The Sanlu Melamine Milk Scandal
In 2008 infants in many parts of China developed kidney stones after long-term consumption of Sanlu-brand milk powder. On 11 September the Oriental Morning Post became the first to name Sanlu, and that night the company admitted melamine contamination and announced a recall. The State Council launched a Level I national food safety response, and inspectors found melamine in products from 22 companies. In December the Ministry of Health said 294,000 infants had urinary-system abnormalities and that a link to the tainted formula could not be ruled out in six infant deaths. Former Sanlu chairwoman Tian Wenhua was sentenced to life imprisonment, two suppliers were sentenced to death and executed, the Party secretary of Shijiazhuang was removed and the head of the national quality inspection agency resigned.
Early Cases and Warning Signs
In 2008 hospitals in Gansu, Hubei, Jiangsu and elsewhere began treating infants with multiple stones in both kidneys. The urology department of the PLA No. 1 Hospital in Lanzhou admitted its first case on 28 June and had treated 14 by 8 September; all were under a year old, and their parents said they had long been fed Sanlu-brand milk powder. According to the Ministry of Health and several media reports that came out later, the Sanlu Group had begun receiving related complaints as early as March 2008.
Sanlu was headquartered in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, and the New Zealand dairy company Fonterra was one of its shareholders. New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark later said Fonterra had been pressing for weeks for an official recall but the local authorities would not act; she said she was told of the problem on 5 September and that three days later New Zealand officials were instructed to bypass local officials and inform China's central government.
Exposure and Recall
On 11 September 2008 the Shanghai newspaper Oriental Morning Post published a report by Jian Guangzhou, "14 Infants in Gansu Fall Ill with Kidney Disease, Sanlu Milk Powder Suspected," the first report to name the company. Sanlu initially told the reporter that tests by local quality inspectors had found nothing wrong with its products. That night the company issued a recall statement, admitting that its own tests had found melamine contamination in some batches of infant formula made before 6 August 2008 — about 700 tonnes on the market — and announcing a full recall.
National Emergency Response and Accountability
On 13 September the State Council launched a Level I national response to a major food safety incident, set up a leading group headed by the Ministry of Health, provided free treatment for affected children and ordered Hebei to halt Sanlu's production. The official investigation found that melamine had been added deliberately to raise the measured protein content of raw milk or milk powder.
On 16 September the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) published interim results of a special inspection: of 491 batches of infant formula from 109 companies, 69 batches from 22 companies contained melamine. Sanlu's products contained as much as 2,563 milligrams per kilogram, while other brands ranged from 0.09 to 619 milligrams, and well-known companies including Mengniu, Yili and Yashily were among those named. The same day a Shijiazhuang vice-mayor in charge of agriculture and other officials were dismissed, and Tian Wenhua resigned as Sanlu's chairwoman and general manager. On 21 September Premier Wen Jiabao visited sick children at Beijing Children's Hospital and criticized some companies for having "no conscience." On 22 September Wu Xianguo, Party secretary of Shijiazhuang, was removed for "failing to report the incident promptly and handling it poorly," and AQSIQ director Li Changjiang resigned to take responsibility.
Scale of Harm
On 1 December 2008 the Ministry of Health announced that nationwide screening had found urinary-system abnormalities in 294,000 infants and young children, of whom 51,900 had been hospitalized. Of 11 infant deaths reported since September, experts ruled out a connection to the tainted formula in five cases and could not rule it out in the other six.
Prosecutions and Aftermath
On 22 January 2009 the Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court delivered first-instance verdicts in the Sanlu cases: Tian Wenhua was sentenced to life imprisonment for producing and selling substandard products, while Zhang Yujun and Geng Jinping, who added melamine to milk supplies or sold melamine-laced "protein powder," were sentenced to death. The sentences were upheld on appeal, and the two were executed in November 2009. Tian's sentence was reduced three times while she was in prison, with her term set to end on 3 August 2027.
On 28 February 2009 the NPC Standing Committee adopted the Food Safety Law, which took effect on 1 June that year. Zhao Lianhai, the father of an affected child, founded the "Kidney Stone Babies" website to help parents share information and seek compensation; on 10 November 2010 the Daxing District court in Beijing sentenced him to two and a half years in prison for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble."
Narrative Comparison
| Source | Narrative |
|---|---|
| Xinhua reports of 13 and 22 September 2008 | Officials characterized the Sanlu infant formula incident as a major food safety incident and determined that criminals had added melamine deliberately to raise the protein content of raw milk or milk powder. The Party Central Committee and the State Council, attaching great importance to the matter, immediately launched a Level I national response, provided free treatment for affected children, inspected all infant formula on the market, punished offenders severely under the law and held negligent officials accountable, and called on the localities and departments concerned to learn the lessons and build better food safety and quality supervision mechanisms. |
| Gossner et al. (WHO food safety team), Environmental Health Perspectives (2009) | Gossner and colleagues describe the melamine event as one of the largest deliberate food contamination incidents. They argue that the intentional character of the contamination, the young age of the affected population, the large number of potentially contaminated products, their global distribution and the delay in reporting together led the event to take on unexpected proportions; the incident illustrated the complexity of international food trade, and food safety events with expected multinational consequences should be managed internationally and early, with food safety authorities worldwide collaborating to exchange information and to track and recall affected products. |
| Jian Guangzhou (the first reporter to name Sanlu), "Three Questions after the Sanlu Scandal" (December 2008) | Writing more than three months after the scandal broke, Jian Guangzhou noted that some parents who tried to sue Sanlu for compensation were turned away by the courts on the grounds that they "need to ask the leadership," and that "the relevant departments" had asked the media not to hype the matter. He acknowledged that the authorities' speed and resolve at the outset had won considerable approval, but argued that passive handling of the outstanding issues would badly damage the government's credibility; in his view, the practice of some local governments of "covering up the truth, ignoring conflicts and competing with the people for gain is the real source of instability." |
Key Milestones
- Oriental Morning Post names Sanlu; Sanlu announces recall
Jian Guangzhou's report is the first to name Sanlu; that night the company admits melamine contamination in some batches and recalls about 700 tonnes of product.
- State Council launches Level I food safety response
The State Council sets up a leading group, provides free treatment for affected children and orders Sanlu to halt production.
- AQSIQ finds melamine in products from 22 companies
A special inspection of 491 batches of infant formula from 109 companies finds melamine in 69 batches from 22 companies.
- Shijiazhuang Party secretary removed, AQSIQ head resigns
Wu Xianguo is removed from the Hebei Party Standing Committee and as Shijiazhuang Party secretary; Li Changjiang resigns as head of AQSIQ.
- Ministry of Health reports 294,000 affected infants
The Ministry of Health says screening has found urinary-system abnormalities in 294,000 infants, and that a link to the tainted formula cannot be ruled out in six infant deaths.
- First-instance verdicts in the Sanlu criminal cases
Tian Wenhua is sentenced to life imprisonment; Zhang Yujun and Geng Jinping are sentenced to death.
- NPC Standing Committee adopts the Food Safety Law
The Food Safety Law is adopted and takes effect on 1 June 2009.
- Kidney Stone Babies founder Zhao Lianhai sentenced
A Daxing District court in Beijing sentences Zhao Lianhai to two and a half years for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble."
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