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British soy sauce scare leaves bad taste in Asia
2001-06-24
HONG KONG - Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan soy sauce producers on Friday challenged warnings by Britain's food watchdog that some of their products may contain worrying levels of cancer-causing chemicals. Australia and New Zealand followed Britain in warning consumers that certain soy sauce products contained traces of a chemical that could cause cancer if taken daily, and some supermarkets in New Zealand pulled supplies from their shelves, Reuters reported. But a producer in Thailand said it would take at least until early 2002 for companies there to reduce levels of 3-MCPD, a chemical by-product of a process used to extract protein from food materials such as grains, dairy and processed meat products. Britain's Food Standards Agency (FSA) singled out brands and products imported from Thailand, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Five products were made by Hong Kong's best known soy sauce maker Lee Kum Kee, established in 1888, which hit back on Friday. "All of our products have no traceable levels of 3-MCPD," said corporate marketing manager Jason Beaumont. Beaumont questioned the accuracy of the FSA tests, saying samples had been taken from products manufactured before October 1999, when the company took steps to modify its production process. "We are concerned and it (FSA test results) is indeed misleading," Beaumont said. Singapore sauce maker Heinz Sinsin, whose oyster sauce was listed in the British warning, dismissed the warnings, saying its product met safety standards. The sample tested in the United Kingdom was not representative as the company changed its oyster sauce recipe in 1999 and has been keeping track of 3-MCPD levels, managing director Tan Khieng Sin said. "All the products now do not contain anything that is beyond the limit," said Tan, whose company is a subsidiary of U.S. food giant H.J. Heinz. Taiwan soy sauce makers too, were dismissive of the British warning. "We have revised the production process since last March to make products qualified under international standards," said an official with Wan Jia Shian Brewery Co, one of Taiwan's leading soy sauce makers. An FSA spokeswoman said on Thursday they had received a lot of calls from the Chinese community, which protested in London when some officials suggested that Britain's foot-and-mouth epidemic originated from imported meat at a Chinese restaurant. Thai Theparos Food Products, whose Golden Mountain brand was among those listed in the British warning, said it was well aware of the issue. "In Thailand, the Food and Drug Administration and soy sauce producers have been aware of the 3-MCPD issue for about a year and they have jointly taken actions to develop technology that would reduce levels of 3-MCPD," it said in a statement. It added, however: "It is believed that at the earliest, progress that could be regarded as success from these efforts will be realised in early 2002." Thai authorities, meanwhile, said they believed consumers were not at risk. British health officers on Thursday began removing certain types of soy sauce across the country after the health warning. They acted after 22 out of the 100 samples examined about a year ago showed levels of the chemical above European Union safety guidelines due to come into force next year. Some also contained another cancer-causing chemical 1,3-DCP, which experts say should not be in food. The joint Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) said it had taken emergency action to amend its food standards code to set a limit for 3-MCPD in soy sauce of 0.02 milligrams per kilogram, in line with European Commission standards which come into force in the EU in April 2002. "We have also asked the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service to inspect soy and oyster sauce products at the border and to turn back products that exceed this limit," ANZFA said. Brands named in the British warning include Golden Mountain, King Imperial, Pearl River Bridge, Jammy Chai, Lee Kum Kee, Golden Mark, Kimlan, Golden Swan, Sinsin, Tung Chun and Wanjasham soy sauce. ANZFA stressed however, that only one manufacturing process, which uses acid hydrolysis, might cause the chemical contamination, adding that soy sauces manufactured using a natural fermentation process were regarded as safe. "It is also important for everyone to recognise that we are concerned only about soy and oyster sauce, not other soy products," ANZFA said. The FSA report warned caterers against using the 22 products but said there was no reason to boycott Chinese or oriental food.
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