Police arrest 6 for tainting milk

By Tom Qian  |   2008-10-24  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

POLICE in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region arrested six suspects who allegedly sold or added melamine to milk, Northnews.cn reported yesterday.

The suspects allegedly supplied melamine-contaminated milk to Yili Industrial Group and China Mengniu Dairy Co, two of China's biggest milk suppliers, the report said.

One of the suspects, identified as a 37-year-old man surnamed Cui, started managing a milk station in 2004. He collected milk from nearby dairy farmers and began to supply milk to Mengniu.

On September 18, Cui allegedly added 0.6 kilograms of a substance he referred to as "egg white" and 100 kilograms of water to 2,100 kilograms of milk to increase its protein reading, the report said. Cui purchased 20 kilograms of "egg white" for 380 yuan (US$56) from a man surnamed Sun, who is another of the six suspects. The report said Cui knew what the substance was and knew that it was used to artificially increase protein levels in milk.

Mengniu later found melamine in its milk and reported it to police. Officers found 19 kilograms of "egg white" in Cui's home.

National quality inspection departments found 307 grams per kilogram of melamine in the "egg white" substance Cui had used, the report said.

Police in Huhhot, the capital city of Inner Mongolia, arrested Cui and Sun earlier this month for producing and selling poisonous and harmful food. The four other suspects were arrested at the same time, the report said.

Melamine is an industrial chemical used to make plastics. It can cause kidney stones if ingested in large enough quantities.

The Ministry of Health issued new limits on melamine levels in dairy products early this month. A maximum of 2.5 milligrams per kilogram was allowed for liquid milk, milk powder and food products containing at least 15 percent milk. It is banned as a food additive.