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KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12, 2008 (AFP) - Malaysia will step up checks on food products from China to ensure imports such as Mandarin oranges and duck are safe ahead of Chinese New Year celebrations, a report said Saturday.
Ismail Merican, health ministry secretary-general, said health inspectors will check the food items for heavy metals, adding that contaminated food would either be destroyed or returned.
"We will tell the (officers in the) states what to focus on," he was quoted as saying by the Star newspaper.
Merican said officers would look out for food with pesticide and chemical residues, such as Mandarin oranges, duck, fish, seaweed, honey and preserved fruits and vegetables.
Malaysia, Southeast Asia's third-largest economy, imports 680-million-dollars' worth of food items from China yearly.
China has been embarrassed, and its vital exports sector threatened, in 2007 by mounting reports of shoddy, fake or dangerous food and other products.
Chinese-made goods ranging from seafood to car tyres to children's toys have been hit with bans and recalls overseas amid safety fears.
Malaysia's ethnic Chinese minority will celebrate the Lunar New Year next month.
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