Three consignments of allegedly poisonous milk powder from China was seized at Mina Salman in Bahrain on Tuesday, a health ministry official said.

'We are carrying out detailed checks on the consignments and will release those only after we are sure they do not contain the industrial chemical, melamine,' Health Ministry Public Health acting director Dr Khairya Moosa told our sister publication, the Gulf Daily News.

The seizure is part of a general alert in Bahrain and around the world following last month's global warning that the contaminated products were responsible for a series of baby deaths and thousands of poisonings.

Nearly three tonnes of milk powder was seized last month at Mina Salman but tests found the consignment from China did not contain melamine.

That consignment is still being held pending a certificate from the importer that it is free of melamine.

'We will do our own tests on the new seizures and also await a certificate from the importers,' said Dr Moosa.

She said steps were also being taken to import high-tech testing equipment to carry out further detailed checks on all food being imported into Bahrain in the interest of safety.

'Random checks on infant formula in Bahrain as well as some brands of chocolates are also being carried out,' she said.

'Inspectors are picking up samples and checking for melamine, the substance responsible for killing at least four babies and leaving thousands of others seriously ill in China.'

She added that nothing incriminating had been found so far. - TradeArabia News Service