China-based Synutra recalls baby formula

A Chinese maker of baby formula said Tuesday it was initiating a recall of products that may have been contaminated by melamine, a chemical that has been linked to the recent illnesses of infants and children in China.

Synutra International, Inc., which also has an office in Rockville, Md., said the contamination was discovered by a Chinese agency that found melamine in formula made by 22 different Chinese producers. It did not name the others. The company said its own testing procedure was not equipped to detect melamine.

Synutra said the agency had found melamine in the company's U-Smart products. It said the melamine may have come from milk suppliers in the Hebei and Inner Mongolia regions of the country.

Chief Executive Officer Liang Zhang said in a statement that the company has not yet received any customer complaints or reports of kidney-related health problems. "We nevertheless deeply regret this unfortunate situation and the fact that our U-Smart products were contaminated," he said.

While Synutra said it believes only U-Smart products were possibly contaminated, it has voluntarily recalled all products that contain milk from Hebei and Inner Mongolia. The other products include U-Strong products and adult formula products.

Shares closed Tuesday at $15.29. They have traded in a range of $14.16 to $52.24 in the past 52 weeks.