China's health minister has blamed a dairy for a delay in warning the public about tainted milk powder linked to the sickening of 432 babies and at least one death.

Officials defended their response Saturday to China's latest product safety disaster. They said 19 people had been detained and 78 were being questioned about how the banned chemical melamine was added to milk sold to Sanlu Group Co., China's biggest milk powder producer.

Officials complained they were not alerted until Monday, even though Sanlu got complaints as early as March and its tests found melamine in the milk in August. The company ordered a recall on Thursday.

At least 432 Chinese babies who were fed Sanlu milk are suffering from kidney stones, Health Minister Gao Qiang said at a news conference.

"The Sanlu Group should shoulder major responsibility for this," Gao said. He gave no indication of what penalties the Chinese dairy might face but said those responsible would "be dealt with severely."

The incident was an embarrassing failure for China's product safety system, which was overhauled in an attempt to restore consumer confidence after a string of recalls and warnings abroad over tainted toothpaste, faulty tires and other goods.

The milk scandal is especially damaging because it involves a major food processor. The government expects such companies to act as industry role models of safety and quality.

Gao said some tainted milk powder was exported to Taiwan but none was sold to other foreign markets.

In Taiwan, authorities seized thousands of bags of Chinese milk powder. There was no word on whether any was consumed in Taiwan.

Liu Fang-ming of Taiwan's Taoyuan county government said a 55,115-pound (25,000-kilogram) shipment arrived in June, but that only 21,660 pounds (9,825 kilograms) of it had been recovered.

Chinese investigators were looking into how and why the melamine was added to milk.

Gao said it might have been done to fool quality tests after water was added to fraudulently increase the milk's volume. Melamine, used in plastics and other products, is rich in nitrogen, and standard tests for protein in food ingredients measure nitrogen levels. Gao said Chinese law bans its use in food.

Investigators want to know whether word of the contamination was suppressed, said Vice Gov. Yang Chongyong of Hebei province, where Sanlu Group is located.

"We will look into whether government at any level was negligent or whether any officials tried to withhold information," Yang said. "If we find anyone did this, they will be held accountable."

Health Minister Gao said Beijing was sending experts to treat the hundreds of sick babies and would pay for their care.

"We are confident that with timely diagnosis and treatment, these infant patients will recover soon," he said.

Shoddy and fake goods are common in China, and infants, hospital patients and others have been killed or injured by tainted or fake milk, medicines, liquor and other products.

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On the Net:

Sanlu Group: http://www.sanlu.com