Brothers arrested in case of tainted milk for formula

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese police arrested two brothers suspected of adding a dangerous chemical to milk they sold to a company that produced infant formula that killed two babies and sickened more than 1,200 others, officials and state media reported Monday.

The two brothers, surnamed Geng, run a milk collection center in Hebei province and are accused of adding melamine, a chemical used in plastics, to the milk to make it appear higher in protein, the official Xinhua News Agency said. They sold about three tons of contaminated milk a day, the report said, citing Hebei police spokesman Shi Guizhong.

Chinese investigators say melamine may have been added to the milk to fool quality tests after water was added to fraudulently increase the milk’s volume. Melamine is rich in nitrogen and standard tests for protein in food ingredients measure nitrogen levels. China’s Health Ministry on Monday said two infants have died from drinking the contaminated milk powder and 1,253 have been sickened.