SAPPORO, Hokkaido (Kyodo) A Snow Brand Milk Products Co. factory in Sapporo has received about 50 complaints from students saying the Snow Brand milk in their school lunches tasted strange and had a bad smell, the company said Saturday.

The factory produced about 160,000 200-ml cartons of milk Wednesday and delivered them to elementary and junior high schools in Hokkaido on Thursday, the company said.

The complaints were from students at four elementary schools in the prefectural capital of Sapporo and a junior high school in the town of Kamiiso, the company said.

No student has become sick after drinking the product so far, it added.

The company said the milk passed inspections for microbes and taste before it was shipped and no abnormalities were found at the time of shipment.

The packages were also put on the market and the company has not yet recalled the products since it has not received any complaints from other consumers.

Three officials of the nation's largest dairy products firm have been indicted on charges of negligence over a massive food poisoning scandal last year, when thousands of people became sick and one died from drinking Snow Brand low-fat milk.