Excessive toxic chemical in edible birdnest

China

Excessive toxic chemical found in imported edible bird's nests in east China

English.news.cn 2011-08-15 21:21:00 FeedbackPrintRSS

HANGZHOU, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- The quality watchdog in east China's Zhejiang Province has found excessive amounts of chemical nitrite in cubilose, or edible bird's nests, once again raising concerns over food safety in China.

However, the poisonous food was not locally produced, but imported from Malaysia.

The Zhejiang Provincial Administration for Industry and Commerce said at a press conference on Monday that the amount of nitrite in the blood-red cubilose was "gravely above the permitted standard" and poses threats to consumers' health.

Spot checks on blood-red cubilose, a rare type of edible bird's nests, from 491 dealers in Zhejiang have shown that nitrite levels average 4,400 mg per kg, far above the allowed cap of 70 mg per kg.

The blood-red cubilose sold on the local market is mostly imported from Malaysia, a major producer and exporter of edible bird's nests, according to the administration.

Edible bird's nests, mostly made of the secretion from the salivary glands of birds, is an expensive delicacy and have been used in Chinese cooking for hundreds of years, and are traditionally believed to provide various health benefits.

In Hong Kong restaurants, a bowl of bird's nest soup can cost from 30 to 100 U.S. dollars.

An agriculture vice minister of Malaysia, Chua Tee Yong, was earlier cited by a local Chinese newspaper, Sin Chew Daily, as saying all the so-called "blood-red cubilose" on the market is fake.

A video footage obtained by the administration shows that several dealers have admitted that almost all the blood-red cubilose on the market are ordinary bird's nests that have been dyed, resulting in excessive nitrite levels.

Though widely used in curing meat, nitrite can cause health problems such as cancer if ingested in amounts.

In response to the market rumors about the poisonous bird's nests, "government and industry officials" from Malaysia held a press conference in the capital city of Hangzhou on July 26, purporting that blood-red cubilose on the Chinese market was genuine and safe as the nitrite can be removed after hours of soaking.

Ironically, the government organizations and agencies these "officials" claimed to represent do not exist.

The provincial industry and commerce administration has already started a across-the-aboard inspection of cubilose products on the market.

Editor: Zhang Xiang


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