Tian Wenhua, who until last year headed Sanlu, faces life behind bars for her role in allegedly allowing the sale of dangerous and substandard products.

According to reports from the official Xinhua news agency, Ms Tian will appeal the decision. Her lawyer is quoted as saying she will argue that the court was wrong to say the firm’s milk powder produced after 2nd August was damaging. She reportedly admits to damaging dairy products before this date, a crime punishable by seven years in jail.

The contamination scandal was related to the presence of the industrial chemical melamine in milk products, linked to the hospitalisation of thousands of Chinese children as well a number of deaths.

Melamine is a chemical that can make it appear there is more protein in a product, and has been linked to causing kidney stones and other health problems.

The scandal has since led to food and beverage products sourced from the country being pulled from shelves around the world over safety fears, leading to a number of multinationals having to review their operations in the country.