Nine people have been arrested in China's Hebei Province for allegedly taking part in the production or purchase of the substance melamine, police say.

Police allege that eight of the suspects purchased unspecified amounts of melamine, the substance blamed in the contamination of Chinese milk products. The ninth suspect allegedly produced more than 600 tons of a mixture containing melamine, China's state-run official Xinhua news agency said Friday.

Police say suspect Zhang Yujun was arrested for allegedly creating a mixture containing both melamine and maltodextrin between August 2007 and September 2008.

The nine arrests this week brought the running tally of Chinese arrests in relation to the contaminated milk scandal to 36, Xinhua reported.

The news agency said melamine has been known to cause a variety of medical problems when ingested, including kidney stones and urinary tract problems. It's sometimes added to watered down milk to make it seem it has a higher protein content.

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