New cancer alert on Thai soy sauce

By REBECCA WALSH

The Ministry of Health has warned against using any type of Golden Mountain brand soy sauce after tests found it contained potentially cancer-causing chemicals.

Golden Mountain Soya Bean Sauce, which is imported from Thailand, was recalled in Australia this week and importers here have been asked to stop selling it.

Tests in Australia found it contained potentially cancer-causing chloropropanols that significantly exceeded acceptable levels.

Director General of Health Karen Poutasi yesterday advised people against using any Golden Mountain soy sauce products. Previous warnings applied only to specific batch numbers.

Last month, the ministry warned people to stop using soy sauce products after a British study found that 22 of 100 types tested contained high levels of a chemical known to cause cancer in animals.

Of those 22, two-thirds contained a chemical likely to cause cancer if consumed over a long period.

As a result, hundreds of bottles of soy and oyster-flavoured sauces of the Lee Kum Kee, Pearl River Bridge and Sin Sin brands were voluntarily pulled from shop shelves here.

Dr Poutasi said the ministry had identified about 10 importers of Golden Mountain in New Zealand.

The ministry yesterday gazetted an emergency food standard to ensure the safety of soy sauce.

It said soy sauce, flavoured soy sauce and sauce mixtures with a soy sauce base were high risk foods.

The emergency food standard would remain for six months or until a permanent amendment to New Zealand's food standards was introduced.

Michael Chan, a director of Tai Ping Trading Company, which imports the soy sauce, said the product had been withdrawn.

Mr Chan said the company was liaising with its supplier.

"We have been advised by our supplier in Thailand that the manufacturers are working on changing their manufacturing process and at the beginning of next year will be able to export soy sauce that meets the standards."