"The expired bread and cakes are mixed with other materials, essences, spices and additives."

He said the company had never received a complaint from a customer and had not caused anyone to fall ill.

Chen Xicheng, a local doctor, said any harmful bacteria could be killed if the recycling process involves high temperatures.

"But people's health could certainly be affected and it may even lead to cancer if they eat too many spices, essences and additives," Chen said.

Wang Cuiying, a Guangzhou white-collar worker, said the news of another food scare was terrible.

"I will no longer purchase Honey Cake's cakes and bread," she told China Daily on Wednesday.

Honey Cake, a European-style bakery, is seen as a high-end operation in the city.

Most of the outlets are located in luxury plazas and office buildings and are frequented by white-collar workers.

Honey Cake's bread costs an average of 10 yuan (US$1.5) and the cheapest type, at 6 yuan, is about three times the cost of bread from regular bakeries.

Honey Cake's senior executive has not yet commented on the case. However, the company's executive department manager, surnamed Dong, allegedly asked media not to report the allegations but instead give the company a chance to improve.

"It is not a deadly case," Dong was quoted as saying by Guangzhou Daily.

The case is, so far, the first of its kind to be reported in the southern metropolis.