The Food Standards Agency, the British food watchdog, Tuesday night did a u-turn on claims that products from two Chinese soy sauce manufacturers posed a threat to human health.
In a press release posted on its official website, the agency said it has received further information from Guangdong Foodstuffs Import and Export Corp (GFIEC) and Hong Kong-based Lee Kum Kee.
It had alleged that products of GFIEC with the brand name of "Zhujiangqiao'' (Pearl River Bridge), and those of Lee Kum Kee contained high levels of 3-MCPD, a chemical common in many foods which might cause cancer.
The press release said the agency was told by the two producers that "they have reduced the 3-MCPD levels in their current products.''
The information that two producers had given the agency was in the form of certificates of analysis carried out by accredited, reputable laboratories.
The website also gave a full list of 14 products of Lee Kum Kee and five of Pearl River Bridge, which are available on the British market.
A test conducted by the British food watchdog has found that the content of 3-MCPD in soy sauce products imported from some Asian countries and regions such as the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore were at levels well over the European legal limit that comes into effect on April 1, 2002.
Many Asian producers have hit back the charge.
The GFIEC said the samples of its products that the British Food Standards Agency had tested were counterfeit.
It also said this had impaired its reputation and the counterfeiters would be held responsible.
(Chinadaily.com.cn 07/25/2001)
