Undrinkable Liquid

Shame on these Taiwanese food industries and companies.
They used industrial stuff into soft drinks, juices, jams and other foods just for reducing costs regardless of consumers' health. Those products had been tainted with a deadly toxin.
God damn it!

• Companies & Products
• 行政院衛生署．公告
• 桃園縣政府衛生局
• D-day後，台灣安啦！？
  
• Taiwan: Mother of two becomes heroine behind DEHP-tainted drinks probe

Toxic Foodstuff Scandal

Taiwan News Encyclopedia: DEHP

DEHP is a low-cost plasticizing chemical that is colorless. It is usually used in making PVC plastics. It is also often used in glow sticks.

DEHP is known to be detrimental to living organisms if consumed, but the health risk to humans or other animals is relatively low. However, the effects are magnified if it is consumed regularly. In expectant mothers, it can cause developmental impairment of the sexual organs of male fetuses. It has also been linked to obesity and diabetes in adult males, as well as reduced sperm count.
Despite the danger, recent tests have shown DEHP in over 100 food and drink products in Taiwan as of May 2011. The chemical was found within those products' "cloudy agent", an emulsifier used in food and drink products. Cloudy agent itself is not detrimental, but some suppliers have substituted one of its major ingredients -- palm oil -- for the much cheaper DEHP.
As a result, all products containing cloudy agent were pulled from shelves pending test results. Only after the products are deemed free of DEHP can they be sold.

DOH providing foreign representative offices with food test results
The Department of Health (DOH) said on Sunday that it is sharing its latest food test results with foreign representative offices in Taiwan.
The department is continuing to conduct tests on food products to determine whether they contain toxic plasticizers. So far, the department says, some 500 different products may be affected.
Already some Taiwanese products containing the toxic chemicals have been shipped to other countries like Mainland China, the United States, Vietnam and the Philippines. Related products have been stopped at ports of entry, with border control officials requesting that companies provide proof that the products have passed inspections.
The Department of Health says it will assist companies in dealing with those requests, and has provided information to foreign representative offices based in Taiwan. It has also shared test results with the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN), which is a World Health Organization initiative.

DEHP contamination might hurt Taiwan's business image
2011/05/26 23:28:12
Taipei, May 26 (CNA) The latest food safety panic involving the illegal addition of the cancer-causing plasticizer DEHP in food and drinks has transfixed Taiwan, causing grave concern among local food and beverage makers that their image at home and abroad might be undermined by the incident.

Initial investigations show that the tainted ingredients and products were either produced by Yu Sheng Chemical Co., or supplied by intermediaries downstream from the company.

As the scandal is fast-worsening and has so far embroiled nearly 170 up- and mid-stream suppliers and manufacturers, affected businesses, including many famous brands, have been busy recalling or changing the recipes for their products in a bid to maintain their business and retain their reputation.

Five kinds of food must provide safety certification: DOH
Taipei, May 28 (CNA) Five major categories of food and beverages, including sports drinks, must prove that they are free from six commonly used plasticizers from May 31, the nation's top health official said Saturday.

Amid a national scare about food and drink contaminated by the plasticizer DEHP, Department of Health (DOH) Minister Chiu Wen-ta announced that May 31 has been set as "D-day" to end the practice of adding toxic chemicals to cloudy agent.

"If cloudy agent is used in the five major foodstuff categories -- sports drink, juices, tea drinks, fruit jam or syrups, tablets or powders -- they must provide safety certificates to prove that they are free from the six plasticizers. If they fail to do so, the products will be banned from store shelves," Chiu said.

Cloudy agent is a legal food additive commonly used in fruit jelly, yogurt mix powder, juice and other drinks to keep emulsions evenly dispersed and make the products look more appealing to customers.

Gov't orders withdrawal of DEHP-tainted food worldwide

The China Post news staff--Premier Wu Den-yih yesterday called on officials to hold manufacturers of plasticizer-tainted beverages and foodstuffs liable and pull all such products from both domestic and international markets.

The Department of Health (DOH) has lost no time reporting the issue to the World Health Organization (WHO) to alert other countries of the existence of such products.

The harm done to people by plasticizer-tainted beverages and foodstuffs cannot be undone by a simple apology, Wu was quoted as saying.

Only when we get to the root of the issue and hold the manufacturers liable is social justice upheld, he said, calling for a ban on the use of poisonous plasticizer Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, commonly abbreviated as DEHP, in the manufacturing of food additives. Wu however, cautioned officials against incriminating the entire food industry indiscriminately, saying officials should set their crosshairs only on those who have used the plasticizer in their food products and beverages.

Commenting on the sale of such products overseas, Wu said withdrawing such imports from overseas is Taiwan's obligation.

Young Energy Source Co. Ltd., maker of Taiwan Yes products, apologized to the public on May 24 for its negligence.

• DEHP Food scare Round Up
• Another arrest in new plasticizer find
  
• Taiwan Food Contaminated of DEHP
• Taiwan's food safety measures under scrutiny after DEHP scare
• Taiwan informs WHO and other countries of DEHP contamination
• Talk of the Day -- DEHP contamination impact snowballing
• Health Department orders safety certification for major food categories (2011/05/29)

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News on Jun 6, 2011

Food scare over plasticizer continues to intensify

Taiwan's food scare involving the use of a toxic plasticizer in food products has intensified. The plasticizer was originally discovered in drinks. But now according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it's possible that cakes, bread and ice cream could also contain the toxic chemical known as DEHP. 

FDA Director-general Kang Chao-chou said on Monday that not all bakeries use plasticizers. But the government has decided to speed up the investigation into the distribution of DEHP.

"[We] will look at the use and the distribution of artificial flavors in the baking industry. We will ask bakeries to take their products off the shelf if they are tainted," said Kang.

It is expected that the latest food scare has caused losses of nearly 100 billion Taiwan dollars (US$3.4 billion) to Taiwan's food, medical and cosmetics industries.

Meanwhile, Taiwan's health authorities have confirmed that another toxic chemical known as DNOP was not found in food products.