If you are pregnant; it’s about time you took your Nutritional-Plan to the next level.

Before you rush off to buy just any bird nest to add to your soup, there are a few things you should be aware to look for in order to ensure that you purchase 100% unadulterated bird nest. It is of vital importance that you realize that Adulterated, Bleached, Contaminated or Poor quality bird nests are potentially harmful to both you and your unborn child.

Bleached bird’s nest are normally processed from dirtier raw nest. Definition of dirty here may extent to the amount of foreign substance such as bird’s feather, twigs, sand, bird’s dropping, residual of eggs or fluid that promote microbiological and fungus growth. All these examples are the most common contaminants that substantially deteriorate the quality of a piece of raw nest. Hence, when bleaching technique is applied, to a large extent, it is considered as “recovering” rather than “cleaning” raw bird nest. After bleaching, most of these contaminants are decoloured rather than cleaned, including the feathers. Toxicity formed during the deposition of contaminants such as fungus will not be successfully removed with this cleaning technique.

Most of the time, consumers are not aware of these facts as the shop keepers are not well trained in this aspect. They are informed according to the supplier’s information and most of the time, verbal.

In fact, most of the bird’s nests available in the market are bleached by food grade chemicals like; Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and Sulfur dioxide (SO2). Cleaning of bird’s nest with these chemicals are often market by suppliers and retailers as 100% pure bird’s nest, which is misleading and unfair to consumers.

The standard level of Nitrite allowed in food by the World Health Organisation is 34ppm. Ideal would be 0ppm of nitrite found in the bird’s nest, which is achievable with proper and thorough cleaning during the processing stage of the bird’s nest.

Local Bird’s nest company, Pureness Bird’s Nest has step forward to be the first Bird’s Nest company in Singapore to assure local consumers that their bird’s nest is free from Nitrite compound! As a leading bird’s nest researcher and bird’s nest education company based in Singapore, it seeks to educate consumers on the importance of getting the trusted products from a proven source and not just known brands.

In line with their commitment of assurance to their consumers, Pureness Bird’s nest had successfully collaborated with the world’s renowned bird’s nest research and consultant in Malaysia, Dr Tan Boon Siong to successfully produced nitrite free bird’s nest!

“I am really glad to have collaborated with Pureness Bird’s nest for the research and the process to produce the best for people, especially in this new generation where people are more aware on what they are putting in their bodies”.

About

Pureness Bird’s Nest was founded on 2009, when it first started to share with people about the hard truths about bird’s nest. Their expert bird’s nest researchers constantly provide the latest updates on bird nest information so as to keep their customers abreast on the bird nest market. Ensuring that their customers get the genuine bird’s nest is the top priority on their customer satisfaction list.

The sales ban became effective at all Tongrentang stores in China and abroad on Aug 17, a day after State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the market watchdog, demanded retailers tighten quality inspection of the nests, the company said in a statement Sunday.

“As a state company, Tongrentang will be responsible for the consumers, scrutinize all products and will not hesitate to destroy any birds’ nests that fail to meet food safety standards,” it said.

The company said consumers were welcome to lodge complaints to the headquarters if any of its stores were found to be violating the ban by selling nests.

The industry and commerce administration in Zhejiang province, where the contamination was originally found, said on Aug 15 that excessive amounts of sodium nitrate were found in edible bird’s nests imported from Malaysia.

Spot checks on rare blood-red birds’ nests from 491 dealers in Zhejiang found an average 4,400mg of sodium nitrite per kilogram, far above the 70mg/kg limit. Sodium nitrate is a chemical that is commonly used to produce food preservative and fertilizers.

The Malaysian government later clarified that the problematic products were fake and were not endorsed by its food safety departments.

Edible birds’ nests, mostly made from the secretion from the salivary glands of birds, are an expensive delicacy and have been used in Chinese cooking for hundreds of years; they are also believed to provide various health benefits.

In restaurants in Hong Kong, a bowl of bird’s nest soup can cost from US$30 to US$100.

Malaysia is the world’s biggest exporter of bird’s nests, with 95% sold to China.

References:
Beijing Tongrentang Co
XinHua
http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20110822000012&cid=1103

This action by the Shanghai Industrial and Commercial Administrative Bureau comes as red cubilose is at the center of a health scare in neighboring Zhejiang Province.

Officials there found red cubilose on sale was actually cheaper white cubilose dyed red, resulting in excessive levels of carcinogenic nitrites.

Cubilose – mostly made from the saliva nests of swiftlets – is an expensive delicacy used in Chinese cooking for hundreds of years.

The product, boasting a high protein and mineral content, is popular with women aiming to maintain a youthful appearance. Usually eaten as a sweet soup, it is also made into snacks.

Red cubilose is the rarest variety. It occurs when nests are built on rock where minerals – especially iron – permeate them, coloring nests red.

Yesterday, at the Kaixuanmen Health Food Market near the Shanghai Railway Station, one of the biggest health food markets in the city, many vendors claimed not to sell red cubilose.

The Shenjirong Health Food Co Ltd, which owns a booth in the market, was selling red cubilose on Monday, but yesterday said it only had the more common white cubilose.

Officials still managed to find red cubilose in the store’s refrigerator.

Vendors said genuine red cubilose was hard to find and it was impossible to get enough to satisfy demand.

The results will be announced in three days. Officials will then carry out a risk assessment, said the bureau.

Its Zhejiang Province counterpart said on Monday that almost all the red cubilose in the Zhejiang market failed its quality test.

The Zhejiang Province Industrial and Commercial Administrative Bureau tested more than 200 kilograms of red cubilose and found it to have an average nitrite content of 4.4 grams per kilogram, with some having as much as 11 grams per kilogram.

Several brands, including Ying-huang, Yanzhiwu, Zhengji and Qinghetang, contained more than 10 grams per kilogram.

Nitrites have been linked to stomach and esophagus cancer.

Source:http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/?id=480068

SHANGHAI authorities are investigating the main ingredient of the bird’s nest soup made of red cubilose in local markets after tests in Zhejiang Province found it was not only counterfeit but contained carcinogenic nitrite.

Edible bird’s nests, mostly made of the secretion from the salivary glands of birds, are an expensive delicacy and have been used in Chinese cooking for hundreds of years.

In restaurants, a bowl of bird’s nest soup can cost up to US$100.

Red cubilose is the rarest variety. It is the nests built on rock cliffs, and the mineral elements on the cliff, iron especially, permeates into the nests, coloring them red.

The product, boasting a high protein and mineral content, is particularly popular with women aiming to maintain a youthful appearance. Usually eaten as a sweet soup, it is also made into snacks.

Zhejiang officials said yesterday that more than 200 kilograms of red cubilose obtained from the market had been tested and found to have an average nitrite content of 4.4 grams per kilogram on average, with some having as much as 11 grams per kilogram.

Several brands, including Yinghuang, Yanzhiwu, Zhengji and Qinghetang, contained more than 10 grams per kilogram.

From Malaysia

Nitrite is only allowed in cured meat, and the upper limit is 70 milligrams per kilogram.

The officials said most of the red cubilose was imported from Malaysia and reached the market in Zhejiang via trading companies based in Guangdong and Sichuan provinces and in Hong Kong.

An agriculture vice minister of Malaysia, Chua Tee Yong, was earlier cited by the Sin Chew Daily, a Malaysian newspaper, as saying all the so-called “red cubilose” on the market was fake.

Video footage obtained by the administration showed that several dealers admitted that almost all the red cubilose on the market were ordinary bird’s nests that had been dyed, resulting in excessive nitrite levels.

Huqingyutang, a traditional Chinese medicine store in Zhejiang, said it had stopped selling red cubilose as it couldn’t tell exactly were the product came from or how it was produced.

Tonic vendors said genuine red cubilose was hard to find and it was impossible to get enough to satisfy demand.

“We usually recommend common cubilose, or white cubilose, to consumers,” said a vendor at the Kaixuanmen Health Food Market near Shanghai Railway Station. “Usually red cubilose’s price should be two times higher than white cubilose, but here it is only 1 yuan (15 US cents) higher. We all know it’s not genuine.”

“Nitrite links to stomach cancer and esophagus cancer,” said Gu Zhenhua, a Shanghai Food and Drug Administration official. “Long-term consumption increases the risk of cancer.”

The majority of consumers are unaware of how to differentiate between real bird’s nest and chemically bleached bird’s nest. The objective of this article is to provide the consumer with an essential verification methodology. This will not only protect the consumer, but help to preserve the market and push out the unethical tradesmen.

Before performing visual and physical checks on certain aspects of the bird’s nest, you need to make sure that you purchase your bird’s nest from a reputable retailer. Do not buy pre-packed edible bird’s nest as this will hinder your ability to perform the verification procedures discussed below.

Verification Step 1: Observe the appearance of the bird’s nest closely. It should not be completely white and reflective in any way. If the bird’s nest is overly white in appearance and reflective, then there is a high probability that the edible bird’s nest has been bleached with chemicals. Edible bird’s nest that has not been cleaned with bleaching agent will not be completely white in appearance, neither will it be reflective.

Verification Step 2: Natural bird’s nest always varies in size and weight due to its natural formation. There should be no standardisation of edible bird’s nest. The size and weight should not be uniform. Any standardisation of the product is a positive indicator of man made bird’s nest.

Verification Step 3: Upon inspection of the bird’s nest, be sure to thoroughly smell the nest to see if you can detect the light scent of an egg. If you cannot smell the scent of an egg then the edible bird’s nest may fall into one of the following categories.

a) No Smell:

If the bird’s nest has no smell to it, then it is less likely to have been bleached with chemicals, although, it is still possible that a small amount of bleaching agent may have been used. The traditional cleaning process destroys the surface nutrients of the bird’s nest removing much of the natural scent. It is only after boiling the nest that the egg scent becomes pungent again. This is problematic in terms of verification. However, if the edible bird’s nest has no scent or a light scent of egg, then there is a good chance that the bird’s nest has not been chemically tampered with. To be completely certain of the authenticity of the edible bird’s nest, it is essential to know which company originally manufactured the product.

b) Unpleasant Smell:

An unpleasant smell of any kind presents an extremely high possibility of the bird’s nest having been bleached with chemicals or other impure ingredients. If you detect the smell of wood, this can be attributed to the wooden planks upon which the swiftlet built its nest.

c) Mouldy Smell.

The smell of mould is directly associated with a high moisture level inside the bird’s nest. If you do detect a mouldy smell then you should avoid purchase immediately. Mould contains bacteria which could be detrimental to your health and cause subsequent illness.

In Summary

If the bird’s nest you are about to purchase does not pass the authenticity verification tests than walk away without further discussion with the retailer. Any attempt to point out the abnormalities of the bird’s nest will only result in a defensive argument by the retailer. Many retailers are unaware of the facts regarding natural bird’s nest and may themselves have been duped into buying the stock.

The verification guide in this article forms an essential part of your bird’s nest purchase. This advice will stop you from falling into the trap of a counterfeit purchase. You will save yourself money and time, but most important of all you will protect yourself from potential ill health caused by chemicals or bacteria.

Click Here To Buy Pureness Bird’s Nest

However, the consumer should remain aware that improper cleaning by ignorant bird’s nest cleaning plants can significantly reduce the nutrient concentration.

The following is a list of bird’s nest benefits documented by TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) Practitioners:

1. Enhances the rebirth of cells and tissues (Epidermal growth factor).
2. Enhances the body’s immune system through promotion of cell division
3. Strengthens the body’s self-regulating actions and resistance to disease
4. Improving heart functions and to reducing blood pressure
5. Assists in the prevention of cancer through rich antioxidants.
6. Aides in the regeneration and growth of cells.
7. Aides in the treatment of cancer patients
8. Regulates blood supply all around the body.
9. Improves the skin complexion
10. Reducing fatigue

Bird’s Nest Benefits For Expecting Mothers

Regarded as the perfect tonic for expectant mothers and their soon to be babies, consumption of bird’s nest can provide the body with several rich nutrients and benefits. Regular consumption during pregnancy can strengthen the body of the woman and the foetus. In addition, women consuming pure bird’s nest post birth will recover far quicker compared with women who do not. This fast recovery is attributed to the Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF), which is active in the nutrients of the bird’s nest.

Note: It is important to purchase bird’s nest from a reliable and trustworthy bird’s nest supplier, especially when the bird’s nest is intended for consumption by a pregnant woman. If a pregnant woman consumes bird’s nest containing impurities or inadequate nutrient levels, her baby may appear fair and adorable, but could experience a weak immune system and become prone to illness.

Bird’s Nest Benefits For Men & Women

Women who regularly consume bird nest often find themselves having fairer and more radiant looking skin. This is because bird’s nest is rich in collagen, protein and vitamins. These three ingredients can help rejuvenate the complexion, smoothen the skin, maintain youthfulness and prevent wrinkles. This helps both men and women to look younger and more attractive. For this reason, bird’s nest is fast becoming an essential part of a woman’s beauty regime. An increasing amount of products are being made from birds’ nests, although long term consumption of pure bird nest will always yield the most effective results.

In addition, both men and women can benefit from improved organ performance. Bird’s nest improves heart and kidney function and strengthens the lungs.

Bird’s Nest Benefits For Children

Bird’s nest strengthens the immune system, which is extremely important for children. Due to its high nutrient content, bird’s nest helps prevent common colds, flu and more serious illnesses. Bird’s nest also reduces fatigue, this is very important for children who are preparing for examinations. The consumption of bird’s nest over a long period of time will positively condition your child’s body as they grow older.

Bird’s Nest Benefits For Elderly

Bird’s nest helps the elderly to maintain their general health and well being. Bird’s nest has been cited as a key tool in the prevention of cancer. Bird nest strengthens the lungs and kidneys, improves the quality of the spleen, clears phlegm and enhances the appetite

Click Here To Buy Pureness Bird’s Nest

New Beginnings – The first trimester, up to twelve weeks, is the most important time for the fetus. This is when the baby is in its most formative stage of growth. Bird’s Nest has been used for years to help women and their health during pregnancy. As the cells are growing in the newly formed fetus, it has a physical drain on the mother and that’s one of the reasons why nutrition is so important. Bird’s Nest has been shown to increase cell division and increase both the mother’s, and baby’s immune system. It also helps strengthen the body and therefore be more resistant to illnesses associated with early stage pregnancy.

As the fetus grows, it, and the mother uses a much higher amount of nutrients and Bird’s Nest has been proven to replenish these nutrients making for less of an impact on the mother’s body. Morning sickness, a bane of most pregnant women is cut down substantially by the use of Bird’s Nest. Another beneficial effect of Bird’s Nest is the propensity it has to replenish the blood’s function and consumption rate during pregnancy. This leads to the reduction of freckles and also moisturizes both the baby and mother’s skin. When developing, the fetus is building the base of its body and the addition of the Bird’s Nest’s ability to assist in cell regeneration is a strong factor in developmental growth.

During the first trimester is when a woman experiences significant hormonal change that triggers a number of symptoms pregnant women can possibly experience. By using Bird’s Nest, many of those symptoms can be eliminated, or at least substantially reduced. Fatigue, upset stomach, and mood swings are just a few of the symptoms Bird’s Nest helps reduce because of the overall effect it has on the body’s metabolic processes.

Halfway Through – The second trimester, thirteen to twenty-eight weeks, is usually easier than the first, and if the mother is having problems of fatigue and nausea, they will begin to go away. The stomach will swell and the mother will usually feel the baby move before this trimester ends. Using Bird’s Nest will help relieve stretch marks with the properties it carries to increase blood supply, boost cell regeneration, and the natural collagen contained within.

There is more body aches associated with second trimester pregnancies that tend to wear down the woman as they get accustomed to the new physical processes occurring inside their bodies. Again, Bird’s Nest offers a good counter to these changes. Bird’s Nest is full of proteins and glycol, seven different kinds easily absorbed into the body, and the proteins are full of necessary amino acids, eighteen different kinds, that are instrumental in development and many of them are not replaced because they are not produced in the body.

Using Bird’s Nest and the nutrients it has will promote healthy growth and be of great benefit to the growing fetus. Stimulating cell growth, repairing damaged cells, increasing blood supply, and improving physical actions and their reflex force are prime factors in creating a healthy growing baby. These are all benefits Bird’s Nest gives the mother and baby while the baby is growing.

The Final Leg – The third trimester, twenty-nine to forty weeks, is where the baby begins to get substantially larger as it nears birth. Many of the aches and pains from the second trimester will continue, although they will go away when the baby is born. One of the symptoms the pregnant mother might feel at this stage because the fetus is getting larger is shortness of breath. One of Bird’s Nest properties is the cleaning effect it has on the lungs and respiratory organs leading to a better capability of the mother to breathe easier.

Other changes will be heartburn, hemorrhoids, sleep problems and some swelling. Although Bird’s Nest doesn’t cure any of these symptoms, the natural restorative properties it has will help minimize many of these symptoms. Increased blood flow, soothing properties, and the metabolic stabilization properties Bird’s Nest carries will help to lessen the impact these symptoms have on pregnant women.

Bird’s Nest has many wonderful qualities for everyone, not just those who are pregnant. It does offer health benefits for the pregnant woman and the growing fetus to alleviate many of the woman’s symptoms during pregnancy, and the healthy development of the fetus. Traditional Chinese Medicine has been using Bird’s Nest for many years and has documented its benefits.

It improves heart function and reduces blood pressure; enhances the growth of cells and tissue; boosts the body’s immune system; improves skin complexion and reduces fatigue. Bird’s Nest also regulates the body’s blood supply and provides rich antioxidants which help break down free radicals and help ward of cancer. These are great benefits for anyone, but the woman who decides to create a new life within her body will not only receive incredibly boosted health for herself, but her newborn child will also reap the rewards for getting the best start when it was being formed and through its growth stages in the mother’s womb. By all means, give your new child the best opportunities to grow throughout its life, but make the formative stage the strongest. Life is precious, and the more that a woman can do to promote healthy living within herself and her growing life is something that makes a lot of common sense. Bird’s Nest is there to help you.

Note: Although bird’s nest is an ideal tonic for expecting mother and fetus. It is critical for expecting mother to consume bird’s nest that is absolutely free from bleaching agents and additives. As most of the bird’s nest available in the market has been bleached with human-edible chemicals, which is approved to be used for food processing by several government agencies around the world.

As edible birds’ nests are a natural product it is only to be expected that there will be certain impurities, i.e., feathers, vegetation, sand etc which require a careful cleaning process to ensure that these imperfections are not transmitted to the consumer. However, to reduce costs, many manufacturers do not carry out an ethical cleaning process to the desired standard.

The traditional method requires removing the feathers using a floatation technique that involves vegetable oils. At the same time, use of bleaching agents was also adopted and as mentioned previously, this stripped the nests of their nutritive qualities so an alternative formula that involves dissolution of the nest, filtration and freeze drying was researched to replace the traditional method. This new procedure is more cost effective so the aim is to pass the saved expense to the consumer, leveling out the market’s playing field.

But what happens if corners are cut and instead of following procedure, they simply bleach the bird’s nests? How can you differentiate between a pure bird’s nest and the fake kind? And what is the government currently doing to prevent the widespread market of contaminated products?

Contaminants and Government Policy

At this time there are many conflicting regulations and guidelines with regards edible birds’ nest production and this has provoked a situation in which a mind blowing 90% of these traders do not operate with a valid license or comply with the approved cleaning process.

Those who insist on chemical bleached birds’ nests run the risk of introducing highly toxic substances that can cause cancer. The most used chemicals used are H202, S02 and S03.

Not only do consumers have to be concerned about bleached birds’ nests, but of those deceitful traders who would scam people into purchasing artificially dyed red birds’ nests as many consider them to be of a higher value but in actual fact, studies show that these contain more natural contaminants than the white counterpart. The red nests are normally constructed in caves upon which the iron and other materials in the environment are absorbed.

Currently, the Government, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Agro-based Industry Department of Veterinary Services, the Johor Biotechnology and Biodiversity Corporation as well as others are taking positive steps to ensure quality control of the final product. There are approximately 5000 Swiflet farms of which 80% are located in urban areas; controls need to be put in place to protect consumers from possible harm and adverse side effects. Not only that, if said controls are installed, it will preserve the industry and promote a healthy image especially to foreign consumers.

Real vs. Fake

a)     The nests shouldn’t be totally white or reflective in any way.

b)     Natural nests vary in size and weight whereas manufactured nests are uniform.

c)      Smell the nest to see if you can detect the scent of eggs. If there is no smell, the nest hasn’t been treated or only in a small dose. If you note an unpleasant smell then the nest has more than likely been chemical bleached.

d)     As they are built with saliva, these strands will separate from each other when soaked in water and will be of a different length.

Preserve the industry; do NOT accept bleached birds’ nests.

The Chinese have known for many centuries that the rich gel secretion from swifts, that goes to make up the ‘nest’ are a source of great nourishment.  The little birds have toiled away for all these years, totally oblivious to the fact that they are assembling something that is not only beneficial to many but also a great delicacy in many places.

This was the truth about bird nests in 1480 AD when they first arrived in China, courtesy of an intrepid navigator but the facts about bird nests in modern society is a little different.

The bird’s nest of centuries ago were pure and not interfered with but today big business has taken over and where there is a buck to be made then you can be sure someone is making it and because the benefit to pregnant women, premature babies, children and the elderly is well documented it is a commodity in great demand.

The facts about Bird Nests are this: it is nearly, but not completely, impossible to get a 100% genuine, natural Bird’s Nest today. The harvesting of the little Swiftlet nest is a hazardous task and so the price of the genuine article reflects this and because of the demand, poachers have also found it to be a lucrative side line.  All this has sadly added to the decline of supply.

The poor little Swiftlet is decreasing in numbers and although far from extinct at the moment it is heading that way and because of this you can expect to pay a lot of money for the real thing.  And the real truth about Bird nest is that you won’t find buy-one-and-get-one free!

The true facts about Bird’s Nest is that the market is full of chemicals these days and they are bleached and do not have the same nutritional properties of the real thing. They lack the vitamins, proteins and many other minerals that people are looking for when they purchase them. There is also a real danger of becoming infected due to bacteria being introduced during the process.

Many a retailer has no comprehension about what a real Bird’s Nest is all about and they will most likely believe they are selling you a genuine thing. Because after all they are there to make money and if some character comes along offering them something that is the real deal as far as they can see, then who are they to argue?

But the fact is that real Bird’s Nests do not come in packs of ten, they are not odorless and perfectly white and they are not uniform in shape and size. The strands are long and thick and should have the capacity to swell when placed in water.

It is still possible to get genuine Bird Nests but research is needed and you need to know what you are looking for and have all the Bird’s Nest facts to hand before you start your mission.  You need to familiarize yourself with the truth and know what you are looking for.