Saturday August 28, 2010
Shops still selling blood nests
By CHAN LI LEEN, ANDREA FILMER and LEE YUK PENG
[email protected]
PETALING JAYA: Some shops have stopped selling the controversial “blood nest” while those who are still selling it are adamant that it is premium quality bird’s nest. The Star had on Monday reported that “blood nest” – a much sought-after variety of bird’s nest – was actually tainted with chemicals.
Deputy Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Chua Tee Yong who exposed the scam last week, said the red tainted bird’s nest was dangerous to health. Federation of Bird’s Nest Mer_chants Associations chairman Datuk Beh Heng Seong said the term “blood nest” was coined by conmen and the tainted item was priced up to RM20,000 a kilo or twice the price of genuine ivory-coloured bird’s nest.
A shop selling different varieties of bird’s nest here, including the “blood nest”, had insisted that their “red nest” was a natural product from Indonesia. “It is priced higher than the rest because it is more nutritious,” said an employee of the shop, claiming that the dark red bird’s nest was harvested from caves in Indonesia, and no chemicals were added.
In Penang, the area manager for the Eu Yan Sang branch in Lebuh Chulia, Anny Wang, said: “We stopped selling the red bird’s nest a few years ago but I am not sure why. “There have been a few calls from concerned people asking about dyed bird’s nests, but our products are all certified to be without chemicals, preservatives and sulphur,” she said.
Association of Swiftlet Nests Industry Penang branch president Carole Loh condemned sellers who profiteered by dyeing their bird’s nests red, saying that it was unethical and gave the industry a bad reputation. In Ipoh, Chinese medicine shop owner in Ipoh, Lian Kim Keong, insisted that “blood nest” had existed for centuries.
“It has been around from the time when people did not know of the chemicals claimed to have been used to make the bird’s nest appear red,” said Lian who is also Malaysia Entrepreneurs’ Deve_lop_ment Association (Perak) chairman. He said “blood nests” were from Thailand, while the ivory-coloured bird’s nests were harvested in Malaysia and the yellow “flower nests” were from Indonesia.
