The number of children hospitalized after consuming tainted milk products in China has doubled to nearly 12,900, according to that country's health authority.
In a statement posted on its website late Sunday, the Chinese Health Ministry said that the sick children had consumed milk made from tainted milk powder.
According to the statement, 12,892 children have been hospitalized, including 104 that were seriously ill and four babies have died after being fed melamine-laced baby formula.
Melamine has a high nitrogen content, which can make products appear high in protein. However, the chemical can cause kidney stones and kidney failure.
It is alleged that dairy company officials added melamine to watered-down products to make them appear higher in protein content.
Melamine was first found in baby formulas made by China's largest dairy company, the Sanlu Group. On Friday, tests found melamine in products made by more of China's leading dairy companies: Mengniu Dairy Group, Yili Industrial Group and Bright Dairy.
Tests have found the chemical in about 10 per cent of liquid milk samples from Mengniu and Yili.
Yili was an official Olympic sponsor, but the company has pledged the safety of foods supplied to the athlete's village during the Beijing Games.
Canadian warning
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is warning Canadians that a dessert product sold in the country may contain milk contaminated by melamine.
Nissin Cha Cha Dessert is distributed in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia by Regent Long Marketing and Distribution Ltd., of Richmond, B.C.
Regent is recalling the product voluntarily. CFIA said in a news release that the product was made using Yili Pure Milk, in which melamine was detected by food safety agencies in Hong Kong.
There have yet to be any reports of any Canadians becoming sick after consuming the product. CFIA is monitoring the situation.
More melamine discovered
The Chinese government is on damage control as they now face one of their worst food safety crises in history; inspectors have found melamine in the products from 22 different companies.
News of the increased number of victims came after tests conducted by the Hong Kong government found melamine in a Chinese-made Nestle brand milk product on Sunday.
Small amounts of the chemical, used in the manufacture of plastics and glue, were found in Nestle's Diary Farm pure milk.
The milk is made by a Nestle division in the city of Qingdao and is sold to caterers, officials said.
The Hong Kong tests found only small amounts of melamine that do not pose a serious risk to human health.
However, consumers are being advised not to feed the product to children.
Sickness not contained to the mainland
The first child outside of mainland China, a three-year-old girl in Hong Kong, has fallen ill but has been discharged from hospital, Hong Kong officials said.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency could not confirm Sunday if the latest product found to contain melamine is sold in Canada. However, it is unlikely, a spokesperson said.
"It's quite a jump to think that just because it's in Hong Kong, it's all over the world," CFIA spokesperson Marc Richard told CTV.ca on Sunday.
So far, no products linked to China's growing scandal have been found in Canada.
The CFIA is monitoring the latest developments in China as well as Canadian store shelves for products that may pose a risk, Richard said.
"Should we come across something we would put out a press release with a recall," Richard said.
As a precautionary measure, T&T Supermarkets, the largest chain of Asian grocery stores in Canada with locations in Ontario, Alberta and B.C., have removed Mengniu and Yili yogurt drinks from store shelves. The products have not been linked to the crisis.
"It's not that we're told by CFIA that it has any contamination, we just pulled it off on a precautionary basis," said T&T's Sandra Creighton.
With files from The Associated Press
