Dairy producer Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co said yesterday that it has started recalling most of its Quanyou series formula milk powder produced from November 2011 to May 2012 since Wednesday, due to excessive mercury content which is harmful to the nervous system.

"Excessive mercury was found in some Yili Quanyou milk powder by the national food safety watchdog Tuesday. Yili made inspections of all the products and decided to recall the tainted products to avoid risks," Yili said in a statement posted on its website.

There is no such problem in other baby milk powder, ice cream, milk and yogurt, as shown by the company's own inspection and inspection by the national food safety watchdog, the company said.

Media reports said many supermarkets nationwide suspended sales of Yili's Quanyou and other series of milk powder yesterday morning after receiving a recall instruction from Yili.