Buried By Cadbury

On the heels of the tainted milk scandal in China last week (where at least four babies have died after drinking poisoned baby formula and almost 53,000 were made sick) comes news that Cadbury chocolates worldwide may be tainted in the same manner.

At the center of both cases is the chemical melamine-- a compound used to make plastic , which causes kidney stones when mixed with milk and consumed. The poisoning has been blamed on farmers and middlemen adding melamine to watered down or low quality milk to fake its protein levels when sold to dairies.

This week, Cadbury announced that it is recalling Dairy Milk bars and 11 other types of chocolates made in China from places as far afield as Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the tiny pacific island of Nauru. According to a spokesman, "The withdrawal is due to concern about the possibility of melamine contamination in our chocolate."

Cadbury said the three Chinese factories from which it had obtained milk products had previously been cleared by government tests. But the statement said the company had since conducted its own tests on its chocolates and had received results that cast doubt on the integrity of products manufactured in China.