China's Ministry of Health reports that around 40,000 infants sickened by tainted milk powder have received treatment across the country. Some 13,000 babies are still hospitalized and 1,600 have recovered and been discharged from hospital.

The report says China has ordered nearly 5,700 tons of dairy products containing melamine off the market. The country has also called for strict supervision of milk products to avoid contaminated products from entering the market.

Meanwhile, more than 700 dairy producers in China on Sunday submitted a commitment to the country's quality watchdog, vowing to strictly check the process of milk production to guarantee the safety of products.

Dairy producers from Heilongjiang Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, whose products were found melamine-free, held a seminar and proposed suggestions to further regulate the dairy market.

"Dairy production is an industry which involves many stages. A glitch in one stage may affect the safety of the products. For cow breeders, a sound system to guard against possible cow disease and to ensure timely treatment is badly needed."

"There is still no quick measure to detect melamine in milk. We have to wait at least one day for the result at current stage. We call for a quicker measure for that."

In addition, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine revoked the status of "China's famous brands" of Mengniu, Guangming and Yili, three leading dairy producers in China.

The quality watchdog has also cancelled all national inspection exemptions previously given to food producers.

According to previous regulation, any company in China could apply for the inspection-exemption if they had a long-standing quality record, a large market share, and implemented standards up to or above national or international levels.