Thursday, October 11, 2007

Melamine Alert

The next time you have your favorite ban mien or tomyum noodles, make sure it's served in a ceramic bowl and not a melamine bowl. Sure, the Malaysian Plastics Forum have responded to The Consumers Association of Penang's (CAP) call last week to all consumers against using melamine tableware by stating that "The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and many other international agencies have determined that melamine ware products meet stringent standards for food and beverage contact...", skipping around the fact that the CAP specifically stated that melamine melts at high temperature and harmful substances can enter our body causing cancer, skin allergies and blindness.

Did any of the FDA eat a bowl of boiling hot mee soup from a melamine bowl? All over South East Asia, boiling hot food is served in melamine ware. The strange thing is, in my parents' days when the income per capita can only buy one pair of Dior sunglasses now, restaurants and vendors could afford to use nice heat-proof ceramic ware. So either we are getting too poor as a country so we have to eat from plastic ware, or people in the food business are making quick money at the expense of our health, or the relevant authorities just aren't doing their jobs in safeguarding the public's health.

Have you not noticed after slurping that last bit of sup soto, that your melamine bowl is discolored at the bottom (where did the color and plastic go?) and the bowl actually is kinda bent? We Asians eat boiling hot soup in scorching weather so for goodness sake, let's support the CAP's call to the Government to ban all melamine table ware. Start by boycotting your favorite noodle place if they use melamine, and tell them why. Count the number of times you eat out and ask yourself if you should heed the CAP's warning.

2 comments:

a feast, everyday said...

Our sentiment exactly...rmber Apiwon used to served in ceramics now they serve in melamine!! n I blogged saying they serve in ceramics...phew! When holidaying in Phuket, almost every food stall n res, small or big served food in ceramics. If d Thais can do it y can't d M'sians?

Terri @ A Daily Obsession said...

know what i would do, bc apiwon is one of the better places (clean, beefballs are homemade, good ngewchap noodles..)to eat, i would tell them when i give my orders tt i want my food in a ceramic bowl (i'm sure they still have them). if they say it's not possible, leave.i really would do tt! if consumers don't stand up n be heard, we can't blame anyone else but ourselves. we have d right to choose/complain.exercise our rights as consumers i say!

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