Health Ministry: McNuggets additives permitted

In the aftermath of reports that two allegedly harmful chemicals tBHQ and dimethylpolysiloxane were used as additives in McDonald's chicken nuggets, an officer of China's Health Ministry said on July 7 that the two chemicals were permitted ingredients regulated in international food laws, according to Beijing News.

He also stressed that food production or marketing units should use additives strictly in accordance with relative laws.

According to domestic regulations, dimethylpolysiloxane could be used in the processing of edible fat and meat products, and the maximums are 10 milligrams per kilogram and 0.2 gram per kilogram in two kinds of products. The tBHQ could be used in fat, oil, chyle fat products and fried food with a maximum of 0.2 grams per kilogram.

Comparison

Reporters learned from American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that the tBHQ and dimethylpolysiloxane contained in McNuggets are permitted additives in United States. And the standards governing the two additives in food are similar in the United States in China.

Response

McDonald's: No problem with our products

McDonald's (China) said they were cooperating with the monitoring and inspection program of the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), and they believe there should be no problems with their products.

A person in charge of McDonald's (China) said: "the two chemical additives were used in the oil, so other products, including McNuggets, may also contain them. However, the two additives are normal and we are confident in our products."

He also added that the McNuggets affair was not a food safety crisis but a normal phenomenon in modern food industry, and the public should be objective about it.

By Wang Hanlu, People's Daily Online