China's food and drug watchdog Friday passed shampoos made by domestic firm Bawang International as safe to use, saying the levels of a potentially carcinogenic ingredient were within standards.

A statement issued by the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) said tests showed the levels 1,4-dioxane posed no danger to users.

Hong Kong-based Next Magazine had reported that samples of two herbal shampoo products from Guangzhou-based Bawang were found to contain 1,4-dioxane.

The statement said the SFDA immediately investigated and tested samples of the products.

The SFDA statement said amounts of dioxane below 100 ppm were safe according to internationally agreed standards, but it did not specify the volume of dioxane in the Bawang shampoos.