Liow: Melamine is at permissible level

NST: KOTA KINABALU: Food containing 2.5 parts per million (ppm) or less of melamine is acceptable, Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said yesterday.
For baby food, the permissible level is 1ppm.
Melamine is used in the manufacture of plastics.
"So far, all the products we have tested have melamine within the permissible level," Liow said after attending the state MCA annual congress here.
Liow assured the public that small amounts of melamine in food products was safe for consumption.
There was bound to be some transfer of melamine to food products wrapped in plastic, he said.
The European Union countries allowed 30ppm of melamine in all food products.
Melamine-tainted milk products in China have the chemical compound at 2,653ppm.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry is now on high alert over melamine-tainted vegetables imported from China.
"We have learnt from Korea that it has detected a high level of melamine in vegetables from China.
"We have started a level four check on all food products from China where we will take samples to ensure they are safe for consumption before releasing them into the market.
"Products from China are still being examined. Today (yesterday), the Korean government announced that fruits and vegetables from China contain melamine, so we will be asking them for details."