The import of Chinese farmed seafood was blocked by the U.S. health officials.

Farmed seafood has now joined tires, toothpaste and toy trains on the list of tainted and defective products from China that could be hazardous to a person's health.

Shipments of catfish, shrimp, eel and other types of fish were stopped after testing repeatedly turned up contamination with drugs banned in the U.S.

Traces of antibiotics and antifungals were found in catfish, shrimp and eel. Three types of Chinese fish - catfish, basa and dace - repeatedly showed contamination with drugs unapproved in the United States for use in farmed seafood.

China is the world's largest producer of farmed seafood and the third largest exporter of seafood to the U.S.

US Food and Drug Administration said there had been no reports of illnesses and it did not pose any immediate health risk.

During the past few years, Chinese exports raised numerous health concerns. Frozen crab meat and roasted eel were once banned in the U.S. as they contained unsafe additives, while tilapia was tainted by salmonella.

The FDA will allow individual shipments of certain seafood if a company can show the products are free of residues of these drugs.

DANGEROUS GOODS

Even though Chinese government this week reassured that it would scrutinise imports and deal with violations according to international safety standards, numerous scandals and recalls of Chinese-made products in the past show a dangerous trend.

In Europe, excessive antibiotic or pesticide residues were found in Chinese shrimp, honey and other products. In Hong Kong, Chinese farmed turbot found to contain traces of malachite green, potential carcinogen.

In May, the FDA stopped shipments of frozen crab meat found to be filthy, as well as roasted eel laced with unsafe additives, tilapia fillets tainted by salmonella and an unidentified fish mislabelled as catfish.

In China, babies routinely die after being fed fake baby formula, cancer-causing dyes are known to be injected into eggs to make yolks redder, and children are given saltwater passed off as vaccines.

Most recently, toothpaste was tainted with with diethylene glycol, a toxic ingredient more commonly found in antifreeze, and Chinese-made toy trains were recalled as they were coated with paint containing lead, and defective tyres are being recalled due to potential crash hazard.

Earlier this year, melamine, a chemical used in plastics and fertilizers, was found in Chinese-made pet food, killing hundreds of animals and prompting wide recalls.