TIANJIN - A food testing indicator paper is expected to hit the Chinese market soon, to help consumers identify food products contaminated with pathogenic bacteria and excessive drug residues.

The test paper was found to change color to suggest over 60 varieties of chemical factors in food samples during lab research conducted at Tianjin University of Science and Technology.

Professor Wang Shuo, deputy principal of the university, said on Tuesday that food safety testing usually requires complex testing machines and procedures in laboratories. With this test paper, however, certain harmful substances can be identified in a few minutes.

From contaminated milk to chickens fed with excessive amounts of antibiotics and hormones, a spate of food scandals has sparked fear in China.

Developers of the test paper therefore foresee a huge market for the product.

Wang said the research team has obtained 13 national patents for the test paper, and is working on further research to lower the production cost of the paper to make it more affordable for ordinary consumers.

He did not disclose the possible price of the paper.