MPIC Responds to Food Watchdog's Carcinogen Findings in Biscuits

The Malaysian Ministry of Primary Industries and Commodities (MPIC) responded to the Hong Kong Consumer Council’s (HKCC) announcement that cancer-causing substances were present in all 60 biscuit products sampled. According to the ministry, the monitoring of contaminants in finished food products are beyond the scope of both MPIC and the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB); the authority lies with the Ministry of Health (MOH).

Interestingly, Director-General of Health Noor Hisham Abdullah previously released a statement in response to HKCC’s findings, asserting that health risks from cancer-causing substances in Malaysian-made biscuits are low, with the average level of acrylamide found in locally biscuit products falling well below the amount recommended by the European Union Commission Regulation, but did not quantify the same for glycidols.

According to the HKCC, cancer-causing substances were detected in all 60 samples sampled, including Hup Seng Special Cream Crackers, Oreo Mini Oreo Original, and Jacob’s Original Cream Crackers.

On the matter of the food watchdog’s findings itself, MPIC made clear its dissatisfaction. It claims that “it is very unfair for the Hong Kong Consumer Council to pinpoint palm oil as the main cause of high acrylamide content in finished products [even though] other oils may also give similar products.” The Ministry referred to various studies, including those that found that the substance is present in high-temperature manufacturing processes regardless of the oil used.

Some palm oil industry insiders wondered at “passing the buck to MOH,” pondering if MPOB should proactively identify any problematic supplies of shortening and bakery/confectionery fats to the local biscuit manufacturers sampled by HKCC as well as conduct more random product testing at retail stores. At the same time, there are those who remain sceptical of an unproven health risk while others are concerned about conspiracies seeking to tarnish the reputation of palm oil.

Nevertheless, public concern has spread. Singapore’s food agency has come out to say that biscuits are safe to consume in moderation and that it is “impossible” to prevent occurrence of certain compounds.

Cancer-Causing Substances Detected in 60 Biscuits

On Monday, the Hong Kong Consumer Council announced that it has detected alleged cancer-causing substances in all 60 biscuit products sampled. The consumer watchdog revealed that at least one of the main chemical culprits—glycidol and acrylamide—are present in each products tested including Hup Seng Special Cream Crackers, Ritz Crackers Cheese Flavoured Sandwich, and Oreo Mini Oreo Original. 3-MCPD was also detected in 56 products tested. The problems are associated with food manufacturing processes involving high temperatures.

Source: SCMP (Oct 2021)

51 products sampled were also found to have high fat, sugar, and/or sodium contents. 24 products also have misleading nutrition labels

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Our comment

The news has predictably ignited food safety worries from Hong Kong on snacks with levels of acrylamide (to do with potato and other starch, mitigate by washing ingredient) and glycidol (to do with palm oil, mitigate by washing and/or chemical processing), with a problem of sugar and salt similarly mentioned. The findings has also triggered a reaction from health authorities in Malaysia (and probably elsewhere soon) to do testing too.

How many biscuits to be at risk? For a 60kg person, the industry says 18kg biscuits, presumably on a typical amount of the contentious compounds. However, on the worst findings, the media is pointing to a max of three and eight pieces a day for a child and adult respectively. This should also provide a push for high food grade ingredients.

SIIA Haze Outlook 2021: Case Studies—Riau and Central Kalimantan

Last month, the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) launched its Haze Outlook 2021. Co-authored by SIIA and Segi Enam Advisors, it is a risk assessment report on the possibility of a severe transboundary haze incident for the year in the ASEAN region.

Like its predecessors, the report has an appendix featuring two case studies of Riau and Central Kalimantan. These case studies illustrate a geographical overview on hotspot intensity in relation to other relevant information, including forest and peatland moratorium areas designated by the Indonesian government and districts with food estate projects in planning.

Riau

In contrast to September 2019, there were no high confidence-levelled hotspots detected in 2020 of the same month within the Riau district, likely reflective of notable efforts made by the provincial government in launching its own sustainability and forest fire prevention campaigns under the umbrella of the “Green Riau” strategy. The concern this time lies in with the central government’s food estate programmes—for Riau, its districts of Rokan Hilir, Pelalawan, and Indragiri Hilir (indicated in purple) have been earmarked. While the exact location of these programmes are still unknown, much of the land within the three districts noticeably consists of either peatland or areas protected areas recognised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and/or under moratoriums prohibiting the conversion of forest land into commercial plantations.

Central Kalimantan

Central Kalimantan recorded significantly fewer hotspots in September 2020 compared to September 2019, which was a source of great relief for region. Similar to Riau, the concern this time again lies in the central government’s food estate programmes—for Riau, its districts of Pulang Pisau and Kapuas (indicated in dark purple) have been earmarked, both of which overlap with the 1996 Mega Rice Project (indicated in light purple), an unsuccessful food security project that was later abandoned and left much of the area dry and vulnerable to fires. A significant portion of these districts notably constitute peatlands and protected areas, again painting a similar story in Riau.

Our previous posts on the SIIA Haze Outlook 2021: (1) Reviewing 2020; (2) Issues to Watch in 2021; and (3) Opportunities for Climate Action and Green Recovery.

Read the full report here: SIIA Haze Outlook 2021

SCMP: The India-Malaysia Palm Tiff and the Return to Agriculture

It’s been a bit of a busy month for Khor Reports. One of the several things lined up include contributing comments to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on a couple of issues that cropped up recently.

The first concerned the trade tensions between Malaysia and India, which significantly impacted palm oil trade between the two countries:

“Last year, Indians and Malaysians waged rival boycott campaigns on social media and although it is unclear how much traction these movements garnered, Khor, the economist, said it was unusual to see such discussions about the palm oil online “as it doesn't involve end consumers”. “But having tens of thousands of mentions of Malaysian palm oil online is a clear sign of issues, meaning that after that episode the level of mentions was 80 per cent higher than previously which gives us some insight into domestic angst,” Khor said.

The second was about policy suggestions for Malaysia to return to agriculture, following a RM50 billion (USD12.3 billion) food import bill in 2019.

“The good agricultural practices of Malaysian farmers should be well established, and be held in high regard, to establish a loyal domestic market,” Khor said. “Pro-farmer and food-security efforts may be needed. Imports can flood the market in an unpredictable way and that has to be considered.”

Click on the links above to read the full SCMP articles.