China hit with baby formula scandal

China has arrested 19 people suspected of breaking food safety laws, in the latest contamination scandal to hit the country. Authorities say at least 430 babies have been made ill by contaminated milk powder, which has caused them to develop kidney stones.

The formula, made by a Chinese firm which is partly owned by a New Zealand dairy company, has been withdrawn from shops. Investigations into the milk powder began earlier this week after the death of a child in the northwestern province of Gansu.

The company at the centre of the scandal has admitted that its baby formula had been contaminated with melamine, a toxin linked to the deaths and illness of thousands of pets in the US last year.

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