Well off target

China's school milk program is still in a fledging phase, covering only 1 percent of students. The original target was 30 percent in 2010.

The program's broader goals were to improve the health of children and teenagers, advocate the concept of scientific diet, and promote the rapid development of the dairy industry.

In 2000, five major cities carried out pilot programs. By 2006, four of them had sunk in stagnancy.

For example, the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission called it quits after the soymilk poisoning in Liaoning province in 2003. Guangzhou had been the best performer, but participation dropped from 40 percent in 2007 to 12 percent this year, according to a milk market analysis and a dairy industry plan from Guangzhou.

The national school milk program continues, but experts say it seemingly has become philanthropy.

"Parents in developed cities are more willing to buy expensive and high-quality milk for their children by themselves," said Sang, the food-safety lawyer. "So the school milk project is now more noticeable in backward areas, including many cases where local governments pay the bill."

Experts say that if the program is called off in some areas, students will be harmed.

"The school milk program should be a boon for students nationwide," Sang said. "Local governments shouldn't give it up for fear of milk scandals. Large-scale businesses and State-owned enterprises can take part in and shoulder more social responsibilities."