Two dairy firms accused of producing unsafe milk powder defended their products yesterday, as quality investigations continue.

The Shanghai municipal bureau of quality and technical supervision said on Wednesday that the bureau is looking into "the quality and safety of Dumex milk powder" produced by a unit of France's Groupe Danone SA.

The Mengniu Dairy Group Co, one of the leading dairy companies in the country, is being investigated by China's quality watchdog for an unapproved protein additive in one of its milk products.

The Xinhua News Agency said investigations into Danone's Dumex are centered on whether the company produced infant formula contaminated with melamine, an industrial chemical used in the manufacture of plastics and fertilizer.

Dumex insisted that all Dumex products made in China are safe, despite the Guangzhou Daily quoting people as saying their children had suffered kidney illnesses after drinking its milk powder.

Only infants who had contracted urinary illnesses after taking in melamine-laced milk powder from Sanlu have been acknowledged by the authority.

Milk powder containing melamine produced by the collapsed Hebei-based company has killed at least six infants and sickened 296,000 nationwide. In a statement posted on its website, Dumex said there was "no evidence pointing to Dumex products as the cause of any illness".

The company also ran an advertisement on Sina.com on Thursday saying all dairy products in China have been proven safe after tests by authorities.

An official from the Shanghai municipal bureau of quality and technical supervision said the milk product, which is still on sale nationwide, is under investigation but no conclusions have been drawn.

The bureau said it has not received any cases in which infants have suffered from kidney stones after drinking the Dumex products.

Meanwhile, China's quality watchdog said it is researching the safety of an unapproved protein additive in a premium line of milk produced by Mengniu.

The additive, a milk protein called OMP, is found only in Mengniu's Telunsu line. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said results would be published at a later date.

(China Daily February 13, 2009)