Year: 2011

The Consumers Association of Penang calls on Ministry of Health to ban the use of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) in food products.  HFCS is a toxic substance with an innocent name which food producers are using as a cheap substitute for sugar in processed food.   HFCS is widely used in a wide range of foods  such as jams breads spreads, chocolate, baking and cooking ingredients,...

136 additives, mostly chemicals, are allowed to be added in instant noodles by Codex, the food standards of WHO/FAO. The picture below shows some of those ingredients. Out of the 136 additives, 24 of them are sodium salts, besides table salt which is also added. That is why instant noodles contain extremely high sodium content. According to CAP tests, just one packet of instant noodles alone can...

The Consumers Association of Penang calls on the Ministry of Agriculture to impose an immediate ban on  the pesticide carbofuran. Early this year five farmers in Pendang, Kedah lost RM30,000 when 18 cows died from carbofuran poisoning. The cows were grazing on the rice field which had used the pesticide.   During a recent survey it was found that farmers growing maize placed carbofuran...

The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) calls on the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperative  and Consumerism to immediately call for the withdrawal of sale of QBB ghee being sold in Malaysia. This is in view of the fact that the halal status of the ghee has been withdrawn by the Jabatan Kebangsaan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM) on the grounds that it contains doubtful elements. CAP has been...

The Ministry of Health is making a mockery of the Food Regulations as the use of Rhodamine B in food is still rampant in spite of it being banned. CAP first detected the presence of Rhodamine B in belacan in 1973 and since then tests conducted in 1983, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007 and 2008 have still found this dye to be present in belacan and other foods.   On each occasion...

Who decides on what can be added to our food or what food is considered safe for consumption? Whether in Malaysia, China or Australia, Governments have to follow the Codex Alimentarius, rules set up by the WHO and FAO which are policed by the WTO (World Trade Organisation). This is supposed to facilitate free trade. But the Codex Alimentarius which is supposed to protect consumers with safe food...

The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) welcomes the Penang State Government’s decision to enforce a ban on polystyrene starting 1st January, 2011.  The ban is expected to cover all food premises and temporary hawking sites owned by local councils in the State. The ruling is indeed laudable because the biggest environmental health concern associated with polystyrene is the...