Prohibit use of ethylene oxide in food industry, CAP urges MoH

Consumers Association of Penang says recent discovery in noodles only tip of iceberg

KUALA LUMPUR – The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) has urged the Health Ministry to prohibit the use of ethylene oxide by the food industry as a fumigant. CAP president Mohideen Abdul Kader also called on the ministry to conduct more tests on other processed food and food ingredients for the substance, especially products from other countries.

He added the recent discovery of the potentially harmful substance in instant noodles is “the tip of the iceberg”, as other products in the market could be contaminated with the carcinogen.

“In spite of its toxicity, some countries such as Canada, the United States, and India, still allow the use of ethylene oxide as a fumigant in applications relating to food, including freight containers and in warehouses,” he said in a statement today.

“As such, cross-contamination of products by ethylene oxide is common, especially during storage and transportation.

“The recurring reports on unsafe Malaysian food products by overseas authorities clearly show that our food safety monitoring is inadequate,” he added.

Mohideen said this in response to reports that local instant noodle brands had contained ethylene oxide, a chemical compound often associated with lymphoma and leukaemia.

He pointed out that the Health Ministry had announced that it detected ethylene oxide residue in several flavours of the Mi Sedaap noodle brand last year, and also had directed a recall of Haagen-Dazs’ vanilla ice cream products after it was found to be contaminated with the carcinogen.

Mohideen said the food industry often uses ethylene oxide due to its ability to disinfect products without using heat treatment, although it is classified as a germ cell mutagen and reproductive toxin due to its “highly toxic” nature.

He added that numerous nations discontinued its usage in food storage and fumigation processes, including those in the European Union, which banned its use in 1991.

Recently, Taipei’s Health Department found ethylene oxide in a batch of “Ah Lai White Curry Noodles” from Malaysia and a batch of “Indomie: Special Chicken Flavour” noodles from Indonesia.

Subsequently, the Health Ministry found traces of ethylene oxide in another instant noodle brand, Mi Sedaap from Indonesia.

– The Vibes, April 27, 2023