BEIJING - China's mounting toxic milk scandal, in which three infants have died and more than 6,000 fallen ill, has triggered sackings and detentions with the government denouncing the dairy industry as chaotic.

The health scare erupted after Sanlu Group last week revealed its milk powder contained melamine, which is banned in food, and a subsequent probe found a fifth of 109 Chinese dairy producers made products adulterated with the substance.

It comes on top of a series of scares including lead-tainted toys, toxic pet food, contaminated toothpaste and dumplings, and has again spread overseas with two dairy producers recalling exports to Yemen, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Gabon and Burundi.

China's State Council, or cabinet, vowed to shake up the industry, saying it faced widespread regulatory failings despite efforts to improve food safety after a series of health scandals last year, official newspapers reported on Thursday.

'The Sanlu infant milk powder incident reflects chaos in the dairy products market and loopholes in supervision and administration which has not been vigorous,' said the summary of a meeting on Wednesday presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao.

Melamine is rich in nitrogen, used to measure protein, and so can be used to disguise diluted milk. It can cause kidney stones and other organ problems.

Last year China was beset by domestic and international scares about toxins and dangerous faults in its food and products. Deaths of dogs in the United States were blamed on pet food ingredients from China tainted with melamine.

Public dismay

China launched a crackdown that culminated in the execution of its sacked food and drug safety chief. With renewed public dismay over food safety, Beijing is following a familiar script.

'Resolutely punish law-breaking criminals and conscientiously pursue the culpable businesses, supervisory agencies and administrative heads,' declared the State Council.

The mayor of Shijiazhuang, the home city of Sanlu in north China's Hebei province, was sacked following the earlier dismissal of four subordinates, Xinhua news agency reported.

Hebei police said 28 suspects implicated in the toxic milk trade had been subjected to 'mandatory measures", or detention, according to the official China News Service. They include Sanlu's sacked chairwoman, Ms Tian Wenhua.

Another six suspects have been arrested.

Those steps, however, may not be enough to quell public anxiety.

Supermarkets have been clearing locally made infant milk powder from their shelves, while anxious parents queued at hospitals and snapped up imported powder. Many took the train to Hong Kong to buy safe powder.

Local media have kept quiet about claims that Sanlu and Shijiazhuang officials, if not others, concealed the poisonings from the public and senior authorities during the Beijing Olympics in August.

Sanlu is 43 per cent owned by New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra, and New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said on Monday that Chinese officials acted last week only after her government pressed Beijing.

A vice-governor of Hebei, Yang Chongyong, said on Wednesday that Sanlu knew 'long ago' that melamine was being used in its milk from as early as 2005, reported a mainland-controlled Hong Kong newspaper, the Wen Wei Po.

The vice-governor said that 41 of 372 milk stations supplying the company had been found to have 'problems.' -- REUTERS