China strengthens supervision during holidays to curb tainted milk scandal

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-10-05 21:52

Statistics showed that the daily sales of milk products in the province increased by about 10 percent during the National Day holiday from late September.

North China's Hebei Province has started to destroy more than 400 tons of milk found to be contaminated with melamine. All the tainted milk had been sealed off before Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Hebei government had earmarked 316 million yuan (US$46 million) in subsidies, paying dairy farmers 200 yuan per cow.

"We must crack down on illegal behaviour, and we must protect the interests of the dairy sector. With the support of the government, enterprises are purchasing more milk and farmers are building up confidence," said Liu Daqun, head of the provincial agriculture department.

A nationwide inspection of baby milk powder was ordered on September 11 after media reports that products from Sanlu and other Chinese brands contained melamine. Testing has been broadened from baby formula to other types of milk products.

The latest sample tests on 609 batches of liquid milk from 27 cities across China detected no melamine in newly supplied liquid milk on the market, said the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) on Saturday.

In the previous inspection, on September 30, officials tested 265 batches of adult milk powder produced before September 14 by 154 companies, and the tests found 31 batches from 20 companies were tainted with melamine.

Previous page 1 2 Next Page