Malaysian food safety system will hold up, says minister

Malaysia has a stringent Food Safety Information System of Malaysia (FoSIM) to monitor entry of food products into
the country, said Deputy Minister of Health Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin.

Speaking at the 2011 International Health Insurance Convention organised by Malaysian Institute of Insurance (MII) and Federation of Afro- Asian Insurers and Reinsurers here today, she said the ministry would maintain the five level
inspection of Hold, Test and Release on all food products imported into the country including from Taiwan.

Any product which does not comply with the system would be sent back to the country of origin for disposal, she added.

Rosnah was commenting on the recent ban on Di (-2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP) and di-isononylphthalate (DINP) contaminated food products from Taiwan.

She assured the public that there was no need to worry as strict measureshad been taken to control food items from the country.

Last Saturday, Minister of Health Seri Liow Tiong Lai issued a statement listing ten Taiwanese food products which had been analysed and cleared by the ministry.

The products were Mango Jelly Pudding, Seaweed De Vinegar Drink, Plum Active Vinegar Drink, Peach Health Vinegar Drink, Grape Vinegar Drink, Plum Extract Jelly, Sliced Cheese, Assorted Fruit Flavour Jelly, Ruby Red Grapefruit Drink
and Orange Vinegar Drink.

On another subject, Rosnah said the ministry was still studying the “1 Carefor 1Malaysia” insurance scheme aimed at assisting people who could not afford proper healthcare.

Meanwhile, on the Sale of Food in School Guidelines, she said discussions were ongoing with the Ministry of Education to implement it in the near future.

– Bernama