Nestle rejects reports of contaminated milk products
Four children have died and over 6,000 are sick after drinking contaminated milk
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Sunday, 21, Sep 2008 04:21
Global food and drinks manufacturer Nestle has rejected a Hong Kong newspaper's report that its milk products contained dangerous chemicals.
The move followed a report by the country's Apple Daily newspaper which claimed the presence of melamine, which can cause kidney problems, in the product manufactured by the multinational firm. Nestle's products were withdrawn from the shelves of two Hong Kong supermarkets upon the news.
Four Chinese children have died so far and more than 6,000 infants are receiving treatment after drinking milk produced by some of China's most well-known companies that contained melamine.
A statement on the company's website said: "The Chinese authorities have carried out widespread tests and issued a negative list of 22 affected companies, as well as a positive list of companies or brands where no melamine was found in the respective products – Nestle is on the latter list.
"However, on 21 September, Apple Daily, a Hong Kong based tabloid newspaper, claimed to have found traces of melamine (0.6 ppm) in Neslac Gold 1+ growing up milk produced in mainland China and sold in Hong Kong.
"Nestle is confident that none of its products are made from milk adulterated with melamine."
The food and drinks manufacturer added that it had a stringent quality control system in place with over 70 different tests being conducted on its infant formula and milk products.
It stated that official tests run by Hong Kong's food and safety authorities had cleared all its goods.
A spokeswoman for Nestle's UK office said all milk products produced for the UK market were sourced from locally approved supplies and did not come from China.
A total of eighteen people have been arrested so far over supplying milk with the chemical additive, melamine, that is used in manufacturing plastic goods.
A provincial mayor and senior agricultural ministers in the province of Shijiazhuang have also been sacked over the crisis.
Countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Tanzania have put a halt to imports of dairy products from the country after reports of poisonings emerged.
Three Chinese companies have been named by the government as being responsible for adding chemicals to milk in order to pass quality control tests.