The trace levels of the industrial chemical melamine that have been found in infant formulas sold in Canada are safe, Health Canada said Thursday.

Both Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have separately tested infant formulas, and officials from both regulators said the low levels pose no risk.

Far larger concentrations of melamine found in Chinese infant formula have been blamed for killing at least three babies and making at least 50,000 others ill.

In an e-mailed response to questions from CBC News, Health Canada said it found extremely low levels of melamine in some infant formulas in Canada, and that none of the samples exceeded the department's current standard of 1 part per million.

The trace levels are not the result of intentional contamination, but expected background levels from using melamine in food packaging, processing equipment and other industrial and agricultural applications, the department said.

Melamine can bind with other chemicals in urine, potentially causing damaging stones in the kidney or bladder and, in extreme cases, kidney failure.

The average infant would need to consume more than 250 kilograms of formula per day to approach the standard, according to Health Canada.

The Canadian survey results are not currently available for release, and no formula manufacturers were identified.