BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Thailand is testing nearly 100 imports from China for possible melamine contamination and has found traces of the chemical in milk powder, health officials said Wednesday.
Tests on two different samples of Shuangwa Full Cream Milk Powder found levels of melamine legally acceptable for human consumption, said Manit Arunakoon, deputy secretary-general of Thailand's Food and Drug Administration.
The tests found melamine levels of 0.38 milligrams per kilogram and 0.55 milligrams per kilogram in the powdered milk from Shuangwa Dairy Co. -- both below Thailand's legal limit of 1 milligram per kilogram, the FDA said in a statement.
It has cleared the product for sale in Thailand along with 32 other Chinese-made products that were tested and showed no trace of melamine, including M&Ms, Snickers bars, Oreo wafer sticks and Dove Milk Chocolate Bars, the FDA said.
The items were among a total of 96 different products selected for testing, said FDA secretary-general Pipat Yingseri. He would not disclose the names of the other products still being tested.
Thailand has also impounded 80 tons of milk powder from China that is being kept at ports and warehouses around the country, Pipat said.
"This doesn't mean that the items are contaminated," Pipat said. "We just want to make sure that there will not be contamination before releasing it for sale to the public."
Thailand's Health Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung warned Wednesday that Thai officials should be careful about what they say concerning possible contaminated products from China, because they could affect trade ties with the Asian giant.
"I did not mean that I am afraid of China, but we have to be concerned about our trade ties because Thailand does a lot of business with China," Chalerm said later in the day.
Milk tainted with melamine has been blamed for killing four Chinese babies and sickening more than 50,000 others, sparking global concerns about Chinese-made food products made with milk or milk powder.
