"We have approached them," Unilever China vice president Zeng Xiwen was quoted by the China Business News as saying.

"(We) do not rule out the possibility of Unilever acquiring White Cat."

Last month, White Cat admitted to mixing potentially dangerous diethylene glycol, or DEG, into its Maxam brand toothpaste that is exported, helping to heighten global fears about the safety of Chinese-made products.

The Shanghai-listed firm said at the time, the chemical, a thickening agent used in car anti-freeze, was commonly used in toothpaste production and at low levels was not harmful to people.

But the United States Food and Drug Administration said DEG it poses a "low but meaningful" risk to children and people with kidney or liver disease.

Unilever has had a licensing agreement with White Cat's Zhong Hua toothpaste since 1994, although that brand was not among those said to contain DEG.

Industry insiders have long speculated that the European firm is keen to better entrench itself in China's booming consumer market by buying into a well-entrenched firm such as White Cat.