China blames milk suppliers in baby health scare

By Ian Ransom and Vivi Lin

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has questioned 78 people in a health scare involving tainted baby milk formula linked to the death of one infant and the development of kidney stones in dozens of others across the country, state media said on Friday.

China's quality watchdog also launched a nationwide probe into all baby milk powders as a local dairy producer admitted its formula had been contaminated with melamine, a toxin linked to the deaths and illness of thousands of pets in the United States last year.

Authorities were investigating whether the tainted milk had caused the death of one baby in the northwestern province of Gansu and development of kidney stones in more than 50 others there and in other provinces this year.

Investigations showed that most of the babies had drunk formula produced by Sanlu Group, a Hebei province-based dairy producer partly owned by New Zealand dairy export giant Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd.

An official in Shijiazhuang, capital of Hebei and Sanlu Group's headquarters, said police had questioned 78 people in the case and laid the blame on unscrupulous suppliers.

"The suspects added water to the milk they sold to Sanlu to make more money. They also added melamine so that the diluted milk could still meet standards," Xinhua quoted Shijiazhuang Vice Mayor Zhao Xinchao as saying.

The report did not say whether police had made any arrests.

Melamine, used in making plastics, fertilizers and cleaning products, has been used by Chinese suppliers of animal feed components to make protein levels appear higher than they are in quality testing.