"It's nothing. It's a storm in a teacup," Brabeck told journalists in Zurich. "There is no risk to safety."

"This has more to do with politics than anything else," he added.

Italy's Agriculture Minister Gianni Alemanno called Brabeck's comments "serious and disconcerting" and urged investigators to get to the bottom of the incident.

"We trust that the magistrates will shed light on this affair which we continue to believe was unacceptable," he said.

On Tuesday, Italian police said they seized 30 million litres of Nestle liquid baby milk from supermarket shelves and from depots after it showed traces of ink.

Swiss-based Nestle announced it recalled products in Italy, Spain, Portugal and France because of the problem.

Nestle said the amount of liquid baby food involved was 2 million litres, not 30 million as stated by Italian police.

"Their number is totally absurd. The maximum amount in circulation at any given time is 1.8 to 1.9 million litres," said chief spokesman Francois-Xavier Perroud.

Italian Health Minister Francesco Storace threatened to sue Brabeck over comments he had made that Nestle had reached an agreement with his ministry over the handling of the products.

"We learn with dismay that the CEO of Nestle Peter Brabeck, in a statement transmitted by the Reuters agency, said that Nestle had already agreed in July with the European Union and Italy's Ministry of Health to let the products expire and to change the production process for the cartons.

"These statements are not only completely false, but overturn the real course of events. In fact it was the Italian health ministry which brought the affair to light," he said in a statement.

NO TOXIC THREAT

Analysis of the milk by the EU's Food Safety Agency determined that the chemical substance isopropylthioxanthone (ITX) should not pose a toxic threat in the levels detected, a spokesman for the European Commission told journalists.

"On the basis of the limited data available, the presence of ITX in food could be considered undesirable. However, it is not likely to present an immediate health risk at the levels reported," spokesman Philip Tod said.

Tetra Pak, the company that makes the cartons, defended its actions.

"We continue to believe that the packages are safe and we believe we have taken appropriate measures, not only to keep everybody informed but also in taking precautionary action," said spokeswoman Patricia O'Hayer.

Analysts welcomed Brabeck's efforts to limit fallout but said it could still dent the company's image.

In May, Nestle pulled milk powder from shelves in China after it exceeded limits on iodine content. As a result, demand for Nestle products across China fell, Nestle said in July.

The event also recalls a boycott of Nestle products in the late 1970s and early 1980s by activists protesting against its marketing of infant formula in developing countries.

"I am glad that Brabeck is coming out and talking about the infant liquid formula problem," said analyst Jon Cox at Kepler Equities in a research note.

"Nestle is taking a proactive approach to the problem in an attempt to limit further damage -- there is always the risk it spills over into other Nestle brands in the countries affected, particularly Italy."

Italy is the company's fifth-biggest market, with annual sales of 4.4 billion francs ($3.34 billion), Cox said.

The cost to the company of pulling the products off shelves would be 2 million to 2.5 million euros ($2.34 million-$2.93 million), an "absolutely negligible" amount, Brabeck said.

Nestle's shares ended Wednesday trading little changed at 396 francs.