Bai Yan, secretary-general of the China Seasoning Association, said the EU did not ban the import of Chinese soy sauces and all soy sauces that meet quality standards are eligible for export to the region.

Bai made the remarks to diffuse media rumors that an official EU delegation will come to China to check whether the domestic soy sauce meets EU sauce criteria.

Articles appearing in domestic newspapers in recent days also claimed the EU has put a curb on Chinese-made soy sauces since 1998.

Bai said her association and related government departments, including the State Exit-Entry Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, had not received any notices about the visit.

"Moreover, the EU has never banned Chinese soy sauces from entering its market,'' she added.

Bai explained that enterprises in the EU did not buy Chinese-made compound soy sauces, but added that such enterprises are free to decide which types of soy sauce they do or do not like.

In 1998, the EU found that many Chinese-made compounded soy sauces contained too much chlorohydrin, an ingredient which some scientists have said may lead to cancer.

While chlorohydrin was routinely discovered in compound sauces, it was absent in Chinese-produced fermented soy sauces.

Because fermenting takes a long time, Bai explained, many manufacturers will add a chemical ingredient, called HVP, to speed up the process. Sauces produced this way are considered compound.

The addition of HVP often results in chlorohydrin but the content can be lowered after producers make technological changes.

"Both the country and manufacturers have taken steps to deal with the problem since 1998,'' she said.

A new state standard on soy sauce was issued last year and will be put into effect in September this year.

According to Bai, the demands contained in the new standard will be higher than those represented by EU quality criteria.

"We have upgraded technology and changed the production process since 1998, even though it has meant higher costs, because the EU is a large market,'' said the producer of China-based Pearl River Bridge Soy Sauce, a famous brand of compound sauce.

Last year, China exported 16,000 tons of soy sauces to the EU, valued at over US$8 million.

(China Daily 03/21/2001)