SYDNEY - A fourth Chinese milk product has been withdrawn from sale in Australia over a contamination scare which has killed four children and sickened 53,000 in China.

Australian tests revealed levels of the industrial chemical melamine in Kirin milk tea, Food Standards Australia New Zealand said in a statement late Friday.

"Consumers are advised not to consume Kirin milk tea made in China," the organisation said.

It was not immediately clear if the product was also sold in New Zealand.

The food watchdog has already recalled White Rabbit sweets and Chinese-made Cadbury chocolate eclairs, while importers of Lotte Koala Biscuits have undertaken a precautionary withdrawal of the product.

A growing number of countries have decided to suspend imports of Chinese milk products or to withdraw them from their market in the wake of the scandal.

Used in making plastics, melamine has been blamed for making thousands of infants ill and killing four in mainland China after it tainted baby milk powder in one of the country's worst ever product safety scandals.

The European Union recently banned all imports on Chinese milk-related products for children such as biscuits and chocolate on top of a long-standing embargo on Chinese dairy products like milk and yoghurt. - AFP/vm