The country's top quality supervision agency has banned the sale of infant milk powder produced by a company in Central China's Hunan province.

Five batches of Nanshan Bywise infant milk powder, made by Hunan Ava Dairy Co, were found to contain excessive amounts of Aflatoxin M1, which could harm the livers of human beings, tested by the Guangdong industrial and commercial authorities on Sunday, according to a report of the Xinhua News Agency.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a notice issued on Tuesday that the milk powder must be withdrawn from shelves and its sale forbidden.

A government official from Changsha, the capital of Hunan province, said during a news conference that the problematic milk powder was produced between July 2011 and December 2011, and the poisonous content was caused by contaminated feed for the cows.

Some 31.48 tons of milk powder was affected, and was mainly sold to Hunan province and South China's Guangdong province, the local government said.

The Hunan Ava Dairy Co apologized to the public on its website on Monday, vowing to keep tighter quality controls on its product in future.