Popular rice-based products, such as turnip cakes, glutinous rice balls and mochi, might contain less of the grain than their labels suggest, test results released by two consumers’ rights organizations showed yesterday.
Among the 29 samples of rice and glutinous rice flour from different millers and traders tested, 11 were found to contain a lower volume of rice than stated on their labels, according to the results of a joint inspection conducted by the Consumers’ Foundation and the News and Market online news service in late January.
Regulations state that pure rice flour should have a protein content of 7 percent per portion, but allow a 20 percent margin of error, which sets the minimum protein level at 5 percent. However, the report showed that the protein content of the 11 substandard samples was between 0.5g and 5g per 100 grams, beneath the minimum level.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Four samples were even found to contain less than 2 percent protein, the foundation said.
Moreover, the New Taipei City (新北市)-based China Grain Products Research and Development Institute found that the 11 rice-based products also contained “unknown starches,” the news service said.
The news site urged the producers of the items to reveal what the starch is to clarify if it is a type of chemical food additive.
Some people are allergic to certain types of starches, which is why it is important for the producers to identify the unknown substance in the 11 products, said a spokesman for the Greater Taichung-based news site, which focuses on issues concerning agriculture, food and the environment.
The Consumers’ Foundation said that the samples were collected from traditional markets, shopping malls, supermarkets, wholesale baking supply stores and shopping Web sites in Taipei, New Taipei City and Greater Tainan.
It was the second such investigation conducted by the organizations this year.
In January, they released a report showing that nearly 90 percent of rice noodle products sold in supermarkets do not contain as much rice as their makers claim on the product labels, with 45 out of the 52 vermicelli brands tested discovered to contain less than 50 percent rice — the minimum standard for rice noodles.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS