Ah, the Familee is too busy entertaining the money laundering barons at the F1 race track. Peasants die is their own biz!
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Banned products still on shelves
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Small shops rely on importers, media instead of doing own checks </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Tessa Wong
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Silang House of Steamed Potato Potato Crackers was found on shelves in a minimart in Toa Payoh North, but staff claimed that it was not for sale when a reporter attempted to purchase it. -- PHOTO:AVA
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->DESPITE a countrywide ban, China-made products containing dairy are still available at some smaller retailers like provision shops and minimarts, a Straits Times check has found.
Three of the 10 stores visited by this paper stocked items like Chinese biscuits, corn puffs and wafers that contain milk, which is at the centre of an Asia-wide contamination scandal.
So far, eight locally-sold Chinese dairy products have tested positive for the potentially harmful chemical melamine, which has prompted bans of Chinese dairy products in more than a dozen countries worldwide.
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) told retailers on Friday that milk and dairy products from China should be pulled from shelves. Over the weekend, it added that this included confectionery - such as chocolates, biscuits and sweets - and anything that was made with Chinese dairy.
It has prompted major supermarket chains to scour inventories and check with suppliers. But some smaller Singapore operators appear to have been less diligent.
Six out of the 10 shops said they had not been inspecting products. Some said they were relying on importers to tell them which products to yank, and consumers to know what not to buy - rather than do their own label inspections.
'There are so many products, how to check?' said Mr H.M. Hussain, owner of a provision shop at Clementi Ave 1.
Yesterday, a Straits Times reporter was able to buy a pack of Wei Bao vegetable-flavoured biscuits at the Thye Guan Sin Nam Huat minimart at Toa Payoh North. The China-made snacks are made with milk ingredients.
Store employee Henry Ong said he was surprised to learn that they were supposed to have cleared such products.
'I have been reading the papers every day and those products were not on the list (of tainted products). Nobody has come to tell us which products to take down,' he said. Staff promptly removed all Wei Bao biscuits.
All the smaller retailers said they are relying on the media for information.
Directives have gone out to major supermarkets, importers, and manufacturers, according to the AVA. But smaller retailers who spoke to The Straits Times said they had not received official orders from the authorities or a comprehensive list of banned products.
When asked if the AVA was planning to release such a list, a spokesman reiterated an earlier statement saying all milk and milk products from China had to be recalled. He said that importers had also been told to recall Chinese dairy products from retailers, including provision shops and minimarts.
Even those who have been doing checks have met unexpected problems.
Despite his efforts to weed out banned products, Mr Abdul Aleem, who works in a Bedok North store, missed out on Wang Wang Lonely God coconut-flavoured corn puffs. The China-made snack contains butter and other dairy products, but the description on the packaging is entirely in Chinese, a language he cannot read.
Meanwhile, the Education Ministry has sent an advisory to schools to ensure canteen vendors stop serving items which have been suspended from sale by AVA.
[email protected] Additional reporting by Ang Yiying & Grace Chua
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Banned products still on shelves
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Small shops rely on importers, media instead of doing own checks </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Tessa Wong
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Silang House of Steamed Potato Potato Crackers was found on shelves in a minimart in Toa Payoh North, but staff claimed that it was not for sale when a reporter attempted to purchase it. -- PHOTO:AVA
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->DESPITE a countrywide ban, China-made products containing dairy are still available at some smaller retailers like provision shops and minimarts, a Straits Times check has found.
Three of the 10 stores visited by this paper stocked items like Chinese biscuits, corn puffs and wafers that contain milk, which is at the centre of an Asia-wide contamination scandal.
So far, eight locally-sold Chinese dairy products have tested positive for the potentially harmful chemical melamine, which has prompted bans of Chinese dairy products in more than a dozen countries worldwide.
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) told retailers on Friday that milk and dairy products from China should be pulled from shelves. Over the weekend, it added that this included confectionery - such as chocolates, biscuits and sweets - and anything that was made with Chinese dairy.
It has prompted major supermarket chains to scour inventories and check with suppliers. But some smaller Singapore operators appear to have been less diligent.
Six out of the 10 shops said they had not been inspecting products. Some said they were relying on importers to tell them which products to yank, and consumers to know what not to buy - rather than do their own label inspections.
'There are so many products, how to check?' said Mr H.M. Hussain, owner of a provision shop at Clementi Ave 1.
Yesterday, a Straits Times reporter was able to buy a pack of Wei Bao vegetable-flavoured biscuits at the Thye Guan Sin Nam Huat minimart at Toa Payoh North. The China-made snacks are made with milk ingredients.
Store employee Henry Ong said he was surprised to learn that they were supposed to have cleared such products.
'I have been reading the papers every day and those products were not on the list (of tainted products). Nobody has come to tell us which products to take down,' he said. Staff promptly removed all Wei Bao biscuits.
All the smaller retailers said they are relying on the media for information.
Directives have gone out to major supermarkets, importers, and manufacturers, according to the AVA. But smaller retailers who spoke to The Straits Times said they had not received official orders from the authorities or a comprehensive list of banned products.
When asked if the AVA was planning to release such a list, a spokesman reiterated an earlier statement saying all milk and milk products from China had to be recalled. He said that importers had also been told to recall Chinese dairy products from retailers, including provision shops and minimarts.
Even those who have been doing checks have met unexpected problems.
Despite his efforts to weed out banned products, Mr Abdul Aleem, who works in a Bedok North store, missed out on Wang Wang Lonely God coconut-flavoured corn puffs. The China-made snack contains butter and other dairy products, but the description on the packaging is entirely in Chinese, a language he cannot read.
Meanwhile, the Education Ministry has sent an advisory to schools to ensure canteen vendors stop serving items which have been suspended from sale by AVA.
[email protected] Additional reporting by Ang Yiying & Grace Chua
