Putting sham food to shame

NST: KUALA LUMPUR: There is a slimming tea in the market that claims to be able to reduce weight. But it does not have a trace of tea in it.
Then, there is a groundnut-based product that claims to be cholesterol-free. But groundnut oil has never had cholesterol.
It goes further to warn consumers of elements in other brands of groundnut cooking oil that cause heart attacks.
There is also a cake-baking flour that claims to be free from fat when the fat in it exceeds the permissible level.
These are some of the spurious claims that are getting past the authorities who don’t know one way or the other about the truth of such claims.
But this is going to end as the Food Safety and Quality Division under the Health Ministry will check on such claims from next year. For a start, all imported food will be tested to verify claims on labels.
Currently, testing is done at random and only about 10 per cent of the more than 60,000 imported food items are tested.
Food Safety and Quality Division director Dr Abd Rahim Mohamad said the proposal to test all food entering Malaysia was awaiting government approval.
"We will most likely get approval next year and start testing immediately," he told reporters at a dialogue organised by the division.
He said manufacturers, and not importers, were at fault.
Dr Rahim said officers at entry points would work with Customs officers in carrying out such checks.