Beijing: After toxic melamine in milk powder now its the turn of eggs with the poisonous substance, forcing supermarkets in China to recall a particular brand as "unsafe to eat."

An eastern Chinese city is recalling a brand of eggs after it was found to be contaminated with melamine, the same chemical blamed for sickening thousands of babies across the country in a milk powder scandal that killed four infants.

The bureau of quality and technical supervision of Hangzhou, capital of eastern Chinese province Zhejiang, said today that eggs with the Ciyunxiang brand were "unsafe to eat." It is issuing a recall of all Ciyunxiang eggs in the city.

Though a countrywide recall has not been announced. The number of eggs within the contaminated batch is unknown. Phone calls to the company, named Green Living Beings Development Centre in Shanxi Province, were not answered, the official Xinhua news agency reported today.

The Hangzhou bureau has tested 27 brands of eggs, being sold by various companies, in the city. The batch of Ciyunxiang eggs contained 3.5 mg of melamine in every kg. Eggs from the other brands were deemed safe.

Green Living Beings Development Centre s other products on the market, including duck and quail eggs were melamine free, the bureau informed. There have been no reports that anyone in Hangzhou has been sickened by eating the contaminated eggs.

People urged the city's bureau of quality and technical supervision to conduct it's own tests of all eggs after local media reports. It was reported that eggs produced by Hanovo Foods Co. Ltd. In Dalian, Liaoning Province, were found by Hong Kong authorities to contain melamine, an official of the Hangzhou bureau said.

Source : PTI