HEALTH
Some supplements harmful
Health and dietary supplements that claim to guarantee weight loss or have an aphrodisiac effect might contain prohibited substances or harmful drugs, the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday, while calling on the public to avoid consuming unidentified and uncertified products. A health official said that of the 2,322 questionable items submitted for testing last year, 488 contained drugs that could cause side effects ranging from minor headaches and psychological disorders to kidney failure. The three most common drugs detected in the tests were sildenafil, used to treat erectile dysfunction, sibutramine, a treatment for obesity, and caffeine.
AGRICULTURE
Pesticide labeling promoted
The Council of Agriculture yesterday said it would start to promote labeling of pesticide residues on packages of Taiwanese tea products as early as next year to make Taiwanese tea safer and more competitive in international markets. “The labeling [of pesticide residues] is aimed at upgrading the quality of Taiwan-grown tea to facilitate its marketing and to create a clear distinction between Taiwanese tea and Chinese tea,” Tea Research and Extension Station director Chen Iou-zen (陳右人) said. The council said the nation has about 1,220 hectares of land dedicated to tea production that now meet traceability requirement. Consumers can easily identify Taiwanese tea through these traceability and origin markers on products, making it less likely that consumers will be duped into believing that lower-grade Vietnamese or Chinese teas are from Taiwan, he said.
HEALTH
Doctor warns on music fest
People who develop symptoms of dizziness, tinnitus or balance problems after attending the annual Spring Scream music festival in Kenting should seek medical attention immediately, a doctor recently advised, saying that he had noticed over the years a trend of an increased number of ear damage cases after the festival. This year, nearly 200 bands performed at the festival, which took place from Friday to Monday. Li Po-hung (力博宏), an attending physician at the Department of Otolaryngology at Cheng Shin General Hospital, said incidences of hearing loss among patients who had attended the festival tended to be about 10 to 20 percent higher than the rest of the population. Live concerts usually produce sounds that could easily reach between 80 and 90 decibels, Li said, adding that the level of a normal conversation is usually between 20 and 30 decibels and the noise of passing vehicles on the road is about 50 to 60 decibels.
CHARITIES
Taipei to give US$100,000
In response to an appeal by Pope Benedict XVI, the government will donate US$100,000 to help the Pontifical Council Cor Unum take care of refugees fleeing violence in Libya, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement yesterday. The UN refugee agency has warned that the humanitarian situation in Libya is reaching crisis proportions and refugees fleeing to the borders with Egypt and Tunisia are desperately in need of shelter, water and food supplies, the ministry said. Concerned about the plight of the refugees, the government decided to channel its donation through a Catholic charity organization, which it holds in high esteem as the agency continues to help victims despite the difficulties and danger it faces, the ministry said. Separately, the ministry said it had evacuated Taiwanese staff stationed in Libya.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai