Police arrest 22 in milk scandal

Police in the Chinese province at the centre of a scandal over tainted milk powder have detained 22 people suspected of involvement in introducing the chemical melamine into the supply chain, according to state media.

Thousands of children have been taken to hospital with kidney illnesses and four have died after drinking milk formula tainted with the chemical, causing public outrage and highlighting safety problems in the country's food industry after a series of problems with other products.

Authorities in northern Hebei province held the people after raids on dozens of dairy farms and milk purchasing stations, during which they seized more than 220kg (485lb) of the cheap industrial chemical, the China Daily said. It cited police as saying 19 of the detainees were managers at dairy pastures, breeding farms and milk-purchasing stations. "According to the police investigation, melamine was produced in underground plants and then sold to breeding farms and purchasing stations," the newspaper said.

A man whose name was given as Gao was suspected of producing a "protein powder" containing melamine, which can be used to cheat quality checks. A man named Xue is thought to have sold the tainted powder on to the milk purchasing stations, the paper said.

Officials have vowed to clean up milk production in the hope of shoring up the "made-in-China" name, after a number of countries banned or recalled imports of Chinese milk products in the wake of the scandal. As part of those efforts, officials have launched a month-long overhaul of the country's milk collection system, which is aimed at weeding out deficiencies in oversight, the China Daily added.

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