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BEIJING, July 8 (Xinhaunet) -- McDonald's Chicken McNuggets are under fire in Beijing after an investigation allegedly found its American counterpart contains chemical ingredients that are also used in cosmetics and Silly Putty. The State Food and Drug Administration called for a national investigation targeting food safety of McNuggets in China on Tuesday, and the Beijing health supervision bureau claimed in an earlier report that it has already carried out its investigation on the fast food. The investigation by broadcaster CNN in late June claimed that the fast food contains the chemical preservative tBHQ, tertiary butylhydroquinone, a petroleum-based product and dimethylpolysiloxane, "an anti-foaming agent", also used in Silly Putty. The above two chemicals are allowed to be used in food production procedures in China under a certain level. The maximum amount of tBHQ allowed in fried food is 0.2 g/kg and the amount of dimethylpolysiloxane can reach 10 mg/kg in edible fat, with 0.2 g/kg in meat processing. "The key point is that whether or not the amount of chemicals in McNuggets exceed the safety level," Ma Yanhua, the director of development with China Cuisine Association, told METRO on Wednesday. |
