By Ng Si Hooi

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: The Health Ministry should accept tests done by Singapore laboratories for melamine content on locally manufactured biscuits as the results are faster, said MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

Stating that the five laboratories in the country could not cope with the needs of the industry, he added that it took two weeks to obtain the test results but only two days in Singapore.

"The manufacturers here have to wait for the results before getting clearance to export their biscuits," he told reporters at Wisma MCA here yesterday.

Dr Chua, the party government policy monitoring bureau chief, said the industry players met him last week to discuss their problems.

Before the melamine scare in China, he said the industry exported RM600mil worth of biscuits per year while the domestic market was about one to two times more.

"The export market dropped by 50 per cent while domestic consumption is also down by 30 per cent to 40 cent," he said, adding that if this continued manufacturers wouldn't be able to service their bank loans.

Dr Chua added that he discussed the issue with Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai last Tuesday.

He said if tested biscuits had high content of melamine, they should be recalled and the ministry should announce the manufacturers' names to protect the safety of consumers.

Liow said the ministry would accept melamine-content tests conducted by Singapore laboratories provided it was through the liquid chromatography double mass (LCMSMS) method that measures content by parts per million.

The laboratories should also be recognised by the Singapore government, he said, adding that the ministry would also consider laboratories using the GCMS (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry) method.

"Most of the laboratories in the country have the equipment for the GCMS method," he said, adding that the ministry had sought the Higher Education Ministry's help to speed up tests by using laboratories at universities.

The Star/Asia News Network