Over the weekend, the number of children sickened by tainted formula in China grew exponentially. Recent news reports put the number at more than 50,000 children and the Wall Street Journal reported that of those, nearly 13,000 had been hospitalized with kidney problems, 104 of them with "severe" symptoms. Four children have died.

The issue is milk-based formula that has been contaminated with the chemical melamine. According to a report in the New York Times, the milk used in the formula was first watered down and then supplemented with melamine, which is high in nitrogen, to artificially boost the apparent protein content. Milk from at least 22 of the country's largest dairies has been implicated in the scheme and a number of officials have been forced to resign in the scandal. Million of gallons of milk and some related dairy products have been recalled.

The affected babies have problems with their kidneys including kidney stones and, in the most serious cases, kidney failure.  Parents across China are flocking to clinics to have their infants tested for damage that may have occurred in babies who drank the contaminated milk over a period of time, the New York Times reported.

In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration is issuing periodic reports to reassure consumers that there has been no known threat of contamination in infant formula approved to be sold in this country. However, the agency is advising consumers not to purchase infant formula manufactured in China from Internet sites or other sources. 

At the same time, the FDA—in conjunction with state and local officials—has begun a nation-wide investigation to check Asian markets for Chinese-manufactured infant formula that may have been brought into the United States. In particular, this effort focuses on areas of the country with large Chinese communities, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and New York. To date, investigators have visited more than 1,000 retail markets and have not found Chinese infant formula on shelves in these markets. The FDA is also testing food imports with milk-derived ingredients.

On Sunday, the Associated Press reported that Hong Kong's two main supermarket chains removed milk powder made by Swiss food giant Nestle from their shelves after a newspaper reported that samples contained melamine. And Starbucks franchises in China have switched to soy milk.   

The latest in a series of tainted products
Sadly, this tragedy is just the most recent egregious example of the unscrupulous business practices that are pervasive in many Chinese factories.  In case after case, adulteration of ingredients, components, or other raw materials has been done secretly at factories as a way of cutting costs.  The result has been products delivered to the marketplace—here and abroad—that have sickened or injured consumers.      

Last year, many U.S. pet owners faced a heartbreaking crisis when thousands of pets became sick, or died, from eating pet food imported from China that had been laced with melamine.

In June 2007, The FDA found the poisonous chemical diethylene glycol (DEG) in certain toothpastes imported from China.  Also known as "diglycol," DEG is used in antifreeze and as a solvent. This chemical had previously been found in cough syrup sold in Panama where it killed scores of people.

That same month, the FDA banned imported farm-raised Chinese shrimp, eel, catfish, and basa because of persistent contamination problems with banned antibiotics or anti-fungal agents.  The FDA now conducts a detain-and-test program before they will release those fish to the US market.

In August 2007, 255,000 light-truck tires made in China were recalled because the gum strip between the steel belts that was in the original design had either been left out or was insufficient. The result—tires failed catastrophically because the tread and/or belts separated.

In November 2007, 4.2 million sets of the popular arts and crafts toy Aqua Dots were recalled because a chemical substitution was made for the glue that was supposed to have been used.  When ingested, that chemical forms into GHB, the banned, so-called date rape drug.

And who can forget last year's series of toy recalls including several by toy giant Mattel whose Chinese factories were provided lead-laden paint labeled as lead free.

Early this year doses of Chinese-made heparin, a popular blood thinner used in dialysis and surgery, were found to be contaminated. The FDA has linked the tainted drug to a number of deaths and hundreds of severe allergic reactions.

Has "Made in China" become a warning label?  Who can protect American consumers from the unscrupulous foreign business practices that imperil our health and safety?  Our government watchdog agencies must be better equipped to stop unsafe imports from crossing our borders. The FDA inspects only about one percent of our food imports and the CPSC has staff at only a handful of our more than 300 ports of entry. That's not good enough for consumers.