Tainted milk deaths arrests

CHINESE police arrested two brothers suspected of adding a dangerous chemical to milk that killed two babies and sickened more than 1,200 others.

The two brothers, surnamed Geng, run a milk collection centre in Hebei province and are accused of adding melamine, a chemical used in plastics, to the milk to make it appear higher in protein, the official Xinhua News Agency said. They sold about three tons of contaminated milk a day, the report said, citing Hebei police spokesman Shi Guizhong.

Chinese investigators say melamine may have been added to the milk to fool quality testers after water was added to fraudulently increase the milk’s volume. Melamine is rich in nitrogen and standard tests for protein in food ingredients measure nitrogen levels.

China’s Health Ministry on Monday said two infants have died from drinking the contaminated milk powder and 1,253 have been sickened.

Vice Health Minister Ma Xiaowei told a news conference that 913 of the infants were only slightly affected and their condition was not considered life threatening. However, 340 remained hospitalised and 53 cases were considered especially severe, he said.

No information was given about the fatalities, although authorities had earlier announced one death.

The company that produced the infant formula, Sanlu Group Co, is China’s biggest producer of powdered milk and is 43% owned by a New Zealand dairy farmers’ cooperative, Fonterra.