China announced Tuesday that it has instituted a nationwide program of safety checks for melamine-tainted dairy products, Reuters reported. The government dispatched food inspectors to 16 provinces to check for melamine, a chemical used by some dairy producers as an additive due to its ability to mimic protein in quality control tests. Melamine contamination resulted in the sickness of 300,000 children and at least 6 deaths in 2008. Despite instructions to destroy all melamine-contaminated milk, the recent discovery of melamine-contaminated dairy products from three Chinese companies indicated weaknesses in the implementation of new safety regulations. "In spite of the current campaign for food safety, some enterprise and individuals are still blinded by greed, ignoring the health and safety of the public," the People’s Daily editorialized.