China Says Toxic Milk Has Killed a 4th Infant

By Edward Wong

The mayor of a city whose officials have been accused of failing to deal with reports of tainted baby milk was dismissed Thursday and the Chinese government announced that a fourth infant had died after drinking contaminated milk and that a dozen more people had been arrested in a widening investigation.

The mayor of Shijiazhuang, Ji Chuntang, was the most senior official to be fired so far. Ji was removed Wednesday from his post as deputy secretary of the Shijiazhuang Municipal Committee of the Communist Party, the state news agency Xinhua reported.

Shijiazhuang, in the northern province of Hebei, is the location of the headquarters of Sanlu Group, one of China’s largest dairy companies and the first company that was found to be selling toxic milk. The producer recalled 700 tons of it after determining Sept. 11 that it had been contaminated with melamine, an industrial chemical.

Melamine can be combined with other chemicals to produce various plastics that are used in countertops, fabrics, glues, housewares and flame retardants. It is also used to make fertilizers.

Investigators have discovered traces of melamine in batches of powdered baby formula made by 22 dairy companies, all of which have said they were recalling their milk products. Producers trying to cut costs often dilute milk with water, but that lowers the nutrition level. The addition of melamine, which is high in nitrogen, helps the milk appear to meet nutrition standards by artificially raising its protein count.

Babies drinking the tainted milk over several months have developed kidney stones or suffered kidney failure.

Chinese officials said more than 6,200 babies developed kidney stones after drinking Sanlu’s baby milk formula, and four have died. The latest death took place in a Mongolian area of Xinjiang, in China’s far west, Xinhua reported Thursday.

On Thursday night, China Central Television, the government network, reported that melamine had been found in liquid milk from three major brands.

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Huang Yuanxi contributed research.

Originally published by The New York Times Media Group.

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