By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

The harmful chemical melamine has been detected in five products containing Chinese egg powder used to make sauces and seasonings, the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced Wednesday.

The finding came after the government started inspecting processed egg products shipped from China last week, following reports that egg powder imported from China to Japan contained the chemical.

Melamine levels of the five products produced by two manufacturers, Dalian Hanovo Foods and Dalian Greensnow Egg Products Development, stood at 0.1 to 4 parts per million (ppm). Among the products are powdered white, powdered yolk and liquefied yolk. They are usually used in making salad dressing, seasonings and health care products, according to the ministry.

Some 47 tons of the products have been imported from China since April. The ministry ordered the importers to destroy the remaining 23 tons and demanded the two Chinese manufacturers halt shipping the products to Korea.

``The amount of melamine found in the products is minute,'' a ministry official said. ``We are making efforts to remove products that were already distributed to retailers from store shelves.''

Korea has imported 62 kinds of processed egg products from China this year, totaling 622 tons.

Melamine is a protein-rich chemical used in the production of plastics and glues. Traces of the toxic chemical were found in dairy products in China last month, as manufacturers put melamine in them to increase protein levels of the products, killing at least four infants. Melamine, if taken in large amounts, is linked to kidney failure.

The latest finding of the harmful chemical came two days after an ingredient used to make biscuits was found to contain high concentrations of melamine. The nation's food agency said Monday it found 603 parts per million of melamine in one of eight ammonium bicarbonate products imported from China. A local company imported 20 tons of the raising agent used to make many bread products, with half a ton sold to the country's largest biscuit maker.

rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr