13 years ago, kidney stones were discovered in 16 infants in Gansu province in China. They all ate powdered milk which was later adulterated by an industrial chemical that was toxic, known as melamine. After four months around 300,000 babies in China received the contaminated milk and kidney damage led to six deaths. In the end, Sanlu Group, one of China's biggest milk producers is believed to be the primary cause. As the scandal developed it became clear that many more Chinese dairy companies became involved. This shocking incident is one of the most significant instances to highlight how important food safety regulations are across the globe. Many laws around the world were implemented as a result of this. Similar laws are regularly being observed in India. In spite of the fssai standards for milk and other products, adulterarred ones are easily available on the markets all over the world. Learn more about this Chinese scam and the horrors it brings to.
Who was the person responsible?
The scandal first came to light on the 16th of July, when sixteen infants were found to have kidney stones, in Gansu province. The infants were fed formula manufactured by the Shijiazhuang-based Sanlu Group, which was then one of the nation's top infant formula makers. After the initial focus was on Sanlu the state's inspections found that products from other companies also were damaged, including the products of Arla Foods. Mengniu, Yili, and Yashili.
The source of contamination
It is reported that the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that melamine could be discovered "in a variety of milk and dairy products in varying concentrations, from low ppb to ppm." One researcher has claimed that cyromazine is one of the longest-running melamine-derived pesticides in China is absorbed by melanine in plants. Therefore it is possible that it was in the past for some period in various products like eggs, poultry or fish as well as dairy products. It isn't known how the supply chain melamine got added into the milk. The chemical isn't dissolvable in water and must be combined with formaldehyde or other chemicals before it is able to dissolve in milk.
What is melanine?
Melamine is used to make melamine-formaldehyde resin, a type of plastic known for its flame retardant properties and widely used in countertops, decrease boards, etc. It is also utilized as non-protein nitrogen in corn meal, soybean meal gluten meal, and cottonseed meal in feed for livestock. Melamine has been linked to kidney stones and kidney failure in both animals and humans, as it reacts to cyanuric acids within the body. Melamine's use in the food industry is not endorsed by WHO or the national authorities.
What were the victims?
On the 17th of September 2008 the The Health Minister Chen Zhu stated that "more than 6,200 children have been diagnosed with contaminated milk formula and that more than 1,300, mostly newborns, remain in the hospital, 158 of whom suffer from acute kidney failure. " On September 23, 54,000 children had been diagnosed in a state of illness, with four deaths. At the time of September 27, more than 10,000 cases were reported across the provinces. The World Health Organization official said 82% of the children affected were aged 2 or less. According to the Hong Kong Center for Food Safety reported that 99 percent of victims were children under three. Ten children from Hong Kong were diagnosed with kidney issues, and there were the least of four instances being reported in Macau and six cases in Taiwan. The cruel victims included the cub of a lion and two orangutan babies who were fed Sanlu baby formula in the Hangzhou Zoo. The government declared on the 8th of October that it would not publish updated statistics "because it is not a communicable disease, so it is not essential that we make it known to the public."
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