“A Chinese court has condemned two men to death and sentenced a company boss to life for their roles in the production and sale of poisoned milk that killed at least six children and made almost 300,000 sick…
More than 50,000 infants were hospitalised with kidney problems after drinking Sanlu baby formula tainted with melamine, a chemical normally used to make plastics and fertiliser. Investigators said middlemen who bought milk from farmers and sold it on to dairies had watered it down and mixed it with the chemical, which creates the appearance of higher protein levels in quality tests…
Parents had contacted the company to complain as early as the end of 2007. But the scandal was not exposed until September 2008…
The scandal led to the screening of more than 20m babies for kidney problems, officials have said. It triggered a spate of product bans or recalls around the world after melamine was detected in exports such as chocolate, yoghurt and sweets.”