China mum on new stats
2008-10-07 21:16
Hohhot - China on Tuesday declined to release updated figures revealing how many children have been affected by the tainted milk scandal, as it attempted to boost confidence in its food safety standards.
The Health Ministry said it had new statistics showing how many babies were believed to have been left ill by the crisis, but did not release the data and gave no indication if or when it would make the latest information public.
"We've not released the latest number of cases because it is not an infectious disease, so it's not absolutely necessary for us to announce it to the public," a spokesperson told AFP.
The World Health Organisation in Beijing said it had not been informed of the updated data either.
The Foreign Ministry said it was not in a position to make the figures public.
"We have no authority to make the health ministry release the figure. They are the department in charge," said a spokesperson.
Previous official data said milk powder tainted with the chemical melamine had claimed the lives of four children and made a further 53 000 ill.
Melamine, used to produce plastic, can make watered-down milk appear richer in protein than it really is.
- AFP