Sales of traditional snacks bought in the run-up to the Lunar New Year holidays will reach a climax this weekend, but excessive amounts of chemicals are found in some of the popular goods, the Consumer's Foundation (
Citing surveys it conducted last month, the foundation said an astonishing 71.4 percent of salted pumpkin seeds contain undue residues of sulfite, a type of bleaching agent commonly used in food processing, said the foundation's chairman Jason Lee (
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
Taking in too much of such chemical substances might lead to difficulties in breathing, diarrhea and vomiting, he added.
Among the 21 samples of pumpkin seeds obtained from Taipei's hypermarkets, traditional markets and the famed Dihua Street, 15 cases fell under the mark, including the well-known brand Weng Tsai Chi (
Other must-have goods during the holidays were also found containing illegal preservatives. Twenty percent of fa gao, or steamed sponge cakes, contained benzoic acid or dehydroacetic acid, which might cause liver damage and spasms, said Lee Cherh-yu (
Lee, also an associate professor of restaurant management at Northern Taiwan Institute of Science and Technology, suggested that consumers should buy packaged snacks with clear labeling, rather than buying in bulk.
"Packaging can protect food from pollution, rain, dust and flies when vendors display them by the roadside, thereby reducing manufacturers' need to use preservatives," she explained.
Despite the Consumers' Foundation's alarming findings, relevant regulations do not go far enough, according to foundation chairman Jason Lee.
Incomplete labeling and illegal use of chemical substances only incur fines of between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000, according to Article 17 and Article 12 of the Act Governing Food Sanitation (
"We urge authorities concerned to thoroughly examine the products and order vendors to pull unqualified snacks off the shelves immediately, as stipulated in Article 10 of the Consumer Protection Law (
Choosing packaged snacks that meet Good Manufacturing Practice standards would be the best way to avoid these problems, he added.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
RSS