With the school season about to start, families should be careful when purchasing plastic lunch boxes and water bottles for their children after a recent survey showed several failed heat tests, the Consumers’ Foundation said yesterday.
The consumer rights watchdog said three of the 18 items it tested became distorted after being subjected to high temperatures.
In May the foundation purchased 10 types of plastic lunch boxes and eight types of plastic water bottles from retail chains, department stores and furniture stores nationwide. Of the tested samples, one type of lunch box and two types of water bottles that claimed to be heat-resistant did not pass standards tests.
PHOTO: LIN CHENG-KUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
DISTORTED
A lunch box labeled as safe for use at temperatures from minus 20ºC to 120ºC became distorted at temperatures within the indicated safe range, foundation chairman Hsieh Tien-jen (謝天仁) said.
The two types of water bottles softened after inspectors poured boiling water into them and allowed the water to sit for 10 minutes.
The foundation said it was unacceptable for products claiming to be heat resistant to change shape or soften despite being used in accordance with instructions labels.
It remained to be determined whether the affected products were harmful to consumers.
“Though we are still awaiting lab results on whether chemicals were released [when the products became distorted], the fact that the products changed shape means they failed the test,” Hsieh said.
Nine of the 18 products tested also failed to provide information on the temperature range they could be used in or did not have instructions in Chinese.
REMOVED
The foundation said it had reported its findings to the Department of Health and urged it to order the products be taken off the shelves.
The group also advised parents not to put steaming-hot food into plastic lunch boxes and to limit the use of microwaves to heat lunch boxes since it could lead to the release of harmful chemicals.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
RSS