The Department of Health yesterday said it did not plan to include bread and other baked goods in its inspection regime for illegal plasticizers, as the contamination had mostly been discovered in baked goods containing jam.
Since news broke that potentially harmful chemicals have been found in food additives, the department has required manufacturers of five categories of foods and beverages — sports drinks; juice; tea drinks; fruit jams and syrups; as well as tablets and powders — to provide certificates showing their products are free of di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, or DEHP, and other plasticizer chemicals.
Last week, Yu Shen Chemical Co (昱伸香料有限公司), which is under investigation for allegedly using DEHP in food additives, said pastry shops were among its customers.
Prosecutors have said that Yu Shen purchased about 5 tonnes of DEHP every month to make flavor and food coloring agents and sold the products to domestic producers of jam and baked goods, as well as pastry shops.
This revelation led to the investigation of seven of the nation’s most popular jam, bread and pastry businesses, which were alleged to have bought plasticizer-tainted food additives.
As the number of tainted products continues to spread to other food categories that may contain artificial flavoring, questions have been raised as to whether inspections should be extended to baked goods and pastries.
Food and Drug Administration Director-General Kang Jaw-jou (康照洲) said that more than 30,000 products fell under the five categories of foods and beverages that need to undergo laboratory testing.
As such, there was not enough time or resources to conduct comprehensive inspections of each bakery or pastry shop, Kang said.
Kang said the important thing for health officials to focus on was to track down the source of tainted raw materials and the downstream companies which had bought these products.
The department said consumers should not be too concerned about buying bread or other baked goods that do not contain jam.
Experts have pointed to the possible presence of plasticizer chemicals in jam and artificially made juice concentrates because the chemicals could be used as fixative agents, which can help products smell fresh longer.
Meanwhile, laboratory tests showed that samples of a 12.7cm tiramisu sold by RT-Mart contained 3.6 parts per million of di--isononyl phthalate, or DINP, which has led to questions as to whether its suppliers provided RT-Mart with contaminated material or whether the plasticizer chemicals came from the product packaging.
RT-Mart said it did not source its materials from the list of suppliers that may have used or manufactured contaminated food additives.
Health officials said it was unclear at what point in the production and packaging process the tiramisu was contaminated with DINP.
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
RSS