China summons major dairy cos

BEIJING, OCT 17 : China summoned five major dairy companies to a meeting Friday over the fate of Sanlu Group Co., the company at the center of a scandal over tainted milk that sickened tens of thousands of children including four who died, state media reported. The five companies were called to Beijing to discuss the possiblesale of Sanlu and its assets, the business newspaper 21st Century Business Herald said Friday. The government is trying to revive the country's dairy industry after the industrial chemical melamine was found in numerous milkproducts. Baby formula contaminated with the chemical was blamed forthe deaths of four infants and the sickening of about 54,000 otherchildren in China. — AP