In China the toxic milk powder has made 53,000 children ill and claimed the lives of four infants.
The milk products were contaminated with the chemical melamine used in pesticides and in the making of plastics.
But thousands of other babies have been hospitalized with kidney stone failure from the milk powder they drank.
The melamine scandal follows one in 2004 when 12 babies in eastern China's Anhui province died of malnutrition after drinking fake powdered formula. More than 200 babies suffered wasted limbs and swollen heads — common symptoms of malnutrition.
Baby formula and other substitutes, such as soy milk, rice porridge, and cow or goat milk, are necessary staples in rural areas where many young parents are forced to leave their children at home with grandparents or relatives to find work in the cities.
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.
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.
