Police have seized a total of 222.5kg of melamine from farms and milk stations in Shijiazhuang amid efforts to salvage the mainland dairy industry.
The seizures were made in raids by more than 800 police officers on 41 farms and milk stations in the Hebei capital after the infant formula produced by Shijiazhuang-based diary giant Sanlu tested positive for the industrial chemical, Xinhua reported yesterday.
Further investigations revealed melamine in baby milk powder produced by a number of leading dairy firms, including Yili, Mengniu and Bright Dairy. The scandal has since spread to a range of dairy products.
Unscrupulous milk dealers used the chemical to give the appearance of higher protein content, but human consumption of the tainted products has led to kidney problems. So far, at least four babies have been killed and more than 54,000 made ill.
According to the report, police found evidence that melamine was produced in underground plants and then sold to dairy farms and milk stations.
One detainee, identified as Gao, said he had produced 'protein powder' containing melamine in Ding county since late last year. Another man helped him sell it to milk stations.
