China to lift bird's nest ban after determining nitrite level: Liow

BEIJING: China recognises the presence of natural nitrite in bird's nest and will lift the import ban on the product from Malaysia after determining the allowed level of nitrite, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

He said the Chinese authorities understood that the presence of nitrite was a natural development occurring during the raising of swiftlets.

Both sides have set up a working commitee of food specialists and experts to determine the permissible level of nitrite in bird's nest products, Liow said after meeting Chinese Health Minister Chen Zhu on Tuesday.

He had earlier discussed the bird's nest issue with Chinese authorities in the wake of the fake Malaysian bird's nest that has affected thousands of Malaysian exporters.

The high levels of nitrite recently caused the Beijing Tongrentang Co., a major retailer of traditional Chinese medicine, to pull all imported-from-Malaysia edible bird's nest products off its shelves.

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