The Chinese Health Ministry has reported in a statement that, to date, six babies have died and 294,000 have been sickened as a result of tainted milk:
“Most of the sickened children received outpatient treatment only for small amounts of sand-like kidney stones found in their urinary systems, while a part of the patients had to be hospitalized for the illness,” the statement said.
The Ministry investigated eleven deaths and ruled that contaminated milk was responsible for five of them. The government has also reported that Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group Co. knew of the contaminated milk in 2007 but tried of cover it up with the help of local officials. The government is currently restructuring the dairy industry to improve food safety, but critics say that it will be difficult to test products from illegal dairy operations throughout the country. Parents of children that were killed or injured as a result of tainted milk have been demanding compensation.
For more information about a proposed class action law suit filed by the parents against Sanlu, see the following video from the BBC.
For more information, see past CDT posts on the Sanlu milk scandal.
