The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday ordered Taiyen Biotech Co (台鹽生技) and several other biotech companies to recall their aloe vera-based products after their aloin contents were found to be nearly 17 times higher than normal.
The administration recently conducted a random testing of 10 edible products containing aloe vera, of which six were discovered to contain aloin at a concentration higher than the natural level of 3g per kilogram (g/kg).
They included Taiyen’s Slimgen (膠原千姿膠囊), which contained 50.576g/kg of aloin; Funcare Ido’s (醫朵醫學) Burner tablet (倍熱順酵錠), which had 47.886g/kg of aloin; Sinphar Pharmaceutical Co’s (杏輝藥品) Yu Pei To Smooth Beauty Tablet (優倍多順暢美顏錠), which contained 32.733g/kg of aloin.
The other three deficient products were manufactured by Chung Mei Pharmaceutical Co (中美兄弟製藥), Lian Hwa Foods Co (聯華食品) and Far East Bio-Tec Co (遠東生物科技), according to the test results.
“While aloe vera is a natural food, it must have its skin completely peeled off before it can be used as an ingredient in edible products. There is no restriction as to which food items and how much it can be added into, so long as the products come with a warning ‘Not suitable for pregnant women,’” FDA’s Division of Food Safety official Tseng Su-hsiang (曾素香) said.
Tseng said consumption of large amounts of aloin, which is found in aloe leaves, can cause digestive discomfort, such as diarrhea and vomiting, and it has been used as a laxative.
The administration’s Division of Research and Analysis official Lin Hsu-yang (林旭陽) said manufacturers of edible products containing aloin at an amount higher than the natural background level are required to conduct safety evaluation before it can produce and peddle the items.
“The producers of the six products in question are to face a fine ranging from NT$60,000 to NT$200 million [US$1,960 to US$6.53 million]. They are also required to immediately suspend manufacturing of, take down and recall the items. Those who fail to comply could be subject to another fine of up to NT$3 million,” Lin said.
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