No melamine was detected in 296 government tests of China's major brands of liquid milk and yogurt products over the past two weeks, China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said on Friday.

The agency said starting from Sept. 14, it had conducted checks on 296 batches of liquid milk and yogurt products from 47 brands -including Yili, Mengniu, Guangming among others - across the country's major cities, with no melamine found.

Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming (R) plays with a baby held in the arms of his father who came to buy milk products at a supermarket in Beijing, Sept. 26, 2008. Chen inspected liquid milk and yogurt products in supermarkets and wholesale markets and held talks with representatives from related enterprises on Friday as the National Day holiday draws near. [Xinhua]

This came after AQSIQ ordered a nationwide inspection of baby milk powder on Sept. 11, after media reported on Sept. 9 that dairy products produced by Sanlu and other leading Chinese brands contained melamine and had caused the deaths of at least three babies, and sickened about 53,000 others.

As of Sept. 23, almost 13,000 infants nationwide were hospitalized with kidney problems as a result of drinking milk contaminated with melamine.

AQSIQ also ordered shopping malls and supermarkets across the country to display lists of safe dairy producers and products, and to put SAFE tags on products, starting from Sept. 18.

Meanwhile, products found containing melamine were recalled and removed from shelves and a total of 7,074 tonnes of tainted dairy products had been removed from retail outlets across China as of Sept. 23, according to the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.

But amid the melamine-free check results on liquid milk and yogurt products, producer of China's brand name candy "White Rabbit" announced on Friday it would halt domestic sales of its milk candy products, because of reports that its exported candies to Singapore contained melamine.

Guanshengyuan, the Shanghai-based candy firm, said it had previously recalled all exports, some of which tested positive for melamine.

Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming tastes a cup of yogurt at a supermarket in Beijing, Sept. 26, 2008. Chen inspected liquid milk and yogurt products in supermarkets and wholesale markets and held talks with representatives from related enterprises on Friday as the National Day holiday draws near. [Xinhua]

According to a Thursday report by the 21st Century Business Herald, Guangming, the parent company of Guangshengyuan, said it would not make any comments until official test results of its products were issued.

Chinese Minister of Commerce Chen Deming said on Friday that the country was endeavoring to boost consumers' confidence in domestically-produced dairy products during his inspection of supermarkets and wholesale markets in the country's capital city.

"The key does not lie in our words, but our deeds," Chen added.

(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2008)