China says food safety issues under control

China's problems with food safety are not major and should not be overblown, an official said Tuesday, in the latest push to alleviate international concerns over its products.

'We are very concerned about food safety in China and very concerned about protecting the rights of consumers.' Li Dongsheng,State Administration for Industry and Commerce

Li Dongsheng, vice-minister for the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, said China has over the years developed "very good, very complete methods" to regulate product safety.

Questions have arisen over China's safety checks amid increasing number of tainted items have been found both inside and outside the country.

"Yes, there are now some problems of food safety of Chinese products. However, they are not serious. We should not exaggerate those problems," Li told about 130 foreign and domestic reporters on a trip organized by the State Council, China's cabinet.

The event, which also included a rare visit to a food safety test lab and a storehouse for goods confiscated during anti-piracy raids, was arranged to show off China's quality measures and burnish the country's battered image.

"We are very concerned about food safety in China and very concerned about protecting the rights of consumers," Li said.

At the Beijing food lab, technicians wearing white coats tested packages of spring rolls, dumplings and other frozen foods for toxic chemicals. Others sat at computers analyzing results. In another room, a huge variety of fake products displayed, from Wrigley's chewing gum, Shiseido skin care products, Levi's jeans and motorized bicycles.

Beijing urged to improve safety inspections

China's poor safety record has increasingly come under the spotlight as its goods make their way to global markets. Major buyers the United States, Japan, and the European Union have pushed for Beijing to improve inspections.

The pressure has increased in the past few months as U.S. inspectors have banned or turned away Chinese exports including wheat gluten tainted with the chemical melamine, which has been blamed for dog and cat deaths in North America. Toxic monkfish and frozen eel and juice made with unsafe colour additives have also been on the list of unacceptable products.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is holding and testing all shipments of vegetable proteins being brought into the country. CFIA officials in late May said they had intercepted one shipment of corn gluten imported from China that tested positive for melamine and cyanuric acid.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has also stopped all imports of Chinese toothpaste to test for a deadly chemical reportedly found in tubes sold in Australia, the Dominican Republic and Panama.

More imported toothpaste recalled

A Florida company on Monday issued a U.S.-wide recall of toothpaste it imported from China and distributed to wholesalers, saying that the product may contain a poisonous chemical.

Gold City Enterprise LLC said the roughly 170,000 recalled Shir toothpaste products may contain diethylene glycol, a thickening agent used in antifreeze and as a cheaper substitute for the sweetener glycerin. No injuries or illnesses have been reported.

The recalled toothpaste brands are Shir Fresh Mint Fluoride, Shir Fresh Ice Shir Mint Fluoride and Shir Fresh Cool Shir Mint Fluoride.