China: Milk samples free of melamine

BEIJING, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Chinese health officials say milk recently tested from 27 cities had no trace of the chemical that killed four children and sickened thousands of others.

The Chinese government found 607 samples of milk from those cities to be free of melamine, CNN reported Sunday, noting the tests were the sixth set conducted in the last month amid a poisoned-milk scare that has sickened nearly 53,000 children in China.

Countries worldwide have banned the import of Chinese milk products, forcing China's agriculture ministry to offer subsidies to dairy farmers suffering financially from the shrinking market for China's milk, CNN reported.

At least 22 Chinese diary companies have been linked to the scandal, which added melamine to diluted milk, or poor quality milk, to boost its protein content, CNN reported.