Bird Nest Soup and Nitrite: What is it?

The issue of Bird Nest Soups containing harmful substances such as nitrite has raised concerns amongst many people, especially pregnant mothers who eat them regularly during their pregnancy stage.

Bird Nest Soup And Nitrite

In 2011, surveillance conducted by China authorities found that high levels of nitrite was present in various Bird Nest Soups, in particular, the blood-red Bird Nest Soup. Nitrite occurs in the environment, in food and water, and is produced inside living organisms. It can be used as food additive, mainly as a preservative and colour fixative in foods such as cheese products as well as cured and fermented meats.
Red Bird Nest Soup is reported in recent news stories to contain nitrite, which may pose threats to the health of consumers. This post serves to educate our consumers and give them a better understanding about nitrite, and to remind them to exercise cautions when purchasing any other Bird Nest Soup apart from our own.

Bird Nest Soup and Nitrite: What is it?

Why is nitrite added to red Bird Nest Soup?

Nitrite found in red Bird Nest Soup may either be formed naturally, or by the result of an attempt by merchants to turn white Bird Nest Soup into red Bird Nest Soup (which can fetch an insane high price in the market), by adding a large amount of nitrite during processing.
As nitrite can be dissolved in water and red Bird Nest Soup will be washed, soaked and stewed for an extended period of time in most cases, the level of nitrite is lowered as a result.

What is a "nitrite"?

Nitrite is converted from nitrate, which is part of the natural nitrogen cycle and is found in air, soil, water and food - nitrate may also be produced in vivo. Nitrite is often used as a food additive for preservation, coloring purposes and the prevention of bacterial growth.
However, it is toxic and will be converted into cancer-causing agents such as Carcinogenic Nitroso Compounds under certain conditions. Long-term consumption of food containing excessive amounts of nitrite will increase the chance of cancer.
According to the National Standards of the People’s Republic of China, the use of nitrite is only allowed in processed foods such as salted bacon. Nitrite will not pose serious threats to human health if it is used in accordance with the standards.

What should i do?

It should be noted that nitrite can only be harmful if consumption exceeds standard levels for our bodies. Excessive amounts can decrease the ability of red blood cells to transfer oxygen throughout our body.
Moreover, it can react with our stomach juices to form nitrosamines which are potentially carcinogenic. It is known that babies who consume nitrite-contaminated water will result in developing a serious health condition called methemoglobinemia, which is also known as ‘blue baby syndrome’.
With these rising concerns, consumers are naturally more discerning when it comes to selecting Bird Nest Soups. As mentioned, nitrite is inherently present in Bird Nest Soup due to natural biological processes. However, it is possible to achieve negligible levels of nitrite in Bird Nest Soup through proper switflet nest farming techniques and comprehensive cleaning during the processing of the Bird Nest Soup.

How to differentiate real from fake?

Due to its unique nutritional structure, red natural Bird Nest Soup may release red substances when it is soaked in the water. If the water in which the red Bird Nest Soup is soaked turns from colorless to dark red, and many unwanted chemicals (white and milky) appears in the water, it is highly likely that the product has been dyed. In this case, consumers are advised to stop purchasing or consuming such products.

Where do i purchase genuine Bird Nest Soup that is safe for consumption?

Purchase your Bird Nest Soup from a reliable and trusted brand. Bird Nest Soup™ is a fully integrated Bird Nest Soup producer – from the construction, maintenance and harvesting of farms right through to the processing of the nests as well as packaging, sales and distribution. We are committed to our promise of producing 100% pure Bird Nest Soup without the use of any chemicals, bleaching agents, preservatives, or colouring.
Furthermore, we send our Bird Nest Soup to AVA regularly to ensure that all our Bird Nest Soup sold are in line with the strict food regulations set in Singapore, and are safe to consume. This ensures that the Bird Nest Soup you enjoy is of the highest quality and hygiene. As a way to reassure our consumers, we do provide our AVA lab test report for viewing upon request.

What is the proper way to prepare Bird Nest Soup?

Studies have shown that thoroughly washing and soaking Bird Nest Soup overnight (8~10 hours) can remove a substantial quantity of nitrite in Bird Nest Soup (since nitrite is water-soluble). Water used for soaking Bird Nest Soups should also be replaced once or twice during the soaking process.

Stricter rules on Bird Nest Soup in Malaysia

Some 60,000 swiftlet ranchers are expected to be affected by the stricter safety regulations imposed by Malaysia's Veterinary Services Department on the export of raw, unclean edible Bird Nest Soup.

Coalition of Swiftlet Bird Nest Soup Ranches Malaysia chairman Allan Ho said the local Code of Veterinary Practice was looking to adopt different microbiological and chemical parameters as part of the standards for clean and raw unclean Bird Nest Soup.

"Chinese authorities pointed out that both clean and raw unclean edible Bird Nest Soups are lumped under one single specification although these are distinctively different.

"This means that raw unclean Bird Nest Soup comprising 95 per cent of the country's production to China will see little likelihood of export in the near future," he said in a statement here yesterday.

The strict regulations, said Ho, would further burden the ranchers who had patiently waited for over three years to get clearance from China.

China had banned the imports following the discovery of high levels of nitrite in clean Malaysian Bird Nest Soup in July 2011.

The ban had hit the country's swiftlet industry hard as China was reported to be the biggest importer of Bird Nest Soup products with an annual trading value of about RM1bil.

However, it was reported that China had since lifted its freeze, with approval granted to nine Malaysian companies.

Agriculture and Agro-based Indus-try Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had said that the General Administration of Quality Supervis­ion, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China (Aqsiq) deemed the nine companies to have earned a "conditional pass" on the quality of their products.

Ho said since the incident of "fake" Bird Nest Soup erupted in China in 2009, ranchers had been subjected to a seemingly endless wait on the green light to export.

"Any unnecessary further delay on the export of raw unclean edible Bird Nest Soup will seriously aggravate the financial position of ranchers in the country," he said.

The final draft of the safety code for raw unclean Bird Nest Soup, said Ho, had been completed and was currently being displayed for public review for the second time until Oct 19.