China has had several food safety scares in recent years, with contaimants found in ingestible products such as toothpaste and petfood.  But the crisis going on now strikes a deep chord with parents both in and out of China:  as of today, four children have died from baby food contaminated with melamine, and over 6,000 have been sickened.  Over 150 babies are hospitalized with acute kidney failure.

Earliest reports indicate that the melamine was added to the formula in an effort to boost its protein content.  As a result, 18 people affiliated with formula companies have been arrested.

This is not the first baby formula crisis in China.  Fox News reports that 12 children died of malnutrition in 2004 after being fed phony formula devoid of any nutrients.

The New York Times quotes a nervous father waiting outside a Beijing hospital:

“They are trying to make a profit off the people who are not rich enough to afford the imported brands,” he said as he waited in the hospital parking lot with other families. “Poor people can only afford the low-end products like this one.” He said the Sanlu product had cost about $3.20 for two days’ worth of formula, compared with about $5 for the top brands.

The frustration, anger and heartache is being felt by parents around the globe.  One American family, with an adopted daughter from China, heard from their agency this week:

We received a call from our adoption agency yesterday, suggesting we talk with our pediatrician, and if necessary, get some kidney tests done on Merrilee.

This is all because of the tainted baby formula scandal in China. Most of the problem is with Sanlu formula. That is one of the formulas Merrilee was fed in China. She also was in the Hubei province, where much of the tainted formula was used. The formula was tainted with the chemical melamine, which is normally used in plastics.

The story has prompted the FDA to issue a warning to American parents.  Colleen Hurley, a registered dietician, explains on Mum-Mum:

The Advisory is to assure Americans that there is currently no apparent threat to infant formulas sold in the US, as all companies must meet special requirements to sell formula in the United States.  Currently, no Chinese formula manufacturers have passed the necessary protocols to sell formula in the US but FDA officials are still investing specialty markets that sell Chinese products.

The FDA goes onto to advise parents and caregivers to avoid giving any infant formula made in China to babies or children.

Rachel of Fit Family writes of how deeply this story has touched her:

Reading about the recent infant deaths due to formula tainted with melamine in China just breaks my heart.  I had to write about this story because it hits so close to home with myself having a 4 month old.  I have been so lucky that I have been able to breastfeed both of my children with no problems and no assistance from formula.  So, I can’t even imagine what it would be like to have a child who became sick do to the formula you feed them every day.  These parents put their trust in these companies to provide them a product that they feel will best help their child only to find out they have been betrayed.

Karen the Pittsburgh Doula considers this a good time to reflect on formula safety in general:

This is yet another reason why I think that formula should be more closely regulated. China is not alone in having to recall formula -- it's been done in the United States 22 times from between 1982 and 1994 alone. With a manufactured product, there is a risk of contaminating the sole food supply for astonishing numbers of young babies.

Parents around the world watch this story unfold, hoping the manufacturers of our children's food--wherever they are--are paying close attention.

Shannon Lowe is a BlogHer contributing editor (Mommy/Family). She also blogs at Rocks In My Dryer and The Parenting Post.