Feed supplier for China''s Hanwei detained for melamine contamination

The legal representative of the animal feed factory found producing excessive melamine contaminated feed which affected Hanwei''s eggs has been detained by authorities.

Han Wei, chairman of Dalian Hanwei Group, currently being blamed for supplying melamine contaminated eggs to Hong Kong, said the primary reason its eggs became contaminated was because it was supplied with contaminated DDGS from Shenyang Ming Xing feed factory.

Hanwei is reportedly the largest egg producer in China.

Authorities are still investigating whether Hanwei is directly implicated in the contamination.

The feed factory in question is not accepting any media interviews.

According to a website hosted by Liaoning''s animal health authority, an order was issued to investigate feed produced at Ming Xing as early as October 22, three days before Hong Kong authorities discovered melamine in eggs from Hanwei.

The website also said local officials had submitted a report on October 13, stating that no local farms were found using Ming Xing''s feed during an investigation conducted on October 6 and 7. The investigation was in response to an internal emergency directive.

Meanwhile, egg prices in Guangzhou, a neighbouring province to Hong Kong, plunged, with shipments shrinking and demand down precipitously. Business was poor in Guangzhou''s largest eggs wholesale market.

Just a few days after excessive melamine was detected in eggs, sales in the market dropped by hundreds of thousands, sources said.