Agence France-Presse

DAR ES SALAAM — Tanzania has banned all Chinese milk products to safeguard against poisoning by the toxic industrial chemical melamine, a statement said Saturday.

The Tanzania Food and Drug Authority (TFDA) ordered “government officials at all border points to be extra vigilant with all dairy products from China including yoghurt, ice-cream powder and chocolate.”

TDFA said it had dispatched experts “to check retail and wholesale outlets for any possible traces of tainted milk that had made its way” into the east African country.

China said this week that milk powder contaminated with melamine, which is used in plastics, had made at least 6,200 babies ill nationwide and killed four over a period of many months.

Yili, Mengniu and Guangming — big brands consumed and trusted by hundreds of millions of Chinese — were affected by the recall after authorities checked their products and found traces of melamine.

Melamine added to milk and other food products gives the appearance of higher protein levels.