China's inspection and quarantine agencies are to allow 24-hour customs test of earthquake relief materials from abroad to ensure their timely delivery to affected regions.

According to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), most of the donations from abroad will be released once they pass initial inspections.

Materials such as food and drugs that require laboratory tests for safety reasons would be fast-tracked, the AQSIQ said in a statement. Recipient organizations would be informed promptly if the goods failed tests.

Biological products and blood donations will be exempted from the normal review procedure, but other items still have to be tested, including their specifications, quantities, packaging and exporters and manufacturers, according to the statement.

A license issued by the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), the national drug regulator, was still compulsory, it said.

Donations of items that are banned in China would not be approved, it said.

Meanwhile, the SFDA said on Saturday that it would give priority to blood products and vaccines needed by quake victims during its drug safety inspections.

The privileged drugs include the urgently needed human tetanus immunoglobulin, and human blood albumin and vaccines for hepatitis A and epidemic encephalitis B which are expected to be needed in affected areas.

These drugs would be fast-tracked for inspection to ensure safety, and then distributed as soon as possible, the SFDA said.

On Friday, the SFDA had pledged to ensure safety of drugs dispatched to victims of Monday's 7.8-magnitude quake centered in Sichuan Province.

"We cannot let substandard drugs add to the suffering of victims of the earthquake," said Yan Jiangying, SFDA spokeswoman.

As of 4 p.m. Friday, donors at home and abroad had offered cash and goods worth 3.17 billion yuan (454 million U.S. dollars), including 580 million yuan from 19 foreign governments and four international organizations, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The 7.8-magnitude quake, centered on Wenchuan County in Sichuan Province, affected many parts of the country. The death toll nationwide hit 22,069 nationwide as of 2 p.m. Friday, while 168,669 people were injured.

(Xinhua News Agency May 17, 2008)