The Consumers’ Foundation has suggested that people take their own utensils when eating out, after it found sulfur dioxide in nine out of 16 pairs of disposable chopsticks it tested.
The non-profit group announced the results of its random sampling at a news conference in Taipei yesterday, saying there has been an increase in disposable chopstick use following local outbreaks of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sulfur dioxide is commonly used to bleach single-use chopsticks.
Photo: Courtesy of the Consumers’ Foundation
The concentration was between 13 parts per million (ppm) and 145ppm in samples that tested positive, which does not exceed the maximum legal residue limit of 500ppm, it said.
The test, which was conducted in March, analyzed wooden and bamboo chopsticks collected from retailers, household goods shops and convenience stores in Taipei and New Taipei City, the foundation said.
Ingesting too much sulfur dioxide could cause difficulty breathing, diarrhea and nausea, or trigger an allergic reaction in people with asthma, which put people who dine out frequently at risk, it said.
The samples were also tested for peroxides and biphenyl, which were previously used to make disposable chopsticks, but have since been banned, the foundation said.
Neither compound was found in the test.
For the sake of their own health as well as the environment, people should avoid disposables chopsticks and use their own when eating out, the foundation said.
Single-use chopsticks should be visually checked and sniffed before being used, it said.
A pale color and a sour smell could both indicate excessive bleach residues, it said.
Immersion in hot water for two to three minutes could neutralize some of the sulfur dioxide in such utensils, the foundation added.
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