大象传媒

Regaining parents' trust

• James Reynolds
• 18 Sep 08, 11:37 AM GMT

On the way to work this morning, I had another quick look at the Beijing Paediatric Research Institute (one of 74 hospitals in Beijing where parents worried about can take their children to be checked for kidney stones).

A crowd of parents lined up in the car park at the back, waiting to get their babies checked. Doctors took a urine sample and carried out an ultrasound on each infant - the results are given the next day.

Outside the front gate, parents came out with their children. Many babies held on to balloons - their reward for a pretty painful morning.

"My kid Kaikai is three years old, he's been drinking the milk powder for over a year and we have no idea whether he's okay or not, so we just came to do a test, "said one mother, "We blame the factory for manufacturing the milk."

"My kid is nine and a half months old, he's been drinking the milk powder since he was born," said another, "We're really angry with the milk manufacturers, and the useless quality inspection departments."

Right now, many parents no longer trust milk powder made in China. So, they're looking for alternatives. Some have decided to buy foreign-made baby milk powder instead.

Newspaper reports say that others have switched their infants to soybean milk or rice soup. One newspaper says that some mothers are even looking for wet nurses to feed their children.

The Communist Party has promised to reform the dairy industry. But from the anger I've seen outside the hospital, it'll take more than a promise to win back parents' trust.

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