Cows may be source of hormone in baby milk
By Echo Wang |
August 10, 2010, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
Experts say the early onset of puberty reported in infants' could have been caused by the female hormones farmers used to feed dairy cows.
Three babies affected in central China's Hubei Province had been fed only Synutra formula since birth, according to their parents. Similar cases were found in Guangdong, Jiangxi and Shanxi provinces.
But the Qingdao-based formula maker denied that their product was linked to premature sexual development.
Wang Dingmian, an official with the Dairy Association of China, said adding estrogen to milk powder deliberately would not bring any extra profit.
But he said that if there was female hormone in the dairy product, the chemical could have entered the milk from the cows themselves. Estrogen is used to help cows breed and produce milk.
Synutra said in a statement yesterday that it is suing Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television for "fabricating reports" about the company's milk.
Phoenix Television quoted the parents of the victims as saying the company's formula was tainted with estrogen after one baby girl was found to have the estrogen levels of a grown woman. A three-month-old boy in Guangdong was also found to have an excess of the female hormone.
Synutra said they did not add estrogen to their products and called the Phoenix reports "unscientific, not genuine and deliberately misinterpreting."
Chen Junshi, a food safety researcher at China's disease control authority, said there was no evidence that the small number of cases were linked to the milk powder.
Three babies affected in central China's Hubei Province had been fed only Synutra formula since birth, according to their parents. Similar cases were found in Guangdong, Jiangxi and Shanxi provinces.
But the Qingdao-based formula maker denied that their product was linked to premature sexual development.
Wang Dingmian, an official with the Dairy Association of China, said adding estrogen to milk powder deliberately would not bring any extra profit.
But he said that if there was female hormone in the dairy product, the chemical could have entered the milk from the cows themselves. Estrogen is used to help cows breed and produce milk.
Synutra said in a statement yesterday that it is suing Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television for "fabricating reports" about the company's milk.
Phoenix Television quoted the parents of the victims as saying the company's formula was tainted with estrogen after one baby girl was found to have the estrogen levels of a grown woman. A three-month-old boy in Guangdong was also found to have an excess of the female hormone.
Synutra said they did not add estrogen to their products and called the Phoenix reports "unscientific, not genuine and deliberately misinterpreting."
Chen Junshi, a food safety researcher at China's disease control authority, said there was no evidence that the small number of cases were linked to the milk powder.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
