2012-10-30 10:46

Nongshim seeks to ease China's woes over instant noodles

HONG KONG (Yonhap) -- Korea's top instant noodle maker Nongshim Co. said Tuesday its Chinese-made noodles contain a permissible level of benzopyrene, a cancer-causing material, in an effort to soothe health woes over its products.

A test showed 16 instant noodle products made in China, including the popular Shin Ramyeon and Kimchi Ramyeon, containing lower benzopyrene levels than the limit permitted by the Chinese government, Nongshim's Shanghai subsidiary said.

The test was conducted by the Shenyang Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Institute, the companies said.

Nongshim has three Chinese factories in Shanghai, Shenyang of the Liaoning province and Qingdao of the Shandong province.

China's health authorities last week ordered a recall of Nongshim's instant noodle products that were found to have been tainted in its home country Korea.

China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine made the announcement on its Web site against six types of instant noodles products made by the South Korean maker.

The affected noodles include the popular Neoguri, bowl-type Neoguri and Saeng Saeng Noodle. They were found to contain benzopyrene.

According to the Korea Food and Drug Administration, these products contain as high as 4.7 parts per billion in their soup.

The KFDA earlier said the amount of benzopyrene contained in the products was minuscule and would not cause health problems. Nongshim also said its products were safe to consume and that it already destroyed all the raw materials in question.

Nongshim controls the majority of South Korea's instant noodle market, with a 68.1 percent share last year.