Set aside for bird nest farming

KOTA MARUDU: Kota Marudu and Pitas will be the cluster areas for development of swiftlet bird’s nest farming for northern Sabah, said Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili.

Ongkili, who is also Kota Marudu MP, said the bird’s nest farming would be implemented in the two districts aggressively as a major economic contributor for Kota Marudu and Pitas.

He added that the Veterinary Service Department in its detailed observation and study had also identified Kota Marudu and its neighbouring Pitas as the best places in northern Sabah for the swiftlet farming activity.

Farm on top: A filepic of a structure used for swiftlet farming at the outskirts of Kota Kinabalu.
“This is due to the availability of water bodies and forests which provide feed that attracts a large population of birds. “The development of swiftlet farming clusters is being finalised by Pemandu as an NKEA project under Sedia (Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority) for community development,” he said after chairing the Parliamentary Agriculture Development Council meeting, here on Tuesday.

In the Kota Marudu district, 30 swiftlet hostels have been developed for commercial purposes while 43 projects had been carried out under the e-Kasih list of hardcore poor to generate income for poor rural folks.

A filepic of the interior of a swiftlet farmhouse.

In Pitas, 17 projects under the e-Kasih initiative are being carried out with each participant given an allocation of RM10,000, while 20 commercial swiftlet hostels have also been built.

“Many of the swiflet hostels in Kota Marudu have already produced the edible bird’s nest,” Dr Ongkili said, adding that the bird’s nest farming activity would offer income enhancement for the lower income group.
He has also received many inquiries from interested investors from Peninsular Malaysia and as far as Guandong, China who were keen to undertake swiftlet farming in Kota Marudu for commercial purposes.
A seminar on swiftlet farming would also be held next month to promote the activity to interested rural folks in Kota Marudu.

Later, Ongkili presented monetary aid to 13 families who lost or suffered damages to their homes during the floods that occurred in the district this year. Each of them received between RM1,000 to RM3,000 in aid which were allocated by the National Security Council — Bernama.

China to lift ban on Malaysian bird’s nest products

By CHOW HOW BAN
hbchow@thestar.com.my

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.

Ministry to set nitrate level in bird's nest next month

PUTRAJAYA (Bernama): The nitrate level in swiftlet bird's nest will be set next month to ensure that the product can be exported overseas, especially to China, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

"Although we already have a standard, this will be a more comprehensive as it includes nitrate content of bird's nest from caves, houses and others.

"We will set the level and notify the Chinese soon," he told reporters after talks with bird's nest producers at his office Thursday. Confusion arose after the Chinese government announced that bird's nest from Malaysia contained high nitrate level harmful to health.

They decided that Malaysian bird's nest could only be exported to China if the nitrate content was zero.

Liow said the people were confused over nitrate content in bird's nest fearing it was harmful while nitrate was also contained in meat products.

"With permissible nitrate level, we are sure that it is safe. But if it (nitrate) is over the level, we will stop the sale of bird'snest," he added.

After the nitrate level has been set, guidelines will be submitted to Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Ministry for enforcement purposes. - BERNAMA

Allow bird’s nest in for now, China urged

KUALA LUMPUR: China should allow Malaysian bird’s nests to enter the country while a minimum nitrite content is determined here, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

He told a press conference yesterday that the ministry had written to its counterpart to allow for a grace period as many exporters could not meet the zero nitrite level requirement used by China’s port authorities.

“We are waiting for their reply at the moment,” he said, adding that the requirement went “against natural environment conditions” as bird faeces caused a certain percentage to be present in the nests.

“We have explained this to China’s Health Ministry and we are willing to work together. We are also working with the bird’s nest industry to determine the minimum nitrite content.”

Bird’s nest scare has not spoilt China’s appetite

IPOH: Recent reports of high nitrite content in some bird's nest products from Malaysia have not affected demand for the delicacy in China. Producers in Malaysia, however, need to practise strict quality control to restore the confidence of consumers in China, said Xu Yu Fei, vice-mayor of Wenzhou city in the republic's southeastern Zhejiang province.

She admitted that consumer confidence in China had been “slightly affected” following the reports. “Local producers need to redouble their efforts in promoting their products in China and to prove to consumers their products are of a high quality,” she said. Xu was speaking to reporters after a business matching and dialogue session between local businessmen and their counterparts from Wenzhou here yesterday.

She said local producers needed to improve the sales and marketing of their products, adding that consumers in China were now more careful when choosing bird's nests.Recently, the Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Ministry sent a team to China to allay fears over reports of nitrate poisoning from Malaysian-produced bird's nests.

Following the scare, the Health Ministry told owners of bird's nest processing premises to register their business with the ministry by Oct 1 to help it regulate and control product quality. Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai had said food items exported to China would have to be certified by the ministry and the Veterinary Services Department.

Ministry to set standards for swiftlet industry

KUALA LUMPUR: A study is being carried out by the Health Ministry to develop a specific standard for swiftlet nest and its products under the Food Regulations 1985.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said this was to enhance consumers' confidence on the safety level of swiftlet nest and its products since it was a new industry.

“Safety and quality control of all swiftlet nest products will also be upgraded to ensure they are safe and of good quality,” he said in a statement here yesterday. He said swiftlet nest producers would also be registered in the food premises registration system through http://fosimdomestic.moh.gov.my to make it easier for them to comply with the Food Hygiene Regulations 2009.

Liow said the ministry has also introduced the 1Malaysia Food Safety Scheme (SK1M) to assist small and medium entrepreneurs, including producers of swiftlet nest and its products to carry out their own food safety control programme. He said the ministry would also work with the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry to ascertain the safety of raw swiftlet nests at the farm level.

“These initiatives are made to realise the government's aspiration of making the country's swiftlet nest industry a high-impact industry and to ensure its products are safe and of quality,” he added. - Bernama

Bird’s nest operators, premises owners urged to register

PUTRAJAYA: All bird's nest operators and about 56,000 premises owners nationwide are required to register with the Veterinary Department in the wake of the recent allegation in China regarding the condition of birds' nests imported from Malaysia.

Veterinary services director-general Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz Jamaluddin said a database would be set up listing all bird's nest exporters, which can be accessed by importers from China for verification purposes.
"Through the system, only exporting companies that are approved by both Malaysia and China are allowed to export the item," he told reporters here.

Abdul Aziz said the registration exercise began this week. So far, 12 companies have registered.
"The claim by China recently that the 'red-coloured bird's nests' allegedly imported from the country containing nitrite is not true, because Malaysia does not produce that type of bird's nests. It might have come from other countries but was trans-shipped to China from Malaysia," said Abdul Aziz.
Under the new system, only birds' nests bearing the Veterinary Health Mark are allowed to be exported to China.

"The department, in collaboration with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, will also set up a track-and-trace network system to enable consumers there to determine if the products are from Malaysia," he said.

The three-week period during which China ceased importation of bird's nests from Malaysia caused millions of ringgit in losses, according to Abdul Aziz.
The industry's annual export value to China alone is RM5 billion. It also provides 20,000 jobs.