The dairy supply for the Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympic Games were untainted by melamine because of "special management measures", China's top quality control official said in Beijing Wednesday.

"All the food supply, including dairy, for the Olympics and Paralympics were safe," Li Changjiang, head of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) told a press conference.

"We took special quality management measures aimed at food supply for the Games," said Li.

He noted that all the food supply, including dairy products, were under scrutiny during the whole process, from production, transportation, to kitchens during the Olympics.

"We sent out inspectors to station at all food suppliers two months before the Games. They conducted strict and effective supervision over all the stages of the production," Li stated.

"After the baby formula were found being tainted by melamine, we conducted immediate testing of the dairy supply for the Olympics and no melamine were found."

Li said inspectors have found melamine in 69 batches of infant formula made by 22 dairy companies. He said the quality-control agencies have tested samples of 491 batches of infant formula at 109 firms.

China has 175 infant milk powder producers, but 66 have already stopped production of infant formula before the incident, he said.

Health Minister Chen Zhu said 6,244 infants have been sickened after being fed the tainted baby formula by 8 a.m. Wednesday, and among them 158 have suffered from acute kidney failure.

(Xinhua News Agency September 18, 2008)