Sunday September 28, 2008

Making food safe

By HARIATI AZIZAN

AS fears surrounding melamine-tainted milk from China continue to grow worldwide, Malaysian hypermarkets are doing their best to ensure that their products are safe for consumers.

One thing that these stores did immediately was to remove all suspected milk and milk-based products from China off the shelves.

Spokesperson for AEON Co (M) Bhd which operates Jusco Stores and MaxValu supermarket in Malaysia, Zakimarhaini Mohd Said, says that they are updating all their outlets with the latest information on what is safe to be consumed as provided by the Health Ministry.

“We have been monitoring the issue since it first broke out in China. To ensure that all our products are safe, we have taken other made-in-China confectionery such as chocolates and candy off our shelves, as well as those containing milk from unknown sources. This is a preventive measure aimed at safeguarding consumers,” she says.

She adds they have sent the said items for testing at the ministry, and these products will only be put back on the shelves once the ministry verifies that they are safe to be consumed.

Approximately 30 products have been removed from the shelves at all branches of Jusco Stores, she says.

There will be information for consumers, especially at the milk-based product section, that their products are not contaminated and safe to be consumed, she says.

“For assurance and more information, the customer can refer to our service counter to check the letters from the distributor or Health Ministry,” she says.

Carrefour Malaysia has also pulled several products from its shelves, its public relations and CSR director Ras Adiba Radzi said.

“We have taken every precaution, and our sales is as per normal, increasing, in fact, due to last-minute shopping for the upcoming Raya celebrations. Many of our consumers come in having done their own research and are aware of which products are safe to consume,” she was reported as saying.

Tesco Stores Malaysia reported that while there have been many questions from the media, they have had none from their consumers. As corporate and legal affairs director Azlam Shah Alias pointed out earlier to the media, Tesco had moved to recheck all their milk and dairy products since the scandal broke two weeks ago in China.

“We checked with our suppliers and asked for proof that their products were safe from contamination. Those that could not have had their products removed from the shelves,” he was quoted as saying.

He stressed that the safety and quality of their products are of utmost importance and Tesco will adhere to any advice given by the ministry.

Mydin Mohamed Holdings Berhad (Mydin) head office spokesperson meanwhile states that it was not a major issue for them as the majority of the products they stock do not contain raw materials from China.

“They are mostly sourced from Europe. In addition, they are processed locally and this applies to many of the major brands such as Dutch Lady and Nestle,” he says.

National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC) chief executive and Fomca secretary-general Muhammad Sha’ani Abdullah, however, argues that claims of “not importing from China” and “being confident that our products are not tainted” is not the way to resolve the issue of intentional addition of the industrial chemical commonly known as melamine in food products.

“We must not readily accept mere statements and claims by traders, who perform media antics by consuming their products for the media to allay fears among the public,” he opines.

“We should not be overly protective of business concerns which always find ways to maximize profit even to the extent of risking the safety of consumers.

“The current incidence of melamine addition in baby milk in China was partly due to the authorities accepting claims and assurances of safety at face value as well as corruption,” he says.

Citing a case of tainted milk imported from Australia that happened last year as example, he says products sourced from Australia, New Zealand and Europe do not guarantee safety.

“They need to go through rigorous safety standards, too. Anyway we cannot be biased towards one country only,” he adds.

Muhammad Sha’ani highlights the Food Act 1983 which, he says, already has guidelines that abide by international standards.

“We just need to implement them properly,” he notes.

S.M. Idris, president of Consumer Association Penang (CAP), concurs.

“What we also need is a central food clearing agency to ensure that all foodstuff imported into the country meet the standards set, like those established in the United States of America and Europe. Currently, food items that are imported into the country are tested and analysed in an ad-hoc manner.”

“We also don’t have enough manpower to do this at the ministry, so the process takes too long, which can cause losses to the businesses,” he adds.