A random sampling revealed that some of the ingredients added to snacks and beverages sold at shops in Taipei failed a test for a problematic additive, Taipei City health officials told a press conference yesterday.
The city’s Department of Health randomly inspected 54 ingredients often added to drinks and sweets sold at teashops, and found three of them did not meet regulations, constituting a 5.6 percent failure rate.
The three items were found to contain high levels of sorbic acid, a type of food preservative that is unfit for consumption, Food and Drug Division Director Chen Li-chi (陳立奇) said.
The ingredients found to be unsafe were marble-sized black tapioca balls, taro beads and konjac, a long strand of chewy jelly consumed throughout Asia.
Officials have ordered that sales of the three products cease and any stocks be destroyed. They also fined the suppliers of one of the products, who was registered in the city.
Since the other two manufacturers who provided the unsafe items are not located in Taipei, the city government has forwarded the case on to the appropriate jurisdictional authorities, Chen said.
The officials called for food manufacturers to regulate themselves according to the Act Governing Food Sanitation (食品衛生管理法) and reminded the public that violators face fines between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000.
Results of future food inspections will also be posted on the health agency’s Web site, the officials said.
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