China milk firm Mengniu blames suppliers

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Chinese milk firm Mengniu Dairy said on Friday its products tainted with melamine came from a tiny number of small suppliers but added that senior executives would step down if found responsible.

The firm, one of China's biggest dairies and best known brands, was still investigating how the compound that is banned in food ended up in several of its products.

The nationwide scandal started with the discovery of tainted infant formula and has grown to include more than 20 other companies.

At the latest count, 6,244 children have become ill, with four dead and 158 suffering acute kidney failure.

Nearly 10 percent of milk samples from three top Chinese dairy companies -- including Mengniu and Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co Ltd -- was tainted with melamine, the government quality watchdog found.

"The main sector in which (the problem) occurred was an extremely small number of suppliers, small dairies, small milk suppliers," Yao Tongshan, executive director and CFO, told a news conference in Hong Kong, where the company is listed.

It was too early to assign final blame, Yao said, apologizing to consumers. He added, however, that if executives were found responsible they would bear it in full.

"Anyone who must step down will step down. Anyone who must bear legal responsibility will bear legal responsibility."

The firm said it has received no reports so far of any harm done due to the melamine found in its products.

The Chinese government has faced panicked parents and public dismay since officials and the Sanlu Group, the nation's biggest maker of infant milk powder, last week revealed babies were sick with kidney stones and complications from drinking milk from tainted powder.

Hong Kong's Centre for Food Safety said it had tested 47 samples of dairy products from mainland China, including milk, milk beverage, milk powder, yoghurt and condensed milk. All were free from melamine.

Starbucks Corp said its 300-plus cafes in mainland China had withdrawn milk supplied by Mengniu. Starbucks said no employees or customers had fallen ill from the milk.

(Reporting by John Ruwitch; Editing by Ken Wills, Paul Bolding)