In a statement, the company said internal quality checks had identified traces of malamine in four batches of Lipton Milk Tea sold in Hong Kong and Macau. As a precautionary measure, the company recalled all packs produced in those markets during a period of time specified by best-before-date codes as follows:

• Lipton Milk Tea Powder Original (20 sachets) – 17112009
• Lipton Milk Tea Powder Gold (10 sachets)  – 17112009
• Lipton Milk Tea Powder Gold (20 sachets)  – 18112009 & 19112009

Unilever spokesman Dean Mastrojohn told WTN, "First and foremost, safety is our number-one concern for all our consumers and customers here in the United States and across the globe."

He said that Unilever U.S. does not import any milk or dairy based ingredients from China, adding, "In fact, most are sourced locally."

"We continue to monitor the melamine situation in China and can assure our customers and consumers that Unilever products sold in the United States are not affected," Mastrojohn said.

The FDA has not issued any alerts about Lipton products in the United States since the problem of melamine-contaminated dairy products in China surfaced two weeks ago.