Two-thirds of China\'s Starbucks outlets just stopped serving milk after one of the coffee chain\'s main suppliers was linked to a contaminated dairy product scandal, the company said. The decision was made as a precaution in response to customers\' concerns, Shanghai-based Starbucks spokeswoman Caren Li said.
Two-thirds of China's Starbucks outlets stopped serving milk on Friday after one of the coffee chain's main suppliers was linked to a contaminated dairy product scandal, the company said.
The decision was made as a precaution in response to customers' concerns, Shanghai-based Starbucks spokeswoman Caren Li said.
Milk products from Starbucks' supplier Mengniu, as well as Yili and Guangming, were recalled around China on Friday after authorities said they found traces of melamine, a chemical used in plastics, in them.
The chemical was initially detected in baby formula, which led to four babies dying from kidney failure and more than 6,000 falling ill.
"Though the milk we received from Mengniu is not included in the contaminated lots, due to the serious nature of this warning, Starbucks pulled all Mengniu milk offerings until further notice," the Seattle-based company said in a statement.
"The safety of our customers and partners (employees) is of utmost importance," the company said.
Starbucks' decision affected two-thirds of its 330 stores in mainland China, Li said.
At some outlets in Beijing, customers were told only black coffee and tea was being served on Friday.
But outlets in Shanghai, as well as neighbouring Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, kept serving milk on Friday because they had a different supplier that authorities have not named as having tainted milk, Li added.
Huang Yan, a 30-year-old customer at a Starbucks in a luxury hotel in Shanghai, said she did not blame the company for the decision.
"For me, this has not damaged Starbucks' image in any way," she said, sipping a cappucino. "I try not to worry too much about the scandal."
Starbucks has seen explosive growth in China, which it expects to become its largest market outside the United States, according to its 2007 annual report.
The chain's presence in China has more than tripled in two years from 99 stores in October 2006. This year, just as it was forced to close US stores, it opened about 120 in China.
Chinese supermarkets and shops also pulled milk and a range of other dairy products off their shelves Friday as part of the sweeping recall.