China Tainted Milk Scandal Fans Fear across Asia

By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ / AP WRITER

HONG KONG — China's milk scandal fanned fears across Asia on Tuesday as countries expanded bans on Chinese dairy products to include candy and other goods and worried parents rushed their children to hospitals for health checkups.

From Japan to Thailand, reports spread of cookies, ice cream and even meat buns that might have been contaminated with tainted milk products blamed for least four infant deaths in China. Another 53,000 others have fallen ill.

The widening health scare led many schools and stores to pull more products out of precaution. Even major international food makers such as Kraft Foods Inc., were hit by unconfirmed rumors of recalls of numerous snacks, including Oreo cookies and M&Ms.

"I'm still worried about my child," said Mary Yu, a Hong Kong mother who took her 3-year-old son for hospital tests Tuesday, along with dozens of other parents in the territory. "I want to have a thorough check to play it safe."

The crisis was initially thought to have been contained to Chinese milk powder laced with melamine, an industrial chemical used to make plastics and fertilizer that can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure.

But recent testing found melamine in samples of liquid milk taken from 22 Chinese companies—including the country's two largest dairy producers, Mengniu Dairy Group Co. and Yili Industrial Group Co—and prompted nationwide recalls of milk and dairy products.

Other countries—including Singapore, Taiwan, Brunei, Hong Kong, Vietnam and the Philippines—followed suit in recent days with their own bans and restrictions on foods with Chinese dairy. The limits covered everything from yogurt bars to strawberry milk, biscuits and candy.

Bangladesh even ordered testing of powder milk imported from countries known for tighter government regulations such as Australia, New Zealand, Denmark.

"I'm scared after reports about the contaminated milk," said Sultana Rahman, mother of an 8-month-old baby in a Bangladesh, where the government banned three brands of Chinese baby powder milk. "I would rather breast feed my baby than giving her powder milk."

On Tuesday, Malaysia expanded its ban on Chinese milk products to include candies, chocolates and any other food containing milk. The country's Health Ministry said it was still determining how many products in Malaysia would be affected by the ban.

A major Japanese food maker, Marudai Food Co, pulled its cream buns, meat buns, and creamed corn crepes from supermarkets, but was still conducting tests to determine whether its products were contaminated.

Australian regulators said that while no milk products from China had been imported, candies and other foods would need more testing.

"We are just making sure that none of the contaminated ingredients have ended up in some of those smaller products," said Lydia Buchtmann, spokeswoman for Food Standards Australia New Zealand.