| Abstract: |
Melamine contamination of milk powder kills and sickens infants A baby-food contamination crisis in China that came to the public's attention last week is growing worse by the day. On Sept. 17, China's minister of health, Chen Zhu, announced that three babies had died, more than 150 were suffering from acute kidney failure, and an additional 6,000 infants had become sick after drinking milk made from milk powder tainted with melamine. A day earlier, China's State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection & Quarantine (AQSIQ) reported that its nationwide inspections had detected the contaminant in milk powder produced by 22 companies, according to the country's official news agency, Xinhua. Melamine is used to make plastics, fertilizer, and other products but is not approved as an ingredient in food. Yet this isn't the first time the compound has been detected in food produced in China. |
