The Ministry of Health and the General Administration of Quality Inspection, Supervision and Quarantine are paying close attention after Dong Jinshi, deputy director of the Beijing-based International Food-Packaging Association, said that tableware made with melamine plastics could pose a threat.
The health ministry is expected to revise the country's standards for tableware production, and the General Administration of Quality Inspection will begin spot checks in the market, Shanghai Evening News reported.
China has never capped the amount of melamine that can be used to make tableware. In Europe, only 30 milligrams per kilogram of melamine are permitted in tableware, the newspaper said.
China has nearly 1,000 manufacturers of tableware that use melamine. Only 22 have been licensed, according to Dong.
There is a chance that the melamine in a piece of tableware could contaminate food if its production was not up to standard, or when products are heated to high temperatures, such as in microwave ovens, the report said.
Melamine, which can cause kidney stones and possibly kidney failure, is widely used in products including plastics and paint.
At least four babies have died and more than 54,000 others have been made ill by milk powder that was contaminated by unsafe levels of melamine. The chemical was added to watered-down milk to dupe quality control tests and make the milk seem rich in protein.
Hangzhou and Hong Kong meanwhile have found eggs tainted with melamine, though the eggs have not caused any reported illnesses.
