BEIJING (Reuters) - Nearly 10 percent of milk samples taken from top Chinese dairy companies was contaminated by melamine, the government quality watchdog found after testing for the compound that has killed four children in a widening scandal.
The nationwide inspection of milk showed the problem ofcontamination ran wider than the tainted milk powder that hasmade thousands of infants ill.
Officials said most milk was safe to drink, trying tobolster public trust already rocked by a litany of food scaresinvolving eggs, pork and seafood in recent years.
The General Administration of Quality Supervision,Inspection and Quarantine pointed its finger at two of China'stop dairy producers in a statement on its website(www.aqsiq.gov.cn).
Almost one-tenth of milk batches from Mengniu Dairy andInner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group tested positive formelamine, a compound banned in food, the quality watchdog said.
The health scare erupted after Sanlu Group last weekrevealed it had produced and sold melamine-laced milk powder,and a subsequent probe found a fifth of 109 Chinese dairyproducers were selling formula adulterated with the substance.
At the latest count, 6,244 children have fallen ill withkidney stones after drinking powdered melamine-tainted milk,with four deaths and 158 suffering "acute kidney failure".
(Reporting by Simon Rabinovitch; Editing by Nick Macfie)
