Nestle apologized on Sunday for the high levels of iodine found
in its "Jin Pai Growing 3-Milk Powder" at the end of last
month.
"While there is no safety or health issue, we recognize that
this caused some concern amongst consumers and the public at
large," it said in a statement, adding that the company has
increased the frequency of testing to ensure its products comply
with the national standard.
It stressed that the affected milk, detected on May 25, had
already been withdrawn from sale and said the high iodine levels
were not a threat to public safety.
But critics said the apology was too little, too late and some
media reports attacked the company for only offering customers a
product exchange rather than a full refund.
Lawyer Qiu Baochang, legal consultant for the China Consumers'
Association, was quoted by the Beijing Youth Daily
yesterday as saying that the apology was a "late response" under
pressure from the public.
Qiu said Nestle should go further and, for example, pay for
consumers' expenses incurred when traveling to exchange
products.
Quality inspection authorities in east China's Zhejiang
Province found the milk powder, produced in September 2004,
contained 191 micrograms of iodine per 100 grams, above the
national standard of 30-150 micrograms.
According to China Central Television, the 13.5 tons of affected
product was on sale mainly in Zhejiang's Hangzhou, Guangzhou, in
the southern province of Guangdong,
and Shanghai.
(China Daily June 7, 2005)