BEIJING, Sept 22: China’s tainted milk scandal spiralled into uncharted territory on Monday with the government announcing that up to 53,000 children had been sickened and its top product-quality inspector sacked.

In a dramatic update of previous figures, the health ministry said a total of 52,857 children were taken to hospital after drinking milk thought to have been contaminated by the industrial chemical melamine.

Most had “basically recovered” after developing kidney stones, the main symptom of drinking the tainted milk, but 12,892 of them remained in hospital, a health ministry official told AFP.

Meanwhile, the head of China’s product-quality agency, Li Changjiang, stepped down under pressure on Monday, becoming the highest-level leader to be embroiled in the scandal that has left China’s dairy industry reeling.

Li had overseen the ministry-level product-quality agency during a wave of scandals that have tarnished China’s manufacturing reputation.

Also sacked was Wu Xianguo, the top official of Shijiazhuang city, where tainted milk powder first surfaced in the Sanlu brand headquartered in the city, Xinhua news agency said.

Eighteen people have been arrested in the scandal, including the head of the Sanlu Group, while dozens have been detained for questioning, state media have said.

Up to four infants have died in the scandal, which prompted countries to ban or limit Chinese dairy imports.

Joining a clutch of other countries, Taiwan said it was banning all Chinese milk products with immediate notice, regardless of brand, because of consumer concerns.

“There is no timeframe for the ban,” said Wang Chih-chao, an official with the Department of Health, but he added that milk products already on the shelves after passing safety tests would not be removed.

Meanwhile, retailers in Hong Kong said they were pulling more milk products off their shelves after samples tested positive for melamine.

Melamine, normally used in making plastics, was first found in infant milk formula in Chinese markets but has since been detected in a range of products with dairy ingredients both in China and abroad.

The discovery has led to mass recalls and a Chinese government campaign to tighten quality inspections across the dairy sector.

Three children have died and 104 are still in serious condition, the health ministry said, with symptoms including kidney stones.

A fourth child was also reported dead by authorities in Xinjiang province but has not been added to the national figure.

The scandal stems from the practice of adding melamine to watered-down milk to give it the appearance of higher protein levels.

A host of countries – Bangladesh, Brunei, Burundi, Japan, Gabon, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Tanzania – have barred Chinese milk products or taken some other form of action to curb consumption.

Hong Kong’s government said a three-year-old girl developed a kidney stone after drinking the tainted milk – believed to be the first such case outside mainland China.

The girl has since left hospital and is in good condition, it added.

The Centre for Food Safety, a Hong Kong government body, said it had found melamine in a Nestle Dairy Farm pure milk sample from northeastern China.

The Swiss food giant Nestle said it was “confident” its products in China were safe and that none had been adulterated with melamine.—AFP