Brussels - The European Union is to crack down on imports of foods which contain soya products and consignments of baking powder from China in a bid to stop food contaminated with the toxin melamine reaching Europe, officials in Brussels said Wednesday.

The EU's executive, the European Commission, "will take measures to ban the import from China of food for infants and young children containing soya and soya products, after high levels of melamine were recently found in Chinese soy bean meal," a statement said.

The measures include a complete ban on children's food containing soya, and compulsory testing on all other soya-related foods and on shipments of baking powder
(ammonium bicarbonate), the statement said.

Only foods with less than 2.5 milligrams of melamine per kilo of foodstuff will be allowed into the EU.

The EU imported an estimated 68,000 tons of soya products from China in 2007, with a value of some 34 million euros (43 million dollars).

The move is the EU's latest reaction to the scandal of melamine- contaminated food in China, which has so far killed at least six children and left close to 300,000 ill in the country.

In September the commission banned the import from China of all children's foods containing any trace of milk, and imposed compulsory testing on all foods, such as chocolate, which contain milk. (dpa)