1kg bird’s nest limit for tourists

Tuesday January 17, 2012

By NURHIDAYAH RAMLI
newsdesk@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: Tourists to Malaysia are now only allowed to take home a maximum 1kg of bird's nest.

“This is to ensure that no smuggling of this expensive commodity takes place,” Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar. He also announced that local companies would require three certificates to export edible bird's nest products to China.

The certificates are from the Veterinary Services Department, the Health Ministry and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

Precious commodity: Noh (third from right) listening to assistant chemist Cassie Lee’s briefing on the commodity during a visit to PT Swift Marketing in Puchong yesterday. — Bernama

“After a company receives all three certificates, it will be allowed to use the 1Malaysia Best' logo and can export to China,'' Noh told reporters after launching the first authentic edible bird's nest trade and depository centre by PT Swift Marketing Sdn Bhd in Puchong yesterday.

He said the Government would not be held responsible for products without the “1Malaysia Best” logo.

Noh said previously only a Veterinary Services Department certificate was needed but due to the decline in quality, additional requirements had been added. He added that only eight companies had acquired the certificates so far.

Noh said the new rules were necessary because of concerns expressed by the Chinese government on excessive nitrite in bird's nests from Malaysia. “The two governments are discussing to determine the acceptable nitrite content. “It is impossible to get bird's nest with zero nitrite content but we hope to announce the figure soon,” he said.

Swift action on bird’s nest issue

MADE IN CHINA
By CHOW HOW BAN

The health and agriculture and agro-based industry ministries are working with their Chinese counterparts on getting bird’s nest exports to China moving again.

WITHIN a week, delegations from two ministries were in China on a mission to settle the Malaysian bird’s nest issue.Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar led his senior officials on a visit to the China General Administration of Quality Super­vision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) during their official trip to Beijing on Nov 1-3.

The ministry and AQSIQ, which is responsible for inspection of imported and exported goods, agreed to set up a working committee on the procedural and administrative problems of the Malaysian swiflet industry. On Tuesday, Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai met his counterpart Chen Zhu, and their meeting turned out well, with some very positive developments.

First, China acknowledged nitrite was present in its natural form in Malaysian bird’s nest. Secondly, the Chinese government said it would allow the sale of bird’s nest imported from Malaysia again if these meet the new nitrite standards.

The Malaysian and Chinese health ministries formed a committee comprising food specialists and experts to determine the permissible level of nitrite in the product. The team will work around the clock to set the new standards. Nitrite is a toxic substance that may lead to chronic poisoning.

The positive thing coming out from these two ministerial meetings is that Malaysia showed it wants to resolve the issue as soon as possible and the Chinese side understood the urgency of the matter. The swift actions by both governments came after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak highlighted the issue to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Oct 21 on the sidelines of the China-Asean Expo in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

The directives from the top all the way down in both governments and the quick reaction and coordination that followed, again showed the solid trust and bilateral ties between the two nations. Malaysia cannot afford to wait any longer to resume its exports of bird’s nest to China. After all, the country is Malaysia’s largest market with total exported volume of 100 tonnes last year and 20 tonnes this year before the industry was hit by the fake bird’s nest episode.

In July, a local watchdog in Zhejiang province announced that majority samples from some 30,000 cups of bird’s nest contained nitrite levels above China’s health standards and fingered bird’s nest imports from Malaysia.

Following media reports on the so-called blood bird’s nest where high levels of nitrite had been detected, many Chinese consumers shunned bird’s nest. After the State Administration for Industry and Commerce issued a notice in August to local authorities to beef up inspection on bird’s nest to ensure food safety, most bird’s nest products were removed from the shelves.“Currently, the nitrite level permitted by the Chinese authorities is very low and the majority of Malaysian exporters are not able to meet the requirement,” Liow said. “The officials from the Chinese health ministry showed keen interest in addressing the problem.

“They accepted our explanation why there is natural development of nitrite during the raising of swiflets.

“While natural nitrite is allowed, we agree that there should be no nitrite addictive in the production of our bird’s nest. “We will now race against time to come out with new nitrite standards.”

Noh said once the standard was determined, his ministry would ensure all bird’s nest exporters registered with the ministry adhere to the new nitrite requirement. “The Health Ministry is looking into the food safety of bird’s nest exported to China while my ministry is tasked with certifying qualified bird’s nest producers and ensuring that all production procedures are fulfilled before the products are exported,” he said.

“We will also work with the Customs Department to beef up enforcement at airports to stop illegal exports of bird’s nest to China.”

Chinese statistics showed 500 tonnes of bird’s nest imports, much higher than the export figure of 100 tonnes reported by Malaysian authorities. This was because many exports went unaccounted for at exit points in Malaysia and were smuggled into China through Hong Kong as the mainland imposed a higher tariff. Unscrupulous processers add red dye and sell it as blood nest, which can fetch a higher price.

According to Federation of Malaysia Bird Nest Associations president Datuk Paduka Beh Heng Seong, there were some bad apples in the industry who sold bird’s nest to third parties for reproduction and repackaging.

In the wake of the import ban by China, the Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Ministry have directed industry players to implement the Good Animal Husbandry Practice and Good Manufacturing Practice standards under the guidelines for the development of the swiflet industry.

All the 56,000 producers and exporters must register with the Veterinary Services Department, which will establish a track-and-trace system to facilitate the movement of raw bird’s nest across the supply chain.

The ministry said it would share information on the export of bird’s nest with AQSIQ while making efforts to harmonise the standards for laboratory tests with its Chinese counterpart. Judging by the urgency of all parties, the target of having the new nitrite guideline ready and the import ban lifted before Chinese New Year should not be too far from reality.

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.