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BEIJING: China has recalled milk powder sold abroad, a diplomatic source said on Thursday, as it continues moves to contain the scandal over tainted milk that has sickened thousands of children.
A briefing was held in Beijing on Tuesday by China for foreign diplomats from several countries, a diplomatic source and a Japanese official revealed to AFP.
"They said that Chinese authorities had recalled milk powder as a precautionary measure, knowing that every (Chinese dairy) product is in line with safety norms since September 14," the source, who refused to be named, told AFP.
The source was unable to specify whether just milk powder was involved, or if other products such as sweets and biscuits that could contain milk powder were included.
A Japanese official, citing the same briefing, had earlier told AFP that the Chinese government had taken measures to halt its exports of dairy products.
"The point made there was that the Chinese government has handled the matter promptly and firmly and has taken measures to halt exports of dairy products, which will not be resumed until their safety is fully confirmed," the official said on condition of anonymity.
Neither account could be immediately confirmed as Chinese government offices were closed for a holiday.
China is struggling to limit the damage to its food safety reputation caused by the widespread distribution of milk products contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine, which is normally used to make plastic.
Such products have killed at least four children and sickened 53,000 in mainland China, the government has said previously.
Children in Hong Kong and Taiwan have also fallen ill with kidney stones after consuming Chinese dairy products.
China's Commerce Minister Chen Deming became the latest top official to promise tighter government controls as a result of the scandal but he acknowledged lax business ethics remained a problem.
"The government will improve quality inspection on dairy products," Chen was quoted as saying by the China Daily newspaper.
"But more importantly, the dairy enterprises must win consumers' faith through honesty."
The melamine was added to milk before being sold to dairy manufacturers in a bid to falsely boost protein readings, Chinese authorities have said.
Countries around the world have announced steps to ban, recall or otherwise limit consumption of products containing Chinese milk.
Taiwan became the latest to find melamine in imported products, detecting the chemical in six milk products made by Nestle, the Swiss food giant, and banning these from sale on Thursday.
South Korea said it had banned the import of milk products from New Zealand which were used in baby formula after discovering traces of melamine.
Government officials said it was the first case of melamine-tainted food from a country other than China.
First appearing in baby milk formula, melamine has now been found in a range of products containing Chinese milk in what is arguably the worst in a litany of product safety scandals involving Chinese-made goods in recent years.
The nation's top product safety watchdog said on Wednesday that melamine had been found in nearly 12 percent of a total of 265 milk powder products put to the test, but all had been produced before September 14.
In an update on Thursday, the watchdog said that no melamine had been found in 418 samples of liquid milk newly produced by the country's major brands.
The China Daily meanwhile reported that the public health threat may have peaked in China.
It said the number of babies brought into hospital for check-ups in the northern city of Shijianzhuang had dropped from a high of 43,000 a day to about 5,000.
Shijiazhuang, in northern Hebei province, is the headquarters of Sanlu Group, whose toxic baby formula was at the origin of the crisis and is one of the cities hit hardest by the scandal. - AFP/de
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