Singapore bans China dairy imports

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-20 10:06

BEIJING -- Singapore banned all dairy imports from China on Friday and the European Union demanded answers from Beijing as the baby formula scandal that has left thousands of infants ill across China spread to liquid milk.

A government food quality watchdog in China said nearly 10 percent of milk and drinking yoghurt samples from three major dairy companies were contaminated with potentially deadly melamine.

Panicked parents have crowded hospitals and demanded redress since officials and the Sanlu Group, said last week that babies were sick with kidney stones and complications after drinking toxic milk powder.

At the latest count, 6,244 children have become ill. Four have died and 158 are suffering "acute kidney failure."

Singapore said on Friday it had banned the import and sale of all milk and dairy products from China after tests found melamine contamination in two brands of China-made milk products.

Beijing has already recalled some milk powder exported by two firms whose products were found to be contaminated.

On Thursday, Hong Kong recalled dairy products of one Chinese company.

Starbucks Corp said its 300-plus cafes in the Chinese mainland had pulled milk supplied by Mengniu. Starbucks said no employees or customers had fallen ill from the milk.

Yili, already faced a recall in Hong Kong, where authorities found eight of its 30 products, including ice-cream and yoghurt ice bars, contained melamine.

Mengniu and Yili apologized to shaken consumers and investors and vowed to recall and destroy problem products.

"Anyone who must step down will step down, anyone who must bear legal responsibility will bear legal responsibility," Yao Tongshan, Mengniu executive director and chief financial officer, told reporters in Hong Kong, where the company is listed.

Quality officials stressed that most Chinese milk was safe, trying to shore up public trust already shaken by a litany of food scares involving eggs, pork and seafood in recent years.

The Chinese quality watchdog also said melamine-tainted milk would not make adults sick unless they drank more than two liters a day. But consumers sounded far from reassured.

"I'm pretty worried. In the future I will certainly trust the milk industry less," said Zhang Xi, a 25-year-old engineer, sitting at a Starbucks outlet in Beijing.