China's quality watchdog said here on Tuesday that some PVC food wrapper available on the domestic market contains DEHA, a plasticizer banned by law in food packing.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China said DEHA, which was used to help plastic materials keep soft and pliable, could enter human body with the food and do harm to human health if it meets fat or is heated under a temperature of more than 100 degrees Celsius.

The administration made the announcement following a survey of 44 varieties of PVC food cover film, conducted nationwide since Oct. 14.

According to the survey, there are 47 producers of food wrap film in 12 provincial areas on the Chinese mainland, and only six of them produce PVC food wrap film.

The PVC food wrap film plants are mostly owned wholly or partly by foreign investors, and their total annual output stands at some 10,000 tons. They sell 90 percent of their products on the domestic market and export the remaining 10 percent, according to a statement released by the administration.

Source: Xinhua