Over half bird's nest stores in Xiamen may face closure after new rule

China launched newly amended list of prohibited items including bird's nest.

 

A newly amended list of prohibited items has dealt a heavy blow to bird’s nest stores which privately sell bird’s nest in Xiamen, reports Xiamen Daily.

 

According to the newly amended list of prohibited items, bird's nest (except canned versions) can't be brought in by travelers or mailed into China. China has stepped up supervision on bird's nest products after excessive amounts of nitrite were found in bird nests imported from Malaysia in August, 2011.

 

Edible bird's nest, or cubilose, a delicacy in China, considered as a super-food for daily health-care, is popular and well accepted in Xiamen.

 

The revised list has put a cold chill to self-employed business people in Xiamen who made a living by importing bird’s nest in the past.

 

On the contrary, those local standard stores specializing in imported bird's nest products have benefited from this revised list. "Following the newly list launched, Xiamen will face a shortage of bird’s nest products in the market as the purchase channel was formally standardized, which may cause s price surge of the products", said a staff of Xiamen-based Yanzhiwu, a famous bird’s nest store.

 

"The revised list is definitely good for the whole cubilose industry in China, given the chaos that's occurred in past years. Cubilose imported through formal channels should be genuine because it must be inspected", said an insider.

source : http://www.whatsonxiamen.com/news23942.html

 

Bird's nest move 'good for industry'

 Updated: 2012-02-27 07:23

By Cheng Yingqi (China Daily)

Updated list of banned items covers more animal and plant products
BEIJING - Cubilose, a type of bird's nest that is considered a delicacy in China, can't be brought in by travelers or mailed into the country, according to a newly amended list of prohibited items.
The list, jointly issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has 16 categories of banned animal and plant products.
Compared with the previous list issued in 1992, the new list has a broader range of banned products, such as leaf tobacco and genetically modified food.
Cubilose (except canned versions) is the highest-profile product on the list.
"The revised list is definitely good for the whole cubilose industry in China, given the chaos that's occurred in the past year," said Alex Leong, a former dealer of Malaysian cubilose in Zhejiang province who became an industry whistle-blower.
For centuries, the Chinese have viewed cubilose, or edible bird's nest, as an expensive dish that could provide health benefits.
In August 2011, quality regulators in Zhejiang province found excessive levels of the carcinogen nitrite in cubilose, with average levels as high as 4,400 mg a kg, far above the ceiling of 70 mg a kg.
The cubilose in this case had been imported from Malaysia. Follow-up investigations in Zhejiang province found that no cubilose met the standards.
"Chinese consumers believe cubilose imported from Indonesia and Malaysia has fewer additives, so imported cubilose used to be popular," Leong said. "But actually, most cubilose has excessive nitrite."
Leong said some cubilose dealers add tapioca as a thickener, and some even dye the nests with material containing nitrite.
"The process is simple, similar to making bread. Everyone can do it after one month's training," Leong said.
Adulterated cubilose sells at 4,000 yuan ($635) to 8,000 yuan a kg, while the price of the pure product is 15,000 yuan to 18,000 yuan a kg, he said.
"However, the major purchasers - large restaurants and drugstores - don't sacrifice their profits to buy genuine cubilose, so the demand for expensive, genuine cubilose was low for years," Leong said.
Leong said the ban on cubilose imports could improve the situation.
"Cubilose imported through formal channels should be genuine because it must be inspected."
Besides cubilose, the regulations also state that each passenger may only bring one pet, such as a cat or dog, into the country, with quarantine and vaccination certificates.
Source : CHINADAILY

1kg bird’s nest limit for tourists

 Tuesday January 17, 2012
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.

source :

Tainted birds' nests seized in ports in Xiamen & Guangdong

 Updated: 25 Dec 2011

 

CANCER causing chemicals have been detected in consignments of edible birds' nests from Malaysia, China's top quality watchdog said yesterday.

 

This is the latest in a string of food safety scandals involving the expensive delicacy made from the saliva of cave swifts.

 

Nine batches, weighing 73 kilograms, imported in September and October contained toxic nitrite and golden staph bacteria - both of which can cause blood poisoning and cancer, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine announced.

 

Intercepted

 

All the tainted birds' nests were intercepted and returned before they could enter the domestic market, the administration said.

 

The birds' nests, produced by six Malaysian companies, were discovered in ports in southern China's Guangdong Province and Xiamen City, Fujian Province, according to the report.

 

Earlier this year, birds' nests - used in Chinese cooking for hundreds of years - were at the center of a scandal involving the rare red form.

 

This variety - known as red cubilose - comes from nests built on rock cliffs rich in iron. This permeates into nests, giving them a distinctive red color and making them much sought after.

 

But Malaysian authorities confirmed cubilose labeled as such has been dyed red by unscrupulous sellers.

 

Many contain excessive levels of nitrite.

 

In September, edible birds' nests on sale in Hong Kong were found to contain levels of nitrite 31 times the limit in meat. These consignments also came from Malaysia.

 

SOURCE: Shanghai Daily

Bird nest delicacy could cause cancer

 
Beijing: A delicacy made from the nest of cave swift, a species of bird that builds its nest from its saliva, may cause cancer, China`s quality watchdog has said.

Cancer causing chemicals were recently detected in consignments of bird nests from Malaysia.


This is the latest in a string of controversies involving the expensive delicacy made from cave swifts` saliva.

Nine batches, weighing 73 kg, imported in September and October contained toxic nitrite and golden staph bacteria - both of which can cause blood poisoning and cancer, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said.

The tainted birds` nests were intercepted and returned before they could enter the domestic market, the Shanghai Daily reported Saturday quoting the administration.

The birds` nests, produced by six Malaysian companies, were discovered in ports in Guangdong and Fujian provinces.

Earlier this year, birds` nests - used in Chinese cooking for hundreds of years - were at the centre of a scandal involving the rare red form, known as red cubilose, a variety comes from nests built on rock cliffs rich in iron.

The iron permeates into nests, giving them a distinctive red colour and making them much sought after, the daily said.

But Malaysian authorities said products labelled as cubilose are sometimes dyed red by unscrupulous sellers.

Many contain excessive levels of nitrite.

In September, edible birds` nests on sale in Hong Kong were found to contain nitrite levels 31 times the limit in meat. These consignments also came from Malaysia.

IANS

First Published: Saturday, December 24, 2011, 20:50