Fears are growing around the world about the safety of Chinese dairy products after thousands of babies in China fell ill from drinking tainted milk formula, with bans and recalls in place in several countries.

Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Bangladesh, Gabon, Burundi and the Philippines are some of the countries testing Chinese dairy products or pulling them from the shelves altogether.

China announced earlier this month that some locally made milk powder had been contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine, which can cause kidney stones, and the scandal has since widened to include even a popular milk sweet.

?Of course I?m worried?

In Hong Kong, two girls were suspected of having kidney stones after drinking tainted milk, while Taiwan banned all China dairy products from Sunday due to contamination fears.

Hong Kong health officials urged parents to take children to hospital if they see traces of blood in their urine and cry excessively for no apparent reason.

?In serious cases, the stones can lead to kidney failure, in that case, parents must take children to hospital immediately,? Chow Chun-bong, consultant pediatrician at Princess Margaret hospital told a news conference. Yesterday, Taiwan?s government set up a milk-testing station in Taipei for concerned consumers. ?Of course I?m worried. I bought 20 vats, at a discount,? said Lu Chi-e, 60, of Taipei, one of a half dozen people who lined up at the milk-testing station.

Singapore and Malaysia have also banned Chinese dairy imports, while the poor central African countries of Gabon and Burundi, two places China has said contaminated milk powder was exported to, have put curbs on Chinese milk product sales.

Meanwhile, the tally of children sickened by the tainted milk jumped to nearly 53,000, as the government vowed to crack down on those responsible for the scandal, which has raised more questions about the safety of the country?s food chain.

More than 80 % of the 12,892 children hospitalised in recent weeks were 2 years old or younger, the Health Ministry said in a statement posted on its website yesterday. The statement said most consumed infant formula from one company, the Shijiazhuang Sanlu Group Co., the dairy at the centre of one of China?s worst food safety scandals in years.

Combing through hospital records

Another 39,965 children received outpatient treatment at hospitals and were considered ?basically recovered,?? the ministry said. Over the weekend, the Chinese territory of Hong Kong reported the first known illness outside mainland China when a 3-year-old girl developed kidney stones after drinking Chinese dairy products. She was discharged from the hospital, a Hong Kong government statement said.

In the two weeks since the government first acknowledged the contamination, it has issued recalls for dairy products from 22 companies after tests turned up traces of the industrial chemical melamine. The Health Ministry said that most of the hospitalized were sickened by Sanlu brand baby formula. ?No cases have been found from ingesting liquid milk,?? the statement said.

The ministry did not explain the sudden increase in the number of cases, from 6,400 on Saturday, but it suggested health officials were combing through hospital records from May through August to trace the origins of the contamination.

The deaths of three infants linked to tainted infant formula occurred in those months, the statement said. The death of a fourth infant in the far western region of Xinjiang was also linked to tainted formula by the regional health bureau, although the Health Ministry did not include it in its count.

MOTHER PUTS BEST BREAST FORWARD

A new mother, sensing a business opportunity in the wake of this scandal, is offering to breast feed other children for a price, according to state news agency Xinhua.

The 32-year-old woman surnamed Huang said she had been producing more milk than her 3-month-old son could consume, so decided to sell the surplus in a breastfeeding service for 300 yuan (around Rs 1,320) a day, said Xinhua.

While the woman?s Internet advertisement has caused a storm, she says it doesn?t matter. ?My husband fully supports... me on this,? Xinhua quoted the entrepreneur-cum-mum as saying.

CONTAMINATED CANDY, MILK AND DESSERTS PULLED ACROSS ASIA

Countries across Asia have introduced bans and stringent checks on China-made milk products. Here are some details on reactions across the region:

■ BANGLADESH: Three Chinese powdered milk brands, Sanlu, Suncare and Yashili, have been taken off the shelves in Bangladesh. Melamine tests will be carried out on all milk powder imports at Bangladeshi ports.

■ BRUNEI: All Chinese milk products banned by Health Ministry, even though Brunei does not directly import dairy products from China.

■ BURUNDI: Burundi banned the import and sale of Chinese milk products on Saturday, along with another Central African state, Gabon.

■ HONG KONG: All Yili products including milk, ice-cream, ice-bars, and yoghurt products, recalled last Thursday. Nestle milk powder taken off shelves by some supermarkets after a newspaper reported it contained melamine. The Swiss food group says it is confident its products are melamine-free. However its Nestle Dairy Farm Pure Milk tested positive for the toxic compound, officials at the territory?s food safety centre said. ?Nissin Retort Pouch Cha Cha Dessert?, which contains a Yili milk product, recalled by Nissin Foods Company Limited after testing positive for melamine.

■ INDIA: Checks will be stepped up on imported milk products, though no reported imports from affected companies.

■ JAPAN: Japan?s Health Ministry has asked 90,000 companies to check imported products, including processed foods, for melamine contamination, the government said on Monday. Any contaminated products will be banned. Marudai Food Co. Ltd withdrew five types of buns made with milk imported from China?s Yili dairy firm.

■ MALAYSIA: Has banned all Chinese milk imports. Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai said on Friday that Malaysia only imports dairy products from Australia and New Zealand.

■ PHILIPPINES: Milk products from China are being randomly tested. The Philippines will ban them if melamine contamination is found, the health minister said yesterday.

■ SINGAPORE White Rabbit Creamy Candy, a popular Chinese brand milk candy, pulled from shelves after being found to be contaminated with melamine on Sunday. The city state has already banned the import and sale of milk products from China after finding melamine in two China-made products ? ?Dutch Lady? strawberry flavoured milk, and ?Yili Brand? dairy fruit bar yoghurt flavoured ice confection.

■ SOUTH KOREA: No melamine found in products containing China-made powdered milk in tests by the Korea Food and Drug Administration.

■ TAIWAN: All China-made dairy products banned on Sunday, a milk testing station set up for consumers in Taipei yesterday.