>KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and other Asean countries were recently assured by China's Healthy Ministry that all products from the country would be melamine-free from now on.
The assurance was given by Chinese Health Minister Chen Zu, who attended the Asean Health Ministers' meeting in Manila, the Philippines, from Oct 7 to 10.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad said the meeting centred mostly on the melamine issue.
Melamine, which is a chemical used to make plastics, was found to have been illegally used in baby milk formulas to water-down raw milk and raise the apparent protein content.
To date, the tainted milk is known to have killed at least three babies in China and left 13,000 others hospitalised with kidney problems.
"We were given the guarantee by the Chinese health minister that the government is serious about this matter.
"The Chinese government is going all out against unscrupulous companies who use excessive melamine in their products just to make a quick buck, " he said after launching the national-level innovation awards at the Serdang Hospital auditorium yesterday.
However, Latiff said the ministry was not taking any chances on products from China.
"We are still conducting checks every day and will make press statements if and when we find something wrong with the products. "
Since the melamine scare last month, a total of 980 products manufactured by 34 companies had been verified as safe from contamination.
The Health Ministry tested products which included milk and milk products manufactured by Mead Johnson, Dumex, Nestle Manufacturing (M) Sdn Bhd, Fonterra Brands (M) Sdn Bhd, Mamee Food Factory, Dutch Lady, Ace Canning Corporation, Maestro Swiss Food Sdn Bhd, Wyeth Malaysia, Malaysian Milk Sdn Bhd/Contra Enterprise, Glaxosmithkline, Abbott Laboratories, Yakult, Unilever, Snow Marketing Sdn Bhd and Novalac (M) Sdn Bhd.
Besides that, the ministry also confiscated a total of 866 food products suspected of containing melamine. The products were worth more than RM318,000 on the local market. They included cereals worth RM2,284, solids worth RM6,469, confectionery worth RM236,099, chocolate products worth RM34,397 and milk worth RM39,492. All this was done as part of the precautionary measures taken by the ministry.
Latiff said the ministry was conducting checks, screening and sampling 24 hours a day to make sure that all products from China were safe from melamine contamination.
Asked whether the ministry was checking on products which contained excessive usage of plastic, Latiff said: "We are not going to alarm the public. Right now, we are only conducting checks on the melamine content and we will make the necessary announcements if and when we find something else. "
The White Rabbit Creamy Candies from China has been banned for its high melamine content.
