Taipei - Taiwan's state-funded Straits Exchange Foundation said Monday that China had apologized to Taiwan for the losses and troubles caused by the recent tainted milk scandal.

The foundation said it received a letter of apology to Taiwan's consumers and manufacturers Monday from the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits.

The foundation, which represents Taiwan with China in the absence of formal relations, said the association, its mainland counterpart, promised that Chinese authorities had identified those responsible for the food-safety violations.

It quoted the association as saying that Chinese authorities would not tolerate anyone who endangers the health of consumers and would crack down on any illegal activities.

Since China's contaminated milk scandal became public in September, Taiwan has been forced to remove from store shelves tens of thousands of milk-powder and other food items processed with imported Chinese ingredients contaminated by the toxic chemical melamine.

The scandal, which caused the deaths of at least four Chinese infants and kidney problems of thousands of children, has been used by the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to lash out at China and fault the government of China-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou for leaning too far toward the mainland.

Unlike his pro-independence predecessor Chen Shui-bian, Ma has adopted a policy of engagement with China since he took office in May.

The DPP said it would stage a mass protest against association chairman Chen Yunlin, the mainland's top negotiator with Taiwan, during his visit on November 3 for five days of diplomatic talks in Taipei. (dpa)