The Japanese Meiji Dairy Corporation Wednesday ordered a total
recall of its Meiji FU baby's milk powder in Shanghai after
provincial industrial authorities in Zhejiang detected quality
problems in the milk powder. Despite the recall, Meiji has defended
its products' quality and safety.
The Zhejiang Province Industrial and Commercial
Administrative Bureau said on Monday that the zinc content in the
powder was below national standards, and that the iodine content
did not match the amount indicated on the package.
The bureau has ordered a halt of retail sales and issued a
public safety warning to stop using the milk powder.
The Meiji company said Wednesday all such powder would be
removed from shelves in Shanghai, and refunds issued to
dissatisfied customers.
"Consumers can ask for a refund in the market where they bought
the powder provided they have a receipt," said Yang, an official
with the company who stated that the milk powder had no quality
problems.
"We entered the Chinese market only after rigorous testing by
inspection authorities, we thus know the products to be in strict
adherence with Chinese quality standards," she said.
The Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau could
not be reached Wednesday for comment while the city's Food and Drug
Administration said it was monitoring the situation and welcomed
Meiji's prompt action in the matter.
"We have always monitored the milk-powder market, and the
general quality of the powder is satisfactory," said an official
with the bureau named Du.
Meanwhile, China's Ministry of Health on Wednesday banned a
range of German hygiene and skincare products, all made "Bubchen"
under the brand, from the Chinese market.
The 16 Bubchen products were all found to have been imported and
marketed under licenses that were granted to other products, said a
ministry statement, meaning that the products had been operating
without the necessary health authority licenses.
Dealers selling these wares were required to halt sales and
retrieve those items already sold, read the statement, adding that
both the importer and distributor would be prosecuted.
A Chinese website about Bubchen products was launched by Beijing
Sensensen Trade Co. Ltd., which claims to be Bubchen's general
representative in China. The website mainly contained products for
infants and pregnant women.
In the final case, Chinese quarantine officials impounded two
tons of dried banana pieces coming from the Philippines as they
contained elevated levels of sulfur dioxide.
The levels reached 1,286 milligrams per kilogram, nearly 25
times the limit stipulated in Chinese regulations on food
additives, said the General Administration of Quality Supervision,
Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ).
The 100 boxes of banana pieces, imported by Aixiu Food Co. Ltd,
a Qingdao-based company, were valued at US$13,159. However, after
being resealed, the goods would either be destroyed or sent back to
their country of origin.
The sulfur dioxide residue formed from the mixture of sodium
metabisulfite and potassium metabisulfite, both of which are used
as preservative agents in food production.
Eating sulfur dioxide could lead to queasiness and vomiting, and
prolonged ingestion can have carcinogenic effects.
China's quarantine sectors have found fault with Filipino food
imports 13 times, including excessive cadmium in dried sleeve-fish
and octopus pieces, as well as salmonella in frozen whelks, sources
with the GAQSIQ said.
The GAQSIQ has informed Philippine authorities to ramp up safety
measures on food exports, said the sources.
Philippine quarantine officials recently claimed to have found
formaldehyde in China's "White Rabbit" milk candy, but having
forwarded no data about this case to GAQSIQ, internal
investigations declared the Shanghai-made candy safe.
(Xinhua News Agency, Shanghai Daily August 2, 2007)