Beginning on Aug. 15, plastic baby bottle manufacturers will be fined if their products fail to meet new safety standards for Bisphenol A (BPA) and will have to pull them from the shelves, Department of Health officials said yesterday.
BPA is a synthetic molecule widely used in plastics, epoxy resins and other products. Studies have suggested that it could be linked to health problems and diseases such as cancer, heart disease and infertility.
Under the new rules, baby bottles cannot have more than 30 parts per billion of Bisphenol A after being soaked in 95˚C water and a 60˚C solution of 4 percent acetic acid for 30 minutes, the Bureau of Food Safety said.
“There is no mercy period for the new regulation. If your baby bottles fail the test, you will be asked to withdraw them from the market and your company will be fined,” bureau director Lin Sheue-rong (林雪蓉) said, adding that the fine will be between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000.
The new rule means Taiwan, along with the EU, will have the toughest BPA standards in the world, she said, adding that the bureau would help manufacturers to develop replacement materials.
Lin said consumers to boil baby bottles before using them for the first time because this will remove most of the BPA, if there is any.
“If scratches begin to form on the bottle, this is a sign that you should replace it,” she said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
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