Russia banned on Tuesday imports and sale of all Chinese food products containing milk derivatives following cases of melamine poisoning in China, and over a lack of official information from Beijing.
"Powdered milk produced in China has been discovered in the Khabarovsk Territory, but we cannot say whether the milk is of good or bad quality without an expert examination," said Vladimir Ott, who heads the Rospotrebnadzor department in the Khabarovsk Territory.
He said the products had been legally supplied to the region before the ban came into force. From May to September a total of 1,300 powdered milk packages were supplied to the region, of which around 700 packages have since been seized.
Ott said no cases of poisoning from Chinese powdered milk have so far been registered in Russia.
Powdered milk is an ingredient of numerous food products, including baby food, confectionary, ice cream, sauces, cheese spreads, baked products and milk tea.
The Khabarovsk Territory imports around 40% of its food from China, directly or indirectly.
As of September 22, a total of 53,000 Chinese children had been poisoned by food products based on milk, and four babies had died of kidney stones. A nationwide check of manufacturers of milk products is currently underway in China.
