The Philippine Online Chronicles

Seeking to head off the recurrence of crises similar to the 2008 dairy scandal, China will be boosting its food safety measures across the nation.

The Associated Press cites an agricultural official as saying that the government will expand the scope of its monitoring and supervision to reach more of the countless small farms in the country.

China has been grappling with a series of food safety problems over several years, including one that began two years ago, when several thousand children were exposed to contaminated infant formula. Nearly 300,000 fell ill, and at least six died from kidney problems.

At a news conference, Vice Minister of Agriculture Wei Chao'an said that agricultural officials at all levels will be working this year "to prevent any large-scale food safety crises."

China was working to bring more farms under better supervision, said Wei. This, however, is a challenge in the vast country, where some rural areas are still very poor.

Wei maintained that Chinese agricultural products are generally "safe and of high quality," but added that it was important to recognize the result of the transition from traditional to modern farming: "Many of our operations remain scattered, production methods are still backward, and our supervision lags behind."

The ministry said in a statement that the government promises to "implement quality and safety monitoring programs targeting raw and fresh milk, and strengthen supervision of purchase stations for raw and fresh milk."

The tainted products had been made from milk adulterated with melamine, a white powder used to make plastics and fertilizers. It is believed that the industrial chemical was added in order to deceive inspectors testing for protein content, as melamine boosts nitrogen readings.

Once ingested, the substance can cause the formation of kidney stones, as well as kidney failure. A recent population-based study conducted on children who had consumed melamine-laced products showed that six months after last intake, renal abnormalities remained in more than one of every ten.

That the damage was found to have persisted raised serious concerns about the long-term complications after exposure to melamine.

The government faces considerable difficulty in stepping up its safety efforts -- old supplies of the contaminated products were not destroyed in the wake of the 2008 scandal, and melamine-contaminated products have shown up repackaged in several places around the country, last year causing new cases of melamine-induced sickness.

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites