VZCZCXRO9318
PP RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHHK #1764/01 2671154
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 231154Z SEP 08
FM AMCONSUL HONG KONG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5854
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 3411
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 5023
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HONG KONG 001764 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS TO USTR 
HHS FOR OGHA - STEIGER, HICKEY; PASS FDA/LUMPKIN AND HICKEY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CH EAGR ECON ETRD HK TBIO
SUBJECT: HONG KONG'S RESPONSE TO MAINLAND CONTAMINATED MILK 
POWDER 
 
REF: BEIJING 3635 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  The response by Hong Kong authorities and 
food retailers to reports of melamine contaminated milk 
powder in the Mainland and in Hong Kong has so far been swift 
and transparent.  Even before the first of two Hong Kong 
cases of melamine-linked infant illness was reported on 20 
September, health authorities were actively testing infant 
formula and other products, and major retail chains were 
voluntarily removing suspect items from grocery shelves.  As 
of September 23, ten items have tested positive for melamine 
in amounts ranging from 1.4 to 21 parts per million (ppm). 
In reaction to these test results, the Hong Government 
enacted an amended regulation, effective September 23, which 
bans the importation and sale of dairy products and infant 
foods with melamine concentrations of more then 1 ppm, and 
any food product with a concentration in excess of 2.5 ppm. 
The Hong Kong Hospital Authority has established a pediatric 
renal taskforce and designated seven Special Assessment 
Centers, supported by 18 specialty clinics, to centrally 
identify, track and treat children with symptoms possibly 
linked to melamine contamination.  The Hong Kong Health 
Department's Center for Food Safety website, located at 
www.cfs.gov.hk has dedicated up-to-date postings and links 
specifically following melamine contamination and related 
issues, to include detailed product identification, test 
results and official guidance. End Summary 
 
The Hong Kong Response 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The responses by Hong Kong government (HKG) 
officials and health institutions to the September 11 Beijing 
announcement that melamine had been found in baby formula 
produced in mainland China have been swift and transparent. 
The Hong Kong press has covered the story exhaustively. 
Secretary for Food and Health, Dr. York Chow, has issued 
several public statements in an attempt to reassure Hong 
Kong,s citizenry and describe concrete steps taken by the 
HKG to protect public health.  One of the first steps 
included the Hospital Authority's establishment of a 
pediatric renal taskforce based at Princess Margaret 
Hospital, and designation of seven Special Assessment 
Centers, supported by 18 specialty clinics.  These clinics 
are providing free assessments, and will centrally monitor 
and coordinate care for children (under 12) showing symptoms 
possibly linked to melamine contamination.  Macau 
authorities, following Hong Kong,s lead, have likewise taken 
steps to protect public health.  Such steps included the 
banning of the import and sale of products that  have tested 
positive by the Hong Kong government, and the suspension of 
Macau,s school lunch boxed milk program, which relied on 
milk imported from mainland China manufactured by Yili. 
 
¶3. (U) Testing of milk-based products began almost 
immediately, with the first results published on September 16 
and near daily updates since then.  As of September 23, over 
376 samples from a variety of milk-based products had been 
tested; ten samples, all from products manufactured in 
Mainland China, were positive for melamine.  The products 
which tested positive include milk, yogurt, ice cream, dark 
chocolate, and red-bean ice bars.  Positive results for 
melamine ranged from 1.4 to 21 ppm.  (For up-to-date details 
on specific products tested, official announcements, 
frequently asked questions related to melamine, and guidance 
for physicians, see the Hong Kong Center for Food Safety web 
site at www.cfs.gov.hk.) 
 
¶4. (SBU) Reacting to these positive tests for melamine and 
the diagnosis of a second infant with likely melamine-linked 
renal stones, Hong Kong authorities amended the Harmful 
Substance in Food Regulations on 22 September, effective 
September 23, to ban the importation, consignment, 
manufacture and sale of milk or any food product intended for 
children under the age of 36 months and pregnant or lactating 
women, with melamine concentrations of more then 1 ppm; it 
also bans any food product containing melamine in excess of 
2.5 ppm.  Violations of this regulation are subject to a 
maximum fine of HK$50,000 (US$6,410) and six months' 
imprisonment.  In explaining the melamine ban, Hong Kong 
Secretary for Food and Health, York Chow, explained that law 
 
HONG KONG 00001764  002 OF 002 
 
 
makers had to allow room for a tiny amount of the industrial 
chemical, used to make plastic, due to the effect of 
migration from containers and environmental pollution, but 
"the most direct way to protect ourselves is to ban this 
substance in our food." 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Even before test results were available, Hong 
Kong,s two largest grocery chains, Wellcome and Park-n-Shop, 
began to voluntarily remove and offer refunds for products 
which had been manufactured by the three Chinese dairy firms 
associated with melamine contamination.  Grocers continue to 
be proactive and conservative in pulling additional products 
as information becomes available.  Pulled products include 
those from mainland Chinese manufacturing firms as well as 
imports from Japan and Taiwan with milk content thought to 
have derived from mainland Chinese manufactures. 
 
Melamine-Linked Illness Now Outside the Mainland 
------------------------ 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (U) In apparently the first human melamine-linked illness 
reported outside of the Mainland, HKG,s Center for Health 
Protection and the Department of Health reported on September 
20 that it had received notification from the Hospital 
Authority of a case of renal disease likely resulting from 
drinking low-fat milk processed by the Yili Industrial Group 
Co.  The three-year-old patient was referred to Princess 
Margaret Hospital, where she is being treated for a renal 
stone in her left kidney.  She is expected to make a full 
recovery.  On September 22, the Hospital Authority confirmed 
the diagnosis of a second patient with likely 
melamine-related renal disease in the Special Administrative 
Region.  The second patient was a Hong Kong-born infant 
living in mainland China, where he was diagnosed with a renal 
stone and then brought to Princess Margaret Hospital by his 
father. 
DONOVAN