Chinese Mandarin - Food from China safe, says New Zealand

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BIZCHINA / Center

Food from China safe, says New Zealand

By Zhu Zhe (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-08-24 09:39

Chinese food exports to New Zealand meet requirements and are safe, the
New Zealand government has said.

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Extensive testing of local and overseas food conducted by the New Zealand
Food Safety Authority showed that none of the 15 samples of vegetable
proteins from China - which have been linked to the deaths of pets in
North America - tested positive for the harmful chemicals blamed for the
deaths, China News Service reported yesterday.

Results from the tests of 31 samples of tinned or frozen Chinese seafood,
including anchovy, prawns and shrimps, matched what Australian and US
scientists had found: Despite some samples testing positive for low
levels of chemicals, they were safe to eat, the report said.

"All these results, even the highest at 0.058mg/kg, were well below any
level that would pose a health risk," Glen Neal, the authority's
assistant director, was quoted as saying.

The report also quoted New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark as saying
that some Chinese products did have problems, but it did not make all
products from China unsafe.

The New Zealand Herald, the biggest local English newspaper, said in an
editorial last week: "Prejudice against foreign food is easy to arouse
anywhere, and China is suffering that prejudice at present."

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