By Ben Blanchard BEIJING, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Europe expects that China will provide a full accounting of a tainted milk powder scandal and punish any cover-ups, a senior EU official said on Friday. China has faced panicked parents and public dismay since officials and the Sanlu Group, the nation's biggest maker of infant milk powder, last week revealed babies were sick with kidney stones and complications from drinking toxic powder. Thousands of babies are affected, four have died and 22 companies have since been implicated in the scandal. Robert Madelin, director-general for health and consumer protection at the European Commission, said the bloc had been in touch with China on the case, though no problem milk products had been reported in Europe. "We are trying to establish the facts. We are discussing all aspects of this crisis bilaterally with our colleagues in China. Our priority is to ensure the integrity of the European supply chain," he told reporters in Beijing. "On the governance aspect, we are also asking questions, and we will learn the truth probably about the same time you do," Madelin added, speaking at a news conference on product safety cooperation between the EU, United States and China. "We expect to hear that narrative," he said, referring to a full accounting of the scandal from the Chinese, including addressing concerns it may have been covered up. The European Union is China's largest trading partner and has in the past expressed concern Beijing does not do enough to tackle product and consumer safety woes, especially in the light of a series of scandals involving toys and food last year. Chinese officials have also admitted that the city government in Shijiazhuang, home to Sanlu, delayed for more than one month reporting the milk powder contamination, and that the company had been aware for much longer of the problem. "The issue between governments, between regulators, is are we being immediately open with each other?" Madelin said. "Then there is a duty on economic operators to be open, and there I would expect each regulator to punish delay within their own jurisdiction." Nancy Nord, chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, said that while she could not comment directly on the milk powder case, she believed China understood the U.S. would not tolerate shoddy products. "We mean business and we intend to make sure products that come out of China bound for the United States are safe for American consumers," Nord said. "Efforts to date here in China are off to a very reasonable start," she added, referring to cooperation on safety issues. "But there is a long way to go on this road to product safety." (Editing by Nick Macfie)
A six-month old cub prowls at the Laohu Valley Reserve near Philippolis September 18, 2008. The "Save China's Tigers" is a breeding project, where the cubs are born under natural conditions ...
