[News] --- China bans imports of bird's nest from Malaysia following H5N1 outbreak

March 20, 2017 19:14 SGT
By Samhati Bhattacharjya

China has temporarily banned the import of bird's nest from Malaysia, after the bird flu outbreak in the northeastern state of Kelantan. On March 6, the highly contagious H5N1 bird flu virus was first detected among a few free-range chickens and at least 18 villages were affected in the state capital of Kota Bharu with almost 25,000 birds, mainly chickens, ducks and geese, being culled.

The New Straits Times daily reported that following the ban, Malaysia's Veterinary Services Department (DVS) sent letters to the Chinese authorities explaining the current scenario and the measures that have been taken to curb the spread of the disease.

Chickens are seen in a contaminate farm while workers from the Animal Protection Ministry prepare to cull them to contain an outbreak of bird flu, at a farm in the village.Reuters

China has temporarily banned the import of bird's nest from Malaysia, after the bird flu outbreak in the northeastern state of Kelantan. On March 6, the highly contagious H5N1 bird flu virus was first detected among a few free-range chickens and at least 18 villages were affected in the state capital of Kota Bharu with almost 25,000 birds, mainly chickens, ducks and geese, being culled.

The New Straits Times daily reported that following the ban, Malaysia's Veterinary Services Department (DVS) sent letters to the Chinese authorities explaining the current scenario and the measures that have been taken to curb the spread of the disease.

The newspaper cited DVS as saying: "We also explained that the chicken and duck (populations) in Kelantan only comprise 0.5 per cent of the total population nationwide. "The production of commercial eggs is fully run outside Kelantan."

"(Finally), the sources of raw clean edible bird's nest, which are meant for export, are from outside Kelantan. The supply sources can be traced through a system adopted by the department," the statement added.

Ahmad Shabery Cheek, the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister told Bernama on Saturday: "Through it, we can identify where the bird's nest is coming from, which birdhouse, village and state. If it is found there are matters that are not permitted, action will be taken on the affected area without involving its bird's nest nationwide."

Shabery added that the ministry will send its representatives to China in order to explain the situation further. "There should not be any concern from China or other countries to restrict the export of poultry and bird's nest from Malaysia," he said.

According to Shabery, every year, Malaysia exports about RM135 million (US$30 million) of bird's nest to China. "The value of the exports is high, therefore, we do not want farmers and entrepreneurs to suffer continued losses," he said.

Shabery said that in case the outbreak recurs, his ministry has also planned to consider "a more appropriate form of compensation" for farmers and operators.

"The prices of bird's nest and the birds go up and down, and it is something the farmers must face as there is no longer a scheme whereby, if the price is low, the government has to pay," he added.

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Price	S$518 (Special Offer)	价格	S$518 (特别促销)
Quantity	2 (Two) trays	数量	两盘装
Weight	2x100gr/tray	重量	2x100克/盘
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Name	Sea Cucumber  (Golden Sand)	品名	海参（金沙）
Size	10 pcs	规格	10头
Price	S$558	价格	S$558
Quantity	1 (One) box	数量	一盒
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[Industry Reading] --- Haze Pollution Hit Swallow Nest Production

TEMPO.CO, Lubuklinggau-Swallow nest production in Lubuklinggau, South Sumatra and surrounding areas fell under after haze pollution covered the area in recent months.

Besides lower production, quality and shape of nests are smaller because of the birds had difficulty in finding food in the haze, said a bird nest businessman in Lubuklinggau Yansen on Sunday, November 1.


Yansen explained that every harvest he usually can get 20 kilograms of a swallow's nest, but in the past three months production had dropped by half. Some birds even migrated, he said.
However, market price tend to rise. For the bowl-type nest the price is now Rp 8 million per kilogram from previously between Rp5 and 7 million per kilogram.


The price of bird's nest had always fluctuated widely, but it is still considered a quite prospective business.


Yansen said swallow nest is harvested usually between five to six months depending on the number of swallows, but lately the number of birds nesting in his warehouse had gone down.
“I hope rain will soon come, so the bird nest business can return back to normal production. The haze has not only devastate the bird's nest business, but other businesses too,” he said.


ANTARA


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[General Reading] --- Something fishy lurks in those lees, finds Christopher Middleton

Published: 12:01AM BST 02 Sep 2006


It's an amazing thing, a fish's swim bladder. It works like a submarine air tank, enabling its owner to rise or dive at will. The other amazing thing about swim bladders is that you frequently find them in beer and wine. Not propped up in the glass, or floating on the surface, but in dried and powdered form, lying on the bottom of the bottle or barrel like sand on the seabed.

Yes, the strange and slightly unnerving fact is that few things filter out the unwanted particles in bitter or Bordeaux better than a handful of desiccated and ground-up fish intestine, known as isinglass. It used to be only the sturgeon whose bladder did the business but, since that particular species became scarcer, other finned creatures such as catfish and threadfins now lend their innards to the cause.
"The bladder shapes vary from one type of fish to the other," says Christine Fleming of Murphy and Son, the Nottingham-based suppliers of filtering agents to the brewing industry since 1887. "Some bladders are round and heart-shaped, some are long and leaf-shaped, and others are pointed, like spears. What they've all got in common, though, is collagen, which is extremely good at collecting yeast particles." There are roughly five million in every teaspoon of real ale. That is, before the collagen gets going.
"What's at work here is an electrical process," says Ken Don, head brewer for Young's in London. "The ions in the collagen have the opposite charge to the ions in the yeast, and so attract them like a magnet. They all join together in a mass and sink to the bottom of the cask. It's quite a quick process; all over within 24 hours."
And despite the fact that the mashed-up bladder has a fishy, eggy odour when it is plopped into the beer (in paste form, after water has been added), it doesn't leave any dubious aftertaste. This is why "fining", as it is known, has been in use for centuries, rather than being dismissed circa 2,000 BC as an experiment that went wrong. ("All right, who put fish paste in my pint?")
"No one knows for certain how the practice began," says Iain Loe, of the Campaign For Real Ale (Camra). "My theory is that the Ancient Greeks found that wines stored in bladders were less cloudy than those stored in pottery amphorae. And when people started drinking out of glasses, they would have demanded less cloudy liquid." Without being too choosy about how that effect was achieved, it would seem.
Even today, wine producers aren't rushing to let you know that their grands crus contain fish bladders. One of the few firms to volunteer the information is the Co-op. "We list all the ingredients used in our wines and beers on the label," says the Co-op's wine marketing manager, Vicky Steel. "Even though it is not contained in the end product, we believe that vegetarians have a right to know that isinglass has been used."
Not that you could tell the difference with your tastebuds. Provided the producers have been doing their job, the fish-omelette "floc" (ie dregs) will stay firmly at the foot of the barrel and never pass the punters' lips. With wine, it'll never make it into the bottle in the first place; with beer, it'll be returned to the brewery with the cask (landlords always leave at least one per cent of a barrel's contents untouched at the bottom).


Which means none but the most strict vegetarians need fret about sturgeon in their stout or catfish in their Côtes du Rhône. And, on the environmental side, it's hard to come up with any more constructive use for a redundant fish bladder than making wine and beer more enjoyable. But if you think of one, do write in and let us know.

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[Industry Reading] --- Malaysia pressed for time in entering bird nest market in China

Staff Reporter 2013-11-18 14:58 (GMT+8)

Laboring under the impact of a 2-year import ban from China, Malaysia's budding bird's nest industry waits for the lift to materialize.

Ma Juicheng, chairman of the bird's nest industry association in Kuala Lumpur, said that after a field investigation by Chinese experts, the government has pledged to allow eight enterprises to export their products to China again. The import licenses have yet to be issued.

Bird's nests are considered a delicacy and are used in a range of Chinese cuisine.

The embargo, leveled in 2011 after quality problems, has dealt a severe blow to Malaysia's bird's nest industry. According to the Chinese-language China Business News, the industry, bloated with around 60,000 establishments, is overstocked. The price of a bird's nest has dropped to MYR$1,500 (US$470) per kilo, down from MYR$6,000(US$3,750) two years ago.

Since July 2011, exports from Malaysia has plunged 90%, with only Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore still in the market. Inventory has hit several hundred tons. Malaysian officials, including premier Najib Tun Razak, have repeatedly lobbied the Chinese government to lift the embargo before the sector collapses.

In April, a team of six Chinese experts arrived in Kuala Lumpur for a two-week investigation. Eight local companies out of the 15 covered by the team passed the investigation, kindling hope for resumed trade. Despite the 'pass,' the Chinese government is still holding back the issuance of import licenses, half a year after the trip.

The Malaysian government has provided all the materials requested by China, including hygiene standard checks, qualify certifications, and quarantine certificates. Lu Yirong, chairman of Malaysia's bird's nest industry association, said that China's huge market is critical for the industry, which has an annual output of 400 tons of bird's nests, or an estimated 52 million nests. Malaysia's population only reaches 28 million, with the total number of potential consumers topping only 50 million, after taking foreign tourists into account.

Lu urged the Malaysian government to institute a source-tracking system, under which every bird's nest can be tracked to the production site, to assure product quality once the product reenters the Chinese market. He said that, in view of the importance of the Chinese market, the industry cannot afford to make another mistake, which would bring down the entire industry.

Original link is here.

[Industry Reading] --- More tangled than a bird's nest

HK Edition 08/23/2013 page4

Home of Swallows Ltd is a Hong Kong retailer selling edible bird's nests. It wants to expand ontothe mainland, but has met with major difficulties.

Edible bird's nests are comprised largely of secretions from the salivary glandsoof birds. Theyare an expensive delicacy that has been part of the Chinese culinary art for hundreds of years.

Frank Pak, founder and managing director of Home of Swallows tells China Daily the companywas established in 2000, opening its first store in Ma On Shan, the New Territories.

Although Hong Kong's economy was affected by the dotcom bubble burst in 2000, Home ofSwallows enjoyed low rent and labor costs during a time of soft real-estate and equity markets,says Pak.

Home of Swallows imports bird's nests from Indonesia and Malaysia. Pak says he still does mostof the purchasing personally, to ensure the quality of the products.

The firm also developed various kinds of products at lower prices: beverages and chocolatesthat contain little bird's nests, for the mass market.

"The firm once had over 20 stores in Hong Kong at 2006 and 2007, but the business model ofretailing in the city changed and we had to change our strategy too," says Pak.

He explains that in 2006 more than 70 percent of the company's customers were local, andmaybe 20 percent travelers from the mainland. After introduction of the Individual Visit Schemein 2003, customers from the mainland increased rapidly and soon the majority of the company'srevenue came from mainland customers.

"Meanwhile, the rent started to rise sharply, so we closed several stores located in remoteareas where mainland visitors rarely go," says Pak, adding that Home of Swallows currentlyowns 13 stores in Hong Kong.

Pak says around 70 percent of its customers are from the mainland and at its Causeway Bayand Tsim Sha Tsui stores, mainland visitors account for up to 90 percent of its total customers.

Home of Swallows opened its first self-operated store on the mainland in Shenzhen in 2006 andothers followed. By 2011, aside from its own stores, it also had 10 franchise stores in majorcities on the Chinese mainland.

But in 2011, the industry and commerce administration of Zhejiang province found excessiveamounts of sodium nitrate in edible bird's nests imported from Malaysia.

Sodium nitrate is a chemical used to produce food preservatives and fertilizers. Nitrate poseshealth risks, including cancer, if ingested in large amounts.

Spot checks on rare "blood-red" bird's nests from 491 dealers in Zhejiang found an average4,400 mg of sodium nitrate per kg, far above the allowed cap of 70 mg per kg, according toXinhua news agency.

Soon, pharmacies on the mainland took edible bird's nests off their shelves and the centralgovernment stopped importing them from Malaysia. Dried bird's nests were then banned frombeing carried across the border from Hong Kong.

The entire industry in China was affected and Home of Swallows was not spared, as peoplewere panicked and many of them just stopped purchasing bird's nests at all, says Pak. Sincethen, the company's sales have fallen 50 percent from their peak. Some mainland brancheshad to be closed.

"I believe the worst time is behind us. I learned that the central government recently gavepermission to 11 bird's nests wholesale companies in Malaysia to sell products into China," hesays.

Pak says he believes that people's confidence in bird's nests will slowly return, and Home ofSwallows is ready to "return" to the mainland market.

He plans to open more self-operating stores as well as franchise stores once that happens.

Pak also says the company will promote online sales and also try to get its products into moresupermarkets on the mainland.

"The market on the mainland is too large after all, opening stores would not be fast enough forus," he says.

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