The government plans to impose production controls on melamine, the chemical at the center of last year's milk-contamination scandal, media reported on Friday.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has circulated for comment draft production permit rules aiming to stem a melamine production glut and stop it from tainting food, the China Chemical Industry News reported.

Melamine is used to make fertilizers, plastics and other industrial goods but gained notoriety as a cheap additive for milk and other foods. Rich in nitrogen, it can be used to fool tests for protein.

At least six infants died from kidney stones and more than 290,000 were sickened after drinking baby formula contaminated with melamine, prompting massive recalls of dairy and other food products around the world.

Tian Wenhua, the former general manager of the now bankrupt Sanlu Group, the company at the heart of the scandal, has pleaded guilty to charges of producing and selling fake or substandard products. She could face life imprisonment.

The ministry said it hopes the rules will put an end to such scandals, the paper said.

Until recently, melamine was widely sold, including over the Internet, for about 10,000 yuan ($1,500) a ton. It has also been detected in eggs, chocolates and other foods.

The ministry also aims to shrink the number of melamine producers by setting minimum production levels and strengthening controls on ingredients and waste.

A 2-month-old boy died on Sunday after being fed milk formula made by a Guangdong milk company in Zhejiang Province, the Oriental Morning Post reported on Friday.

(China Daily January 10, 2009)