Intentional poisoning
China now says the recent poisonings in Gansu province due to milk laced with nitrate were intentional, not the byproduct of greed as in the case of widespread melamine contamination in 2008.
According to China Radio International, police have arrested suspects and are investigating the case, in which five children died and others made ill after drinking milk contaminated with nitrate. The case differs from the 2008 incident which killed several children and made an estimated 300,000 sick when the country's milk supplies were found to have been laced with melamine, an inedible chemical that boosts protein content in tests and allowed dairies to water down milk and earn higher profits.
The government never released a full investigation on the melamine case and parents who tried to organize a class-action lawsuit were shut down. Though the circumstances are different, the new case underscores ongoing problems with the safety of China's food supplies.
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