China Law Blog

Dan - I couldn't agree more with your last comment, but I'd like to raise you one: company officers must be made personally and financially liable for those mis-deeds, as well. Can you imagine, if this happened in the US, the class actions that would already be filed?

Here's a legal question for you: if contaminated dairy products find their way to the US, and if, god forbid, they injure someone, what legal recourse would be available to the injured party?

Adam,

Not sure about this (will need to consult with Steve), but I am pretty sure there is already individual liability in China, of some sort.

If contaminated dairy products find their way to the US, here's the legal recourse a parent might have:

1. Sue everyone in the US connected with bringing the product into the US. Good lawsuit because it is my understanding the product is not legal here at all. Problem though is that the defendants are not likely to have much money or much insurance, if any.

2. Sue the Chinese company in the US. Problem with this is that unless the Chinese company has assets in the US or assets in a country that enforces US judgments, there is not a lot of point with this because China will not enforce the judgment.

3. Sue the Chinese company in China. Good case, but low damages.

4. Seek criminal prosecution of people either here or in China.

I wonder who you would sue in view of the death sentence applied to the Chinese government official in a past food safety scandal?

It is interesting to lay down a timeline for this story. It would appear, perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, that there was little or no effective response/action from the people in charge of the milk company in China and the officials until after the main Olympics were ended.

Even then it took the intervention of the New Zealanders at Government to Government level to get any action.

Was it a deliberate policy of the Chinese National or local Government to supress the story to prevent bad press at the time of the Olympics?

Melamine went in to beat the test for protein levels in milk that had been watered down (to increase profit). While the companies invovled are bleating that they didn't know to test for melamine (even though this was the chemical and the M.O for the Chinese poisoned pet food last year in US ) surely their tests for milk fat would have been lower and raised suspicion...

The latest from Wen Jiabao

"What we need to do now is to ensure that nothing like this happens in the future, not only in dairy products, but in all foods," he said. "Manufacturers and owners of dairy companies should show more morality and social responsibility in these cases. They are heartless, so we have to create strict law and legislation. I'm sorry."

Re: "morality and social responsibility" does he mean in a way similar to how the story was reportedly kept under wraps until the Olympics was over. Let's have a good games, even if it means 12,000 babies are hospitalized.

I was discussing this with my wife last night who is from Hong Kong. She pointed out the Domino effect - if all of the liquid & powdered milk is tainted with Melamine, then what about those companies who purchased local milk/milk products to make their cookies, cakes and pastries for consumption in China and around the world? We know Yogurt has been pulled, does China manufacture cheese, ice cream? Imagine how many products that are made with the tainted milk that are now in the consumer supply line? Until China's record improves, we have vowed not to buy anything from Mainland China.

I am so sad

Well, the food safety conference I am attending did not turn out quite how the host country intended – timing is everything. The below might be helpful. I am in Beijing until Saturday:

http://www.marlerblog.com/2008/09/articles/case-news/china-food-safety-conference-begins-and-ends-on-sour-note/

this makes me very sick...

why!??