BATU PAHAT: Food and pharmaceutical products from China have been put on the highest alert after some of them were detected with harmful elements and violated specifications.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said these products had been placed on 'level five' of the imported foods monitoring scale - the highest.
Under this, all categories of food including herbal products and health supplements must be tested before they are allowed to enter the country.
Pharmaceutical products from China must also be registered with the Health Ministry and brought in under license.
Dr Chua said the foods products would be tested for pesticides, antibiotics, heavy metals and other substances that could negatively affect health.
He said imports from China would only be allowed into the country if they were safe to be consumed, otherwise, they would be destroyed or returned.
“With all the tests and requirements, we can assure that all products in the market are safe,” he said after attending the launching and ground breaking ceremony for an upgrading project of Batu Pahat hospital Monday.
Dr Chua said in the first seven months of the year, a total of 217 pharmaceutical products were found to not have followed specifications set by the ministry in the first seven months of the year.
He said warnings and other actions including revocation of licenses and cancellations of registrations had been taken against the offenders, adding that 18 types of food were brought in violation of the Food Act 1983.
The products included honey (blended and sunflower), red dates, seaweed, preserved fruits and salted vegetables and preserved salted radish, which contained chloramphenicol, heavy metals and benzoic acid.
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