The New Nation - Internet Edition

BUSINESS REPORT

Local shops are still selling potentially tainted milk powder, an

official said, despite a ban on three Chinese brands because the products could be contaminated with melamine.

The government has banned three brands of powdered milk produced by two companies--Yashili and Suncare--at the center of a food scare which has killed four infants and sickened nearly 53,000.

Head of the Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institute, Azmal Hossain, told reporters that officials were scouring markets for the powder.

"Raids in cities have so far uncovered 77 boxes of the banned brands. We will keep going until we find no more," he said.

"We're worried that shops will sell the items to people who don't know about the possibility that the milk powder could be tainted."

Beijing said last week that the chemical melamine, which is used to make plastics, had been discovered in milk powder. It can make products look like they are bursting with protein but if consumed in large amounts can be lethal.

Food contamination -- often blamed for high rates of kidney disease in Bangladesh -- is common in the impoverished country, mainly due to lack of enforcement of government regulations.

Anti-adulteration drives regularly find food contaminated with fertilizer and textile and tannery dyes to speed up the ripening of fruits or to improve presentation.