Beijing: The head of European food giant Nestle said today the company had mounted a "sizable effort" to ensure the safety of its dairy products in China, sending in scientists and specialised machines in the wake of the melamine contamination scandal.

"From the first moment, the first minute we heard about the problem, we mobilised quite a sizable effort," CEO Paul Bulcke said at a news conference to inaugurate a research and development center in Beijing.

"We mobilized close to 45-50 people worldwide to be part of the solution and containment of this problem."

Dairy products contaminated with an industrial chemical have sickened tens of thousands of children in China and are blamed in the deaths of four infants.

Dairy suppliers are said to have added melamine, a chemical used to make plastics and fertilizer, to watered-down milk to dupe quality control tests and make the product appear rich in protein.

Nestle sent in 20 scientists from its research base in Switzerland to production sites to help set up specialized techniques for detecting melamine and similar compounds, according to Chief Technology Officer Werner Bauer.

In addition, two highly specialised machines that can detect minute traces of melamine are currently being used at the new research and development center.

Since the scandal broke, the company began voluntary testing of all its dairy products produced before September 2008. All of its products have been certified by the Chinese government as safe, he said.
Source : PTI