Sanlu files for bankruptcy

BEIJING, China (CNN) - Sanlu Group, the company at the center of China's tainted infant formula scandal, has filed for bankruptcy.

A court in Shijiazhuang, China, where the company is based, told CNN Wednesday it has received the bankruptcy application.

Baby formula produced by Sanlu - previously one of China's leading dairy producers - was first flagged in the scandal when it recalled about 700 tons of the powdered milk in September after discovering the product was contaminated with melamine.

The poisonings killed six babies and sickened 290,000 others, according to China's Xinhua news agency.