Illegal items posted on the Chinese health ministry's list include boric acid, a chemical used as an insecticide or flame retardant that is known to be added to noodles or the skin of dumplings to increase their elasticity.

Formaldehyde, applied to dried seafood to improve its appearance, but also commonly used as a disinfectant, was another dangerous substance on the banned list, published on the ministry's website late on Monday.

Some of the substances, such as the carcinogenic dye Sudan Red 1, had already been banned by the government, but this was the first official compilation of illegal food additives in China.

The crackdown comes after a scandal involved dairy products contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine.

The government said 294,000 children fell ill with kidney problems this year from drinking tainted milk and six may have died.

The chemical was routinely added to watered-down milk to give it the appearance of high protein levels, with at least 20 Chinese dairy companies found to have sold contaminated products.

The milk scandal, which erupted in September, caused global concern with countries around the world banning or recalling China-made dairy products.

This prompted authorities to launch a four-month food safety drive at the beginning of December to try to restore confidence in the "Made-in-China" brand.

The government said when it announced the campaign that it would start out softly, with companies urged to correct their own shortcomings.

But officials would soon begin raiding food producers deemed high-risk and carry out random checks, it warned.

The list of banned food additives on Monday also included sodium thiocyanate, used in the manufacture of textiles, and added to milk and dairy products to keep them fresh.

Anthony Hazzard, a regional adviser for food safety in the World Health Organisation's Western Pacific office, said the list could prove useful in reducing the illegal use of such chemicals, by raising awareness.

But he told AFP it was more efficient to have a list of additives that could be used in food rather than an un-ending list of ones that could not.

As part of the crackdown, the health ministry also published on Monday the names of additives that could easily be abused when added to food products.

It mentioned leavening agents as one such substance, used to make cakes and dough sticks, which could leave excessive aluminium residues if added in excessive quantities.

But the ministry warned the lists were not exhaustive.

"These lists... cannot cover all problems linked to illegally adding substances in food and abusing additives in the industry," it said in its online statement.

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