Chinese parents seek answers on tainted baby milk

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080918.wchinamilk0918/BNStory/International
ANITA CHANG
Associated Press
美联社
September 18, 2008 at 6:45 PM EDT
SHIJIAZHUANG, China — Hundreds of Chinese parents, some cradling infants, converged on the company at the heart of the tainted baby formula scandal Thursday, demanding refunds and asking what they can safely feed their children.
中国,石家庄--周四，许多中国的父母与婴儿聚集在生产受污染奶粉的公司门口，要求赔偿，质问他们如何能够安全的喂养婴儿。
Thousands of others filled hospitals, many hovering over sons and daughters hooked to IVs after drinking milk powder tainted with melamine, a toxic industrial chemical that can cause kidney stones and lead to kidney failure.
医院中有更多人，都喝了被三聚氰胺污染的耐粉，等待医院的检测结果。三聚氰胺是有毒的工业原料，能够引起肾结石和肾脏衰竭。
The scandal highlights the changing family dynamics and economic growth in China.
这一丑闻也放映了中国变化的家庭 活力和中国经济的增长。
A generation ago, women had little choice besides breast-feeding. Now, supermarkets are filled with dozens of brands of baby formula, marketed to women who continue working outside the home even after they give birth.
上一代，女人除了母乳喂养外很少有其他喂养婴儿的选择。而如今，超市中有数千种品牌的婴儿奶粉，使得女性生完小孩后仍能够在外面继续工作。
Yao Haoge, an 11-month-old baby with two large kidney stones, had been drinking Sanlu formula since she was born because both of her parents work.
Yao Haoge ,一个11个月大的小孩用，因为父母都工作，出生后一直喝三鹿奶粉，患有两个较大的肾结石。
They had been puzzled by their little girl's fevers and dark urine, but it never occurred to them that she had kidney stones brought on by her formula.
Now, like many of the babies at the Peace Hospital in Shijiazhuang, Haoge has an IV drip hooked into a vein in her head.
小yao的父母为女儿发烧和黑色尿液而困惑，但是他们都没想到是因为喝了奶粉所引起的肾结石。现在，和石家庄和平医院的其他小孩一样，Haoge也在打点滴。
“We don't make much money, but we wanted to buy good milk powder,” said her father, Yao Weiguan, a day-labourer from a small town an hour's train ride from Shijiazhuang.
小Yao的父亲，Yao Weiguan,是来自于距离石家庄一小时火车的小乡镇，他说：虽然我们没有钱，但是我们也想买好奶粉。
“We thought it was good and now it's given us problems. And we spent quite a bit of money too.”
“我们以为奶粉是好多，但是现在却给我们带来了麻烦。我们也花了很多钱。”
Baby milk powder laced with melamine, used in plastics and fertilizers, has been blamed in the deaths of four babies. More than 6,000 others have been sickened. Some 1,300 babies, mostly newborns, remain hospitalized, with 158 suffering from acute kidney failure.
掺有三聚氰胺的奶粉已经导致四个婴儿死亡。超过6000个小孩患病。大约1200个初生婴儿还在医院，其中158个患有严重的肾衰竭。
Questions continued to swirl Thursday about the handling of the scandal by milk producer Sanlu Group Co. and government officials.
周四，政府官员和三鹿集团如何处置这一奶粉丑闻事件让人们猜测。
The company reportedly received complaints about its formula as early as March and tests revealed the contamination by early August, just before the Olympics. Sanlu went public with a recall on Sept. 11 after its New Zealand stakeholder told the New Zealand government, which then informed the Chinese government.
早在三月，公司就接到关于奶粉问题的报告，八月份检测发现奶粉被污染，也就是在奥运会开幕前。当三鹿集团的新西兰股东把这一问题报告给新西兰政府，而新西兰政府通知中国政府后，三鹿集团才在9月1 1号发布召回。
Melamine has no nutritional value but is high in nitrogen, making products with it appear higher in protein. Suppliers trying to cut costs are believed to have added the toxic chemical to watered-down milk to cover up the resulting protein deficiency.
三聚氰胺没有营养价值，但是含氮量高，使得产品似乎含有较高的蛋白质。人们认为，供应商为了降低把有毒的化学物质添加到奶粉中，弥补蛋白含量不足。
The scandal has not been confined to Sanlu, one of China's best-known and most respected brands, based in this dusty northern Chinese city. The country's quality control watchdog has found that one-fifth of companies producing milk powder in China had melamine in their products.
这一丑闻并不仅限于三鹿集团，这一中国最著名的品牌之一，中国质量监督部门发现五分之一的中国奶粉企业的产品中有三聚氰胺。
“Who do you trust? I don't know. If such a big company is having problems, then I really don't know who to trust,” said a 31-year-old man surnamed Yang, waiting in line outside a Sanlu office to get reimbursed for his 7-month-old daughter's medical exam and kidney ultrasound.
31岁的杨先生，在三鹿办公室门口排队要回他7个月大女儿的医疗检查和肾脏超生费用，：“我们能相信谁呀？我不知道。如果这么大的公司都有问题，我的确不知道我们能想信谁了。"
Mr. Yang, who refused to give his full name, held a bag with a can of Sanlu milk powder he planned to return for a refund. The formula cost $21.60, a significant amount of money for working families in China.
杨先生，带着一包三鹿奶粉，要求退钱。这奶粉价值$21.60，对中国工薪家庭来说是一笔不小的费用。
“What happens if something else goes wrong in the future? Is it just kidney stones? What if there are other problems?” said Yang, whose daughter checked out fine.
杨先生说“将来发生其他问题怎么办呢？只是肾结石吗？有没有其他问题？”
Parents traded tips on which brands were still considered safe after news that products from China's top dairy producers — Mengnu and Yili — were also found to be tainted.
父母亲们都在考虑什么牌子的奶粉是安全的，因为中国最大的奶粉企业孟牛和毅力都出问题了。
“Now we have no idea what kind of milk to give the baby. They all have problems,” said a woman surnamed Wang, the mother of a one-year-old who had been drinking Sanlu formula for two months. “There are ... brands that are okay, but I can't remember the names.”
王女士是一个月大孩子的妈妈。她的孩子和三鹿奶粉两个月了，她说“我现在不知道给孩子吃什么奶粉，他们都有问题。有些牌子没问题，我不记得名字了。”
At a nearby Sanlu processing facility, hundreds of people waited for refunds. Some held a half-empty pouch, while others hauled in cases of the formula. A red banner at the plant declared: “Pay attention to food safety, ensure the public's health.”
在附近的三鹿奶粉厂，许多人都等着赔偿。一些拿着半空的袋子，一些拖着大量的奶粉。厂房上有红色的条幅写着“确保食品安区，保证公众 健康。”

Police in northern China's Hebei province, where Sanlu is based, arrested 12 more people Thursday, bringing the total to 18. Provincial police spokesman Shi Guizhong said six suspects allegedly sold melamine, while the others were accused of adding the chemical to milk.
周四，三鹿所在的中国河北省公安部门，已经拘捕了另外12人，总共达18人了。河北省公安厅发言人 Shi Guizhong六个嫌疑人销售三聚氰胺，其他人把这化学物质添加到奶粉中。
The widening crisis has raised questions about the effectiveness of tighter controls China promised after a series of food safety scares in recent years over contaminated seafood, toothpaste and pet food tainted with melamine. In 2004, more than 200 Chinese infants suffered malnutrition and at least 12 died after being fed phony formula that contained no nutrients.
蔓延的危机让人们质疑中国承诺控制食品安全的有效性。在这些年中国有一系列的食品安全问题包括污染的海鲜，牙膏，添加三聚氰胺的宠物食品。在2004 年，超过200个中国婴儿患营养不良，至少12个死于假冒婴儿食品。
Panicked parents across the country were rushing to hospitals, wondering whether their children had been sickened by their formula.
全国各地惊慌的父母都冲向医院，弄清楚他们的孩子是否因奶粉的病
“I have no choice but to give my son solid foods now even though he still wants the milk formula,” said 26-year-old Wang Yucun, waiting in line at the Beijing Children's Hospital with her 11-month-old, Zexun, who has been drinking Sanlu and Yashili products since birth.
“What I want to know is why the exported milk products and milk products given to Olympic athletes were carefully inspected but the Chinese people suffer with poor quality products,” Ms. Wang said.
“I thought I was buying a quality product because it comes with a government seal of approval. At least that's what I thought until now.”
“我认为我买了质量很好的产品。因为它有政府的安全保证。至少我现在也这么想。”
Comments
评论
Steven Ferguson from Canada writes: While China is a growing economic power, examples like this show that it still has a long way to go. While we know from recent experience that Canadian food can also have health risks, I like to think that the Canadian problems are not caused from willfully adulterating food as has now happened in several Chinese examples. At least Chinese justice is usually swift and severe.
Posted 18/09/08 at 10:10 PM EDT Alert an Editor Link to Comment
加拿大Steven Ferguson写道：虽然中国是经济增长的大国，象这样的例子说明他让需要很长的路要走。从近来的经历看加拿大的食品也有健康危机，但我想加拿大的食品问题并不是由于蓄意添加，不想发生在中国的几个例子那样。至少中国的司法通常是迅速而严厉的。
Art Vandelai from Burlington, Canada writes: Mo Friendly from Edmonton, Canada writes: Capitalism really is a psychopath. I have no qualms with capitalism. It is capitalism that is unchecked by human decency and a sense of responsibility for one's actions that is the problem.
Art Vandelai来自于加拿大写道：资本主义是精神病患者。我对资本主义不感到内疚。资本主义不受人类的准则和个人行为责任的约束才是问题。
It's the same mentality as the folks in the oilsands with the toxins produced there. No sense of responsibility. Everyone from the guys in the mixing room to the purchasing managers to the business owners/shareholders must be held accountable. In a truly free and transparent market they would be. as to your claims...I have no idea if they are verifiable, but nonetheless scary. That is why I advocate a total ban on food importation from China, and much more stringent inspection will be a must to win back our trust.
在oilsand的人生产毒素同样是道德问题。没有责任感。从混合房间的混蛋到销售经理到公司老板都要有责任。 一个真正自由和透明的市场就应该是这样。那就是为什么我提倡完全禁止从中国进口食品。也要采取更加严厉的监管措施。
Posted 18/09/08 at 10:30 PM EDT Alert an Editor Link to Comment
P cheng from ottawa, Canada writes: Art Vandelai from Burlington, Canada writes: as to your claims...I have no idea if they are verifiable, but nonetheless scary. That is why I advocate a total ban on food importation from China, and much more stringent inspection will be a must to win back our trust. ==========>You may be right but it is difficult to do this type of thing. You cannot inspect everything. Anyway, it will take a long time for improting chinese food after this instance.
有可能是正确的，但是这很困难，你不能检查所有的东西。总之，这件事后需要很长时间才会从中国进口食品。
Posted 18/09/08 at 10:34 PM EDT Alert an Editor Link to Comment
His Inca Veil from Toronto, Canada writes: There's a big difference between an errant contamination during normal production processes and a criminally contemplated contamination. In every case of contamination of food imported from China, it has been proven as criminally contemplated and driven by their desire to make illegal profits at the expense of the health of consumers. Here’s a list of U.S. Food & Drug Administration Refusals of Chinese-made products and food during August 2008 that would have otherwise killed thousands of North Americans:http://tinyurl.com/36mg2tNewsflash: Most apple juice made from concentrate and sold in North America is made from apples grown (fertilized and sprayed with chemicals etc) in China. China also supplies approximately 90% of the world's Vitamin 'C' and so-called 'healthfood' bulk ingredients. Remember that when you go shopping, Canada.
Posted 18/09/08 at 10:42 PM EDT Alert an Editor Link to Comment
His Inca Veil from Toronto, Canada writes: P.S. those North American name brand breakfast cereals chock full of freeze-dried fruit pieces? You guessed it - all Product of China. There's no better way to start off your day than by eating fruit that was irrigated with polluted water containing heavy metals and industrial and chemical waste. Their grrrrrrreat!Enjoy your breakfast, Canada ; )
Posted 18/09/08 at 10:54 PM EDT Alert an Editor Link to Comment
harry carnie from Northern, B.C., Canada writes: Springfire..this is an internal (national)problem for the Chinese Government to address.Contaminated food(dog food) and unsafe products imported from China to Canada and the U.S.A.,are mostly the fault of the North American Companies that import these products.Most companies dislike expensive (cheaper in the long haul though) safety inspections that our governments enforce.When goods are manufactured in China.(by North American Companies).China allows the companies to monitor their own manufacturing processes.Quality, and product safety ,is the responsibilityof the companies who import these goods.Product safety should be established BEFORE THE GOODS ARE SHIPPED TO NORTH AMERICA....When unsafe products are ALLOWED TO BE SOLD IN CANADIAN AND AMERICAN STORES.THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE,The companies then blame China for the problem.The idiot "China Bashers" join in.China is now allowing unfettered Capitalism(Grand is it not?)It is the unfettered greed of our North American companies that is at fault here..NOTHING ELSE.
Posted 18/09/08 at 11:03 PM EDT Alert an Editor Link to Comment
L Chang from Ontario, Canada writes: Some posters on this board were so eager to condemn China of their food problem while the same posters did not give a damn on our own food recalls that have recently killed or harmed our citizens. The Listeria problem was uncovered beginning of August and it took weeks to understand the extent of the food problem and the necessary recalls of many by-products affected. One also has to wonder why there was no sample testing before shipping. There are other posters on this board that kept changing their names and bashed China every chance they got. They would swear that they don’t use products from China while they are typing with the Chinese made keyboard, and shopping at dollar store and complain about the low quality of the products. Typically in every posting they would drag in the pet and the toy recalls and the pollution as if we do not pollute our own with our huge oil sand projects or our poor magnet design resulting in choking and killing our kids. There are always bad apples in every country that will do anything for a buck. These people are not limited to the poor or the uneducated but also the filthy rich people and enterprises that turn a blind eye when it is cost benefit to do so. These enterprises (local and/or multi-national) make the most profit with minimum accountability, and take advantage of the lower or incomplete standards of the developing countries, fully aware that lives worth must less and compensations are peanuts compared to the cost of needed quality control in developing countries. In this case, I think severe punishment should be handed out to all parties involved, whether it is criminal action or inaction (fail to report promptly).
Posted 19/09/08 at 12:29 AM EDT Alert an Editor Link to Comment
J R from Canada writes: B Lam from Canada writes: daniel mcardle from San Francisco, United States writes: My question is, why are we dealing with a communist country in the first place? The Chinese have shown themselvs to be liars, thieves, and downright criminals!
J R 是个极.端分子。_______________________Criminal are everywhere, not limited to China. Try Google tainted rice, Japan, you will be surprised. ____and when an article on tainted rice in japan comes along we'll comment on and criticize japan. this article is about china, not japan, canada, the US - but china. got it? stop trying to deflect/reduce the seriousness of this crime by saying "oh it happens everywhere else too."
Posted 19/09/08 at 12:38 AM EDT Alert an Editor Link to Comment
J R from Canada writes: L Chang from Ontario, Canada writes: Some posters on this board were so eager to condemn China of their food problem while the same posters did not give a damn on our own food recalls that have recently killed or harmed our citizens._____Oh poor china! No other country or government ever gets criticized on these forums, do they? Have you bothered to read any of the stories on the listeriosis outbreak? There was plenty of criticism of the Canadian government reaction to it, but you have such an ingrained "China's always the victim" mentality that you cant see that.
Posted 19/09/08 at 12:42 AM EDT Alert an Editor Link to Comment
L Chang from Ontario, Canada writes: JR from Canada: You are free to criticize and I am free to comment on what I saw. Got it? Don't like it, too bad for you. You have such an ingrained "China's always the evil" mentality that you cant see that. Poor JR.
Posted 19/09/08 at 1:28 AM EDT Alert an Editor Link to Comment
L Chang from Ontario, Canada writes: His IncaVeil from Toronto: Another new name? His Inca Veil aka Civilian She A, Clive Hi Sin, Chain Veil Is, As Inch Live I, Censorship Fodder, Civil Shine, StopChina, BoycottChina and the utterly disgusting 'YellowScourge'? Another cut and paste again in your tinyurl this time? Have you not learned from last time when it was discovered that you cut and paste a picture of a Korean woman burning a dog from another website and claimed she is Chinese? Grow up! This article is about contaminated milk product. Got it? Go and get some lecture from JR.
Posted 19/09/08 at 1:43 AM EDT Alert an Editor Link to Comment
Mary Smith from United States writes: And yet, people jumped all over the Olympic athletes who questioned the food they would be eating in China.