Almost 54 percent of respondents in a newspaper survey published on Tuesday said their confidence in foreign milk products has been shaken by the Fonterra botulism scare, although another large group still remains wary of domestic products.

The survey, conducted by the Beijing-based China Youth Daily, was based on responses from 6,354 people.

A little over 58 percent of respondents believe that Chinese people are "blindly trusting" the qualifications of milk products from foreign brands, despite a series of health scares in recent years.

Toxic bacteria, which could cause food poisoning, has been found in imported products from New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra. The scandal has made several international dairy makers recall their products around the world.

While no infants fell ill after consuming the product, about 55 percent of those surveyed said they would not buy milk powder products from brands related to the contamination.

However, almost 44 percent of respondents still reportedly have more trust in foreign milk products, in contrast to only 10 percent who said they favor domestic products.

Public trust in domestic companies was damaged in 2008, when melamine-tainted milk killed six infants and affected thousands of others. Domestic products are often considered to have safety problems or to be of poor quality.

However, experts have said that the stereotype is unfounded, as the quality of domestic products has improved greatly.

While domestic producers need to improve the detection of trace elements in formula, there is no apparent difference in quality, said Zhang Lixiang, deputy dean of the School of Agricultural and Rural Development under the Renmin University of China.

The Chinese government has strictly regulated the production of baby milk powder products since the 2008 scandal. Besides, domestic products have an advantage in freshness, because they don't have to be transported as far as foreign brands, Zhang added.

Sun Shuxia, a nutrition expert with the China Health Care Association, said the improvement should be recognized by the public.

"Domestic producers should publicize information about their dairy sources, production process and testing results, alongside inviting public supervision, to restore trust through communication," Sun said.

In an apparent effort to raise standards of infant formula production, the State Food and Drug Administration published a draft regulation on August 6 to seek public opinions.

The regulation took the requirements for pharmaceutical producers as reference. It requires producers to implement the management systems of Hazard Analysis, Critical Control Point and Good Manufacturing Practice.

It requires the producers to have a milk source built or controlled by themselves as well as research and development capability, plus raising the requirements of management.