China quality chief resigns over baby milk scandal

by Sanjay Jha | September 23, 2008 at 12:52 am

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Under the mouting criticism chief of China's quality watchdog, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, Li Changjiang, had resigned from his post. The scale of the scandal has widened and latest report says that more than 53,000 infants fell sick just a year after an overhaul in food safety. Li Changjiang stepped down with the approval of China's Cabinet.

The head of China's quality watchdog has resigned amid a growing scandal over melamine-contaminated milk, the official Xinhua news agency reports.
Li Changjiang stepped down "with the approval of the State Council", China's cabinet, Xinhua said.
Earlier Prime Minister Wen Jiabao apologised for the contamination, which has made nearly 53,000 children ill.
Four children have died and about 13,000 remain in hospital, 104 of them reportedly in a serious condition.
The problem was first revealed two weeks ago, when milk powder from the Sanlu Group was found to contain melamine, an industrial chemical.

In the meantime worried over the implication many countries have banned Chinese baby formula.

Indonesia and the Philippines have banned the import of baby formula from China following detection of the industrial chemical melamine in the Chinese product which killed at least four babies and sickened thousands in China.
"For the time being, the Chinese products are banned from the market" while authorities examine Chinese milk formula sold in Indonesia, Health Ministry spokeswoman Lily Sulistyowati said on Tuesday.
The test results would be known in the next two or three days, the state-run Antara news agency quoted Sulistyowati as saying on late Monday.
The Indonesian government would test all baby formula sold domestically to check if any had been tainted during production, she said.
The Philippine Bureau of Food and Drugs also called on consumers to report to authorities if they encounter Chinese milk products in stores, supermarkets or groceries.