Frankfurt, Sept 24 - Germany's biggest retailer Metro AG withdrew milk powder products from two of its 37 Cash & Carry stores in China following a toxic milk scandal that has killed four children and made over 54,000 sick.
A spokesman for Metro's Cash & Carry unit said on Tuesday Metro had stocked milk powder products from the Sanlu Group, China's top maker of infant milk powder at the heart of the scandal, in the two wholesale stores.
"We immediately took them off the shelves and recalled them from customers after the government's announcement," the spokesman said.
Metro had also withdrawn and recalled other milk powder products from its Chinese stores, he added.
Sanlu, 43 percent owned by New Zealand dairy group Fonterra, earlier this month halted production after investigators found the chemical compound melamine in its powder was causing kidney stones and complications in infants. [ID:nSP247794]
Metro's Cash & Carry division makes about 1 billion euros ($1.5 billion) in sales in China per year, a fraction of the unit's annual sales of about 31.7 billion.