Health ministry prepared to do study on benzoyl peroxide

theSundaily KUALA LUMPUR (June 1, 2012): The Health Ministry is prepared to study the use of benzoyl peroxide in food such as wheat flour if there is new scientific evidence from international health organisations to prove it is harmful to health.

Health Deputy Minister Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin said organisations like the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) had approved its use in wheat flour in a portion of not more than 60mg per kilogramme while safety studies carried out by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) confirmed that it does not cause any ill effects in food and is not carcinogenic.

In a statement yesterday, she said Malaysia's Regulation 42(2) of the Food Regulations 1985 allowed the use of benzoyl peroxide in wheat flour in a portion of not more than 50mg per kilogramme as food conditioner.

Rosnah was responding to a memorandum issued by the Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association (PPIM) cautioning the use of the benzoyl peroxide as a bleaching agent in wheat flour.

She said other countries such as Singapore, Japan, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand were also using it.

She urged consumers doubtful about the safety status of products in the market to make a report to the Health Ministry through the nearest district health office or State health department, or through its food quality and safety division website at http://fsq.moh.gov.my/v3. – Bernama