China gives 99.5 percent of mooncakes all clear

BEIJING, Sept 5 (Reuters) - China, buffeted by food health scares at home and abroad, has given its traditional mooncakes the all clear ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, saying 99.5 percent of those tested were safe.

Mooncakes -- sweet pastries with a bean base, and an acquired taste for many in the West -- are a traditional treat for Chinese around the Mid-Autumn, or Moon, Festival which falls on Sept. 25 this year.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine had checked 425 types of mooncakes made by 378 firms in 29 provinces.

"Those that failed safety tests were found either with excessive micro-organisms and food additives, or with problematic labelling," the administration was quoted as saying.

China has been assailed on all sides over export health safety in recent months involving exports ranging from toothpaste, tyres and toys to seafood and drugs.

Mooncakes came under scrutiny a few years ago after firms were found to be using stale fillings from year-old cakes, rewrapping them in new dough and passing them off as new.