Stay Away From Processed Foods

The Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) is appalled that brands of tinned sardines contaminated with worms have once more been discovered in our Malaysian market.

In mid-April of this year, the health ministry announced that two brands of tinned sardines imported from China and sold in Malaysia were contaminated with dead worms. A little over two months later, six more brands of tinned sardines were found to have parasitic nematodes, Anisakis spp – parasites that can cause Anisakiasis in humans if consumed.

The health ministry had subsequently announced that they have withdrawn the six brands of tinned sardines from the market.

However this is not the end of this episode, there are still a few issues that need to be considered.

For instance, how is the ministry going to ensure that disgruntled shop owners do not rush to sell off these contaminated brands of tinned sardines to consumers that are unaware of the situation to avoid making a loss?

Or better yet, how is it possible that there is a second incidence of tinned sardines contaminated with parasitic worms in our country?

This episode has made it clear that consuming these kinds of processed tinned foods is not only bad for our health from a nutritional standpoint but also when it comes to safety. At the end of the day we do not know how exactly these foods are “processed”.

As such, we urge the public to stop consuming processed tin foods and start consuming natural whole foods. There is no need to buy tinned sardines when sardines are actually a kind of fish that can easily be bought fresh in our country.

Press Statement, 29 June 2018