February 6, 2008

Malaysia issues alerts on Chinese pork dumplings

Malaysia has tightened scrutiny for pork dumplings from China after media reports said that 175 Japanese people fell ill after eating Chinese-made dumplings.

The pork products, manufacturerd by Tianyang Food Processing, were suspected to contain pesticides and have caused illness during the past two months.

Malaysia's health ministry director, Abdul Rahim Mohamad, said the country is taking on a safety precaution. There have been no reports by health authorities at entry points of such items coming in from China.

Previously, two chinese brands Maling and Gulong had been removed from the shelves in Singapore after traces of nitrofurans, a banned cancer-causing antibiotic, were found in the food.

Rahim said those imported into Malaysia were safe for consumption based on laboratory tests.