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UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) recognizes the Product Assurance Achievements of Lee Kum Kee |
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Hong Kong, July 19, 2001
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) in the UK has formally recognized Lee Kum Kee's achievements in complying
with proposed European Union (EU) legislation on the limit of chlorapropanol substances in food. The FSA
released a new statement stating this recognition, while also accepting the steps taken by Lee Kum Kee over
the years to have products tested by qualified and internationally accredited international laboratories.
Lee Kum Kee welcomes the statement of clarification made by the FSA. The initial announcement made by the agency in
June 2001 resulted in a great deal of confusion in the minds of consumers as a result of media reports.
"Understandably, due to a general lack of knowledge and facts on this technical issue in the food and beverage industry,
many of the media reports over the last few weeks did not address the whole story, and resulted in some confusion in the
market about certain products," said Mr. Eddy Lee, chairman of Lee Kum Kee. "We are most pleased that the FSA recognizes
our achievements, and that the agency is now taking constructive steps to clarify conclusions made in its initial report.
"Our team remains committed to the Lee Kum Kee vision of bringing quality Chinese food products to consumers across all cultures
around the world," added Lee. "Our prompt response and ongoing efforts to meet or exceed regulatory requirements are reflections of
the important values we place on quality and trust."
Following the first survey report on the substance by the FSA in September 1999, Lee Kum Kee took immediate action and was able to
ensure that all of its products manufactured beyond October 1999 contain non-detectable levels of the substance. These steps resulted
in Lee Kum Kee products meeting or exceeding the regulatory guidelines recently proposed by the EU and which would be enforced by April
2002, as well as any other standards around the world.
The FSA issued a second survey report last month. According to Lee Kum Kee, the findings in this second FSA report did not truly reflect
the current market situation of the company's products nor the company's achievements in meeting or exceeding recommendations for food
standards issued by the FSA in 1999.
To clarify the situation, Lee Kum Kee provided the FSA with relevant certificates of analysis from accredited and reputable laboratories
taken from the company's Quality Assurance files over the last 18 months. This provides the FSA with evidence of Lee Kum Kee's achievements
in addressing regulatory demands. In addition, these documents are also subject to external audit by accredited bodies in compliance with continuous
assessment requirements of the ISO9002 international quality standard.
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