China milk scandal spreads to eggs
High levels of the chemical in the China milk scandal have been discovered in Hong Kong in eggs from the mainland.
By Malcolm Moore in Shanghai
Last Updated: 4:54PM GMT 27 Oct 2008
The authorities on the island said that the eggs contained twice the legal limit of melamine, an industrial chemical which made over 50,000 infants ill and killed four when it was discovered in powdered baby milk over the summer.
Melamine, which is more commonly found in plastics, was added by unscrupulous traders to "bulk up" milk and make it appear richer in protein.
However, the chemical triggers the formation of kidney stones.
Authorities in Hong Kong said they have contacted Beijing to ask for an investigation after melamine was discovered in eggs from China's biggest producer, Hanwei, a company in the northern town of Dalian. Hanwei said it is investigating.
"We have contacted the mainland's food safety agency and hope they can do more to reduce the risk at the source," said York Chow, the island's health secretary.
A food safety inspector in Dalian said that eggs tainted with melamine were detected last month and were destroyed, but that tests this month showed no traces of the chemical.
China
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