Nestle apologized on Sunday for the high levels of iodine found in its "Jin Pai Growing 3-Milk Powder" at the end of last month.

"While there is no safety or health issue, we recognize that this caused some concern amongst consumers and the public at large," it said in a statement, adding that the company has increased the frequency of testing to ensure its products comply with the national standard.

It stressed that the affected milk, detected on May 25, had already been withdrawn from sale and said the high iodine levels were not a threat to public safety.

But critics said the apology was too little, too late and some media reports attacked the company for only offering customers a product exchange rather than a full refund.

Lawyer Qiu Baochang, legal consultant for the China Consumers' Association, was quoted by the Beijing Youth Daily yesterday as saying that the apology was a "late response" under pressure from the public.

Qiu said Nestle should go further and, for example, pay for consumers' expenses incurred when traveling to exchange products.

Quality inspection authorities in east China's Zhejiang Province found the milk powder, produced in September 2004, contained 191 micrograms of iodine per 100 grams, above the national standard of 30-150 micrograms.

According to China Central Television, the 13.5 tons of affected product was on sale mainly in Zhejiang's Hangzhou, Guangzhou, in the southern province of Guangdong, and Shanghai.

(China Daily June 7, 2005)