Soy sauce ban likely from today

Imported soy-based sauces that cannot be proved to have safe levels of chemicals involved in a cancer scare are expected to be banned from today.

A Ministry of Health spokeswoman said yesterday: "We are planning to put a hold at the border for all imported soy-sauce products until importers can give us an assurance their products would meet the proposed European standard and get a health clearance."

Last week, the ministry warned people to stop consuming soy-sauce products after a British study found that 22 of 100 types tested contained high levels of 3-MCPD, a chloropropanol known to cause cancer in animals. Of those 22, two-thirds contained 1,3-DCP - a derivative of 3-MCPD - which is likely to cause cancer if consumed over a long period.

Hundreds of bottles of soy and oyster-flavoured sauces of the Lee Kum Kee, Pearl River Bridge and Sin Sin brands, which were named in the study, were voluntarily pulled from shop shelves. Lee Kum Kee says its sauces comply with regulations since 1999 procedure changes, and Sin Sin's importer says its products are under acceptable 3-MCPD levels.

Of six Asian restaurant operators the Herald spoke to last night, only two said they were aware of the ministry warning and neither had stopped using soy-sauce products. Most were busy and none said they had suffered any drop in custom.