EAST M'SIA SABAH STATE ALERT ON VEGETABLES FROM CHINA

KOTA KINABALU (Malaysia), Oct 21 (Bernama) -- The East Malaysia Sabah state
government is monitoring closely vegetables coming in from China for melamine
contamination.

Deputy Chief Minister Yahya Hussin said the move is to ensure that the
safety of consumers in the state is guarded at all times.

Yahya, who is also State Minister of Agriculture and Food Industries,
said
that the ministry is also looking into vegetables produced in the high and low
lands to ensure that they do not contain more than the permitted level of
pesticide residues.

"We are advising the vegetable farmers on the dangers of using more than
the
permitted amount of pesticides and to also increase their awareness of good
agriculture practices (GAP) in all their efforts," he said during the launch of
the Penampang district level Green Earth project at the Peter Mojuntin
secondary school near here, Monday.

Yahya also called on the local people here to grow their own vegetables for
their personal use.

"Producing our own vegetables will not only have the quality but its safety
will be also assured as we know and control the materials that we have used to
produce the vegetables," he said.

He also expressed hope that the Green Earth project will not only raise the
level of food production in the country but also encourage the people to venture
into the agriculture sector in a commercial way.

-- BERNAMA