Burmese Public Unaware of Dangerous Chinese Milk Formula

Burma’s censored daily newspapers have yet to issue public warnings about imported baby formula milk power that has led to multiple deaths, acute kidney failure and thousands of sick babies in China.

According to a China ministry of health announcement on Wednesday, about 20 percent of Chinese dairy companies tested nationwide had sold products tainted with melamine, a banned chemical, which was added to the milk formula by the supplier to make it appear higher in protein.

Health Minister Chen Zhu told a televised news conference that 6,244 babies in China had been sickened after being fed with tainted milk power and 158 were suffering from acute kidney failure. Three children died.

China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) reported that its inspectors had found melamine in 69 batches of milk power manufactured by 22 Chinese companies, according to Agence France Presse.

Among the 22 companies, the Yashili and Suncare milk companies reportedly have exported their baby formula milk powder to five countries including Burma, according to China’s quality control watchdog.

The New Light of Myanmar and Kyaymon (The Mirror) have published brief and incomplete mentions of the tainted baby milk formula product, and did not give the story prominent notice.

The Mirror published a story on Thursday that failed to mention the two companies exported their product to Burma but instead reported the two companies “recalled their products that [were] exported to five Africa countries and Asia countries like Bangladesh, Yemen, Burundi and Gabon.”

A reporter at a Rangoon-based weekly news journal told The Irrawaddy, “We are planning to do reporting on this tainted toddler milk power for our Business section, but we are not sure about putting out information that reveals the milk companies are exporting their products to Burma—a lot depends on the censorship board.”

One Rangoon resident who has two children said: “We haven’t heard anything about this tainted milk from China. The government should inform us about what brands of infant milk powder are not safe. Burmese people mostly rely on Chinese companies for baby milk powder because the price is cheap.”
 
A clerk at a business in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy on Thursday: “It’s not fair that we don’t know about this. I don’t understand why the authorities try to hide this kind of information. It’s not a confidential issue or a state secret.”