The incident that led to an international uproar over a brand sugar candy the Philippines imported from China was "not a problem of quality", a senior official from the Philippine food quality control agency said Sunday.
After signing the minutes of meeting on import and export food safety with China's quality control agency, Alexander Padilla, under secretary of the Department of Health of the Philippines, said "the only problem is the existence of formaldehyde, which is a potential problem, and the two countries have resolved the problem."
In the minutes his department signed with China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), quality supervision officials of the two sides exchanged views on formaldehyde residue in food. The Chinese side hoped that the Philippines would treat the issue scientifically and the Philippines said they were carrying their evaluation and might adjust their related policy.
The officials who met on Saturday also reviewed their cooperation on dealing with the candy issue and the latest progress, and agreed to continue cooperation to treat the issue justifiably and properly.
"It is a document that calls for closer cooperation, more understanding and prior notice to any potential problem, so that we can prevent such problems and come up with solutions," Padilla said, adding, "We have had some misunderstanding in the past, which we hope to correct later on."
He acknowledged that Chinese food was very good as far as food safety was concerned, citing the fact that he himself "loves Chinese food and in the Philippines we eat Chinese food."
"I have nothing to complain about the measures that the Chinese government has taken on food safety. Even our own country had some lapses and instances," he said.
From toothpaste to seafood, China has had several problems with other countries on food safety over the past few months. Twenty-three schoolchildren in Cebu of the Philippines were reported to have stomachache, vomiting and dizziness after eating candy made in China.
Also on Sunday, China and Indonesia held talks and signed a similar minutes two months after China banned the imports of biscuits from Indonesia for excessive levels of aluminum, agreeing to establish a food safety cooperation mechanism. China and Indonesia signed the document as a result of "friendly talks" between quality supervision officials of the two countries on Saturday.
The officials are here attending the first ministerial meeting on quality supervision, inspection and quarantine between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which attracted food safety control officials from all ASEAN countries. The meeting also marked the establishment of a China-ASEAN ministerial consultation mechanism on quality supervision, inspection and quarantine.
(Xinhua News Agency October 29, 2007)
