Amid media reports in China that infant formula produced by Taiwan’s Wei Chuan Corp (味全食品) had been contaminated with Enterobacter Sakazakii bacteria, the Department of Health (DOH) yesterday said the product was not being marketed in Taiwan.
However, investigations are still ongoing as to whether products exported to China are indeed contaminated.
Chinese media reported that last October, more than 9 tonnes of infant formula produced by Wei Chuan’s factories in Taiwan had been tested positive for the E. Sakazakii bacteria.
The batch was imported by a distributor based in Hong Kong, and after the bacteria was discovered the entire batch was immediately destroyed.
DOH officials said they were still investigating the source of the possible contamination, which is still unclear because Wei Chuan has factories both in China and Taiwan.
The DOH said that its initial findings showed, the batch number for the suspect infant formula has not been found in Taiwan.
It added that Wei Chuan has separate production lines for products that are to be exported to China.
“The [product in question] was produced for the infant formula market in areas in China, so it is not being sold in Taiwan,” said Lin Syue-rong (林雪蓉), director of the Bureau of Food Safety.
“When Wei Chuan does its internal quality control, it inspects every batch for E. Sakazakii bacteria,” Lin said.
To be on the safe side, the DOH has sent local health officials to inspect Wei Chuan’s production facilities and check inspection records.
The DOH said it has yet to obtain any information from cross-strait food safety communication channels.
Wei Chuan yesterday said it had destroyed the suspect products, and none have made it onto the market.
“The [infant] milk powder that was destroyed indeed came from Wei Chuan, but when it was tested positive for E. Sakazakii bacteria upon entering China, it was destroyed immediately and has not made it onto the market,” Wei Chuan spokesperson Chen Wen-min (陳文敏) said.
Chen said Chinese customs inspectors have tightened controls since the melamine scandal last year, which is why the questionable products were destroyed before being tested a second time to confirm that the product was indeed contaminated.
E. Sakazakii is a rod-shaped bacteria which can cause meningitis in newborns, as well as necrotizing enterocolitis, which is tissue death in the digestive system.
Infections have been linked to infant formula, with a mortality rate as high as 50 percent.
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