SINGAPORE: Consumers are not the only ones plagued by food products tainted with melamine.

Now, food importers have to grapple with China-made goods returned by retailers, who are also asking for refunds.

From biscuits to snacks, the returned China-made food products have been piling up in the importers' warehouses.

Importers lament that they have paid their China business partners for the goods, so getting refunds will be difficult.

According to the importers, many of the returned milk products are free from the industrial chemical melamine.

They hope the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority can issue a list of banned products, so that unaffected foodstuff can be put back on the shelves for sale before their expiry date.

Importers typically start placing orders for Chinese New Year goodies around October.

However, with the China milk scare still raging on, many are now turning to alternative sources from other countries, and they warn that the prices will be higher than those from China.

- CNA/yt

• Govt to set up forensic unit to study food contamination • AVA detects melamine in two more China products • AVA says Cadbury chocolates in S'pore not affected by latest recall • S'pore consumer confidence in Chinese products drops amid milk scandal