China's State Council, or Cabinet, on Thursday sends a team of officials to some provinces and autonomous regions to check the aftereffect of a recent tainted milk powder scandal.

The team will work to ensure problems arising from the tainted milk powder sandal were properly dealt with, a source with the Cabinet said.

The team was composed of experts and officials from seven ministries and state administrations.

They were expected to have an all-round check-up on the chain of diary manufacturing to ensure food safety, protect dairy farmers' interests and punish those held responsible for the scandal.

They will also visit dairy farms and processing centers to inspect the whole process of milk production and urge shops to remove tainted milk products from commercial outlets.

Baby formula tainted with the chemical melamine, which makes the protein content of the milk appearing higher than it actually is, has so far killed at least three infants and left more than 53,000 with various urinary tract problems, including kidney stones.

Dairy giant Sanlu based in the northern Hebei provincial capital of Shijiazhuang was the first company exposed in the scandal.

(Xinhua News Agency September 26, 2008)