Food inspectors in Saudi Arabia have discovered the potentially dangerous chemical melamine in Chinese-made milk powder distributed by Nestle, the Saudi Food and Drug Authority has said.

Traces of melamine, which has left thousands of children hospitalised in China, were found in tins of Nesvita Pro-Bones milk powder from four different production dates in 2007 and 2008, the authority's website said on Tuesday.

The tainted powder was discovered in a random survey of 52 samples of imported products containing milk powder.

"The SFDA found five samples from all the samples tested ... tainted with melamine," it said, adding that samples of the Malaysia-manufactured Apollo Chocolate Wafer Cream snack bars also contained melamine.

The SFDA did not say what levels of melamine were found nor what are considered unsafe, and officials could not be reached for comment.

In a statement, Nestle's headquarters in Switzerland said that products are safe and that the milk powder had already been withdrawn from the Saudi market.

"All Nestle dairy products sold in Saudi Arabia -- just as anywhere else in the world -- are absolutely safe for consumption. No Nestle product is made from milk adulterated with melamine," the company said.

It said it had removed its China-made milk powder from the market after the Saudi government requested a precautionary recall on October 18 while tests were being done.

But it said its own tests and those by an independent laboratory had shown melamine levels "were well below the limits defined by a number of governments, including Canada, New Zealand, the European Union, and by international organisations such as the World Health Organisation."

"In general terms, melamine is found throughout the food chain across the world in minute traces which do not represent any health risk for consumers," it added.

Chinese producers of milk powder, animal feeds and other food products used the industrial chemical in place of more expensive protein additives, which it resembles, though it has no nutritional value.

The chemical can cause kidney stones if taken in excessive levels. Chinese infants who were fed tainted milk powder suffered the worst because they consumed more of the chemical.

At least six children have died of kidney failure and 294,000 have fallen ill in China this year after consuming dairy products containing melamine, Beijing said on Monday.

Numerous countries have announced recalls of products made with tainted Chinese milk powder.

insidethegulf.com