New Zealand's ministry of consumer affairs has reported that tests on clothes imported from China had shown little cause for concern regarding levels of the chemical formaldehyde. The chemical is often used to produce a permanent-press effect in clothes and textiles.

Consumer affairs minister, Judith Tizard, said that a television programme which claimed formaldehyde levels in some Chinese clothing were up to 900 times higher than the level the World Health Organization deems safe were  inaccurate.

Ms Tizard added that 97 of the 99 items that were tested by the ministry either had no detectable, or very low, levels of formaldehyde.

She said: "Two items had above the acceptable level of 100 parts per million, but simple washing reduced formaldehyde to well below acceptable levels."

The government is now planning to issue a product safety policy statement setting acceptable levels of formaldehyde in clothing.