Some quotes regarding the milk scandal in China:

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"The scandal came to light earlier this month when baby milk powder from the Sanlu Group was found to contain the industrial chemical melamine. And since then, at least 22 other companies have been implicated.

Melamine is used in making plastics and is high in nitrogen, which makes products appear to have a higher protein content. Health experts say that ingesting small amounts does no harm but sustained use can cause kidney stones and renal failure, especially among the young."

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"At least 50,000 Chinese babies have fallen ill and four been killed by milk tainted with the industrial chemical. 13,000 of the babies had to be hospitalised."

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"In mainland China, lawyers and local rights groups are seeking to support families affected by the scandal, possibly by suing dairies or officials who failed to disclose the problem.

But many say they are facing pressure from the authorities to abandon their efforts, blaming government sensitivity."

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"Two baby orang-utans and a lion cub have become the latest victims of China's contaminated milk crisis. The animals, at at Hangzhou Zoo near Shanghai, developed kidney stones after being fed milk powder tainted with the industrial chemical melamine. Chinese media report that the animals had been fed on milk powder made by Sanlu Group for more than a year."

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"The truth is, at the local level, which is where you are doing business in China, it is a crude business. Your regulator is the local government and your local partner is also often really, if not nominally, the local government."

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"Part of the problem arises because producers first they dilute the raw milk with water to increase its volume, often up to about 30%, the problem is that the dilution also lowers the nutrient content of the milk, especially its protein, and that lowers the price paid for the milk. That is when the melamine comes in. A nitrogen compound, it makes the milk appear to have more protein."

I guess the economic conditions of the rural industry drive people to do things like this because they get squeezed on the price of the raw product they sell - but how can you live with yourself knowing that you have contributed to the death of 4 children and the hospitalisation of another 13,000.

The government should take immediate action to to provide rural workers with a sustainable and equitable market for their products, agriculture is at the heart of our food chain but argicultural producers have a right to a life better than simply subsistence.

. . . greed . . .

Well, in Sanlus case the melamine content was so high that it could not have been only the milk producers, that it was also Sanlu corporation that was adding its own share. Also they were running ad campaign earlier this year where they promoted how they make over 1000 checks on the quality (bit like Soviet era LADA ads), but seems they did not bother to check the milk they were using...

When will business people think about Moral and Ethics more than making profit?

and as sunsnow said not only milk products. Darn I like to eat Koala biscuit, you know the one which has chocolate dipping inside. It's from China... I don't know how many boxes I ate all of this year. Y_Y

The Chinese didn't use it in milk only , but they used Melamine and they may still use it in (porcelain plates ) and other table sets . The reason is maybe to cut their production cost .

A lot of food companies in different parts of the world have distributed free plates or cups as a promotion ... not because they love you , but because they bought them very cheap from China . And i can't forget that 30 years ago i have seen shows promoting using Melamine plates as a new product line the world was proud of .

I hope this is only in China . but it is a good idea to look into what the others are doing , They are maybe doing something worse?

"Until now, no dairy was testing its milk for melamine, not just in China but across Australasia, with consequences that are now known to be fatal. "

Melamine is a product used in making fertilizer's and plastics so it is readily available and I beleive it was also at the centre of thousands of deaths of pets in the usa last year from pet foods contaminated with melamine.

Be careful bCool, here is another quote showing there are counterfeit biscuits and chocolates from China!

"In Jakarta, the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency said on Monday that it had found traces of melamine in chocolate and biscuit products apparently made in China by Kraft Foods and Mars. The two companies said they were investigating the claims, although their products had earlier been cleared of melamine tainting.

Some reports raised the possibility the products - including Oreo wafers, M&Ms and Snickers - could be counterfeit."

So odd, I was this summer surprised to find that Chinese copy also books. I knew about medicine and airplane parts and tobacco but candy, CANDY!?! Ok, there was counterfeit toothpaste last year so ok, I am not surprised by anything anymore...

jao_ka: yea, but stay away from Thai salmon that might be deadly puffer fish instead...Thai foods ain't that safe either.

khun aidon, will I get sick?? i don't know what affect to adult body...

Does any MBA class teach about moral?? I'm just curious.. at least they will think about other people life before thinking about how to make a lot of profits..

Never mind No 1. Unfortunatly the typical farmers who supply these companies have 3-5 cattle and the cattle don't eat well so they have no option but to cheat because they don't have any food either. Unfortunatly in this case it turned out to be fatal!

Didn't know they had salmon in thailand?