Thursday, July 26, 2012

RFID Latest

PUTRAJAYA: The requirement to use Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) to export swiftlet nests from the country of origin was not set by Malaysian government, but imposed by China, said Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Deputy Minister Datuk Chua Tee Yong
He said as China was the importing country, all parties must respect the decision to use RFID, to enable the authorities to trace where the products came from.
“We respect the feedback of the industry players. Some which are against the RFID but we must respect the requirement of the China government,” he told reporters here yesterday when responding to swiftlet nest operators who are reluctant to abide by the requirement.
He added that though the RFID issue could be discussed with the Chinese authorities, Malaysia would still have to respect China’s final decision.
Based on the draft protocol from Malaysia, it was stipulated that the internal and external packaging of exported edible bird’s nest should be labelled with product name, weight, company name, address and registration number of processing establishment, product storage condition and date of manufacture.
“However, from the draft protocol that was sent from China to Malaysia, they have added an additional item, including the RFID requirement,” he said.
Recently, Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar said the draft protocol on conditions on bird’s nest entry into China had been approved by the Malaysian and Chinese governments, and waiting to be signed.
Asked on the date, Chua said there was no specific date to sign it and it would depend on China.
Meanwhile, Chua said at the moment China has not issued any import permits to bird’s nest operators in Malaysia.
“We have received applications from industry players, but so far there was no approval from China for import permits. Nobody is exporting anything there yet,” he said. — Bernama


Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/07/25/rfid-requirement-on-birds-nest-export-imposed-by-china/#ixzz21mYaaZBK

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Association: RFID not practical for bird’s nest export


Posted on July 22, 2012, Sunday

KUCHING: Sarawak Bird’s Nest Import and Export Association does not see the need to use radio frequency identification (RFID) as a requirement to export bird’s nests to China.
Its president Liu Thian Leong said yesterday RFID was not necessary as long as the level of nitrite in bird’s nest did not exceed 30ppm (parts per million) as agreed by the Chinese authorities.
“There is no way for the government to install the RFID in every one of the 60,000 swiftlet farm houses in the country within a short time. It may need years to complete the installation work,” he said.
“RFID is not practical or necessary. Since the Chinese authorities have agreed with the 30ppm level of nitrite in the nest and we are able to comply with the requirement, the government should instead speed up the negotiation process.”
He was disappointed with the negotiation progress as the Chinese authorities halted the imports of bird’s nests from Malaysia last July.
He claimed that many countries did not implement RFID to export bird’s nests.
On top of that, the government also required bird’s nest exporters to fulfil certain packaging standard, Liu said.
“The government has said it would provide free packaging. But our question is, would it be provided forever? This would give room for certain parties to monopolise and manipulate the industry.”
Unnecessary regulations and formalities would hurt the bird’s nest industry which had contributed to the national revenue and jobs for more than a decade, asserted Liu.
“The market price of bird’s nests has dropped drastically from RM5,000 to RM2,000 per kilo. Many bird’s nest traders and farmers are facing liquidity. The government, especially the Health Ministry and Agriculture and Agro-Based Ministry, should listen to us and take immediate action to solve the issue.”

Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/07/22/association-rfid-not-practical-for-birds-nest-export/#ixzz21J9qAjDb

Monday, July 16, 2012

Birdnest Soup for health

When there are plenty of EBN like this, we need to process it clean and ensure it is fit for human consumption