There is no longer any "red cubilose" in Malaysia, the country's authorities said in Shanghai over the weekend, and all cubilose labeled as such is simply deception by sellers to make more profits.

Cubilose, a kind of edible bird's nest, mostly made of secretion from the salivary glands of birds, is an expensive delicacy and has been used in Chinese cooking for hundreds of years.

Red cubilose is considered the rarest variety. It comes from nests built on rock cliffs, with the mineral elements on the cliffs, iron chief among them, permeating into the nests, coloring them red.

Earlier, Zhejiang Province quality watchdogs found the so-called red cubilose were all counterfeits containing excessive nitrite. The questioned products were imported mainly from Malaysia.

The Ministry of Agriculture of Malaysia said the country made only white cubilose. Officials said they will strengthen oversight of their cubilose manufacturers, and producers breaking the law will be fined.

Zhejiang officials said "red" cubilose on the market was really dyed white cubilose.

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