Pakatan: Excessive Vitamin A in Kedai Rakyat milk powder
By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider
The federal opposition today claimed that the milk powder sold in Kedai Rakyat 1 Malaysia (KR1M) contained over eight times the legal limit of Vitamin A, and may be harmful to children.
Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers told a press conference the 1 Malaysia-branded Growing Up Milk Powder for children above the age of one contained 6,012 international units (IU) of Vitamin A per 100kcal.
DAP publicity chief Tony Pua said this was 802 per cent over the legal limit set under Regulation 389A of the Food Regulations Act 1985.
The Petaling Jaya Utara MP also said the amount of Vitamin A was 588 per cent over the United States Recommended Daily Allowance.
Excessive amounts of Vitamin A may lead to liver problems, reduced bone mineral density, skin discolouration and hair loss, he said.
PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar called for an independent investigation to ensure that goods sold in the thrift stores met regulations.
Pua also said the amount of calcium and iron in the milk powder did not meet the minimum required under the law.
The opposition pact has accused the government today of taking advantage of the poor by selling “substandard products” at the KR1M which were launched by Datuk Seri Najib Razak in June.
The prime minister launched the first of three shops now operating in the Klang Valley in response to rising inflation, which hit a two-year high of 3.5 per cent that same month.
