A Shanghai food company on Thursday denied its famous "White
Rabbit" candy had quality problems despite a ban on the product by
the Philippine food watchdog which claims samples of the sweets
were found to contain formaldehyde and other harmful
substances.
The manufacturer of the White Rabbit, Guan Sheng Yuan, cited an
independent report by the Shanghai branch of SGS-CSTC, a
joint-venture under the Swiss-based SGS Group, the world's largest
inspection and testing company, as saying that samples of the White
Rabbit ready to be exported overseas and tested on Wednesday
contained no toxic substances.
Weng Mao, president of Guan Sheng Yuan, said his company had
asked for the testing report and the source of candy samples from
the Philippine Bureau of Food and Drugs, but had received no
response.
Weng expressed regret that the Philippine food authority did not
offer any effective evidence before and after they released the
quality report.
"We are innocent so far and we reserve the right to take legal
action concerning the case," said Weng.
The company pledged in an earlier statement that no preservative
had ever been used in the production of the "White Rabbit" creamy
candy.
Guan Sheng Yuan said fake "White Rabbit" candy products were
rampant both at home and abroad due to the growing worldwide
influence of the famous brand.
The Shanghai-based candy maker said it had exported more than
800 tons of the sweet to the Philippines since 1991, but no quality
problems had been found. The candy is available in some 50
countries and regions.
Shanghai's quality and technical supervision authorities said on
Wednesday that they were investigating the case and would publish
the results as soon as possible.
Three other products allegedly found to be tainted with
formaldehyde by the Philippines are a brand of milk candy made by
Romanticfish Food Co. Ltd. in Jinjiang city, east China's Fujian
Province, and two grape biscuits produced by different companies
based in Dongguan, Guangdong Province.
Chen Shifang, general manager with the Romanticfish which
produces candies, said that his company has never exported products
to any places outside China.
It is still unclear whether the candy accused of containing
poisonous chemical substance was made by Romanticfish, but the
company is working with relative departments to find out the fact,
said Chen.
The two Guangdong-based companies have issued no response so
far.
(Xinhua News Agency July 20 2007)
