Major hospitals yesterday temporarily suspended use of the prescription antibiotic Augmentin, which is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline PLC, following reports that tests had confirmed the presence of a banned chemical.
The news came after a TV news station recently sent samples of the antibiotic, which is produced and packaged in the UK, for laboratory testing, where it was discovered that the medicine tested positive for diisodecyl phthalate, or DIDP, at levels of between 14.8 parts per million (ppm) and 18.1ppm.
DIDP is one of six chemicals that have been banned from use in food and beverages by the Department of Health, along with di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), di-isononyl phthalate (DINP), di-nbutyl phthalate (DBP), di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP) and butylbenzyl phthalate (BBP).
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Since news emerged that the potentially harmful chemicals had been found in food additives, the department as of May 31 has required manufacturers of five categories of foods and beverages — sports drinks, juice, teas, fruit jams and syrups, as well as tablets and powders — to provide certificates showing their products are free of the six chemicals.
Augmentin is commonly used to treat respiratory tract, urinary, abdominal and dental infections.
Questions have been raised as to whether a strawberry-flavored version of the drug, which is often prescribed to children, might have been contaminated by the artificial strawberry flavoring, as major jam manufacturers have recently been under investigation for using materials containing banned chemicals as fixative agents to keep flavoring and fragrances smelling fresh.
Food and Drug Administration Director-General Kang Jaw-jou (康照洲) yesterday said the department had sent samples of Augmentin for laboratory testing and that official results would be available in one or two days.
In the meantime, Kang advised those who may have taken the drug not to panic, as DIDP levels of 14.8ppm to 18.1ppm were still under the tolerable daily intake and would not pose a health risk.
Pending further test results to confirm the contamination, major hospitals including National Taiwan University Hospital, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei General Veterans Hospital and Cathay General Hospital have temporarily halted use of the medicine.
Meanwhile, Department of Health Minister Chiu Wen-ta (邱文達) said that as of today, manufacturers and stores found selling contaminated food products would be forced to close.
Businesses found adding banned chemicals or contaminated ingredients from Yu Shen Chemical Co and Pin Han Perfumery Co to food would be severely punished and have their licenses revoked, Chiu said.
Retailers that sell products in the five categories of food products without certification that they are free of banned chemicals, as well as manufacturers who refuse to disclose the source of their ingredients when inspected, would also be told to shut down, he said.
Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) has also accepted a request by the Democratic Progressive Party to brief the legislature on the government’s response to the food scandal.
In related news, the Consumers’ Foundation encouraged customers who have consumed tainted food and beverages, and suffered financial losses or health problems as a result, to register with the foundation, which plans to meet major manufacturers in the food industry that have been found to use contaminated products to discuss establishing a consumer protection fund.
The foundation said it hoped to meet next week with food and beverage companies to negotiate levels of compensation and methods of payment for victims of the tainted products, which would be managed in the form of a special fund designated for consumer protection.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
STILL COMMITTED: The US opposes any forced change to the ‘status quo’ in the Strait, but also does not seek conflict, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said US President Donald Trump’s administration released US$5.3 billion in previously frozen foreign aid, including US$870 million in security exemptions for programs in Taiwan, a list of exemptions reviewed by Reuters showed. Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid shortly after taking office on Jan. 20, halting funding for everything from programs that fight starvation and deadly diseases to providing shelters for millions of displaced people across the globe. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said that all foreign assistance must align with Trump’s “America First” priorities, issued waivers late last month on military aid to Israel and Egypt, the
RSS