However, Mengniu could face punishment for using osteoblast milk protein (OMP) as it is not yet listed in China as a legal food additive, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

A government probe into use of the bone-building additive had been announced Wednesday by the country's top product-quality regulator.

It followed a massive scandal in which Chinese milk products tainted with the industrial chemical melamine killed six infants and sickened nearly 300,000.

Mengniu was among 22 firms whose products were tainted in that scandal.

Mengniu was ordered on February 2 to stop production of affected products until the OMP additive's safety could be determined, official Xinhua news agency said.

The company issued a statement last week saying the protein had been well-researched internationally and widely used for many years.

The additive used by Mengniu was imported from New Zealand and had a safety certification from the New Zealand Food Safety Authority, Xinhua said.

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