Lethal cocktail

Health authorities in the Chinese city of Guiyang are recalling nearly 9,000 bags of milk powder. In early June, over 150 children in the southwestern province of Guizhou were poisoned by the product. Tests showed that it contained golden staphylococcus toxin, which causes heart fever, and even death.

A similar incident occurred in Anhui, northwest of East China, in April. This shows how common scandals involving sub-standard foodstuffs are in the country. About half of its food export companies fail hygiene and quality norms. After a probe into 11,000 firms, China's certification administration revoked export rights of nearly 2,600 entities and ordered changes for 3,000 others.