19 nabbed for selling nearly 300 tonnes of expired milk powder in China

CHINESE authorities have arrested 19 people in Shanghai who allegedly repackaged 276 tonnes (276,000 kgs) of expired milk powder for sale, purportedly to reduce business losses.
According to South China Morning Post, the Shanghai Municipal Food and Drug Administration in confirming the arrests, said the suspects separated the product – the New Zealand-produced Fonterra milk powder – into smaller portions and continued selling them via wholesalers and online stores.
The suspects were reportedly operating under the Shanghai-registered trading firm Jiang Di International Trade.
A China Daily report quoting the food safety regulator said police were alerted to the case in March when they discovered repackaged products at a Shanghai retailer’s warehouse.
It said raids conducted later saw the confiscation of 109.2 tonnes of the expired product from Jiang Di’s warehouse. Another 166.8 tonnes had been sold to retailers.

The regulator also said the authorities have since shut down the online stores involved in the case, and have been trying to trace the expired goods that have entered the market.
There have been no poisoning cases reported so far in relation to the matter, however.
This is not the first such case in China involving serious violations of local food safety standards.
In 2008, at least six children died and nearly 300,000 fell sick after consuming infant formula that contained melamine, which can lead to kidney damage.

Dozens were arrested later in the widely-reported case, while a dairy farmer and milk salesman were executed, reports said.
According to SCMP, there were over 26,000 food and drug safety cases reported last year alone, resulting in 37,000 arrests.

Source: Asian Correspondent.