New Malaysian standard for bird’s nest products
Studies being done to set safe levels of nitrate, to meet demand in China
CYBERJAYA: Edible bird’s nest products must meet a Malaysian standard now being developed and expected to be in force late next year.
The director-general of standards, Fadilah Baharin, said a comprehensive study was being conducted by the standards department and the health ministry on safe levels of nitrate content for consumption, and to meet stringent export requirements for China’s market.
She said high nitrate content could pose serious health risks such as cancer. Unprocessed swiftlet nests from Malaysia had been banned by China previously for having high nitrate content.
However, the export of processed bird’s nests or ready-to-eat jelly or drinks (in bottles) was not affected, she said.
Only about half of swiftlet farming companies were able to export bird’s nests to China, she said. The new Malaysian standard would help up to 90 per cent of the companies could export their products, she said.
Fadilah said Malaysia’s standards for swiftlet farming, in force since 2010, were the first of its kind in the world.
The department would introduce a new standard which would be launched by science minister Ewon Ebin in September.
Fadilah said the development of standards of raw bird’s nests for authentication, quality, grading, packaging and labeling started three years ago.
“The standards, which meet the international standards, certainly help unprocessed bird’s nest products to be graded systematically to facilitate export to the international market,” she added.
She said besides China, the local swiftlet nest industry also targeted new markets, including Hong Kong, Japan and Italy to capitalise on rising demand.
– BERNAMA
