The Beijing authorities have suspended the sale of a brand of air freshener that has reportedly triggered three explosions.

The air freshener, going by the brand name of "Fengying", is under investigation after a canister exploded on Thursday afternoon, injuring a shop owner.

Chai Yanhua, who runs a shop in the city's eastern Shunyi district, need eight stitches on his face and ten on his hands after a canister exploded in his hands when he was stacking his shelves.

"I heard loud blast and then I could see nothing. I felt my face and realized it was bleeding," Chai said.

Two similar incidents were also reported.

"The air freshener may probably have quality problems, which caused the explosion," said Cao Zhongsheng, an official of the Beijing Administration of Industry and Commerce.

"The continuous high temperature these days also contributed to the explosion as it caused the propellant to expand drastically, creating a huge pressure which was too much for the canister to contain," he added.

The air freshener is now under examination at Beijing's quality control department.

All the distributors in the city of the Fengying spray have been told to recall all the canisters they have sold.

"We have started a thorough overhaul in the city's supermarkets and shops and department stores," said Cao.

The main product of Hebei-based Jizhong Hualian Fine Chemicals Co., Ltd., the maker of the air fresheners, is pesticide. The company began to produce air fresheners one year ago.

(Xinhua News Agency June 10, 2007)