Chinese melamine victims call for help A group of tearful parents whose babies suffered from melamine-tainted milk called Friday for urgent research into the long-term effects of the chemical in a briefing held on a Beijing pavement."We are asking for research on how much damage melamine can wreak," Jiang told reporters on a roadside in south Beijing after the hotel where the parents had planned to hold the press conference refused to let them speak. (Agence France-Presse, 01/02/2009)
Sanlu ex-boss was aware of tainted milk Tian Wenhua, 66, and three other former top Sanlu executives on trial in the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court face life imprisonment for "producing and selling fake or substandard products". Wang Yuliang and Hang Zhiqi, both former deputy general managers of Sanlu, and Wu Jusheng, former manager of the firm's raw milk department, are the other three standing trial. (China Daily, 1/1/2009)
China dairy boss pleads guilty in melamine case The chairwoman of a Chinese dairy company went on trial on Wednesday over a tainted milk scandal that has killed at least six children and made thousands ill. Tian Wenhua, 66-year-old former general manager of the now bankrupt Sanlu Group, pleaded guilty to charges of "producing and selling fake or substandard products," state-run Xinhua news agency said. Tian appeared with three other company executives at a court in Shijiazhuang, capital of northern Hebei province. It was unclear whether they could face the death penalty. "(Tian) may face a maximum penalty of death for producing and selling contaminated baby milk food, along with three of her senior managers at the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court," the official China Daily said on Wednesday. (Reuters, 12/31/2008)Compensation to cover medical costs 'until 18' The compensation fund for victims of a tainted milk scandal will pay for medical costs the sickened incur until they reach 18, affected families said Tuesday. The notice of the latest pledge to victims and their families was in the name of 22 dairy companies whose products were found contaminated with melamine. Parents of victims in Hebei, Henan and Jilin provinces told China Daily yesterday they received the notification. "We'll raise the money to set up a medical fund to cover expenses for lingering illnesses until the child reaches 18. The fund will be managed by China Life," a compensation document received by Wu Yanfang, a mother of a girl in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, who suffered from kidney ailments after drinking tainted milk, showed. Wu said she received the document on Monday. The document said medical costs arising from the tainted milk could be reimbursed at local branches of China Life, the country's biggest life insurer. The claims would have to be accompanied by medical diagnosis to prove that the related illness is linked to kidney problems caused by the melamine-tainted dairy products. Parents of victims will also receive one-off compensation. Wu said the compensation for her 16-month-old girl, who still has a stone in her kidney, is 2,000 yuan ($292), but she rejected it because it was "woefully inadequate". (China Daily, 12/31/2008)
Melamine May Be In Chinese Seafood Imports Reports are revealing that melamine is “routinely” added to fish feed in the Chinese aquaculture industry for the same reasons as it was added to dairy products, to falsify protein levels, according to the SuperMarketNews report. As with other contaminants affecting seafood, melamine remains in the fish who have ingested the melamine-tainted feed, MarketWatchNews said that according to the LA Times report, recent studies conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Animal Drugs Research Center found disturbing levels of melamine in certain fish. The report states that the FDA’s Animal Drugs Research Center found that trout, tilapia, and catfish which were raised on melamine-tainted feed contained concentrations of the toxic chemical of up to a whopping 200 parts per million (ppm), which is over 80 times the maximum “tolerable” level the FDA has set for safe human consumption, said MarketWatch. (NewsInferno, 12/29/2008)
More toxic milk trials in China Nine people linked to a deadly toxic milk scandal went on trial on Monday, China's state news agency said. Four were charged with "endangering public security" after making and selling "protein powder" that included melamine, reported Xinhua. Another five appeared in local courts, bringing the total number on trial over the scandal so far to 15. (BBC, 12/29/2008)
Tainted milk firms to compensate melamine victims Chinese dairy companies that sold melamine-tainted milk are ready to pay compensation to the families of the nearly 300,000 children who became ill or died from drinking contaminated infant formula, China's Dairy Industry Association announced Saturday. Twenty-two dairy producers will make a one-time cash payment to the victims' families, the Xinhua News agency quoted China's Dairy Industry Association as saying. No specific amount was given.
"The money for compensation is in place now and will soon be handed to the people who have custody of the sickened children through various channels," the association said. The group did not specify a date. (ChinaDaily, 12/28/2008)
China’s ‘Stone Babies’—Victims of the Melamine Scandal They call their alliance the “Home of Stone Babies (HSB),” referring to the babies who developed kidney stones after drinking the contaminated milk powder. On the HSB website, parents posted many pictures of their sick babies and told their tragic stories. Listed here are three examples. (Epoch Times, 12/26/2008)
Mengniu Dairy sees RMB 900 mln loss in 2008 China Mengniu Dairy Co Ltd<2319>, one of the leading dairy product manufacturers in China, said it is likely to record a loss of RMB 900 million this year based on preliminary figures, due to the negative impact from the melamine scandal, sources reported. The figure has already counted in the RMB 580 million net profit that Mengniu had earned in the first half of this year, which is to say, the company's total loss caused by the tainted milk scandal would be RMB 1.5 billion for the whole year. China's whole dairy industry will see more than RMB 100 billion loss in 2008 because of the melamine scandal in September this year, source reported. (ChinaKnowledge12/26/2008)Six on trial over Sanlu tainted milk scandal Six people accused of illegally producing or selling toxic chemicals that killed six babies and sickened 290,000 others went on trial on Friday in Hebei province. Tian Wenhua, the former head of Sanlu Group, the firm at the center of the tainted milk scandal, will also stand trial next Wednesday, according to an announcement from the Intermediate People's Court of Shijiazhuang. Among the six people charged on Friday, Zhang Yujun and Zhang Yanzhang were accused of "endangering public security". Zhang Heshe and Zhang Taizhen were accused of adding 35 kg of "protein powder" to 70 tons of raw milk and selling the tainted milk to Sanlu, the Wuji county court heard. Yang Jingmin and Gu Guoping were each charged with adding 24 kg of the additive to 40 tons of milk and 16.7 kg to 120 tons. They also sold the adulterated milk to Sanlu, according to the local courts. (ChinaDaily, 12/26/2008)
Two on trial in China's milk powder scandal A melamine producer and a dealer are on trial in the capital of north China's Hebei Province. The hearing is underway at the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court. Zhang Yujun and Zhang Yanzhang were accused of illegally concocting and selling the so-called "protein powder," which was mainly composed of melamine and malt dextrin. It was then added to raw milk to make it appear high in protein content. (China Daily, 12/26/2008)Sanlu in $160m debt, assets up for grabs Dairy firm Sanlu Group has borrowed 902 million yuan ($132 million) to pay the medical fees of children sickened by its melamine-tainted baby formula and to compensate the victims. A local court has accepted a bankruptcy petition filed by Sanlu, which has a debt of 1.1 billion yuan ($160 million). This strategy is widely seen essential for a proper valuation of the troubled company's assets. Potential bidders for the assets are likely to set their eyes on Sanlu's most valuable asset, the well-established distribution network, said analysts. (China Daily, 12/26/2008)
Sanlu goes into bankruptcy proceedings Shijiazhuang city government said this morning that Sanlu, in which it has a controlling interest, is going into bankruptcy proceedings with a total debt of 2.66 billion yuan ($388 million) against assets valued at 1.56 billion yuan. The total debt includes a commercial loan of 902 million yuan secured on Dec 19 to meet the medical expenses of and compensation to children affected by tainted milk powder produced by the company. (China Daily, 12/25/2008)
Dairy makers scramble to buy Sanlu's assets Several domestic dairy makers are said to take over the plants of Sanlu Group Co, which is almost on the brink of bankruptcy following the recent tainted milk scandal. Beijing Sanyuan Group Co is expected to buy seven milk plants from Sanlu while Wondersun, a Heilongjiang Province-based dairy maker, will also buy a factory, the 21st Century Business Herald reported yesterday, citing people familiar with the plan to unload assets. (China Daily, 11/05/2008)
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