Chinese Tighten Dairy Regulations After Scandal

Pghilippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque III holds a new list of milk and milk products that...

Pghilippine Health Secretary Francisco Duque III holds a new list of milk and milk products that were tested negative for melamine during a news conference Friday Oct. 10, 2008 following the ASEAN Plus Three (China, Japan, South Korea) Health Ministers Meeting in Manila, Philippines. About five ASEAN countries were affected by the tainted milk scandal and China will assist foreign companies who want to claim compensation for losses from melamine-contamined milk products, according to China's Deputy Health Minister Dr. Liu Qian, who is the official Chinese delegate to the meeting. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

(AP)

China's State Council tightened quality control regulations for the dairy industry Friday, as authorities in Macau and Hong Kong reported several children had kidney stones blamed on Chinese tainted milk.

Contaminated milk powder, laced with the industrial chemical melamine, has been blamed for causing the deaths of four infants and sickening more than 54,000 others.

More than 10,000 children remained hospitalized with eight of them in serious condition, the Health Ministry said.

The new regulations, effective immediately, tighten control over cattle breeding, the purchase of raw milk and the production and sale of dairy products, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

The measures also increase punishments for those caught violating safety standards.

On Friday, police in northern Hebei province arrested a suspect accused of producing 600 tons of melamine-spiked protein powder, Xinhua said. Eight dairy farm owners and milk buyers were also arrested purchasing the powder, it said.

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In Hong Kong, a 10-year-old boy was diagnosed with two kidney stones, the Department of Health said, raising the total number of children with milk-related kidney stones to seven in Hong Kong and Macau.

Meanwhile, Macau's Health Bureau said three girls between the ages of 4 and 7 have developed kidney stones. Their conditions were not immediately known.

The boy has been drinking high-calcium, low-fat milk made by the Chinese dairy Yili Industrial Group Co. everyday for the past six years, the health department said. He is in stable condition and does not require hospitalization.

Also Friday, parents of an 11-month-old diagnosed with kidney stones filed a lawsuit against the Sanlu Group Co. — the dairy company at the heart of the tainted milk crisis.

It is the second known lawsuit against the company, whose baby formula was to contain high levels of melamine.

Earlier this month, parents from central Henan province filed suit against Sanlu, seeking $22,000 in compensation for medical, travel and other expenses incurred after their 14-month-old baby developed kidney stones.