The Department of Health said yesterday that after testing several food products for melamine, two batches of Chinese fried bread sticks were found to contain 3.37 parts per million (ppm) and 4.29ppm.
Health departments across the country have randomly tested more than 100 batches of baked goods and other foods that are commonly prepared with ammonium bicarbonate, including cookies, bread, grilled squid, barbequed pork buns, wedding cakes, honeycomb cookies and cream puffs.
Of the tested samples, the only products found to contain melamine were the two batches of Chinese fried bread sticks, Deputy Minister of Health Cheng Shou-hsia (鄭守夏) said at a press conference yesterday.
PHOTO: CNA
Cheng said the two batches contained very low levels of melamine and that health officials would continue to supervise the production of these products and conduct random testing to ensure businesses are using safe food additives.
Businesses such as bakeries and food stands that do not use Chinese-made baking ammonia as a food additive are allowed to put up signs that say “No Chinese-made baking ammonia added, customers need not worry,” Cheng said.
On Saturday, ammonium bicarbonate imported by Sesoda Corp (東碱股份有限公司) from China’s Huaer Chemical Co (化二化工有限公司) was found to contain between 70ppm and 300ppm of melamine.
Of the 400 tonnes imported, more than 200 tonnes remain in circulation and have yet to be tracked down by health officials.
On Friday, Hunya Foods Co (宏亞食品), which purchased 700kg of ammonium bicarbonate from Sesoda, announced that all products containing the ammonium bicarbonate had been pulled from shelves.
Ammonium bicarbonate, also known as baking ammonia, is listed as a legal food additive in the Scope and Application of Food Additives (食品添加物使用範圍及限量標準). The chemical is not toxic and is used in the food industry as a leavening agent.
The department has banned imports of baking ammonia from China and passed this information on to the WHO’s International Food Safety Authorities Network.
Cheng said the department would clear up the matter with China via channels of communication established by the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS).
If Huaer is responsible for adding harmful substances to the ammonium bicarbonate sold to Sesoda, the department will demand an apology from Huaer and help the Taiwanese companies negatively affected by the product seek compensation.
Meanwhile, the department said it was awaiting a response from Zhongshi Duqing (Shandong) Biotech Co regarding King Car Industrial Co’s (金車) recall of its instant coffee and instant soup products after it was discovered that the products contained a melamine-spiked non-dairy creamer produced by Zhongshi Duqing.
The department will give out samples of Chinese fried bread sticks free of Chinese-made baking ammonia tomorrow to restore consumer confidence.
The location, however, has yet to be announced.
Meanwhile, Vice Premier Paul Chiu (邱正雄) said yesterday the government would help people who have suffered health problems because of tainted food from China request compensation from Beijing through the SEF.
Chiu said during a committee meeting in the legislature that the Consumer Protection Commission would make the appeals for compensation through the foundation and ARATS.
“At present, the Consumer Protection Commission has received 80 inquiries and is handling three cases of people with kidney stones [caused by tainted Chinese dairy products] for compensation from China,” Chiu said.
He said the SEF could raise the issue of compensation with ARATS Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) during his upcoming visit to Taiwan.
Addressing the discovery of the chemical in ammonium bicarbonate over the weekend, Chiu said: “ammonium bicarbonate is a legal food additive and the quantity added into foods is very small.”
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