BEIJING — Three Chinese companies have been found selling food products laced with melamine, the chemical blamed for the deaths of six babies in a huge dairy scandal in 2008, state media said Monday.
The revelations came ahead of the possible trial next month of three Chinese dairy executives who are facing charges of making and selling toxic and hazardous food over tainted milk supplies.
In the latest reported case, authorities in the southwestern province of Guizhou found that the products, said to include "popsicles," contained levels of the industrial chemical above allowable limits, the China Daily said.
One official quoted in the newspaper said the products may have contained tainted milk that was recalled after the scandal but had found its way back on to the market.
The paper said the food companies involved had blamed the problem on milk powder bought from suppliers.
In the 2008 scandal, melamine was found to have been added to milk in China to give the appearance of a higher protein content.
It found its way into a range of products including baby formula, leading to the death of six infants and making almost 300,000 ill, according to official figures.
The scandal triggered an uproar in China and abroad, and many products containing Chinese dairy were taken off shelves around the world.
A total of 21 people have been reportedly convicted. Two have been executed and others were given jail sentences ranging from two years to life. Another three executives face possible trial in February.
The China Daily report said the latest discovery of tainted goods included "popsicles" produced by two of the companies but gave no other specifics.
The products were made in March and April last year 2009, months after the government declared the melamine scare over.
The three firms were Zibo Lusaier Dairy Company in eastern China's Shandong province, Tieling Wuzhou Food Company in northeastern Liaoning province, and the Laoting Kaida Refrigeration Plant in northern Hebei province, it said.
The firms blamed the problem on milk powder bought from suppliers, it added.
Staff at the Guizhou provincial health department denied the report when contacted by AFP. Staff at the companies named declined comment.
The China Daily quoted Wang Dingmian, former chair of the Guangdong dairy association in southern China, as saying the products likely contained tainted milk recalled after the scandal that had made its way back into the market.
"The companies should have been required to test each and every batch of milk powder they bought," Wang was quoted as saying.
"The government should be more responsible and avoid bureaucracy. You can't just assume that everything is fine," he added.
