China Business View
September 27, 2008

Most newspapers kept the Shenzhou 7 space mission on the front page today, but some negative news also found its way next to reports on the national prestige project.

Bright Dairy, the company that owns the White Rabbit candy brand, announced yesterday that it will halt the sale of the creamy candy before the inspection authorities releases their results.

After testing positive for melamine in Singapore, White Rabbit has been barred from being sold in many countries. According to the article, the milk powder that makes up 45 percent of the candy is suspected to be melamine-tainted.

The article says that the candy, which late premier Zhou Enlai enjoyed and once presented as a state gift to visiting American president Nixon, is both a household name domestically and one of the few well-received Chinese food exports. But now it has been dragged into a scandal largely created by providers at the upper end of the supply chain.

The front page also reports that seven staff members of the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University were fired after the death of eight newborns between September 5 and September 15. Previous news reports said that melamine was ruled out as a possible cause of death. At a news conference yesterday, authorities said they suspect in-hospital infection to be the culprit.