Wheat flour bleaching chemical level is safe

PETALING JAYA: The Health Ministry has not found any brand of wheat flour to contain unsafe levels of benzoyl peroxide, following reports that the chemical can cause health issues.

Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the ministry is constantly monitoring food safety and has thus far not found problems with various brands of wheat flour.

“The monitoring done on various brands of wheat flour shows that the benzoyl peroxide content is within permissible levels,” Noor Hisham said in a statement yesterday.

He said food regulations under the Food Act allows the use of benzoyl peroxide as a conditioner under food additives at a level of no more than 50mg/kg.

Noor Hisham further said the chemical, commonly used for bleaching, in facial washes, and for medicinal purposes, is confirmed safe for use by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA).

He also pointed out that the chemical is approved to be used in wheat flour under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme’s Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), a set of internationallyrecognised guidelines and codes of practice on food safety and production.

Noor Hisham said the recommended amount under the CAC is no more than 75mg/kg and the use of benzoyl peroxide as food additives is also approved in Japan, the US, Australia and New Zealand.

He stressed that the Health Ministry is constantly monitoring food safety matters and will take immediate action if anything is found to be harmful.

“The Health Ministry will not hesitate to take necessary action to safeguard the health of consumers as long as up-todate scientific evidence from international bodies such as the CAC and JECFA proves any ingredient in food is hazardous to health,” Noor Hisham added. – by Lee Choon Fai