A pathogenic bacterium has been found in milk powder that was also contaminated with melamine, according to a report in the Lanzhou Daily.
The report said that the Administration of Quality and Technology Supervision in Gansu Province issued an emergency notice on September 21, saying that Sanlu’s older and younger infant formulas contained enterobacter sakazakii as well as the toxic melamine.
Enterobacter sakazakii (E. sakazakii) is a gram-negative, non-spore-forming bacterium belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family. It has previously been found in powdered infant formula around the world.
A 2007 World Health Organisation report, Microbiological Risk Assessment Series, No. 6, concluded "Intrinsic contamination of powdered formula with E. sakazakii can cause infection and illness in infants, including severe disease ... and death."
Milk Farmers Pour out Fresh Milk
The melamine incident in China has brought heavy losses to dairy farmers in the Mainland. Some have been forced to pour out milk because the public are too wary to buy it.
A manager at a cow farm in Xingxiang County in Henan told the Dahe Newspaper that their farm normally produces several tons of fresh milk everyday for Yili Corporation’s local processing plant.
The factory had a daily output of 60 tons and had relay supply stations throughout the area to receive fresh milk from farms, but since September 20 Yili has stopped receiving milk.
The city has about 59,000 dairy cows with a total daily milk production of 230 tons. Many small farmers have had pour out tons fresh milk because of the drop in milk sales.
The Loss Could be as High as 100 Billion RMB
According to a Central News Agency report, Core Pacific Yamaichi Securities (HK) Ltd CEO Dr Darby Liu said the melamine incident was taking a heavy toll on Mainland China’s dairy industry. The market price of the Mongolian dairy industry alone has fallen 40 billion RMB (around 6 billion USD).
Dr Liu said that the total sales of Mainland China’s dairy products, including cold drink and powdered milk, were 131.5 billion RMB (about US$19 billion) last year. After the melamine incident, the sales have dropped about 45 billion RMB (about US$6.5 billion).
Dr Liu also said that the loss of revenue to the dairy industry could reach 100 billion RMB (approximately US$14.5 billion), without including medical compensation and other losses.
Tide of Compensation Claims for Sanlu Powdered Milk
Beijing attorney Li Fangping is a member of the “Sanlu incident attorneys' group”. In an interview on September 23, Mr Li said that more than 1000 attorneys across China were also members of the attorneys' group.
There have been nearly 1000 inquiries from families about Sanlu products and attorneys have been providing them with legal consultation and instruction about how to collect and maintain evidence.
The group of attorneys is studying the tide of compensation claims and dividing the cases into different categories, including death, disabled and seriously ill.
Mr Liu said if local attorneys refuse to accept cases, the victims can seek help from an attorney outside of their province.
According to Hong Kong’s Ta Kung Pao newspaper, a senior attorney in Mainland China who was unwilling to disclose his identity revealed that a “high level” meeting had been held with attorneys and Chinese authorities.
The report said authorities advised attorneys not to be too involved in the Sanlu incident in order to “maintain stability for the benefit of all”. They asked the attorneys to keep their distance and emphasized that they had already done a lot of work.
Original article in Chinese: http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/8/9/23/n2273189.htm