BEIJING -- Over 30 percent of Chinese have too much aluminum in their diets, according to a Friday report in Health News, a newspaper run by the Ministry of Health.

Chen Junshi, a researcher with the National Expert Committee for Food Safety Risk Assessment, was quoted as saying that 32.5 percent of Chinese consume an amount of aluminum that exceeds the PTWI (provisional tolerable weekly intake) level.

Chen said Thursday at an international food safety risk assessment symposium that aluminum-containing additives are the major cause of the problem, as many Chinese staple foods, such as noodles and steamed buns, are made with additives that contain aluminum.

Chen said northern Chinese, who tend eat noodles as a main dish for most meals, have an average aluminum intake of 5.1 mg per 1 kg of body weight, 2.6 times the amount recommended by the World Health Organization.

High aluminum intake is believed to be harmful to the central nervous system. It is known to have an effect on the development of children's nervous systems, which can affect their mental development.

Chen said curbing the use of aluminum-containing additives is the key to solving the problem.