Following Dumex, another foreign milk powder producer, Wyeth, has become the target of suspicion of Chinese consumers.
According to Chinese media, a Chongqing consumer surnamed Li has provided a list of 19 Chinese babies who were said to have developed kidney stones as a result of consuming Wyeth milk powder products. Li said his baby son has been fed Wyeth milk powder since he was born in April 2006. In September 2008, the baby was found to have a kidney stone in a checkup.
When Li contacted Wyeth about the issue, he was told by Wyeth that the baby's kidney stone had nothing to do with their milk powder. After that, Li gathered 19 kidney stone patients, all of whom are said to be consumers of Wyeth milk powder products. In his list to the media, Li offered such details as the family data, contact details, the time of using Wyeth products and the time of being diagnosed with the stone. The oldest patient in the list is said to be three years and nine months old and the youngest one just eight months old.
Li said that the parents of these babies hope that more checks can be done on Wyeth milk powder products so that they are clear about the cause of their babies' illness. The parents of the babies are also said to be preparing to file a lawsuit in a foreign jurisdiction in the hope of resolving the situation in their favor.
In October 2008, media in Xi'an reported that a four-month old baby contracted a kidney stone after feeding on Wyeth milk powder. At that time, Wyeth said that there was no evidence showing that the baby's symptom had any link with its products. Later, there were online reports saying that babies in Taizhou and Fenghua also got the kidney problem as a result of drinking Wyeth products.
However, in face of the criticism, Yu Ping, a public relations manager of Wyeth, told local media that all Wyeth products have been checked by the quality department and all were found to have no melamine. Yu added that the fact that the babies became sick might have something to do with their own constitutions.
