(Adds Italy, Portugal cases, quotes and details)

BRUSSELS, July 10 (Reuters) - Spain has withdrawn two leading brands of Chinese-made toothpaste because of a risk to public health, the European Commission said on Tuesday.

"The notification relates to two brands of toothpaste: Spearmint and Trileaf Spearmint," the European Union's executive arm said in a statement.

"Spanish laboratory tests have detected the presence of DEG (diethylene glycol), a substance used in antifreeze and as a solvent. The measures adopted are a compulsory withdrawal from the Spanish market."

EU Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva said in the statement that the products found "pose only a moderate immediate risk for the health and safety of consumers".

"To date, there are no known reports of human poisonings or adverse clinical effects caused by this toothpaste. However, even this is an unacceptable risk," she added.

Italian and Portuguese authorities were also checking similar brands of toothpaste but had not formally told Brussels of any intention to withdraw them from their markets, a Commission spokeswoman said. "On July 7, following the information issued by the Spanish authorities, the Italian Health Ministry ordered the seizure of 20,000 tubes of toothpaste in several Italian cities," the spokeswoman said.

Tuesday's announcement has been entered into the EU's rapid alert system for non-food dangerous products -- known as RAPEX -- which obliges all 27 member states to carry out further market checks on similar products.

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