "carry out 'forceful' measures to deal with the chemical contamination"; it's inspectors had removed 7,000 tonnes of melamine contaminated dairy products from shops all over China.<ref name=chan/>

On 4 October 2008, the Ministry of Agriculture announced it had drawn up an emergency rescue plan with the Ministry of Finance to give special subsidies to dairy farmers, seriously affected by the lack of demand following the contamination scandal; local governments had already drafted policies to stabilise the dairy industry; 150,000 officials had been sent to overhaul the entire supply chains from cattle feed to milk-collection; 18,803 milk-collecting stations had been registered and checked by these officials. The ministry was reported to have investigated 98 dairy producers and farms, banned 151 illegal companies and indicted three manufacturers for feed containing melamine.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://english.sina.com/china/2008/1004/189793.html |title=China central gov't to subsidize dairy farmers after tainted milk scandal|publisher=Xinhua |date=4 October 2008}}</ref> During an investigation into melamine contamination at Yili and Mengniu in Hohhot, police arrested six more people for allegedly selling and mixing melamine into raw milk. The AQSIQ announced on 5 October that all tests showed all milk produced after 14 Sept were free from contamination.<ref>{{cite news|author=Zhu Zhe|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-10/07/content_7081314.htm |title=Six more detained over melamine|publisher= China Daily |date=7 October 2008}}</ref>

The Ministry of Health and five other government agencies issued a joint statement on 9 October 2008, setting the legally acceptable level of melamine content in infant formula at 1 ppm (1 mg/kg), and at 2.5ppm in other dairy products (including milk). The Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention said that any amount exceeding 1 ppm would give reason to suspect its presence was intentional."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/6511863.html|title=Limits set on melamine levels|date=9 October 2008|publisher=People's Daily}}</ref>

=== Other third parties ===
Joseph Sternberg of ''[[the Wall Street Journal]]'' said that Beijing's failures of food-safety act are "much more pernicious, and disgraceful, than at first it appears... [not only has this] milk poisoned thousands of infants with melamine, it also poisons the society at large with fear."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122358125053920083.html?mod=googlenews_wsj| title=Notes on a Milk Scandal |author=Joseph Sternberg |publisher= [[Wall Street Journal]] |date=10 October 2008}}
</ref>

Hu Xingdou (胡星斗), a professor at [[Beijing Institute of Technology]], said: "There hasn't been an effort to establish a moral foundation to the market economy, and this incident is the inevitable result." Hu urged the leadership to transform the way of thinking, to repair the system, rather than merely concentrating on individual problems as they arise.<ref name=time-2008-09-23 /> An op-ed in ''[[the New York Times]]'' compared this to the "swill milk scandal" in New York in the 1850s in which 8,000 children reportedly died from milk from cows fed [[swill]] which was then whitened with [[plaster of Paris]], thickened with starch, eggs and hued with molasses. The underlying regulatory vacuum in the fast-growing economy was identified as the problem. "In such get-rich-quick societies, there is a huge temptation to tamper with food, particularly when margins are low. The rewards are instant."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/opinion/30wilson.html|title=The Swill is Gone |author= Bee Wilson |date=29 September 2008|publisher=[[The New York Times]] |accessdate=2008-09-30}}</ref>

The dairy scandal raises the core question of whether the ruling Communist Party is capable of creating a transparent, accountable regulatory structure within a one-party system. ''[[Time Magazine]]'' cited many analysts saying the party’s need to maintain control of the economy and of information undermines the independence of any regulatory system.<ref name=warnings>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/27/world/asia/27milk.html?pagewanted=1&ref=world|title=Despite Warnings, China’s Regulators Failed to Stop Tainted Milk|date=26 September 2008|publisher=The New York Times|author= Jim Yardley & David Barboza}}</ref>
A Beijing-based consultancy, Dragonomics, concurred that "the problem was rooted in the Communist Party’s continued involvement in pricing control, company management and the flow of information". Independent regulation was lacking or ineffective as local industries' were so intertwined with local officialdom.<ref name=warnings/>

''[[The Times]]'' noted the dichotomy that state media have admitted that while one child in 20 in Shanghai may have kidney damage as a result of drinking contaminated formula milk, on the other hand, "like the emperors of old, the new communist elite enjoy the finest produce from all over China, sourced by a high-security government department."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/china/article4837647.ece|title=China’s elite eat pure food as babies die |author=Michael Sheridan |date=28 September 2008|publisher=Times Online}}</ref>

Lawyer Bill Marler, speaking at a food safety conference in Beijing, said that this food scare has harmed the "made in China" brand abroad. He remarked: "If this product had gotten into the United States, it would have been '[[game over]]' for a lot of products in China."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foodpoisonblog.com/2008/09/articles/foodborne-illness-outbreaks/xiang-and-marler-comment-on-melamine-scandal-from-beijing/|title=Xiang and Marler Comment On Melamine Scandal From Beijing|date=24 September 2008|publisher= Food Poisoning Attorney}}</ref> Access Asia, a Shanghai-based consumer consultancy, said Fonterra was a classic example of western executives in China "believ[ing] advice in business books that they must avoid making their local partners 'lose face' at all costs." It suggested that Fonterra paid a heavy price in write-offs, a wrecked business and public condemnation.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/3073998/China-milk-scandal-threatens-giant-dairy-firm.html|title=China milk scandal threatens giant dairy firm|date=24 September 2008 |author=Richard Spencer & Peter Foster|publisher=The Telegraph}}</ref>

[[David Bandurski]], journalist and researcher at [[China Media Project]] , criticised the crippling media controls by the state combined with "runaway commercial greed", and said that the censorship "suppresses information.. critical to the well-being of ordinary Chinese."<ref name=bandurski1>{{cite news|author=David Bandurski|url=http://cmp.hku.hk/2008/09/28/1259/|title=Sanlu's public relations pawns: a relay of lies in China's media|date=29 September 2008|publisher=The University of Hong Kong}}</ref> He asserted that increased press freedom needs to be a component of any strategy to deal with this and other future food-security lapses in China. Free media in China could compensate for the underdeveloped [[rule of law]], and be important in keeping companies and regulators honest.<ref name=bandurski/> Bandurski cited a warnings in the 9 October 2008 issues of ''[[Nanfang Daily]]'' and the ''Information Times'' for consumers to be aware of that problematic dairy stock (that produced before 14 September) have reappeared in some stores under guise of aggressive promotions.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://cmp.hku.hk/2008/10/11/1257/|title=Are poisonous dairy products are still on the shelves in China?|date=11 Oct 2008|author=David Bandurski|publisher=Journalism and Media studies centre, Hong Kong University}}</ref>

''Caijing'' said the crisis revealed that that there had been a "serious dereliction of duty" at the AQSIQ, and that the government had failed as a "night watchman". Citing public consensus that government should limit itself to a supervisory role, it urged the construction of a regulatory system which addressed the role of regulators watching over the production process, avoiding over-regulation, '[[regulatory capture]]' and [[abuse of power]] by regulators. "Keeping the market in order and ensuring independent law enforcement should be part of the mandate."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://english.caijing.com.cn/2008-10-06/110017648.html|title=Tainted Milk: Regulatory Do's and Don'ts|date=6 Oct 2008|publisher=English Caijing|accessdate=2008-10-09}}</ref><br />

On 10 October 2008 Austin Ramzy, of China Blog Time.com, posts an essay written by Jessie Jiang: China is a "society where morals often bend for the buck". After the Health Ministry official Wang Xuening's announcement of the maximum allowed levels of melamine in milk products, the Chinese government were furthermore embarrassed by "anonymous blog posts grew even more critical". Consumers believe dairy producers will "took the standards as a green light for further adulteration",and citizens accuse the Chinese government's conduct of "putting profits ahead of people's health".<br />
Jessie Jiang further questioned the Chinese goverment:"why didn't it do this sooner" as it is becoming known that before 11 September 2008 the Ministry of Health "didn't even have a standard for melamine", yet Jiang praises the communist officials for not "resorted to coercing other jurisdictions".Jiang suggests to the Chinese officials:"it takes more than just a hindsight regulation, or an apologetic, grandfatherly prime minister", if they would like to see the return of consumers' confidence on milk products.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://time-blog.com/china_blog/|title=China Says a Little Melamine is OK|date=10 Oct 2008|publisher=Time.com|accessdate=2008-10-10}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[2008 Chinese milk scandal/Official test faliures]]
*[[2007 Chinese export recalls]]
*[[2007 pet food recalls]]
*[[Chinese protein export contamination]]
*[[Toxic cough syrup]]

== Notes ==
For verification purposes, the following are relevant citations in Chinese from the Nanfang daily article dated 9 October 2008<ref name=nanfang>{{cite news|url=http://www.nanfangdaily.com.cn/epaper/nfrb/content/20081009/ArticelB208002FM.htm |title=警惕库存问题乳品重返市场 (warning on return to market of questionable stocks)|publisher=Nanfang Daily| date=9 October 2008}}{{zh}}</ref>
<references group="nf" />

==References==
{{Citation style}}
{{reflist|3}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:milk scandal, 2008}}
[[Category:Foodborne illnesses]]
[[Category:2008 in China]]
[[Category:Food safety scandals]]
[[Category:Health in the People's Republic of China]]
[[Category:Food recalls]]

[[cs:Otrávené mléko v Číně]]
[[da:Den kinesiske mælkepulverskandale]]
[[es:Adulteración de leche para bebés en 2008]]
[[fr:Scandale du lait frelaté en 2008]]
[[ko:2008년 중국산 유제품 멜라민 오염사건]]
[[ms:Skandal susu China 2008]]
[[ja:中国産食品の安全性#汚染粉ミルク]]
[[no:Den kinesiske melkeskandalen]]
[[fi:Maitojauheskandaali Kiinassa 2008]]
[[ur:2008 بچّہ دودھ گھوٹالا]]
[[zh:三鹿奶粉污染事件]]

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