Published September 24, 2008

Malaysia widens ban on China milk products

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(KUALA LUMPUR) Malaysia has widened its ban on Chinese dairy products to include candies, chocolates and all foods containing milk, a top official said yesterday. Noraini Mohamad Othman, director of the health ministry's food safety and quality division, said scores of officials have been deployed nationwide to enforce the ban on foods from China, an important trading partner.

'All food products with Chinese milk are banned,' she said. '(Health officials) are also on the ground to seal the sale of the products,' Ms Noraini said, adding the ministry was urging manufacturers to carry out voluntary recalls. Ms Noraini said Malaysia has banned Chinese milk and infant formula since the 1990s because of foot and mouth disease in cattle, and those measures were reaffirmed in a health ministry directive on the weekend.

The expanded ban comes after neighbouring Singapore found the potentially deadly chemical melamine in the popular White Rabbit Creamy Candy from China, she said. Around 53,000 Chinese infants have become sick after drinking formula laced with melamine. Four children in China have died. Melamine can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure. -- AFP