Six people accused of illegally producing or selling toxic chemicals that killed six babies and sickened 290,000 others went on trial on Friday in Hebei province.

Tian Wenhua, the former head of Sanlu Group, the firm at the center of the tainted milk scandal, will also stand trial next Wednesday, according to an announcement from the Intermediate People's Court of Shijiazhuang.

Among the six people charged on Friday, Zhang Yujun and Zhang Yanzhang were accused of "endangering public security".