China candy maker finds Manila ban hard to swallow

BEIJING, July 19 (Reuters) A Shanghai food company has denied quality problems exist in its famous ''White Rabbit'' candy, denouncing the Philippines for banning its sale and distribution because of harmful substances.

The Philippine Bureau of Foods and Drugs banned ''White Rabbit'' and several other Chinese-made food products after samples of the sweets were tested and found to contain formaldehyde and other harmful substances.

China is reeling from a series of global food and drug quality scandals in recent months, from tainted cough syrup blamed for deaths in Panama, to toxic pet food exported to the United States.

Guang Sheng Yuan (Group) Co. Ltd. threatened to sue the Philippine quality watchdog for defaming the brand and blamed counterfeiters for quality problems.

''Because of White Rabbit's global influence, its counterfeiting domestically and overseas is rampant,'' a statement posted on the company's Web site yesterday said.

''Guang Sheng Yuan expresses regret that the Philippine authorities did not provide effective evidence. (The company) reserves the right to take legal action for the harm caused to the White Rabbit brand,'' the statement said.

China's quality inspection chief yesterday defended the country's food exports and lashed out at foreign media for exaggerating the country's quality problems and ''stirring consumer panic'', Xinhua news agency reported.

Li Changjiang, minister of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, said at least 99 percent of Chinese exports met quality standards between 2004-2006.

Li's comments came as local media reported that China's food and drug watchdog had revoked 22 licences for seven categories of drugs produced by a company in southern China, including blood-based immune-boosting drugs to protect against rabies.

Among them, an intravenously injected immunoglobulin drug had been linked to the development of ''Hepatitis C antibodies'' in users, the State Food and Drug Administration said in January.

Hepatitis C can lead to chronic liver infection and cirrhosis. About 1 percent to 5 percent of people with the disease eventually die from long-term infection according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The producer, Guangdong Bioyee Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., had committed ''serious violations'' during the drug's production, the watchdog said.

REUTERS GT DS1223