Chinese Food Scandal Spreads

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong supermarkets stripped shelves of a popular cookie brand made in China on Friday after it and Macau authorities found traces of the industrial chemical melamine in Chinese-made baby cereal and crackers. It said in a statement Friday that it has found melamine in Heinz DHA+AA vegetable formula baby cereal and in steamed potato wasabi crackers produced by Silang House. It says both products were made in mainland China. Hong Kong's removal of the chocolate-filled cookies came after Macau's Health Bureau found Thursday the amount of melamine in the Koala's March brand was 24 times the safe limit. China's food safety crisis started with melamine-tainted infant formula, but has spread to dairy and other food products. Most recently, tests in Hong Kong and SingaporeChina.confirmed a famous Chinese candy brand was tainted. Melamine-laced milk has been blamed for the death of four babies and sickened more than 50,000 children in mainland

BEIJING (AP) — The European Union banned imports of baby food containing Chinese milk Thursday as a toxic chemical that was illegally added to China's dairy supplies turned up in candy and other Chinese-made goods that were quickly pulled from stores worldwide. The 27-nation EU adds to the growing list of countries that have banned or recalled Chinese dairy products because of the contamination. All European Union imports of products containing more than 15% of milk powder will have to be tested under the new rules due to come into force Friday.