Members of the Canadian pork industry say their products are safe to eat, despite China's rejection of Canadian and U.S. meat exports earlier this week.

Chinese officials blocked shipments from a Manitoba-based pork-processing plant run by Maple Leaf Foods Inc. because they said the meat products were tainted with the growth agent ractopamine.

Chinese officials banned the use of ractopamine in 2002, though the additive is allowed in Canada and the U.S.

"Certainly, China's really been under fire in North America for lead in toys.… This could well be part of that trade reaction to us becoming heavy on them," Paul Hodgman, executive director of Alberta Pork, a group of 800 producers, told the Canadian Press.

China has faced considerable scrutiny in recent months, after investigators have found safety problems in products ranging from toothpaste to pet food to toys.

Chinese officials have complained their goods are being unfairly targeted as a means of trade protectionism but have pledged to beef up safety inspections in the country's manufacturing plants.

With files from the Canadian Press