By Evangeline Majawat

CHEW on this: that wholesome dairy-free wholemeal digestive biscuits which you've been munching on might contain more than fibrous goodness.

Until yesterday, millions of Malaysians, myself included, had tucked heartily into dairy-free products with the innocent assumption that it was safe from melamine.

But the Health Ministry's shocking findings on Thursday now include ammonium bicarbonate, a baking agent imported from China as a melamine contamination source.

Previously, all melamine cases were traced back to milk.

Eighteen types of Khong Guan and Khian Guan products which, along with the beloved Ayam brand sardines and Maggi mee, are staples in any Malaysian household, have tested positive for melamine after using the leavening agent imported from China.

But should the findings be surprising to the manufacturers?

Less than three weeks ago, a food safety watchdog in Vietnam had found melamine in 18 milk and dairy products imported from China, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

The AFP reported that "Malaysian biscuit brands Khong Guan and Khian Guan were among the items containing melamine".

It is puzzling that the manufacturers felt compelled to wait for the Health Ministry to announce their findings and order the immediate removal of the products before taking any action to protect Malaysians.

Surely, they realise that they are gambling with innocent lives while trying to dodge any negative publicity.

After they were found out, both manufacturers assured the public that all steps would be taken to remove the tainted products immediately.

But immediately is not, well, immediately.

Yesterday, Khong Guan and Khian Guan biscuits could be easily bought from sundry shops and 24-hour convenience stores. It's scary to be able to get life-threatening biscuits so conveniently.

Surely the companies have a system of distribution which they can use to quickly remove the contaminated items from the shelves.

And how about the other products that are being churned out from their factories? The Health Ministry "hopes" for a voluntary recall until tests prove that the other products are safe. If banned products are not quickly removed from the shelves, consumers can hardly hope for those not banned to be recalled.

The assurance by the two companies to withdraw the tainted products, after the Health Ministry made public their findings, has so far been the only response from them.

When contacted yesterday, they refused to comment further on the issue.

Silence may be golden, but not in this case.

The two companies need to learn from the mistake of China's Sanlu Group. Fonterra, the New Zealand joint-venture company partner of the Chinese company, had for weeks tried to persuade it to recall their products, but failed.

Sanlu's shares plummeted and many now scorn the company and its brands.