Scary melamin-milk crisis hits more global food companies

In Tokyo, a company spokeswoman said Lotte products sold in Japan are not made with Chinese dairy ingredients.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai-based maker of White Rabbit, a popular vanilla-flavored toffee, said it stopped domestic sales after the Hong Kong government's Center for Food Safety said the candy contained more than six times the legal limit of melamine.

That followed White Rabbit recalls in Britain, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia.

When rumors of melamine-related recalls of Oreos and other sweets spread by phone text messages and on the Internet earlier this week, Kraft Foods Inc. hastened to reassure customers that none of its Oreo-brand products contain milk powder from China.

Oreo fillings contain no milk, while Oreo cookies with icing on them use milk powder from Australia, it said. "Regardless of where they are produced, Kraft products are always held to the highest quality and safety standards," the company said.

As they expand operations in China, targeting its potential market of 1.3 billion people, many foreign-brand food companies still rely heavily on local partners for quality control, experts say.