Milk powder scam in China

BEIJING: Chinese authorities have launched an investigation after six people were arrested by Shanghai police and accused of selling counterfeit brand-name milk formula, state media reported on Monday.
The suspects were detained last month in connection with a two million yuan (RM1.2 million) scam involving cheap baby formula and adult milk powder being packed into tins of famous brands.
More than 17,000 tins of mislabelled formula were sold to retailers in cities including Zhengzhou, Xuzhou, Changsha and Yanzhou, the Supreme People's Procuratorate announced in a notice last month without naming the brands.
The China Food and Drug Administration sent officials to Shanghai to trace the fake products, the China News Service reported.
In 2008, six babies died and 300,000 children became ill after consuming milk powder and other dairy products tainted with melamine.
The industrial chemical was added to watered-down milk by some producers to artificially boost protein levels and raise profits.
The chemical caused kidney stones and renal failure, particularly among babies and children.
The scandal was hushed up for several months until after the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Two men were sentenced to death and four others to life in prison for their involvement in the production of the tainted milk. — dpa