The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday denied concealing the results of a research study on Antrodia camphorata — an edible species of fungi — after local media said the study found harmful side-effects in laboratory mice.
The ministry said it has already sent a report to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Department of Health last month regarding the results of the research.
The FDA yesterday said it has begun collecting related data and research results after receiving a complete report from the ministry’s Development Center for Biotechnology last month.
The FDA said the report showed the adrenal glands of female mice became swollen after ingesting large amounts of Antrodia camphorata during the trial. In addition, research results showed that consuming varying amounts of the fungus led to different effects in mice.
The FDA said it would ask experts to review the biotech center’s results and to provide a subsequent analysis.
“We will adopt any necessary regulatory measures if we discover any negative implications for human health resulting from the research report,” the FDA said in a statement.
The two agencies’ remarks came after the Chinese-language Apple Daily reported that laboratory mice became ill and their cells mutated after ingesting Antrodia cinnamomea powder during a 91-day trial.
The report said the ministry had spent NT$130 million (US$4.36 million) since 2010 on a project aimed at developing Antrodia camphorata products and the biotech center later commissioned a local biotech company to conduct the tests to examine the effectiveness of those products.
The newspaper said both the biotech center and the FDA already knew the results back in February last year, and accused them of trying to hide the facts from the public for more than a year.
Meanwhile, the ministry yesterday clarified that it spent NT$44.89 million on the project, not NT$130 million, and said the project was involved in developing new drugs for the treatment of cancer.
Separately, Grape King Inc (葡萄王), a local health food vendor known for its “Come Best” tonic drink and “Granoderma King” nutritional supplement, said yesterday its Antrodia camphorata products meet the government’s standards for product safety.
The company, whose shares fell by the daily limit to NT$105 yesterday on the local bourse, said consumers should not panic about the company’s products, which it said contain no poisonous substances.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
RSS