China says new tests show milk free from melamine

BEIJING: China's food safety watchdog said Sunday no traces of the industrial chemical melamine were found in new tests of milk powder sold domestically, as officials sought to restore public trust in milk supplies.

But officials in Hong Kong said they found high levels of the chemical in samples of two chocolate products made by British candy maker Cadbury at its Beijing factory.

The two items were among 11 Chinese-made products that have already been recalled by Cadbury in parts of Asia and the Pacific.

In Beijing, China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said tests of 129 batches of baby milk powder and 212 batches of other kinds of milk powder showed they were free from melamine contamination.

The milk powder was produced after Sept. 14, when the scandal over melamine contamination of milk broke, the watchdog said. Quality supervisors have been stationed in baby milk powder production facilities since then to oversee the process.

Milk powder containing melamine has been blamed for killing four babies and sickening more than 54,000 infants with kidney stones and other illnesses in China.

The scandal has sparked global concern about Chinese food imports and recalls in several countries of Chinese-made products including milk powders, cookies and candies.

Hong Kong's food safety agency announced Sunday that samples of two chocolate products made by Cadbury in Beijing contained considerably more melamine than the city's legal limit of 2.5 parts per million.

The Center for Food Safety said Cadbury's Dairy Milk Hazelnut Chocolate Bulk Pack contained 56 parts per million of melamine, while Dairy Milk Cookies Chocolate contained 6.9 parts per million.

Calls to Cadbury offices in London and Asia Pacific went unanswered om Sunday.

China's government has been struggling to contain public dismay over the widespread contamination of milk supplies, castigating local officials for negligence while promising to keep stores supplied with clean milk.

Chinese authorities believe suppliers trying to boost output diluted their milk, adding melamine because its nitrogen content can fool tests measuring protein content.

The Agriculture Ministry, meanwhile, said it is providing subsidies to Chinese dairy farmers badly hit by declining demand for milk. Many farmers have been tossing out raw milk as they are squeezed by feed costs they can't recoup due to waning demand.

The ministry's statement did not give details of the subsidy plan.