White Rabbit: Sweet temptations

They were Premier Zhou Enlai's favorite late-night snack. He loved White Rabbit candy so much he gave a bag to U.S. President Richard Nixon during his historic visit to China. But the iconic brand, beloved by generations of Chinese, took a hit after it was linked to the tainted milk scandal.

The Shanghai-based maker of the candy said Friday it had halted production because of suspected melamine contamination. The chewy vanilla-flavored White Rabbit sweets have already been pulled from shelves around Asia and in Britain.

The Guan Sheng Yuan Co. was still waiting for test results on samples of its exported products, but all sales have been stopped as a precaution, said Ge Junjie, a vice president of Bright Foods (Group) Co. Ltd., which owns the Shanghai maker.

"It's a tragedy for the Chinese food industry and a big lesson for us as it ruined the time-honored brand," Ge was quoted as saying by the Shanghai Daily.

The popular sweets are sold in more than 50 countries throughout Asia and the world. Overseas sales have reached US$160 million in the past five years.