doctor_slump 2008-9-29 09:54 PM
Toxic Milk Raids: 22 People Held
Police have detained 22 people accused of involvement in the contamination of milk in China, as Cadbury confirms melamine has been found in its Chinese-made chocolates.
More than 480lb of the industrial chemical melamine was seized during the raids in Hebei province, according to the official news agency Xinhua.
It reported that a police investigation showed melamine was produced in underground plants and then sold to breeding farms and milk purchasing stations.
Authorities said milk suppliers might have added melamine to watered-down milk to skew quality tests because the chemical registers as protein.
The raid comes after Cadbury recalled its Chinese-made products which are distributed in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia.
The British chocolate maker said 11 products made at its factory in Beijing were being withdrawn.
In a statement issued by its Singapore office, Cadbury said tests "cast doubt on the integrity of a range of our products manufactured in China."
The preliminary tests showed traces of melamine, which has already been found in milk powder.
The Hong Kong government ordered that the chocolates be removed from shop shelves immediately.
Melamine-tainted milk has been blamed for the deaths of four infants in China.
More than 54,000 children have been affected by sickness because of the contamination.
Two American food companies are investigating Indonesian claims that high traces of melamine were found in Oreo biscuits, M&Ms and Snickers imported from China.
Indonesia's Food and Drug Monitoring Agency said a dozen products distributed across the country had repeatedly tested positive last week.
Kraft Foods and Mars, the manufacturers of the three products, said they would abide by a recall order.
But they stressed that the same products were cleared of melamine contamination in other Asian countries.
Indonesia stepped up its testing of food imported from China after the melamine-tainted milk scandal came to light.
