Contaminated powder killed six children, sickened 300,000

By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN

Associated Press

BEIJING — China executed a dairy farmer and a milk salesman Tuesday, Nov. 24, for their roles in the sale of contaminated baby formula — severe punishments that Beijing hopes will assuage public anger, reassure importers and put to rest one of the country’s worst food-safety crises.

The men were the only people put to death in a scheme to boost profits by lacing milk powder with the industrial chemical melamine; another 19 were convicted and received lesser sentences. At least six children died after drinking the adulterated formula, and more than 300,000 were sickened.

Beijing is eager to prove it has responded swiftly and comprehensively to eliminate problems in its food production chain that have spawned protests at home and threatened its export-reliant economy. The milk powder contamination struck a nerve with the public because so many children were affected, but was only one in a series of product recalls and other embarrassing disclosures of lax public health safeguards.

China has since tightened regulations and increased inspections on producers and exporters in cooperation with U.S. officials, who have noted a drop in the number of product recalls on Chinese exports.

But Beijing continues to struggle to regulate countless small and illegally run operations, often blamed for introducing chemicals and additives into the food chain. The country has 450,000 registered food production and processing enterprises, but many — about 350,000 — employ just 10 people or fewer. The U.N. said in a report last year that the small enterprises present many of China’s greatest food safety challenges.

Zhang Yujun, the farmer, was executed for endangering public safety, and Geng Jinping for producing and selling toxic food, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

Xinhua said an announcement of the execution had been issued by the Shijiazhuang Municipal Intermediate People’s Court, although a court clerk who answered the phone Tuesday, Nov. 24, said he was unable to confirm the sentences had been carried out. Most executions in China are performed by firing squad.

The cover-up accusations were never publicly investigated, and authorities have since harassed and detained activist parents pushing lawsuits demanding higher compensation and the punishment of government officials. Families were offered a one-time payout — ranging from of $293 to $29,000, depending on the severity of the case — in exchange for not pursuing lawsuits.

U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission Chairman Inez Tenenbaum said last month that Beijing has made progress in increasing safety in products.

The numbers of consumer recalls of toys imported from China had fallen from more than 80 in fiscal 2008 to about 40 in fiscal 2009, Tenenbaum said.

“Chinese suppliers and U.S. importers are now on notice from both governments that it is a mistake to depend on good intentions and a few final inspections to ensure compliance with safety requirements,” she told a conference in Beijing.