Three babies died, 158 are in hospital with acute kidney failure and thousands of others fell ill after drinking tainted milk in China, Health Minister Chen Zhu said on Wednesday. Giving the government's first detailed account of a scandal that erupted last week over milk powder contaminated with a chemical used to make plastics, Chen said 6,244 babies had fallen ill after consuming the product. While many of those had recovered, 1,327 remained in hospital and 158 of those were suffering from acute kidney failure, Chen told reporters. Three babies had died, he said, updating the previous toll by one. The head of China's quality watchdog body, Li Changjiang, told the press conference that 22 companies nationwide were found to have produced the milk powder that contained melamine. Melamine is normally used for making plastics and glues, but authorities have said it was put into the milk powders to make it appear the product had more protein.