Guan Sheng Yuan Food Co said yesterday it has resumed production of the popular White Rabbit candy.

The company stopped domestic sales of the candy last month because of suspected melamine contamination.

A new supply of safe, high-quality powdered milk is now being used, the company said.

The milk and finished products will undergo tests by the Shanghai Quality & Technical Supervision and the Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection & Quarantine Bureau, it said.

The company, however, declined to disclose the origin of its raw milk and when its products will go on sale again.

Last month, Singapore and Hong Kong detected the industrial chemical melamine in the candy and pulled it from market shelves.

An employee of Guan Sheng Yuan, who declined to be named, said the company should have stopped sales earlier than it did, as most people who eat White Rabbit are children.

The company's parent is the Shanghai Bright Foods Group, also its main milk supplier and one of the major milk producers caught up in the melamine-tainted milk scandal.

"This is a profound lesson. From now on, we must realistically strengthen the idea of supplying customers with healthy, safe and high-quality food," vice-president of Bright Foods Group Ge Junjie was quoted as saying.

Currently, Guan Sheng Yuan is still waiting test results on samples of its creamy products and has promised to announce the results as soon as they become available.

White Rabbit has long been a household brand name among Chinese and has been popular in more than 20 countries, especially in Asia.

(China Daily October 7, 2008)