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IS THERE no end in sight to China’s harrowing milk contamination scandal? As New ÐÓ°ÉÔ­´´ went to press, it seemed not.

After drinking formula milk contaminated with melamine – an industrial chemical added to boost measurements of the milk’s protein content – four babies were dead, 104 were in a critical condition with kidney stones, and 53,000 were ill. Meanwhile, a girl in Hong Kong was the first case outside mainland China.

China’s chief quality control official has resigned and the government has vowed to tackle the problem. , who specialises in Chinese economic relations at the University of Glasgow, UK, says the scandal is the latest symptom of China’s dramatic economic growth outstripping the centralised regime’s capacity to regulate food safety.