China has fined six companies a total of $110m (£71m) following an investigation into price fixing and anti-competitive practices by foreign baby formula makers.
They are accused of cashing-in on strong demand for foreign infant formula in the wake of a 2008 scandal in China, where public trust in local products was hugely damaged after six infant deaths as a result of a chemical contamination.
Hundreds of thousands of other babies or toddlers were made ill.
The international firms fined included Mead Johnson Nutrition Co, Danone and New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra.
China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced the penalties as it continued separate pricing investigations into foreign and local pharmaceutical firms.
The 2008 contamination of Chinese products boosted demand for foreign milk Foreign brands account for about half of total formula sales and can sell for more than double the price of local products in China.
Estimates suggest the infant milk market in the world's second biggest economy is set to grow to $25bn (£16.3bn) by 2017.
The NDRC said the fines against the six companies were for restricting competition, setting curbs on minimum prices for distributors and for using a variety of methods to disrupt market order.
After the NDRC probe was announced, a number of companies including Mead Johnson, Danone and Nestle - which was not fined because it co-operated - cut prices on their baby formula in China by up to 20%.
Fonterra, the world's biggest dairy exporter, said it would give additional training to sales staff and review its distributor contracts in the wake of its fine.
The company is embroiled in a separate milk powder botulism contamination scare that has led to product recalls in China, Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia.
Its chief executive Theo Spierings has blamed human error for the problem but insisted all tainted products had been taken out of the market.
His position has been called into question as a result of the fine and recent scare and he has said his future is a matter for the Fonterra board.
He told reporters in Auckland: "I said at a press conference in China that I would not leave before the situation was stable from the perspective of markets, consumers, customers and global authorities.
"We had all those discussions yesterday, and I decided late last night that the situation is stable," he concluded.
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