Chinese beer is safe to drink as its one-liter formaldehyde content is much lower than the standard set by the World Heath Organization (WHO), according to a report released by China's quality watchdog Friday.

The State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (SAQSIQ) spot-checked 157 products from 136 domestic beer enterprises and 64 beer products imported from more than 10 countries, as a concrete action in response to recent media reports alleging that Chinese beer contains high formaldehyde contents.

The report noted that one liter of the imported beer contained 0.10 to 0.61 milligrams of formaldehyde on average.

And among the 136 domestic companies, eight are brand-name enterprises, including Tsingdao and Yanjing breweries, the report acknowledged. "As a matter of fact, one liter of the 23 beer products contains an average of 0.10 to 0.56 milligram of formaldehyde."

Meanwhile, the formaldehyde content in one liter of other domestic beer products is lower than 0.9 milligram, the WHO standard.

"So China-made beer is safe to drink and brand-name beer can vie with imported beer," the report said.

(Xinhua News Agency July 15, 2005)