Worried Parents in China Wait for Answers on Tainted Formula

September 19, 2008 in Beijing, China.

The anxiety at Children’s Hospital is just one snapshot of a scandal that has broadened every day since it became public last week. On Wednesday, Health Minister Chen Zhu reported that more than 1,300 infants had been hospitalized and that 158 had suffered acute kidney failure after being fed formula contaminated with the industrial additive melamine.

Melamine, the contaminant, is used to make plastics and fertilizers but banned from food production. In the past, it has sometimes been illicitly blended into agricultural products as a cheap way to raise protein levels.

The authorities have arrested four suspects, offered free medical care to ailing children and sent investigators across the country to inspect dairy operations. Four officials in Hebei Province were fired Tuesday, including Tian Wenhua, chairwoman and general manager of Sanlu Group, based in Hebei. Ms. Tian was also fired from a post in the Communist Party.