China to lift ban on Malaysian bird's nest products

BEIJING: China recognises the presence of natural nitrite in bird's nest and will lift the import ban on the products from Malaysia after determining a permissible level, Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said.He said the Chinese authorities understood that the presence of nitrite was a natural occurrence when swiflets were raised.

“We reached a very important consensus today after we explained to them why there is natural nitrite in our bird's nest.

“We agreed that there should be no nitrite additive in Malaysian bird's nest exports to China during the production process.

“But the Chinese authorities will allow the presence of natural nitrite in the product,” he said after meeting Chinese health officials here yesterday.

Liow said both sides had set up a working committee comprising food specialists and experts with immediate effect, to determine the permissible level of nitrite in bird's nest products.

The committee will be headed by the ministry's food safety and quality division senior director Noraini Mohd Othman and two Chinese officials from relevant agencies.

“The committee started work today and Noraini will stay in China to discuss how we will work out the details and the timetable for nitrite standards,” Liow added.

He had led a delegation of officials and bird's nest exporters to China to discuss the issue with the Chinese authorities following reports of fake Malaysian bird's nest.

Federation of Malaysia Bird's Nest Associations president Datuk Paduka Beh Heng Seong said Malaysian bird's nest exporters would adhere to the nitrite standards as long as the permissible level was reasonable.

“We have assured the Chinese authorities that we will further improve the quality of our products and restore Chinese consumers' confidence in Malaysian bird's nest,” he said.

Bird’s nest exporters need 3 quality certifications to enter China

Starting this year, Malaysian companies exporting swiftlet nests to China are required to obtain three quality certifications before their products will be allowed to enter the republic, according to Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar.

He said the quality certifications were the Veterinary Health Mark (VHM) certificate issued by the Veterinary Department, the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) certificate issued by the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and the health certificate issued by the Health Ministry.

The three certifications are aimed at ensuring the quality of the Malaysian swiftlet nests would meet the standards set by the Chinese government, he told reporters after opening Malaysia’s first Authentic Bird’s Nest Depository and Trade Centre in Puchong near here on Monday.

“These quality certifications must be adhered to in order to meet the strict requirements set by the Chinese government after they agreed to accept swiftlet nests from Malaysia last year.

“However, the Chinese government has also required that only bird’s nests with zero part per million (ppm) of nitrite are allowed to be exported to the republic,” he said.

Noh said it was very difficult to obtain swiftlet nests with zero nitrite level, but the ministry was hoping that the Health Ministry could set a minimum and acceptable nitrite level for the issuance of the certification purposes.

The minister said the company which obtained the three quality certifications would be allowed to use the “1Malaysia Best” brand on their swiftlet nest products, but they also had to identify a strategic partner in China to ease the trade and monitoring process.

“Their partners in China will also be required to promote swiftlet nest products bearing the brand of ’1Malaysia Best’ as the ones having the best quality and safe for consumption,” he said.

Meanwhile, Health Ministry Food Safety and Quality Control Division senior director Dr Noraini Mohd Othman said the swiftlet nest products containing high level of nitrite could pose a threat to human health and could also cause cancer.

“We will announce the acceptable level of nitrite in swiftlet nests after the ongoing discussion between our experts and their counterparts in China is concluded,” she said.

First Bird Nest Processor To Achieve ISO 22000: 2005 Certification in Malaysia: Kuan Wellness Sdn Bhd

Kuan Wellness Eco Park is the first bird’s nest ecology park established with ecotourism as its primary theme, and the first bird’s nest processing centre in Malaysia to be certified by the ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System. It is located at Tanjung Sepat, between Sepang Goldcoast and Morib Gold Coast, Kuan Wellness Eco Park is set to become one of the most sought after eco-tourism destination in Malaysia. With a total land area of 5 acres, the ecology park consists of a 3½ storey swiftlet house and a visitor centre, surrounded by palm oil plantations and tropical fruit farms which provide plenty of insects, the swiftlet's favourite food source.

More info:

http://www.kuanwellnessecopark.com/en/index.html