CONSUMERS are generally upbeat about the decision by the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) to allow some imported China-made milk products back on the shelves.
After a blanket ban of almost two months, 21 types of butter, ghee and non-dairy creamer made in China will be released with immediate effect, the AVA announced yesterday.
Singaporeans my paper spoke to welcomed the news.
Mrs Elizabeth Ang looks forward to buying her baby daughter's favourite biscuits, which were taken off the shelves. Said the 29-year-old dentist: "But I'll steer clear of China-made baby cereals. And I'll never drink Yili milk again."
These products have been categorised by the AVA as being at "low risk" of melamine contamination.
The category also includes China-made products that use milk from other countries as an ingredient.
For example, butter is classified as a low-risk product because it is fat-based, and melamine is relatively insoluble in fat, said AVA chief executive Chua Sin Bin.
Expect the following products to be available for sale in three weeks: "Medium-risk" products such as bread, biscuits, crackers, candies, chocolate and cake; and "higher-risk" products like liquid milk, ice cream, milk protein and whey protein.
The AVA is considering lifting the import ban on China milk products when China provides a full account of its investigations and improvements made to its food-safety system.
But Dr Chua clarified that should the ban be lifted, fresh batches of products would be brought in, and not old and possibly contaminated stock.
He did not put a date on when the ban would be lifted.
The AVA has spent an estimated $1.6 million testing for melamine-tainted products.
While Hong Kong and Bangladesh were still clearing tainted China-made products off the shelves as late as last month, Dr Chua warned against taking an over-conservative stance.
He said: "We're not trying to be gungho (in releasing products for sale). After our first round of tests...we've found that the picture is largely confined to China-made products.
But he added that the AVA is not ruling out finding more melamine-tainted products.
MEASURES TAKEN
CHINA-MADE milk products imported before the Sept 19 ban will be gradually released by the AVA under a managed-risk approach. "Low-risk" products will be released first, followed by "medium-risk" products and "higher-risk" products.
NUMBER of milk products from China and other countries tested since September: Over 3,500.
Other non-milk products tested include preserved eggs and high-protein products such as canned luncheon meat.
NUMBER of melamine-tested products found here: 33.
They include 16 China milk products, including yogurt bars, milk candy, flavoured milk and crackers, and 17 biscuit products from Malaysia.
The contamination in the Malaysian biscuits is thought to have stemmed from tainted ammonium bicarbonate, and not milk. The AVA will send a team to China within a month to inspect dairies and factories and ensure that regulatory measures have been put in place.
LAST month, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan gave the thumbs-up to a new forensic unit to test for potential non-conventional food contaminants.
