It said the biscuits contained unsafe levels of aluminium. The ban, the second targeting imports from Indonesia this month, is apparently in retaliation against similar moves by Jakarta.

It also signalled China's willingness to strike back at countries which slapped restriction on Chinese goods - from foodstuffs to toys - on safety grounds.

The children's biscuits, made by Arnott's Indonesia, were found to contain levels of aluminium three times beyond the safety threshold, according to a statement by China's top quality watchdog, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ).

'AQSIQ also called on the local authorities to step up quality inspections of food imports from Indonesia and told domestic importers to clearly specify food safety requirements in contracts with Indonesian exporters,' the official Xinhua news agency said.

Reacting to the move, Indonesia's food and drug control agency said last night that it respected China's decision and would be looking into the matter.

'We'll be asking for details of the findings so that we can follow up to ensure that the products sold domestically are safe,' its head, Dr Husniah Rubianah Thamrin Akib, told The Straits Times.

'But we have had no problems with Arnott's.'

Dr Husniah made clear that she considered the ban a food safety issue and not trade politics.

Early this month, Indonesia said that it had banned Chinese food products, supplements, cosmetics and medicine over safety concerns.

Soon after, on Aug 3, China announced it was banning seafood imports from Indonesia after finding 'toxic substances and disease-causing pathogens' in some products.

Beijing, however, was vague about which fisheries or categories of seafood were involved in the ban.

Jakarta sought clarification on the blanket ban, though industry players were largely cool to the move, saying exports to China accounted for only about 7 per cent of Indonesia's total fishery exports of US$2.1 billion (S$3.16 billion) last year.

The biscuits and seafood from Indonesia add to a small but growing list of imports being banned by AQSIQ as China hits back against mounting international scrutiny and complaints about its exports.

Last week, China banned the import of gas turbines made by US industrial group General Electric, saying that they were 'breakdown-prone'.

It also banned meat and poultry imports from parts of Europe and the United States, citing outbreaks of animal diseases. Some observers worry that these tit-for-tat moves would escalate after Mattel's announcement of a second recall of China-made toys.

The US toy giant announced late on Tuesday night that it was recalling more than 18 million toys made by Chinese contractors after discovering safety problems involving small magnets and lead-based paint.

Earlier this month, it had recalled 1.5 million China-made toys decorated with lead-based paint.

The back-to-back recalls sparked a fresh wave of criticism from Washington, including a call from a top senator to inspect all China-made toys entering the US.

chinhon@sph.com.sg

azhar@sph.com.sg

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