The infant milk powder produced by most companies in China was safe according to the nationwide check results following the Sanlu baby formula scam, the country's State Council departments said on Tuesday.

Nine-year-old Tang Yiwen receives medical examination at a hospital in Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Tuesday, September 16, 2008. The baby developed kidney stones after being fed the tainted Sanlu brand baby milk powder. [Photo: Xinhua]

The State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said it had tested 491 batches of baby milk powder produced by all the 109 companies in the country in a special inspection move.

69 batches from 22 companies nationwide were found containing melamine, a chemical which had tainted Sanlu's baby formula and led to kidney stone illness of more than 1,200 infants across the country.

The number of companies with melamine-tainted milk accounted for 20.18 percent of the total of milk powder companies in China. And the number of tainted batches accounted for 14.05 percent of the total batches tested.

The melamine content in the Sanlu brand reached 2,563 mg per kg, the highest among all the samples. In other samples, the range was from 0.09 mg to 619 mg per kilogram.

Authorities have sealed the problematic milk powder products in companies, or removed them from store shelves and recalled all those sold.

Safe powder milk products will continue to be sold on market to ensure enough supply, according to the State Council.

To ensue the quality safety, the quality inspection bodies will dispatch supervisors to each baby milk powder company since Wednesday to oversee the quality of raw materials and production procedures. Every batch of products will be checked.

Sanlu, which is 43 percent owned by New Zealand dairy company Fonterra, has been ordered to halt production. The Hebei provincial government decided on Tuesday to dispatch four working teams to Sanlu Group for a thorough investigation.

So far, four milk dealers have been arrested and 22 others detained for questioning by Hebei police.

(Xinhua News Agency September 17, 2008)