Mumbai: China has blacklisted over 400 exporters for violating trade rules and causing a health scare across importing countries about the safety of food, drug and other items that the country sells.

The Chinese commerce ministry web site said 429 firms on the blacklist had been punished for violating export regulations, but did not elaborate.

The list included the two pet food manufacturers whose products caused the death of some pets in the US. The US authorities have stepped up inspections of imports from China after a chemical additive in pet food caused there pet deaths earlier this year, the commerce ministry said.

Harmful ingredients have also been found in toothpaste, fish and even toys that China exported. Chinese exporters have also been blamed for improperly labelled chemicals that were mixed into cough syrup and causing deaths of patients in Panama.

The recall of over a million China-made toys by US toy company Mattel Inc saying their paint may contain too much lead, has come as the latest blow for China's export trade.

China executed a former drug and food safety watchdog chief last month for corruption and cancelled the licences of six medicine manufacturers as it fought off allegations of exporting contaminated goods.

The China Daily said 270 "on-the-spot drug test" vans would soon hit the roads of rural China to weed out counterfeit drugs.

China , meanwhile, banned seafood imports from Indonesia for alleged toxic contents.
A US delegation is currently in Beijing finalising two agreements seeking to reassure US consumers that Chinese-made goods met safety standards.