The scale of the problem in China caused by adulteration of baby milk with melamine is appalling. I struggle to comprehend how people can knowingly put the lives of so many babies at risk by adding this substance to milk.
I spoke about the regulation of the food industry on the Today programme and BBC Radio Scotland yesterday morning. Of course it would be naive to assume that criminals will not attempt to target the food industry here and we know, through attempts to sell counterfeit vodka containing dangerous levels of methanol, that they will. However, there are, fortunately, big differences between China and the UK and in many ways what is currently happening in China mirrors what we saw in the UK 150 years ago, when adulteration and poisoning from food was commonplace. That led to the introduction of strict regulations and food standards, placing legal responsibilities on businesses to supply safe food and the establishment of a comprehensive inspection system through local Environmental Health Officers. So the regulation of food safety in the UK is of a high standard, but we also need to recognise that for well-established businesses in the UK it is simply not in their interests to have their reputation tarnished by contamination incidents.
The authorities in China are determined to bring the regulation of their industry up to European standards but clearly have some way to go. I would suggest that no one can take any comfort from this incident which highlights, once again, the importance of food businesses here checking the provenance of their supplies from around the world.