Over 10 700 kids in hospital
2008-10-09 14:20
Beijing - Nearly 10 700 Chinese infants
and children were still in hospital after drinking toxic milk
and milk formula, China said on Thursday, but urged foreign
customers to take a "scientific" approach to the safety of its
products.
The country is still wrestling with a tainted milk scandal
that has killed four babies, made tens of thousands more ill
and affected products around the world.
But it has rushed to assure buyers abroad and at home that
the government is back in control and has closed the loopholes
that allowed the industrial chemical melamine, used in making
plastics and in pesticides, to get into milk.
"Every country has to ensure the food safety and the health
of its domestic consumers," foreign ministry spokesperson Qin Gang
told a regular briefing on Thursday.
Need a scientific approach
"But we also need to find an objective, scientific approach
to handle and analyse this problem," he said, adding that
foreign customers would recover their confidence in Chinese
food exports as control measures are strengthened.
No more infants had died from the tainted milk, the health
ministry said in the latest information on its website.
Eight of the 10 666 children still in hospital on Wednesday
were in serious condition, it said, adding that altogether
36 144 had left the hospital after being treated for kidney
problems.
It did not give an overall figure for the number of
children affected so far, but reports from local media across
the country compiled by Reuters suggest that the number of
affected children has risen to nearly 94 000.
The last previous update was on September 21, when it said that
12 892 children were being treated. While the number of
children in hospital is declining, new cases are still cropping
up.
The ministry said that on Wednesday alone, 539 children
were admitted to hospital after drinking melamine-laced milk,
while 2 067 others checked out after being treated.
Abroad, products pulled because of melamine tainting or
worries about it range from candies and biscuits to milk tea.
Beijing is willing to work with the world on food safety,
Qin said, after singling out Brazil as an example of foreign
fear because the South American nation had restricted imports
of Chinese dairy products.
"Food safety is a problem and also a challenge to the ...
world. China is willing to have relevant co-operation with other
countries," he added.