BEIJING, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- 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.

    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.

Tang Yiwen, 9-month old, is checked by doctor at a children's hospital in Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Sept. 16, 2008. 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.   (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    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.

Parents with their babies wait for examinations at a children's hospital in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province Sept. 16, 2008.  (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    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.

China seizes 22 companies with contaminated baby milk powder 

    BEIJING, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese inspectors have found the chemical melamine in 69 batches of baby milk powder produced by 22 companies nationwide, the country's quality watchdog said late on Tuesday.

    The authorities ordered a halt to the sale of the tainted products which included such well-known brands as Sanlu, Mengniu, Yili and Yashili, among others.

China pledges to treat all tainted milk-affected babies

    BEIJING, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- China's Health Ministry pledged free health care for all babies sickened after drinking contaminated formula. It will also send medical experts to local clinics to assist with treatments.

    The ministry organized a 34 person team, composed of five pediatricians, seven urologists, 10 nephrologists, or kidney specialists, and 12 ultrasonographers.

Officials, company manager sacked following baby milk powder scandal 

    SHIJIAZHUANG, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Four local officials in north China's Hebei Province were fired on Tuesday following the baby milk powder scandal across the country.

    Zhang Fawang, vice mayor in charge of agricultural production of Hebei provincial capital Shijiazhuang, and Sun Renhu, the city's animal husbandry administration chief, were fired late Tuesday following legal procedures, according to a decision made by the city's legislative body. 

Tainted milk powder sickens 1,253 babies in China

    BEIJING, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- The number of Chinese infants stricken with kidney stones caused by contaminated milk powder soared to 1,253 with two dead as of 8 a.m. on Monday, the Ministry of Health said here on Monday.

    According to the ministry, most of the cases occurred in Hebei, Jiangsu and Gansu provinces. The two deaths were both in the northwest Gansu Province. Full story

China inspects dairy industry after milk powder scandal

    BEIJING, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Agriculture launched an inspection of the country's dairy industry on Monday after tainted milk powder sickened babies and aroused concern.

    Six ministry teams were dispatched to the country's six major milk-producing regions, including Beijing, Hebei, Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang in the north, Xinjiang in the west and the central Henan Province. Full story

China to destroy 10,000 tons of tainted baby formula

    SHIJIAZHUANG, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- More than 10,000 tons of baby formula that was seized and recalled in the Sanlu milk powder contamination scandal will be destroyed, said the government of Shijiazhuang, capital of north China's Hebei Province, on Monday.

    Authorities have so far seized 2,176 tons of milk powder in the warehouse of Sanlu Group, producer of the milk powder that gave kidney stones to hundreds of infants across the country, and recalled 8,218 tons that had been on the market, said Shijiazhuang Vice Mayor Li Jinlu. Full story