Nine bulk iced beverages and frozen snacks have repeatedly failed health inspections, resulting in an overall failure rate of 5.6 percent, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday.
As the temperature has risen and more stores have begun selling iced beverages and frozen products, the department said it began conducting random inspections of such products in April.
A total of 160 products — 112 iced beverages and frozen snacks, 46 ingredients and two types of tea leaves — were tested for Escherichia coli bacteria and aerobic plate counts, an indicator of bacterial populations, it said.
A total of 30 products failed a hygiene test and were given a statutory period to make improvements, the department said, adding that nine failed a second test, a failure rate of 5.6 percent.
The nine products included MB White Coffee’s eponymous drink, Hao Pin Wei Frozen Products’ (豪品味冰品) peanut milk shaved ice and Chien Papaya Milk’s (簡木瓜牛奶) carrot juice in Shilin District (士林), as well as Chaoshan Traditional Douhua’s (潮汕傳統豆花) shaved ice and Dohua Lin’s (豆花林) original-flavor shaved ice in Beitou District (北投).
Also on the list were Honey Juice Fresh Juice’s (Honey Juice鮮打果) papaya milk and Childhood Papaya Milk’s (童年木瓜牛奶) watermelon milk in Ningxia Night Market (寧夏夜市), fresh milk tea from a branch of chain beverage store Milkshop (迷客夏) in Xinyi District (信義) and Dohua Chuang’s (豆花莊) traditional tapioca shaved ice in the Sogo department store on Zhongxiao E Road.
The stores are to be fined between NT$30,000 and NT$3 million (US$1,005 and US$100,469) each in accordance with the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法) and the failed products have been taken off shelves, the department said.
It said people who have concerns about food safety and sanitation or customer issues can call the 1999 hotline in Taipei, or (02) 2720-8889 extension 7088 if they reside elsewhere, and can check inspection results on its Web site (http://health.gov.taipei).
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