Police detain farm pair who put poison in milk
By Wang Qingchu |
April 12, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A COUPLE who ran two dairy farms poisoned the milk which killed three babies and sickened 36 other people in Pingliang City in northwest China's Gansu Province, police told a news conference yesterday.
The two, identified by their surnames as Wu and Ma, were detained after an investigation found that the food poisoning was an act of homicide. Local police didn't disclose the couple's motives, the China News Service reported yesterday.
Most of the 36 people poisoned in last Thursday's incident were under the age of 14, police said.
The youngest of the fatalities was just 36 days old. All the victims had developed food poisoning symptoms after drinking milk.
Laboratory tests found traces of nitrite, a food additive used to preserve meat, in the milk from two dairy farms, which were shut down shortly after the incident.
"Thirty-one people had been discharged from hospital by noon," Wu Zhentu, a spokesman for Pingliang government, said yesterday. "Food poisoning symptoms have disappeared in the other five."
The government will cover all medical expenses for the patients, Wu added.
Stringent citywide quality checks have been launched at dairy farms, milk distribution stations, food producers and restaurants to ensure food safety. "We have collected samples from all dairy farms which produce bulk milk, and all samples have passed quality tests," Wu said.
The two, identified by their surnames as Wu and Ma, were detained after an investigation found that the food poisoning was an act of homicide. Local police didn't disclose the couple's motives, the China News Service reported yesterday.
Most of the 36 people poisoned in last Thursday's incident were under the age of 14, police said.
The youngest of the fatalities was just 36 days old. All the victims had developed food poisoning symptoms after drinking milk.
Laboratory tests found traces of nitrite, a food additive used to preserve meat, in the milk from two dairy farms, which were shut down shortly after the incident.
"Thirty-one people had been discharged from hospital by noon," Wu Zhentu, a spokesman for Pingliang government, said yesterday. "Food poisoning symptoms have disappeared in the other five."
The government will cover all medical expenses for the patients, Wu added.
Stringent citywide quality checks have been launched at dairy farms, milk distribution stations, food producers and restaurants to ensure food safety. "We have collected samples from all dairy farms which produce bulk milk, and all samples have passed quality tests," Wu said.
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