The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday said it would place limits on the use of the preservatives methylisothiazolinone (MI) and a mixture of methylchloroisothiazolinone and methylisothiazolinone (MCI/MI), following a media report questioning athe absence of a standard in the country compared with long-established restrictions in the EU, the US and Japan.
The report cited a study released at the British Association of Dermatologists’ Annual Conference in July, which pointed out that an epidemic of contact allergy to MI and MCI/MI may be on the horizon.
According to the study, the sensitization rate to MCI/MI remains at a high prevalence of about 2 percent. This is even after “the maximum concentrations of 7.5 and 15 ppm for leave-on and rinse-off products, respectively, were recommended” in the wake of “a European ‘epidemic’ of contact dermatitis caused by MCI/MI” when sensitization rates rose to 5 percent.
FDA official Yeh Meng-yi (葉孟宜) said that maximum concentrations of MI and MCI/MI are scheduled to be announced. The preliminary conclusion of the expert meeting on the matter is that the limits should be set at 0.01 percent (100ppm) for MI and 0.0015 percent (15ppm) for MCI/MI.
“MI will not be allowed at all in products that come into contact with mucous membranes, and the maximum concentration of MCI/MI for rinse-off products will be set at 0.1 percent [1,000ppm],” Yeh said, adding that the regulations have been discussed and proposed in accordance with those of the EU.
When it was pointed out that the European Commission is now planning to restrict the use of MCI/MI to rinse-off products, which have been restricted to a maximum MCI/MI concentration of 0.0015 percent, Yeh acknowledged that the EU’s standard is stricter, but added that the limits made public in response to the media report have not yet been finalized as further discussions will be carried out and experts’ opinions solicited.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
RSS