China's health ministry says the number of babies sickened by contaminated milk powder could rise further.

State media quoted the ministry as saying medical agencies were ready for a "possibly rising" number of cases.

A "multi-level treatment system" was being set up to cope, it said, amid increasing public anger.

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China denies politicising Games ... died and more than 1,200 have become ill after drinking milk powder which had been spiked with the industrial chemical melamine.

"Their number could rise as the search for more infants fed Sanlu milk food spreads across the country's rural areas," the China Daily reported.

"The number could rise sharply in coming days as more parents take their children for medical check-ups," the report added, citing Health Minister Chen Zhu.

The government has called the poisonings a "Level 1" food safety incident and formed an emergency team to grapple with the fallout, the Xinhua news agency reported.

But rising public anger, expressed on China's active internet forums, is prompting reports of a crackdown by the government on reporting of the milk scandal.

Sanlu apology

The company blamed for making the contaminated formula, Sanlu Group, apologised on Monday, saying that suppliers who sold the milk had apparently added the chemical.

Normally used in the manufacture of plastics, melamine makes foods appear higher in protein, but has caused kidney stones in babies in several Chinese provinces.

Zhang Zhenling, Sanlu's vice president, did not explain why the company took so long to inform the public about the contamination despite receiving complaints as early as March and having tests confirm the presence of the chemical in early August.

News emerged of the problem only after a New Zealand company, Fonterra, which owns 43% of Sanlu, informed New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who then informed the Beijing government.

"The serious safety accident of the Sanlu formula milk powder for infants has caused severe harm to many sickened babies and their families. We feel really sad about this," Mr Zhang said, reading from a prepared statement.

Vice health minister Ma Shaowei warned on Monday that as many as 10,000 infants may have drunk the contaminated milk.

Mr Ma said that 340 children remained in hospital, and that out of these 53 were in a serious condition.

(BBC)

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