MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Italy discovers containers of Chinese milk with melamine

Italy has discovered two containers of milk and one of yogurt containing melamine, the industrial chemical that contaminated milk powder in China and hospitalised thousands of babies, the Health Ministry announced Sunday.

The authorities in Naples have also separately seized tons of illegal Chinese products. Officials said the concentration of the toxic substance posed a non-lethal health threat and is limited to illegally imported Chinese products being sold by retailers that mostly cater to Chinese immigrants. The Health Ministry issued a statement that said inspections at hundreds of import companies and shops that sell Chinese products had resulted in the three positive tests, out of 48 samples analysed. The ministry called the contamination "extremely contained", but checks were continuing across the country following the positive tests on the samples taken in the southern cities of Bari and Naples. Milk and other dairy products laced with melamine have been blamed for the deaths of four infants and for more than 53,000 falling sick in mainland China. On Thursday, authorities seized Chinese-made products at shops in Naples, including a ton of milk believed to be contaminated with melamine. The milk, which had a long shelf life, was sold in tins and was of a brand known to have been contaminated, said a statement from the authorities. Even if the milk turns out to be uncontaminated, it would still be illegal because imports of dairy products from China are banned, Vincenzo Stabile, an official, said. Other items seized included chicken legs, an import that was banned amid concerns over bird flu, as well as products made from endangered animals and plants, Stabile said. Meantime in Beijing Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao says his government is partly responsible for the tainted milk scandal that has killed four infants and sickened 53,000 throughout the country. In an interview in the US publication Science Magazine, Wen Jiabao said the government was responsible for monitoring the industry at the core of the crisis. He told the magazine the production of milk, and manufactured goods all need to have clear standards and testing requirements. Over the weekend it was also reported that the Chinese maker of an injectable ginseng-based medication which killed three people has voluntarily widened its recall. Wandashan Pharmaceutical is pulling all its other injection products from pharmacy shelves. Chinese authorities, earlier this week, recalled two batches of an injectable herbal drug produced by Wandashan Pharmaceutical from Siberian ginseng. The injections were blamed for killing three people and leaving three more seriously ill in south western Yunnan province.