Ritz and Lipton also hit by the melamine crisis

More and more international and Chinese brands are getting embroiled in the tainted milk scandal. Latest news from the Straits Times:

SOUTH Korea's food watchdog said on Tuesday that two more snacks imported from China were contaminated with the toxic chemical melamine, bringing the number of tainted brands discovered locally to six.

The products are Ritz Cracker Sandwiches Cheese, produced by Nabisco Food Suzhou Co, and Savory Rice Crackers from Danyang Day Bright Foods Co, said the Korea Food and Drug Administration.

Traces of melamine were previously detected in 'Misarang Custard' and 'Misarang Coconut' cakes, which were manufactured in China and sold by South Korea's Haitai Confectionery and Food Co.

The two other brands are Milk Rusk biscuits and Vegetable Creamer.

Anglo-Dutch food giant Unilever said Tuesday it has started recalling some of its Lipton-brand milk tea powder in Hong Kong and Macau after they were found to contain traces of an industrial chemical.

The recall of four batches of Lipton's 3-in-1 milk tea powder came after the company's internal quality check found melamine in the products, Unilever Hong Kong Ltd said in a statement.

The contaminated products used Chinese-made milk powder as raw material, said marketing director Sharon Hwang for Unilever Hong Kong. She declined to reveal which Chinese brand the company had used.

'In order to comply with local regulations and as a precautionary measure, we are recalling all packs produced ... from Hong Kong and Macau markets,' the statement said.

Last week, Unilever has also removed Lipton Green Milk Tea from the Taiwan market because the product used Chinese-made milk.