Nestlé milk powder products produced in northeastern China were removed from shelves in Taiwan after they were found to contain small amounts of melamine, Taiwan's health minister said Thursday.

Taiwan officials will talk with food safety experts from the United States, Japan, Europe and the World Health Organization about whether to permit milk products containing traces of the industrial chemical, said Health Minister Yeh Chin-chuan.

Melamine is used to make plastics and fertilizers. It is high in nitrogen and when added to food products can mask low nutrient levels in standard tests.

Consuming it can cause kidney stones and kidney failure. Infants are particularly vulnerable.

Melamine contamination in infant formula, fresh milk and other milk products in China has been blamed for the deaths of four children, and caused kidney ailments among 54,000 others. More than 13,000 children have been hospitalized.

So far 27 people have been arrested in connection to China's tainted milk scandal.

In a press release issued on Thursday, Switzerland-based Nestlé said the Neslac and KLIM products that Taiwan has temporarily delisted are "absolutely safe by any recognized international standards."

"According to international experts the levels of melamine detected in these products by Taiwan's Department of Health are so minute that they are almost certainly present in any food product anywhere in the world," the company said.

But the company has complied with the country's request to temporarily remove the products, the release said.

Powdered milk returned

A Thai dairy producer also announced on Thursday that it is returning 110 tonnes of newly imported powdered milk to China.

"We want to return it to make sure our products are safe for our customers," said Thirayuth Chaisawangwong, president of the Dutch Mill Group.

Tests this week found small traces of melamine in milk powder imported by Dutch Mill in two different samples of Shuangwa Full Cream Milk Powder.

Chinese health officials have said it is safe to consume less than 0.63 milligrams of melamine per kilogram of body weight per day.

For children under the age of 36 months the level is 0.32 mg per kg of body weight per day.

Experts have said some melamine contamination can come from the environment during food processing. But others have speculated some producers may have added melamine to watered-down milk.

On Wednesday, Chinese officials announced they had detected unacceptable levels of melamine in 31 more batches of milk powder and advised the public to stop consuming certain products that ranged from baby formula to chocolate.

At least 100 batches of milk powder have been found to contain melamine, according to a Chinese government food safety website.

With files from the Associated Press