A total of 167 food ingredient suppliers face recalls because of toxic contamination in connection with an emulsifying additive, the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday.
So far, the plasticizer Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) has been detected in the products of 47 local manufacturers of food and drinks that unknowingly used the tainted ingredient, all of which have to be recalled, said Hsu Ming-neng (許銘能), deputy director--general of the department’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Hsu urged other manufacturers to send their products for tests to prove that they are free of the harmful chemical.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Taiwan is gripped in a food scare after the department confirmed on Monday that DEHP had been found in an emulsifier that is commonly used in fruit jelly, yogurt mix powder, juices and other drinks.
Investigations show that the tainted emulsifier products were either produced by Yu Shen Chemical Co (昱伸香料有限公司) or came from intermediaries supplied by the company.
Some of the tainted ingredients and products were believed to have been exported overseas.
Hsu said the FDA should be able to track most of the -contaminated items within the next couple of days, when the department will again write to the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) under the WHO to report the details.
Hsu said he told INFOSAN officials of the incident while attending the World Health Assembly in Geneva earlier this week. The department later also wrote to INFOSAN via e-mail to provide further information, but the group has not yet responded, he said.
Among the products that were recalled yesterday were Taiwan Sugar Co’s (Taisugar, 台糖) “Turmeric Oyster Shell” supplement tablets and Hey Song Corp’s (黑松) “FruitHouse” probiotic powder and three other brands of dietary supplements.
Food ingredient exporter Poss-mei Corp said it has notified its clients in more than 20 countries to stop selling its concentrated juice products and await test results.
According to Possmei, the company will further inform its clients if the products are safe as soon as the results are available.
Passion fruit juice, mango juice and lychee juice produced by Possmei were on the DEHP -contamination-related recall list announced by the New Taipei City’s (新北市) Health Bureau on Wednesday.
The company also supplies bubble milk tea ingredients. Among its most well-known oversea clients is Bubbleology tea house in London, which has also expressed concern over the DEHP contamination in Taiwan.
Possmei, however, said that the emulsifier is usually not added when making tapioca balls — a main ingredient of bubble milk tea — making contamination unlikely.
Giant Union Co, a supplier of oriental foods and commodities in Los Angeles, said on Wednesday that it has stopped importing “popping boba,” a translucent gummy ball from Possmei that contains flavored juices and can be added to drinks.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique