The Department of Health (DOH) said last night that the highest permissible concentration of melamine in raw materials and processed foods is to be 2.5 parts per million (ppm), rather than zero ppm as it had announced on Tuesday.
Because of this easing of standards malt extract and creamer manufactured by Union Chemical Industrial Co, Ltd and creamer manufactured by Festsun Enterprise Co Ltd, originally declared unsafe by the DOH on Tuesday, are now considered fit for consumption because their concentration is lower than 2.5ppm.
The new standard was the result of a meeting between the DOH, Bureau of Food and Drug Analysis and Food Industry Research and Development Institute. The use of 2.5ppm as a standard mirrors that used in Hong Kong.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, AP
However, for products meant to for consumption by infants, such as baby formula, the standard is set at 1ppm.
At an earlier press conference, the DOH contradicted itself about whether vegetable-based protein products would be among the products pulled from shelves until they could be tested for melamine.
Following an emergency meeting headed by Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄), the health department announced on Tuesday night that all foodstuffs containing Chinese-made dairy or vegetable-based proteins should be pulled from store shelves within 24 hours for batch-by-batch examination.
However, Deputy Health Minister Sung Yen-jen (宋晏仁) told a 5:30pm press conference yesterday that Chinese-made instant coffee, milk tea and creamer in liquid and powder form were to be removed unless their manufacturers or importers had obtained certificates proving the products were safe.
His announcement, however, made no mention of “plant proteins,” only “creamer.”
When reporters asked about the change, Sung simply read the official press release again.
When reporters pressed for details of which products were to be pulled, Sung would only say, “The companies are all very clear on this.”
He then left the press conference without providing any further comment.
Sung was later “persuaded” to come back and hold a second press conference late last night. However, this was done without giving notice to reporters who had already left the premises.
During the second press conference, Sung told remaining reporters to ignore the previous standards he mentioned in the first press conference yesterday.
“The press release then was incorrect,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Liu Feng-ching (劉芳青) at Jenai Hospital in Dali Township (大里), Taichung County, said yesterday that a two-year-old baby girl whose family has been living in China has been given melamine-contaminated milk powder for more than a year.
The toddler’s father took her to the hospital on Monday for a checkup and doctors found she had calcification in her left kidney and blood in her urine, Liu said.
Liu said that the father told her that the baby had not consumed Sanlu brand baby formula, but another brand that had been listed by China as one of 21 brands found to have been contaminated with melamine.
Local health authorities reported the case to the DOH yesterday.
Meanwhile, Hung Jui-bin (洪瑞彬), director-general of the Council for Economic Planning and Development’s Economic Research Department, said yesterday that the melamine-contamination scandal has had a limited impact on local businesses.
Chinese milk power imports account for about 10 percent to 15 percent of total imports.
Banning Chinese-made milk powder and plant proteins increases the cost for producers seeking alternative sources, but that should not push up prices for consumers given the downward trend in commodity prices over the past two months, Hung told reporters after a meeting of the Cabinet task force on commodity price stabilization.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs briefed the task force yesterday on the domestic impact of the suspension of imports of milk powder, dairy products and plant protein products such as corn protein, soy protein and non-dairy creamer rom China.
The government banned such imports on Sunday.
Statistics show 4,869 tonnes of milk power was imported from China last year, accounting for 10.11 percent of total imports, and 8,622 tonnes of plant proteins were imported, accounting for 16 percent of total imports.
Chinese milk powder was cheaper than milk powder imported from Australia and New Zealand by NT$6 to NT$10 per kilogram on average.
Chinese plant proteins were cheaper than those from Indonesia and the US by an average of NT$5 to NT$9, the ministry said, based on prices recorded in June.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
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