Health authorities have seized more products after discovering that another upstream food additive manufacturer had been adding the chemical di-isononyl phthalate (DINP) to clouding agents, the Department of Health said yesterday.
The health department said Pin Han Perfumery Co in Tucheng District (土城), New Taipei City (新北市) had been illegally adding DINP to its clouding agents.
Clouding agents are used to create opacity in foodstuffs and beverages to make them more appealing to consumers.
Photo: CNA
Investigators searched Pin Han on Friday evening and summoned owner Chen Che-hsiung (陳哲雄), his wife, Wang Fen (王粉), and his son Chen Wei-cheng (陳威丞) for questioning.
Banciao judges yesterday morning approved prosecutors’ application to detain Chen Che--hsiung and Wang. Chen Wei-cheng was released on NT$100,000 (US$3,465) bail.
As a result of the latest finding, the Department of Health seized sports drinks and asparagus juice made by two companies in central and southern Taiwan, as well as the products from a cooking oil company in Kaohsiung.
Food and Drug Administration Director-General Kang Jaw-jou (康照洲) said DINP is a chemical similar to di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), which was recently discovered in many local beverages and dietary supplements.
Kang said 54,822 cartons of sports drink and 36,533 cartons of asparagus juice, as well as 128kg of clouding agent used by Uni--President Enterprises Corp in Greater Tainan, have been seized, along with 5,682 cartons of sports drink and 13.82kg of clouding agent used by Maida Foods Corp in Yunlin County, as well as various products from Tai Hwa Oil Industrial Co in Greater Kaohsiung.
He said that both DINP and DEHP are legal when used in the manufacture of plastic products, but can not be legally used as food additives.
In animal experiments, DINP has been found to have less adverse health effects than DEHP, although it has been found to cause organ damage in rodents, Kang said.
The EU has not listed DINP as a carcinogen, he said.
DINP, like DEHP, is flushed from the body quickly, he said.
Additional reporting by Rich Chang
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
ON PAROLE: The 73-year-old suspect has a criminal record of rape committed when he was serving in the military, as well as robbery and theft, police said The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday approved the detention of a 73-year-old man for allegedly murdering three women. The suspect, surnamed Chang (張), was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the death of a 71-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙). The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday also unveiled the identities of two other possible victims in the serial killing case, a 75-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃), the suspect’s sister-in-law, and a 75-year-old woman surnamed Chang (張), who is not related to the suspect. The case came to light when Chao disappeared after taking the suspect back to his residence on Sunday. Police, upon reviewing CCTV
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, was arrested in Boston last month amid US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigrants, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday. The arrest of Liou was first made public on the official Web site of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Tuesday. ICE said Liou was apprehended for overstaying her visa. The Boston Field Office’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) had arrested Liou, a “fugitive, criminal alien wanted for embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes in Taiwan,” ICE said. Liou was taken into custody
TRUMP ERA: The change has sparked speculation on whether it was related to the new US president’s plan to dismiss more than 1,000 Joe Biden-era appointees The US government has declined to comment on a post that indicated the departure of Laura Rosenberger as chair of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT). Neither the US Department of State nor the AIT has responded to the Central News Agency’s questions on the matter, after Rosenberger was listed as a former chair on the AIT’s official Web site, with her tenure marked as 2023 to this year. US officials have said previously that they usually do not comment on personnel changes within the government. Rosenberger was appointed head of the AIT in 2023, during the administration of former US president Joe