(For related story see CHINA-MILK/ or [ID:nPEK68379]) Sept 19 (Reuters) - Nearly 10 percent of milk samples from three top Chinese dairy companies has been tainted with toxic melamine, the government quality watchdog found in tests for the banned chemical that has killed four children. Here are some questions and answers on China's widening toxic milk scandal: WHY ADD MELAMINE TO MILK POWDER? -- Melamine is a toxic industrial chemical rich in nitrogen, which can make watered-down milk's protein level appear higher. WHAT ARE MELAMINE'S HEALTH EFFECTS? -- Little scientific information exists about its effects on humans. But four infants have died in China, and hundreds of children have been diagnosed with kidney stones after drinking the contaminated milk. -- Melamine was linked to the deaths of cats and dogs in the United States last year. WHICH COUNTRIES ARE AFFECTED? -- Supplies have been pulled across China and Taiwan. In Hong Kong, yoghurt, ice cream and milk powder have been recalled. -- Yemen, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Gabon and Burundi: All imported milk powder from two Chinese firms named as sources of the tainted milk. WHICH COMPANIES ARE IMPLICATED? -- 22 Chinese companies have been listed as producers of the tainted milk powder. See FACTBOX [ID:nPEK20969] for the list. ARE INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES AFFECTED? -- Coffee chain Starbucks <SBUX.O> fears it may have taken contaminated milk from supplier Mengniu Dairy <2319.HK>. It has pulled the company's milk from its 300-plus cafes in mainland China. [ID:nN18263074] -- Dairy giant Fonterra, the New Zealand business partner of Sanlu Group, China's top seller of infant milk powder, has not said how the scandal may affect relations with the company it has a 43 percent stake in. Neither has Danish-Swedish dairy cooperative Arla, whose Chinese joint venture Mengniu Arla's baby formula is also implicated. HOW WAS THE ALARM RAISED? -- Sanlu Group was the first company to reveal it had produced and sold melamine-laced milk. -- On Sept 15, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said Fonterra had pressured Chinese officials to raise the alarm after learning of the problem in August. -- See CHRONOLOGY for a timeline of events: [ID:nSP307564] WHY DIDN'T QUALITY TESTING PICK UP THE TOXIN? -- Sanlu and at least six other companies on the list of 22 contaminated milk producers had been exempted from national quality checks. They were awarded "inspection-free" status as high quality brands trusted to conduct their own quality checks. HAVE THERE BEEN SIMILAR CASES?-- Other dangerous ingredients, such as lead or cancer-causing dyes, have been added to everyday products by people in China who may or may not know of their toxic effects, but think their addition will save money and boost sales. -- For a FACTBOX of recent safety scandals see [ID:nT96138] WHY IS PRODUCT SAFETY A RECURRING PROBLEM? -- Cost-cutting by local suppliers in a competitive market, coupled with inadequate product safety supervision and corruption in the national regulatory environment. -- China's largely muzzled, compliant media also reduces the likelihood of problems coming to light as quickly as they might in countries where whistle-blowers see the press as independent. WHAT RISKS DOES THE SCANDAL POSE FOR THE GOVERNMENT? -- The worst-case economic scenario, an export ban on China's dairy or other products, is unlikely. -- However China has said its growing dairy industry is chaotic. The description, an admission of the country's inability to safeguard its unsettled public and investors from serious, life-threatening, quality issues, does not help inspire confidence in the "Made in China" brand or official regulations. -- Coming after a successful Olympics where a sparkling "new China" dazzled the world, the scandal is terrible PR, undercutting the still-modernising country's attempts to establish itself as a transparent and trustworthy global player. Source: Reuters (Writing by Gillian Murdoch, Beijing Editorial Reference Unit; Editing by Nick Macfie and Jerry Norton)
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 ...
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