'Don't Eat Imported Fruit' Warning

                 The Agriculture Minister makes this call after a
                 consumer group says many of such fruit contain
                 cancer-causing pesticides

                 KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysians have been advised
                 not to buy or eat imported fruit amid allegations by a
                 local consumer group that many of these contain
                 dangerous amounts of cancer-causing pesticides.

                 Agriculture Minister Effendi Nawawi said a joint effort
                 was underway with the Health Ministry to determine the
                 actual levels of pesticide used on fruit temperate
                 climates.

                 "This is of serious concern to us and the findings should
                 be ready in a day or two because of the extreme
                 urgency of the matter.

                 "I cannot speak on behalf of the Agriculture Ministry but
                 as a consumer, I am not taking any imported fruit until I
                 know for sure what the actual situation is," he said on
                 Monday.

                 "Malaysians should switch to eating local fruit for now,"
                 he added.

                 He was commenting on a report by the Consumers
                 Association of Penang (CAP) which alleged that many
                 of the imported fruit had been sprayed with
                 cancer-causing substances.

                 In its latest newsletter, CAP claimed its studies identified
                 apples, oranges, cherries and grapes from the US and
                 bananas from Costa Rica as containing high levels of
                 post-harvest toxic chemicals to enhance their freshness
                 and reduce losses for exporters.

                 He said that the CAP newsletter should be
                 complimented for raising the issue and making the
                 people more aware of the presence of pesticides in
                 imported fruit.

                 Malaysia imports around RM9 billion (S$4 billion) of
                 food products each year, including RM769 million and
                 RM500 million worth of vegetables and fruit
                 respectively.

                 Asked whether the government would stop the import of
                 these fruit, Mr Effendi said such drastic measures would
                 have to depend on the ministry's findings.

                 "But there is now a good case for us to look into
                 screening our food imports. At present, we have no such
                 processing mechanism.

                 "We will reactivate the National Food Safety Initiative,
                 which was put in place some time ago," he said.

                 The National Food Safety Initiative, which is enforced
                 under the National Food Act, is under the purview of
                 the Health Ministry.

                 "But since the Agriculture Ministry is involved in the
                 importation of food, we will sit down with the Health
                 Ministry to look into ways we can work more closely
                 with them," said Mr Effendi. -- The Star/Asia News
                 Network

                      Adapted from The Straits Times, 19 Jan 2000.