WASHINGTON - Chinese milk products tainted with an industrial chemical have now been discovered in Taiwan and the United States.

Taiwanese Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan says low doses of melamine have been found in milk products produced in the northeastern Chinese province of Heilongjiang.  The items were sold by a Chinese subsidiary of Swiss-based Nestle Corporation.

Meanwhile, authorities in the northeastern U.S. state of Connecticut say a popular Chinese candy contaminated with melamine was found in stores in three cities.  

The candy has also been discovered in California.  

The tainted milk scandal broke last month, after Chinese-based Sanlu Group acknowledged its baby formula products were laced with melamine.  The tainted products have been blamed for the deaths of four infants and sickening at least 53,000 others.

The industrial chemical is used in plastics, fertilizers and flame retardants.  Authorities believe it was added to milk to make it appear richer in protein.

The scandal has led to the arrests of 27 people in China, and the recall or prohibition of Chinese-made milk products by more than 50 nations.  

Chinese news agencies reported Wednesday that Sanlu Group asked local government officials to help it cover up the tainted milk problem days before the start of the Beijing Olympics.  The spokesman for for Shijiazhuang city in northern China’s Hebei province says the company asked officials to help it manage media response to the tainted milk situation in order to lessen negative impact on the public.

He says the government ordered the company to investigate, but notes that it did not report the situation to the provincial government until September 9.

Also, the parents of a baby allegedly sickened by the infant formula have filed what could be the first milk scandal lawsuit against Sanlu Group.

Source:  VOA News