FDA'S RESPONSE

MORE INSPECTIONS AIM TO PROTECT U.S.

Although no trace of infant formula from China has turned up in the United States, U.S. authorities said Friday that they are taking added precautions to keep out tainted milk products.

The Food and Drug Administration has widened its inspections at ports of entry to focus on shipments of bulk food ingredients from Asia that are derived from milk, such as milk concentrate and whole milk powder.

Spokeswoman Judy Leon also said the agency will issue an alert this weekend warning consumers not to buy milk products from China on the Internet.

The latest food safety scandal in China began with infant formula, but it now turns out that products ranging from bottled milk to yogurt also appear to have been adulterated with melamine, a chemical that in lab tests can make watered-down milk seem protein-rich.

Melamine, which is used to make plastics, is the same chemical involved in last year's massive pet food recall. It had been added to bulk pet food ingredients imported from China.

But an ongoing national investigation focusing on Asian community markets has turned up no infant formula from China here.

"In conjunction with state and local authorities, we have inspected more than 1,000 retail outlets and have found not one single can of Chinese infant formula," Leon said.

ASSOCIATED PRESS