Dried fruit on alert list

KUALA LUMPUR - THE Health Ministry has put dried fruit products, particularly plum and prune products, from China, Taiwan and other Asian countries, on Level 5 alert because of their high levels of lead.

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Ministry staff will be on the lookout for these products at entry points for 16 manufacturers and distributors to ensure the products do not come into the country, Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai said on Thursday. With a Level 5 alert, the Ministry would hold the products to test them for lead content before they can be released into the market. The highest alert, Level 6, involves an immediate rejection of the product.
Mr Liow said the monitoring started following an Oct 1 US Food and Drug Administration report warning people not to consume dried fruit, including dried plums and prunes, due to lead contamination.
'If a product by a manufacturer or distributor is found to contain more than the permitted two parts per million (ppm), legal action will be taken under the Food Regulations 1985,' Mr Liow told reporters on Thursday.
If convicted, guilty parties can be fined up to RM100,000 (S$41,000), jailed for up to 10 years or both. Lead, in cumulative amounts over time, causes nervous system disorders and distorts brain development, especially in children. -- THE STAR