The samples of the imported ultra heat treated (UHT) milk used in the 1Malaysia Milk Programme are being analysed after they were alleged to contain melamine.
Deputy Health Minister Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin said Selangor Health Department had been instructed to take the samples of the UHT milk imported by Hybrid Allied Sdn Bhd for melamine analysis.
She said the samples of the milk were taken at Biforst Logistics Sdn Bhd in Shah Alam, Selangor, which is the only store that keeps all UHT milk supply imported by the company.
“The sampling of the milk will be carried out immediately and the results onthe analysis will be known three days after the sampling,” she said in a statement today.
The issue came to light when the president of Parents-Teacher Association(PTA) of Sekolah Kebangsaan Kubur Panjang in Alor Setar, Kedah, Shaharol Niza Omar, was reported as saying that the UHT milk imported by the company for the 1Malaysia Milk Programme did not have legitimate Halal logo issued by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim).
Shaharol Niza had also expressed doubt over the safety of the dairy product,which was feared to contain melamine, as milk only made up 40 per cent of the content, while the other 60 per cent comprised of other ingredients, including high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which was said to be the factor that would increase obesity rate by three times, and diabetes by seven.
However, Rosnah said she was informed by the company that HFCS only made up4.3 per cent of the total ingredients of their UHT milk.
“Since the ingredients of the UHT milk supplied to the school children for the 1Malaysia Milk Programme only contained 4.3 per cent of HFCS, and the fact that the milk was distributed only twice a week, the UHT milk may not specifically cause obesity, unless it was done with excessive intake of other food,” she added.
– Bernama
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