Post milk scare, China's premier promises improved food safety

BEIJING: Premier Wen Jiabao promised to improve Chinese food safety amid a widening scandal over tainted milk that has sickened more than 50,000 children.

Wen, speaking at the World Economic Forum in the port city of Tianjin on Saturday, did not announce new initiatives but promised that the government would work to instill business ethics after a string of product safety disasters.

``We plan not only to revitalize the food industry and the milk powder industry, we will try to ensure that all China-made products are safe for consumers and consumers can buy with assurance,'' Wen said.

The latest scandal erupted this month after the industrial chemical melamine, which is used to make plastics and fertilizer, was found in milk powder and linked to kidney stones in children. The chemical was also found in liquid milk, yogurt and other products.

Four deaths have been blamed on the bad milk, and some 54,000 children have developed kidney stones or other illnesses after drinking the contaminated baby formula.

Authorities say suppliers might have added melamine, which is rich in nitrogen, to watered-down milk to deceive quality tests for protein.

The incident ``has revealed to us that in the process of development, the government should pay more attention to business ethics and social morality,'' Wen said.

He also defended the handling of the crisis by Beijing, which has in the past been accused of reluctance to come clean in situations that could potentially embarrass the Communist leadership.

``When this kind of problem of food safety occurs, we do not cover it up,'' Wen said. ``We face it candidly and have taken bold moves to address it. I think this has laid a good foundation for resolving problems.''

Also Saturday, a welfare group said almost a dozen Chinese orphans have been sickened by the tainted milk.

The children, who live in orphanages around the country, are being treated for kidney stones at hospitals after drinking Sanlu brand powdered milk, the Half the Sky Foundation said on its Web site.

``All orphanages using identified tainted brands have changed to either fresh milk or to a brand that has been identified as safe,'' said Jenny Bowen, executive director of the Berkeley, California-based group that provides services, supplies and work crews to 41 Chinese orphanages.

Health experts say ingesting a small amount of melamine poses no danger, but in larger doses, the chemical can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure. Infants are particularly vulnerable.