desserted

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Franken-food

Results from a survey conducted in Europe revealed that consumers are still very much reluctant to try and are wary of meat from cloned animals.

Europeans are generally opposed to meat from cloned animals, feeling not enough is known about the long-term effects of eating it, according to an EU survey published Thursday.

- Todayonline, 10 Oct 2008, http://www.todayonline.com/articles/280568.asp

While most think that it is justifiable to clone animals of endangered species, it takes a lot more for them to actually accept cloning as an alternative source of food production.

Personally, I think there is heightened consumer awareness in food safety, especially after the tainted milk scandal which was a rude awakening for people all around the world. It is true that there is much uncertainty in the safety of cloned or genetically modified food and food safety is one area that should not be compromised.

Labels: Food safety

by Ms Lim HM @ 2:12 PM - 0 comments

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Tainted milk scare

I had read an article in the local chinese newspaper, regarding the recent tainted milk issue, except that for the particular article, the focus was on taiwan and its parliamentary issues.

Apparently, the opposition party attempted to exploit the opportunity to sow discord.

As quoted from the Young PAP,

Allowed Level of Melamine
American dog food: 0 ppm
Chinese pig fodder: 2 ppm
Taiwanese human food: 2.5 ppm

Taiwanese opposition MP said Taiwan's health authority had treated the Taiwanese people worse than how American dogs and Chinese pigs were treated - 台湾人猪狗不如。

Interesting how the examples the opposition MP picked fit so snugly into the analogy.

However, the wonderful thing about us human beings is that we’ve got a much higher tolerance for contaminants as compared to smaller-sized animals. 0.5ppm is hardly going to be of much biological significance when consumed. Theoretically, the opposition's argument doesn't make any logical sense and it's no cause for alarm.

I guess it’s not surprising judging how this is coming from a country famed for its parliament fistfights.

Labels: Food safety

by Ms Lim HM @ 8:49 AM - 0 comments