By Chris Buckley
BEIJING (Reuters) - The number of Chinese infants sick inhospital after drinking tainted milk formula doubled to nearly13,000 and Premier Wen Jiabao threatened harsh punishment forculprits in the latest blight on the "made-in-China" brand.
Four deaths have been blamed on the toxic milk powdercausing kidney stones and agonising complications, and a stringof Asian countries have banned or recalled Chinese milkproducts.
The Health Ministry said the number of childrenhospitalised due to milk powder contaminated with theindustrial chemical melamine had risen from a previouslyannounced total of 6,244 -- which included many who had lefthospital -- to 12,892, including 104 in a serious condition.
More than 1,500 had already left hospital and nearly 40,000with milder symptoms "received clinical treatment and advice"before going home.
The jump to more than 54,000 affected children wasannounced late on Sunday, escalating the scandal that has againshaken trust in Chinese products following last year's scaresover toxic and shoddy goods ranging from toothpaste and drugsto pet food and toys.
Melamine has also been found in cartons of milk and somedairy exports, but no illnesses from those sources have beenreported.
Wen visited hospitals in the national capital in a bid toreassure an anxious public that the government was acting.
"The public is worried, doctors are worried, and we're alsoworried," he told parents and staff, according to the state-runXinhua news agency.
"The most crucial point is that after a clean-up there canbe no problems at all with newly produced milk products. Ifthere are fresh problems, they must be even more sternlypunished under the law."
China's food quality watchdog has said it found melamine innearly 10 percent of milk and drinking yoghurt samples fromthree major dairy companies: Mengniu Dairy Co, the InnerMongolia Yili Industrial Group and the Bright group.
Nitrogen-rich melamine can be added to watered-down milk tofool quality checks, which often use nitrogen levels to measureprotein.
China's dairy producers face a "crisis of confidence" thatwill need strong government steps to cure, said Lao Bing,manager of a Shanghai-based dairy investment company.
"How long the industry takes to revive will depend on howvigorous those steps are," he said. "Consumers will startrebuying in a month or two if they feel sure the government isundertaking a vigorous clean-up ... Exports will take longer.This will have a major impact."
JUMPY EXPORT MARKETS, PANICKED PARENTS
Japan's Marudai Food Co. Ltd withdrew buns made with milksupplied by Yili, a Marudai official said on Monday, addingthere had been no reports of illness from the buns. Marudaishares fell 14 percent on Monday after the recall.
A spokesman for Japan's Nissin said that group has alsorecalled products with Chinese dairy ingredients, again withoutreports of any related sickness.
Other markets that have that have banned or recalledChinese milk products include Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, HongKong and Taiwan.
Even White Rabbit Creamy Candy, a popular Chinese brand ofmilk sweet, was contaminated with melamine, Singapore'sAgri-Food and Veterinary Authority warned on Sunday.
Over the weekend a three-year-old Hong Kong girl was foundto have a kidney stone after drinking a milk product tainted bymelamine, making her the territory's first suspected victim.
But the most pressing worry remains in China.
Parents have crowded the country's hospitals and demandedredress since officials and the Sanlu Group, the country'sbiggest maker of infant milk powder, disclosed the threat.
Sanlu knew of but did not publicly disclose the problem forat least a month, throughout August when Beijing hosted theOlympic Games, officials have said.
The government has promised free treatment for strickenchildren, but some parents said they worried about costs andlong-term complications.
Zhou Zhijun, from south China's Hunan province, said shetook her wailing, increasingly thin daughter to hospitals atleast three times from June to late August before doctorsdiagnosed a kidney stone.
"All those visits and checks cost 20,000 yuan (1,591pounds), and I still don't know who will pay for that," shesaid, adding that her 15-month-old baby had drunk Sanlu milkpowder. "Also what if there are complications and problemslater? Who'll pay for that?"
Premier Wen said dairy products that passed safety testswould be labelled so consumers can "be at ease".
But the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture said despairingfarmers were dumping milk and killing cattle after companiesstopped buying their supplies. The ministry promised subsidiesto help struggling milk farmers.
(Additional reporting by Naoto Okamura in Tokyo and KevinLim in Singapore; Editing by Nick Macfie and Alex Richardson)
