The National Federation of Teachers’ Unions said children should be dissuaded from eating a spicy jelly-like snack from China that has become big hit among elementary-school students.
An elementary-school teacher recently wrote on Facebook that the savory “Konjac Shuang” snack from China contains extremely high levels of sodium and several additives, and that eating too much of it could adversely affect children’s health.
While some teachers are discouraging consumption of the snack, some students have taken to eating it secretly in the toilets, the teacher wrote, urging schools and parents to do more to stop students from eating it.
Photo: CNA
Konjac is a low-carb, high-fiber root vegetable often used to make a type of flour, and it is considered a health food.
However, clinic director Wang Chieh-li (王介立) wrote on Facebook that Konjac Shuang is a highly processed product that is high in fat and contains more than 1g of sodium for each 100g serving.
Federation president Hou Chun-liang (侯俊良) on Monday said that if teachers have nutrition and health concerns about some foods, they can explain their adverse health effects to students.
There is no need to worry if students occasionally try new snacks, but if they eat too much or the foods are harmful to their health, schools and teachers should take measures to restrict consumption, Hou said.
Yen Tzung-hai (顏宗海), an attending physician at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital’s Department of Nephrology, said the product’s 1g of sodium per 100g serving approaches the daily recommended limit for children.
The recommended daily sodium intake for children aged one to three is 1.2g, increasing to 1.5g for those aged four to eight, 1.8g for those aged nine to 13 and 2.3g for those aged 14 to 18, Yen said.
Ingesting too much sodium can lead to high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease, Yen said, adding that a small pack of Konjac Shuang contains more than 200mg of sodium.
Food and Drug Administration data showed that 515,483kg of Konjac Shuang was imported from China from Jan. 1 last year to Oct. 31.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy