Brunei's Local News - Brudirect.com

Health Ministry Reveals Updated List Of Melamine-Tainted Products
By Azlan Othman

Bandar Seri Begawan - The Ministry of Health has informed the public of the updated list of milk products that were confirmed to be positive for melamine, which was obtained from Information on Food Safety Authority Networking (INFOSAN), World Health Organization (WHO) and the list of products sold in Brunei following the scrutiny of the Ministry of Health.

A total of 90 biscuits, cakes and confectionary, liquid milk, yoghurt, snack food, frozen dessert, infant formula, powdered milk and cereal products were confirmed to be positive for melamine.

It ranges from White Rabbit Creamy Candies, Four Seas cake (strawberry flavor), Lotte Biscuits, Tong Wang Yang Coconut Cakes, Walnut Cakes, Glico Pocky Men's Coffee Cream Coated Biscuit Stick, Mengniu milk products, Yili Milk products, Guangming, Silang - House of Potato - Wasabi cracker, Saniu, Panda Kabao, Gucheng, Yingxiong, Huimin, Yashili, Nanshan, Shien, Jinbishi, Keqi, Jinding, Yubao, Aomeiduo and Leilei Infant Milk Formulas.

Others include Heinz DHA +AA Vegetable Formula Cereal, Sanlu milk products, Nanshan Elderly High Fibre High Calcium, Yu Jing Yuan Milk Powder and Bright Fragrant Full Fat Powder.

The Ministry of Health through the Food Safety and Quality Control Division, Environment Health Services of the Health Services Department and health offices in all the four districts are carrying out inspections at department stores and shops to ensure that these products are not available here.

Affected importers and vendors were ordered to stop importing and recall all these products immediately. The ministry also informed all importers that the registration of imported dairy and milk-based products from China and products listed under the recall which has been approved earlier has now been cancelled.

In this connection, the Ministry is seeking public cooperation to report to the Division and nearby health offices should they come across these products that are still available in the market.

For products that are still kept in stocks, the ministry advised the retailers to withdraw the affected products and to surrender them to the Division or to the importers.

The importers are advised not to import the dairy and milk-based products from China. Consumers are advised to surrender the products (if any) to the shops where they bought the items or to surrender them to the Division or nearest health offices.

The ministry stated that under Chapter 9 cap (1) sub paragraph (i) of the Public Health Act (Food) (Section 182), whoever prepares, sells or imports food that is hazardous to the health can be imprisoned for five years, fined or both.

The Quality Control & Food Safety Division can be reached at its hotline 2331100 /5/6/8/9/10 or fax at 2331107 or email at fsqc@moh.gov.bn or the ministry's website at www.moh.gov.bn for further enquiries. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin