What has shocked many people in China, even those used to a heavily censored media, is how many people knew about the problem before it went public. Initial investigations by the government suggest that Sanlu first started receiving complaints in December of last year. By March, the number of complaints was sufficient for it to start its own inquiries. In May, a baby died in Gansu province in the far west and, by July, authorities there were concerned enough about the number of sick infants that they called in the ministry of health. Gansu officials suspected Sanlu was to blame – it was the only food many of the babies had consumed.