Two types of condiments and a seasoning powder imported from the US have been stopped at the border for containing a cancer-causing chemical banned in Taiwan, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Tuesday.
The three separate shipments of Old El Paso taco sauce, Sauer’s barbecue sauce and rib seasoning from Pizza Blends Inc were intercepted after sample testing conducted in late May and last month detected ethylene oxide, the FDA said.
The goods were found to contain 0.1mg per kilogram (mg/kg) to 2.6mg/kg of ethylene oxide, it said, adding that all of the items would be returned to the country of origin or destroyed.
Photo courtesy of the Food and Drug Administration
Ethylene oxide has been classified as carcinogenic to humans by the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Based on information released by the Ministry of Environment’s Web site, ethylene oxide is a toxic chemical substance that if swallowed or inhaled, could cause severe eye and skin irritation, as well as increase the risk of cancer, genetic disorders and damage to fertility.
From Jan. 15 to Monday last week, Taiwan inspected 404 batches of imported US condiments and seasoning, with 10 failing to meet safety standards, all due to ethylene oxide.
The random inspection rate for those US items would be maintained at 20 percent to 50 percent until the end of this year, the FDA said.
Meanwhile, 17 other items also failed safety checks, including frozen durian from Thailand and curry powder from India.
Regarding the curry powder shipment, a sample of a 490kg batch tested positive for Sudan dyes I and IV in May. The whole batch would be destroyed.
Sudan dyes are banned in Taiwan for use in food items, FDA Deputy Director-General Lin Chin-fu (林金富) said.
The FDA applied more stringent standards to its tests of chili and spice imports regardless of the place of origin on March 6 due to the discovery of Sudan dyes in Chinese chili powders.
So far, only items coming from China and India have been found to contain the banned dyes, Lin said.
Batch-by-batch inspections of spices and seasoning from those two countries would be extended until March 5 next year, while the inspection rate of similar items from other countries would return to normal, he added.
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