Dhaka - Authorities in Bangladesh have warned against using milk powder imported from China after it confirmed the presence of melamine in one of three brands of baby formula available in Bangladesh, an official said Wednesday. Local administrators have been asked to warn locals about the dangers of the Chinese adulterated baby foods, Ajmal Hossain, the director general of Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institution told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, a day after scientific tests confirmed the presence of melamine content of 72.77 milligrams per kilogram in the Yashli-1 brand of powdered-milk.
Chinese health officials have said no harm comes from consuming less than 0.63 milligrams per kilogram. The chemical melamine is used to make plastics and fertilizers.
The government has prohibited the import and selling of any brand of Chinese milk and state-owned television and radio has launched special public awareness campaigns against using the tainted milk which has killed four infants in China and caused kidney ailments in 50,000 others.
BSTI officials have conducted raids and confiscated a total of 106 tins of the banned Chinese powdered-milk from retailers.
Samples of three Chinese makes of milk powder were sent for laboratory tests and reports on the two other brands are expected to come after the current Eid al-Fitr holidays, the BSTI official said.
China has less than 5 per cent of Bangladesh's imported milk powder market.
