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BEIJING : Some 6,244 babies in China have been diagnosed with kidney stones, after consuming contaminated milk powder.
The health minister said 158 are suffering from acute kidney failure while three deaths have been confirmed.
Free treatment will be provided to those affected.
The dairy industry is a booming business with 372 milk stations supplying mainly to Sanlu and other brands in Hebei Province alone.
But the drive of some operators to make more money has resulted in this latest scandal.
Operators of 41 milk stations have been found poisoning their milk as early as 2005.
Melamine is an industrial chemical found in items like houseware and furniture, and no one expected that the toxic substance would find its way into foodstuffs like milk powder for babies.
"Melamine is a sparingly soluble industrial chemical. According to the confessions of those who were arrested, they used high temperatures and other chemical substances such as sodium citrate and fats to make it more soluble. The authorities are still investigating. The milk collectors' motive was to increase water content and weight of the milk," said Yang Chongyong, vice governor of Hebei Province.
Now, authorities have found that melamine may not be the only substance that has been added in the contaminated milk.
In Beijing, most of the baby milk formula has been recalled as the government embarked on a nation-wide inspection.
Melamine has been found in the baby milk powder of 22 companies out of 109. But the state authority assures consumers that the rest of the local brands have passed inspection and are safe.
"It is safe for consumers to buy products from the affected companies, as there are some batches which are safe from Melamine," said Li Changjiang, head of the State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.
Questions were also raised about the safety of other dairy products such as adult milk formula and yoghurt drinks.
Li said 160 inspection centres nation-wide are working round the clock putting to inspect the products.
The state authority is also working with Hong Kong to investigate the case of melamine-laced Yili ice bars.
For now, big dairy companies like Mengniu and Yili Dairy, despite a few tainted samples, have been ordered to step up production to meet the short fall. - CNA /ls
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