Beijing, Oct. 18: Under fire over handling the tainted milk scandal, Chinese J'abao Premier Wen Jiabao said his government is responsible for the scam that killed four infants and sickened thousands in the country. While assuring tough legislation and monitoring, the Chinese Premier said his government is to blame concerning industry regulation. "We feel that though the incident occurred in enterprises, the government is also responsible, " Mr Wen was quoted as saying in an interview to the Science Magazine of the US, also posted in the central government website on Saturday. Mr Wen said his government will handle the incident seriously and make sure lessons are learnt from it. The government shall also strengthen legislation to regulate every phase of food production, from the farm to the dinner table, is put under strict supervising according to the law, said the Premier. "I once again solemnly emphasise that it is absolutely impermissible to sacrifice people's lives and health in exchange for temporary economic development," Mr Wen said. He assured that important steps in making milk products, production of raw milk, collection, transportation, processing and making formula will be taken. All should have clear standards including legal responsibilities, he said. The tainted milk scandal emerged in China when melamine content was discovered in powdered milk produced by Sanlu, a dairy company. More than 20 Chinese dairy firms were subsequently found to have produced contaminated milk. Four babies died and at least 53,000 others have fallen ill after consuming tainted milk products, according to official figures. Melamine was mixed into milk to give it the appearance of having a higher protein but the chemical can cause kidney problems, especially in babies.