The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Beijing

More than 10,000 children remain hospitalized after being sickened in China's tainted milk scandal, officials said Wednesday, as the government released its first rules on allowable levels of the chemical blamed in the ailments.

The Health Ministry said in a statement on its Web site that eight of the 10,666 children were in serious condition after drinking milk powder contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine, which can lead to kidney stones and possibly life-threatening kidney failure.

No new deaths have been recorded, it said. The scandal has so far been blamed for the deaths of four babies and the sickening of more than 54,000 others. But the effects of the scandal continue to be felt, forcing the government to deal with festering health and public relations issues. China's food exports have increasingly suffered, with more nations issuing import bans.

Dairy suppliers have been accused of adding melamine - used in products including plastics, paint and adhesives - to watered-down milk to make the product appear rich in protein and fool quality control tests. There had been no previous standards.

Under Health Ministry guidelines released Wednesday, melamine is limited to one part per million for infant formula and 2.5 parts per million for liquid milk, milk powder and food products that contain more than 15 percent milk.

Wang Xuening, a Health Ministry official, said any items containing higher levels will be "prohibited from sale."

Wang acknowledged that small amounts of melamine can leech from the environment and packaging into milk and other foods, but said that deliberate tainting is explicitly forbidden.

"Melamine cannot be used as an ingredient or additive in food products," Wang said. "For those who add melamine into food products, their legal responsibility will be investigated."

Chen Junshi, a researcher for China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said the new guidelines will help officials assess whether melamine had been intentionally added or existed in the environment.

"If the amount exceeds one (part per million), we have reasons to believe it was intentionally added," Chen said. "If the amount is below one, it's very likely that it is because it existed in the environment."

Levels of melamine discovered in batches of milk powder recently registered as much as 6,196 parts per million.

Guidelines in Hong Kong and New Zealand say melamine in food products is considered safe at 2.5 parts per million or less, though Hong Kong has lowered the level for children under 3 and pregnant or lactating women to one part per million.

In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration says its experts have concluded that eating 2.5 parts per million of melamine - a minuscule amount - would not raise health risks, even if a person ate food every day that was laced with it.