Source:
https://scmp.com/article/659970/two-more-girls-kidney-stones-bring-melamine-cases-12

Two more girls with kidney stones bring melamine cases to 12

Two four-year-old girls have been diagnosed with kidney stones after drinking milk and eating cookies tainted with melamine.

Both had regularly eaten the popular Lotte Koala biscuits, while one had frequently consumed Yili yogurt and the other drank Mengniu milk daily.

The Centre for Health Protection confirmed the diagnosis yesterday.

Melamine is a chemical usually used in the manufacture of plastics and is added to food products to artificially boost the protein content.

The two children brought the number of such cases in Hong Kong, since the melamine scare broke out on September 10, to 12.

The girls were admitted to Princess Margaret Hospital for treatment after their parents took them to the special assessment centre at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital for check-ups in October, a health centre spokesman said.

The were discharged on October 29 and November 7.

One of the girls, who lives in Wan Chai, was found to have a stone in her right kidney.

'She consumed Lotte Koala biscuits continuously for three years. Every day she ate a pack of the biscuits weighing 20 grams,' a spokesman for the centre said, adding that the biscuits were bought in Hong Kong.

The girl also drank 250ml of Mengniu milk everyday for about four months.

The other girl, who lives in Tai Hang, was found to have a stone in her left kidney. The centre said she had eaten Lotte Koala biscuits bought in Hong Kong for 18 months.

'On average, she ate about 10 packs a month, each weighing 20 grams,' the spokesman said.

The girl also ate 250ml of Yili strawberry flavoured yogurt two to three times a week for four months.

Samples of Lotte Koala biscuits were found in September to contain 57 milligrams to 68mg per kilogram of melamine, far exceeding the allowable limit in Hong Kong of 2.5mg per kilogram.

Melamine was initially found in baby milk formula on the mainland that had killed four children and made more than 53,000 infants ill. The contamination spread to eggs, biscuits, chocolate and candy.