(Adds monitoring of Chinese toothpaste in paragraph 11)

By Missy Ryan

WASHINGTON, May 23 (Reuters) - The Bush administration on Wednesday pressed senior Chinese officials to bolster the safety of food exports, a key issue for U.S. consumers after a toxic chemical surfaced in imported pet food.

"Recent events have forced very clearly as one of our top concerns the safety of food and medicine," Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said at the close of a two-day "strategic economic dialogue" involving scores of senior officials from both countries.

The safety of food imports from China came under intense scrutiny after melamine, a chemical used in plastics and fertilizers, surfaced in U.S. pet food this year, killing pets and prompting wide recalls. Pet food scraps were used in some livestock rations, briefly halting marketing of some poultry, hogs and fish.

The melamine incident, and fears about other Chinese goods like toothpaste, came after a series of food scares in the United States raised doubts about how well the U.S. government is monitoring food safety.

The issue has also become a flashpoint in the two nations's complex, but strategically important, relationship.

Among the host of measures the administration is seeking are more transparent food regulation and permission to send U.S. audit teams to China.

"The Chinese government clearly understands the world marketplace will swiftly disadvantage any nation or economy or firm that is not able to establish a sense of confidence and reliability," said Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns.

SMALL SHARE OF IMPORTS INSPECTED

Talks on the food safety issues will continue through the week, and an update is expected on Thursday.

The Agriculture Department oversees the safety of some food imports, like poultry and meat, while the Food and Drug Administration regulates fruit, vegetables and many domestic and imported processed foods.

"China is particularly problematic" on food safety, said Joe Mendelson, legal director at the Center for Food Safety. "It's clear that they don't have any type of internal oversight that we can in any way rely on," he said.

Currently, all vegetable protein imports from China are on "import alert," which means they get immediate inspection. The FDA is also beginning to check all shipments of toothpaste from China after a lethal chemical was found in Chinese toothpaste sold in the Dominican Republic and in Panama.

But with food imports on the rise, growing 15 percent a year, FDA inspected just 1.3 percent of the food import lines under its purview in 2006, said Heidi Rebello, an FDA spokeswoman.

Mendelson placed the blame on both the administration and Congress. "We need the resources to do that and then we need political will at agency level," he said.

Rebello said the FDA is continuing to investigate the melamine affair. China has moved to stem the damage from the melamine and other affairs, while some in China charge the safety concerns are really veiled protectionism.

The food safety issue will likely come up, as well, as Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi visits Congress this week.

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