Instant noodles recalled over cancer concerns are safe for consumption: Malaysia’s health ministry

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s health ministry on Tuesday (May 9) declared that the two types of instant noodles previously recalled in the country over concerns about carcinogens are safe for consumption. 

The two products – Penang Ah Lai White Curry Noodles and Indomie Special Chicken Flavour Instant Noodles – were pulled from shelves after Taiwan authorities detected ethylene oxide, a chemical compound associated with lymphoma and leukaemia.

Malaysia has since carried out tests and found that the products comply with its regulations. 

“Based on the laboratory analysis that has been carried out on (the) samples, … the Ministry of Health confirms that the products comply with the prescribed legislation and are safe to eat,” Malaysia’s health director-general Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan said in a statement.

According to Dr Radzi, the health ministry implements six levels of inspection on imported food products at the country’s entry points based on risks. Products that do not comply with the regulations are withdrawn from the market, he added. 

“For Level 5 inspection which is Hold, Test and Release (TUL), food products entering the country will be held and analysed first. 

“Only food products that comply with the standard are released for the Malaysian market,” he said. 

He noted that from 2022 to April 2023, 37 out of 317 samples analysed under TUL were instant noodle products from various brands that were tested for ethylene oxide parameters.