Examinations are underway to determine whether a Chinese candy known as white rabbit, which was marketed in Budapest, contained milk powder contaminated with melamine, a substance harmful to the kidneys. According to Origo.hu, the Chinese manufacturer of the candy announced on September 25 that contaminated milk powder was used in making white rabbit. In China, 53,000 children have fallen ill from melamine, and the substance has caused the deaths of four others. Melamine was originally used in manufacturing adhesives and plastics and as such is not part of a balanced and nutritious meal.

Lajos Bognár, deputy president of the Agricultural Office, said the candy suspected of being contaminated with melamine had been found at a Budapest shop and 13 packages were seized. The storekeeper could not answer questions from authorities at the scene, because they only spoke Chinese. They could not provide any documentation for the product either.

On September 26, the European Commission ordered heightened checks of products originating from China and containing milk powder. Hungarian storekeepers are required to have all products containing over 15% of milk powder originating from China examined at their own cost, Bognár said, adding that so far, the substance had not been found in large quantities in any product sold in Hungary, and he did not expect that such a product would be found.

Meanwhile, a subscription only piece from MTI filed on October 1 stated that authorities have yet to discover any product that could be harmful to humans. Bognár told the state newswire that while one such product containing small amounts of melamine were discovered, the concentration was too low to be harmful to humans.

Bognár added that the investigation would continue, but that Hungary's milk powder imports come from a different source than the one linked to the contaminated products.