The Ministry of Health and Welfare was criticized yesterday for calling heavy metals found in oil packets in instant noodles “unavoidable” and claiming “there is no risk” involved in consuming such low levels of metals.
The Chinese-language Business Today magazine earlier this week reported that seven kinds of popular instant noodles it sent for metal content testing were found to have either one, two, three or all of the heavy metals arsenic, mercury, lead and copper in their oil or sauce packets.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇), National Taiwan Normal University professor of chemistry Gaston Wu (吳家誠), National Taiwan University professor of public health Wu Kuen-yuh (吳焜裕) and Homemakers United Foundation president Chen Man-li (陳曼麗) questioned the appropriateness of the health authority’s statement issued after the news broke that some instant noodle sauces and oils were tainted by heavy metals.
“The statement first says that heavy metals contained in food products are mainly from the environment so are unavoidable contaminants, but it did not provide any evidence proving that the presence of the metals found in the oil packets could be attributed to the background level of those metals,” Tien said.
The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) statement issued on Wednesday said the results of “the risk assessment of the intake of related products” indicate that there is no risk in consuming the products.
“Which division of the FDA or which academic did this risk assessment?” asked Tien, accusing the ministry of issuing the statement without actually conducting a thorough risk assessment of the food products.
Gaston Wu accused the ministry for misleadingly assuring the safety of the products by claiming that it would take 96 packs of instant noodles for an adult weighing 60kg to exceed the tolerable daily intake of lead or 917 packs to exceed the tolerable daily intake of copper.
“No one would eat 96 packs a day. What we are asking for is not health limited to one day, either. The problem lies in the accumulation of these heavy metals, which could lead to serious chronic diseases,” he said.
The group compared the amount of the metal contents found in the oil packets to both the maximum residue limits of metals in drinking water and in edible oil as there is no standard set for oil packets, and found some of them exceeded acceptable levels.
FDA food division chief Tsai Shu-chen (蔡淑貞) responded to the findings and the criticism by saying that it is hard to set a standard for processed food products, such as the oil and sauce packets in this case, since “they are composed of oil, vegetables and other elements that might each have different background levels of metals.”
“Vegetables, especially mushrooms, might have higher maximum residue limits of lead and cadmium due to the environment in which they grow,” she added, but did not elaborate on the three other metals found in the products.
Tsai said what the authority should do is to make sure that the raw materials used in the processed products and the processing procedures comply with the regulations.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
RSS