Tons of milk powder worth around about US$200,000 and produced by West Farm Inc. has been sent back to the United States, according to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.

The Beijing Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau said a Chinese company imported the milk powder for making chocolates.

Samples taken from three shipments of the milk powder were found to contain 2.8 mg, 4.4 mg, and 2.7 mg of nitrite for every kilogram of the product. This exceeds the permissible level in milk powder of two mg per kilogram the administration explained.

All of the powder had been returned to the US under the supervision of the administration and none had gone onto the Chinese market, the administration said in a statement.

Imported food and products must pass quality checks and meet national standards before being allowed onto the Chinese market, said Li Yuanping, director of import and export food safety.

Excessive nitrite intake can cause an illness which reduces the oxygen-carrying capacity of the body, dilatation of blood vessels and results in a drop in blood pressure. An intake of 0.3 to 0.5grams of nitrite can poison an adult and three grams can kill. 

(Xinhua News Agency August 24, 2006)