30 Oct, 2008 – The fall-out from the widening melamine contamination of Chinese-produced eggs is increasing after the government banned exports from a major company at the centre of the scandal. Reports have also emerged that eggs tainted with the industrial chemical were discovered a month ago but remained unreported by local Chinese authorities.
The regional government in Dalian said yesterday it had prohibited eggs exports by Hanwei Group as it launched an investigation into how the company’s produce became contaminated. Hanwei is one of China’s largest egg producers and sells to much of Asia including Japan and South Korea.
The company tried to limit the damage from the crisis by issuing an apology as major retailers in China, including Carrefour, pulled its produce from their shelves.
There were also reports yesterday that local Chinese officials admitted discovering melamine in eggs a month ago, raising further questions over the transparency of the reporting of food contamination incidents in the country.
Two more Chinese companies have been involved in egg recalls because of melamine found in produce. The eastern mainland city of Hangzhou recalled tainted eggs produced by the Green Living Being Development Centre in the northern province of Shanxi, state media reported. Hong Kong officials late Tuesday said that a batch of eggs served in a local restaurant - purchased from Chinese company Hubei Jingshan Pengchang Agricultural Products Co. - contained melamine in excess of the territory's food safety standards.
Experts believe the most likely source of melamine in the eggs is chicken feed. Melamine, which is used to make plastics, may have been added to animal feed by suppliers in order to make it appear more protein-rich - the same reason it was added to watered-down milk.