Sanlu’s Melamine-Tainted Milk Crisis in China – Case Solution

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Sanlu's Melamine-Tainted Milk Crisis in China Case Answers

In a narrative format, summarize the key facts and issues of the case “Sanlu’s Melamine-tainted Milk Crisis in China.”

In 2008, a widespread food safety breach tragedy occurred in China. This was the Sanlu’s melamine-tainted Milk Crisis. The scandal involved milk and infant formula, as well as other food products that were contaminated with toxic melamine.

The Sanlu Group was the main company involved in the crisis, even though there were many others. Around 54,000 infants and children were treated, and four of them succumbed to kidney stone complications and renal failure (Crandall, Parnell, & Spillan, 2014, p. 32). These infants had one thing in common: milk products produced by Sanlu Group fed them.

Sanlu Group was a company based in China that was producing baby formula. Some months before the first infant got sick, the company discovered that the milk ingredient they were using had melamine content. However, they continued producing the milk without informing the public or its customer base of the dangers associated with it.

Sanlu Group had a middle supplier from whom they purchased their products. The suppliers involved in the crisis would buy the milk and then add water and melamine to increase the bulk of the milk for sale. Melamine was added to improve the protein level in the milk.

Melamine, often used for laminate production, is not safe for human consumption. Their use in milk production resulted in the deaths and illnesses of many children in China.

The World Health Organization alerted the public about using milk produced by Sanlu Group. As a result, the importation of milk products from China was banned by Asian and EU countries.

However, Sanlu Group denied the allegations, stating that its milk products were safe and met the industry standards. Their partner, Fonterra, did an independent study on milk supply and realized that the milk was contaminated with Melamine.

Update the information in the case by researching it on the Internet. Focus your response on the specific issues in the case.

The Melamine Milk Crisis was a wake-up call among consumers. Many people started questioning the safety of the foods they were consuming. At the same time, business practices, particularly among Chinese companies, came into question (Crandall, Parnell, & Spillan, 2014, p. 76). The general public, in particular, lost confidence in the Chinese food chain. Many of them began looking for alternative manufacturers for their food products apart from Chinese business corporations.

In the wake of this scandal, it was realized that there were numerous companies involved in the crisis, not only the Sanlu Group. Around one out of five companies that were producing milk and milk products were adding melamine, consequently contaminating it and rendering it unsafe for human consumption (Crandall, Parnell, & Spillan, 2014, p. 91).

Further research also indicates that some of the top leadership of these organizations and some of the government officials were aware of the incident but failed to inform the public. This was due to the fear of negative publicity at a time when the country was hosting the Summer Olympics.

During the crisis, many people were arrested. For instance, the top leadership of Sanlu Group, along with some officials of the government, had a clue of what was going on but failed to send an alarm. The loss of consumer confidence in the Sanlu Group and its products and other companies that produced milk products made their reputation…