Nearly 53,000 Chinese children sick from milk

Monday 22nd September, 01:35 PM JST

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Betzee at 09:30 AM JST - 22nd September

So although millions of consumers have been affected the scope seems to be limited.

My sense is that melamine was added to a water-down product to make up for the reduced protein content. That would pass it along in a much more concentrated form than simply as an animal feed additive. And, of course, infant organs are still developing so the impact is much worse than on an adult regardless of everything else.
rjd_jr at 10:28 AM JST - 22nd September

This is stunning even by Chinese standards. Nothing else in the world compares to such wilfull criminal actions against innocent civilians by a company. Shame on them, and no one can question anyone for being leary of products coming from China. No one.
Pukey2 at 11:34 AM JST - 22nd September

rjd:

This is stunning even by Chinese standards.

Stunning by Chinese standards? Had this not happened, you would have found something else to complain about the Chinese in general.

betzee:

Certain products sold in Taiwan that use non-dairy creamer products

A bit off-topic, but I find non-dairy creamer B.S. They usually contain casein, and guess where that comes from.

A Shanghainese I knew came back to Japan for a visit about 2 years ago after having given birth a year before. She said she had stocked up on as much milk powder as possible to send back to China. Even the Mainland Chinese have had their doubts for ages. And might I add, overseas Chinese communities and Hong Kongers (who rely heavily on Mainland products and have always bore the full brunt of these problems involving poultry, pork, harusame, you name it) have known for many many years. It's been in the Chinese language news for a long time, way before Americans ever suspected.
Betzee at 11:55 AM JST - 22nd September

A bit off-topic, but I find non-dairy creamer B.S.

That was my own translation, sorry if you don't like it but that's how any noun preceded by "非" is translated.

Here it is English: A Taiwanese company says it has recalled packs of Mr. Brown instant coffee and milk tea containing contaminated milk powder imported from China. The King Car Co. says the products may contain small amounts of melamine, a chemical used in plastics.

Consumers are not necessarily rational in these situations, for understandable reasons. In fact the ready to consume Mr. Brown coffee in the can is fine, and I happen to be a fan of it myself, mainly for nostalgic reasons. But as soon as a brand is identified as tainted people will avoid the company's entire line of products "just to be safe."
terebiko at 04:57 PM JST - 22nd September

Just curious, do Chinese mothers not breastfeed their children? I am guessing that they may have to work and leave their child with grandma or a day care center. Anyone know?
Betzee at 05:25 PM JST - 22nd September

Just curious, do Chinese mothers not breastfeed their children? I am guessing that they may have to work and leave their child with grandma or a day care center.

Under socialism, women did have to work and children were left in day care (where they could be inculcated with socialist values from a tender age).

In a way, that was simply taking traditional values one step further. The recovery period for women who have given birth is longer in China than in the USA, anyway, and the newborn was typically cared by relatives. Particularly if it was a boy, he was viewed as more important to his family than their daughter-in-law and his welfare was often entrusted to his paternal grandmother.
Bento at 05:39 PM JST - 22nd September

Betzee..inculcated with socialist values..LOL you`ve chosen a bad post to hawk your politics through,its extreme capitalist "values" that had caused this food scare..otherwise known as greed.
Betzee at 05:47 PM JST - 22nd September

.inculcated with socialist values.

Bento,

That was the purpose of putting Chinese kids in state-run daycare. Whatever you, I, or anyone else thinks or those values is irrelevant. By removing them from the care of their families it was possible to make their primary loyalty to the CCP. I also think, prior to communism, removing a newborn from his mother's care enabled the extended family to claim his primary loyalty. If the family could afford it, a wet nurse might be hired.
Bento at 06:37 PM JST - 22nd September

very few thoughts are ever "irrelevant" for example your thoughts of those values led you to include this information in your post..whereas a simple yes they were left at daycare was all that was required for the thread.But you went a step further..irrelevant? no chance.
Betzee at 07:00 PM JST - 22nd September

very few thoughts are ever "irrelevant" for example your thoughts of those values led you to include this information in your post..whereas a simple yes they were left at daycare was all that was required for the thread.But you went a step further..irrelevant? no chance.

Cultural context and historical precedent, which you mistook for my own views, are often illuminating. Defensiveness, by contrast, rarely sheds light on anything other than an individual's own insecurities.
Jyan_Bon at 07:10 PM JST - 22nd September

That's what happened when a country's "Economic growth" far exceeds the growth of "Democratic System" (check and balance) of that country.

Unprecedented Corruptions, News Restrictions, Political Inflexibilities contributed to the problem.
Betzee at 07:25 PM JST - 22nd September

The silver lining in these tragedies, be it the earthquake last spring where children who boarded at schools were killed when sub-standard structures collapsed, or those who will suffer life-long physical disabilities owing to tainted baby formula, is that it will cause the Chinese to reassess the value of accountable government. It's not enough simply to sack a few individuals and subject them to "we'll teach 'em a lesson" criminal prosecution, which will be the CCP's response.
freakashow at 07:38 PM JST - 22nd September

Nothing new here. Chinese-produced food has always been questionable and risky. Heck, one of my Chinese-Japanese friends who owns and runs a Chinese restaurant here in Japan refuses to buy food from his own homeland (except for some necessary spices).
ca1ic0cat at 03:01 AM JST - 23rd September

"it will cause the Chinese to reassess the value of accountable government"

Yes, that's true. Corruption has, historically, always been the downfall of Chinese governments. The present government knows this and will be very harsh in it's judgement of the perps.

Too bad the Japanese haven't figured this out. I'm still waiting for some accountability for the tainted rice scandal.
sharky1 at 03:29 AM JST - 23rd September

It just isn't safe to buy anything from China. From toys to high tech, and now repeated food issues, it all seems to be tainted in some form or another. Yes, made in China is cheap, and you get what you pay for...