Beijing - Authorities made a fist arrest in the evolving scandal over melamine-contaminated eggs, a Chinese news report said.

Melamine, a toxic chemical used for producing plastics and fertilizers, which was previously detected in Chinese milk and dairy products, was detected in eggs in Hong Kong earlier this week.

Investigators believe chicken feed spiked with melamine to boost protein levels is responsible for the contamination and arrested the manager of a feed producer in the province Liaoning, the Xinjingbai daily reported.

It is believed that other producers also added the chemical to their products.

Hong Kong's food authorities found melamine in three brands of imported eggs from the provinces Liaoning, Shanxi and Hubei.

Milk powder containing melamine was made responsible for the death of four infants in China while 54,000 fell ill, but news about the scandal was suppressed by China's authorities. Chinese media have also been banned for several weeks from reporting on a possible contamination of eggs.

The manager of egg producer Hanwei Group in Dalian, Liaoning province, admitted to have detected the chemical in chicken feed in late September, the China Daily said. (dpa)