Sanlu Group - which is at the heart of the tainted-milk scandal - is ready to resume production, a senior official of the city where the dairy conglomerate is based said yesterday.

Li Jinlu, executive vice-mayor of Shijiazhuang, told a meeting of the city people's congress that a factory wholly owned by Sanlu Group had completed procedures for restarting production.

Seven of its affiliate factories in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, have resumed production after changing their names, Li said. They include those producing milk under the Wahaha and Feihe brands.