A ProMED-mail post
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International Society for Infectious Diseases
Date: Fri 8 Apr 2011
Source: The Guardian, Reuters report [edited]
Milk poisoning kills children in China
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Xinhua news agency has reported in the latest food safety scandal to
hit the [Chinese] dairy industry, that 3 children have died & 35
people have become ill from drinking nitrite-tainted milk in China's
north-western Gansu province.
Most of the 35 were children under 14, now being treated at 2
hospitals in Pingliang city, Xinhua said, citing the local government
and health bureau.
"An initial investigation shows all the patients were poisoned by
nitrite after drinking bulk milk provided by 2 local dairy farms,"
Xinhua said.
Nitrite is used for curing meat.
The 2 farms were sealed off and their managers were being
investigated, Xinhua said.
China's food sector has been beset by poisonings and toxin scandals
that have shaken consumer confidence, and dairy production has been at
the heart of those worries.
China's quality inspection agency last week [week of 28 Mar 2011]
ordered nearly half the country's dairy firms to halt production as
part of a campaign to clean up the industry.
In 2008, at least 6 children died and nearly 300 000 fell ill from
powdered milk laced with melamine, an industrial chemical added to
low-quality or diluted milk to fool inspectors by giving misleadingly
high readings for protein levels.
Earlier this year [2011], Chinese quality authorities sought to calm
renewed public alarm after reports that some manufacturers had
illegally added a leather protein powder to dairy products to cheat
protein-content checks.
Zhao Lianhai, who organised a website for parents of children who
became ill from tainted milk after his own son became sick, was jailed
for 2.5 years last November [2010] after being convicted of "inciting
social disorder."
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
[Sodium nitrite has on a number of occasions been mistaken for table
salt. However, to have it in milk is difficult for me to understand.
While it has been used in the meat industry, its use or purpose in the
milk industry sounds like adulteration of the product.
Clinical signs of ingestion may include gastroenteritis, abdominal
pains, dizziness, bloody diarrhea, convulsions and collapse. Purging
(vomiting) and diuresis are expected. If the victim receives small,
repeated doses there may be headache and mental impairment. Generally
in the case of mistaking sodium nitrite for sodium chloride, the dose
may be larger for large meals typical of celebrations.
Sodium nitrite has been used in curing meat for centuries. Nitrite is
added to certain foods to prevent the growth of the spore-forming
bacterium _Clostridium botulinum_, whose toxin causes botulism,
leading to paralysis and, potentially, death. The word botulinum comes
from the Latin word 'botulus', meaning sausage, which was responsible
for many deaths centuries ago before curing with nitrite was used. In
addition to serving as an antimicrobial, nitrite is used to produce
the characteristic flavor, texture, and pink color of cured meats.
At significant blood levels, the nitrite's oxidation of the iron in
hemoglobin from the ferrous to the ferric state yields methemoglobin,
which does not carry oxygen and imparts a brown hue to the blood.
Symptoms of methemoglobinemia include headaches, fatigue, tachycardia
(fast heart rate), weakness, and dizziness. As oxygenation of tissues
decreases to the point of becoming truly inadequate, dyspnea
(shortness of breath), acidosis, arrhythmias (irregular heart
rhythms), coma, convulsions and even death may occur. - Mod.TG]
[Maps of China can be seen at
and
[see also:
2010
----
Food poisoning - Russia (PE): sodium nitrite 20100910.3261
Melamine contamination, milk products - China (07) 20101126.4266
2008
----
Toxic ingestion, sodium nitrite - China (Guangdong) 20080225.0754
Infant kidney stones - China (02): Gansu, milk, melamine
20080912.2856
2006
----
Toxic ingestion, sodium nitrite - China (Hainan) 20060220.0552
2003
----
Food poisoning, milk, children - China (Liaoning) (02) 20030420.0966
2002
----
Toxic ingestion, sodium nitrite - USA (New York) (02) 20020523.4301]
.................................................sb/tg/mj/jw
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