BEIJING - CHINA, accused in Japan of producing tainted frozen beans and dodgy dumplings, now says it has found toxic chemicals used in paint in Japanese soy sauce.

China has been swept by a series of food- and product-safety scandals in recent months involving goods as diverse as toys, tyres, toothpaste, pet food, fish and baby cribs and is fighting a scare over melamine found in milk and other products.

China said this month it had no evidence that frozen beans pulled from the shelves in Japan were tainted with pesticide.

Earlier this year, several Japanese were made ill by Chinese-made dumplings that contained insecticide, but a joint investigation failed to reveal how the contamination occurred.

Tests conducted by quarantine officials had found Japan-produced soy sauce and mustard sauce had been contaminated by toluene and acetic ester, Xinhua news agency said on Friday.

'This would risk people's health,' Xinhua said, citing experts. 'Toluene and acetic ester are chemicals that can be used as dyeware, paint and solvent. They will lead to headaches and vomiting if people eat food tainted with them.'

The watchdog ordered Chinese companies to test similar products and take them off the shelves, the report said.

No related sicknesses had been reported in China, but the two chemicals had caused some sickness in Japan, it added.

A months-long scandal over melamine appearing in Chinese milk products and eggs has caused thousands of children to fall ill in China and killed at least four. -- REUTERS