HK removes more food items on additive worries
Date: 25-Mar-02
Country: CHINA
A press release from the territory's Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said the products, which included snacks, drinks and noodles, were pulled from sale last week night.
This brings to 71 the number of items barred from store shelves because they may contain stevioside, which is not approved for consumption in Hong Kong.
Stevioside is a plant extract which is sweeter than sugar but with no calories.
Earlier last week, the department recalled 16 popular snacks, of which 15 were from Japan, after they were found to contain the additive.
Hong Kong's action comes after some of these snacks were removed from sale in Singapore after laboratories there found they contained stevioside.
Japan's Health Ministry has said the artificial sweetener was approved as a food additive in that country last year and it does not plan to take any other action.
The Hong Kong government has said stevioside has not gained international endorsement as a safe artificial sweetener.
In the United States it can only be sold as a dietary supplement. The Food and Drug Administration says there have not been enough studies into any potential side effects, especially if it is used frequently or in large amounts.
