Panel of experts probes baby milk
Source: Xinhua |
August 13, 2010, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE Ministry of Health yesterday said a panel of nine experts had been assembled to investigate claims that milk powder made by a Chinese company caused infant girls to grow breasts.
The ministry said it was "directly investigating the claimed premature puberty cases at the request of Hubei Province," and that it would make public the results as soon as possible.
A panel of health and food safety experts set up by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention would study the cases in consultation with local authorities, it said.
The statement said "relevant technical organizations" were already testing milk powder samples from the market and from homes of the infant girls.
The ministry confirmed that some quality inspection agencies had refused requests from the public to test milk powder.
The statement said consumers could send food they perceived to have quality problems to qualified inspection agencies for tests, according to China's Food Safety Law. However, some inspection agencies might refuse to test samples from individual consumers because there could be uncertainty over the origins or history of the samples, the statement said.
Some inspection agencies had to refuse the requests because they were not qualified to test certain samples.
Consumers could report food quality concerns to health authorities, and the authorities should investigate them, the statement said.
Parents and doctors in Hubei were reported earlier this month voicing fears that milk powder produced by Nasdaq-listed Synutra International had caused at least three infant girls to develop prematurely.
At a regular press conference on Tuesday, Health Ministry spokesman Deng Haihua said food safety authorities were testing samples of milk powder made by Synutra.
The credibility of China's dairy industry took a hammering in 2008 when milk laced with melamine, a chemical added to milk products to make their protein content seem richer, sickened 300,000 children and resulted in the deaths of six infants.
The ministry said it was "directly investigating the claimed premature puberty cases at the request of Hubei Province," and that it would make public the results as soon as possible.
A panel of health and food safety experts set up by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention would study the cases in consultation with local authorities, it said.
The statement said "relevant technical organizations" were already testing milk powder samples from the market and from homes of the infant girls.
The ministry confirmed that some quality inspection agencies had refused requests from the public to test milk powder.
The statement said consumers could send food they perceived to have quality problems to qualified inspection agencies for tests, according to China's Food Safety Law. However, some inspection agencies might refuse to test samples from individual consumers because there could be uncertainty over the origins or history of the samples, the statement said.
Some inspection agencies had to refuse the requests because they were not qualified to test certain samples.
Consumers could report food quality concerns to health authorities, and the authorities should investigate them, the statement said.
Parents and doctors in Hubei were reported earlier this month voicing fears that milk powder produced by Nasdaq-listed Synutra International had caused at least three infant girls to develop prematurely.
At a regular press conference on Tuesday, Health Ministry spokesman Deng Haihua said food safety authorities were testing samples of milk powder made by Synutra.
The credibility of China's dairy industry took a hammering in 2008 when milk laced with melamine, a chemical added to milk products to make their protein content seem richer, sickened 300,000 children and resulted in the deaths of six infants.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
