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By Tim Culpan
Last Updated: October 18, 2008 01:20 EDT
Oct. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Taiwan banned imports of ammonium powder, a cooking ingredient, from China after high levels of melamine were found in spot checks, health authorities said.
Shipments of ammonium bicarbonate had 70 parts per million to 300 parts per million of melamine, prompting the ban effective yesterday, the Department of Health said in a statement on its Web Site today. The government didn't provide a level of melamine that it considers safe.
The ban on the cooking ingredient, used as a raising agent in cookies, gingerbread and Chinese ``youtiao'' pastries, follows Taiwan's Sept. 22 prohibition of dairy products from China after they were found to contain toxic levels of melamine. More than 5,800 infants remain hospitalized in China to be treated for kidney disease, the Chinese healthy ministry said in a statement Oct. 15.
Taiwan's health authorities advised local food companies to not use mainland Chinese ammonium bicarbonate, also called ammonium powder, in its products.
Foods with up to 2.5 parts per million of melamine ``do not raise public health concerns,'' the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on its Web Site.
Melamine is a chemical used to boost apparent protein content and is not allowed to be added to foods, according to World Health Organization regulations. Its presence in the body can lead to kidney stones and kidney disease.
To contact the reporter on this story: Tim Culpan in Taipei at tculpan1@bloomberg.net.
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