BEIJING - CHINA said on Friday the amount of a chemical used in US fast food giant McDonald's Chicken McNuggets was within official limits, after reports said they contained risky additives.

Media reports have said an anti-foaming agent and a petroleum-based chemical were used in the chicken pieces and that they could cause nausea, vomiting and even suffocation if taken in excessive amounts.

The State Food and Drug Administration said in a statement it had tested samples of McNuggets and the cooking oil from 22 McDonald's restaurants in four provinces and municipalities including Beijing and Shanghai.

The agency said it 'did not find the content of tertiary butylhydroquinone in the McNuggets and its cooking oil exceeded the maximum amount' set by a national food additive standard.

As for the other chemical, dimethylpolysiloxane, authorities are working to come up with a set of testing measures due to a lack of a state standard, according to the statement, which was posted on the SFDA's website.

China is regularly hit by product safety scandals despite government pledges to clean up the food industry.