The nation’s latest food scare, involving the massive use of a plasticizer in bottled beverages and dairy products, was exposed thanks to the perseverance of one food safety inspector, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director-General Lo Chi-fang (羅季方) said.
The 52-year-old FDA inspector, a mother of two surnamed Yang (楊), became suspicious in March during a routine check of beverages for banned chemicals, said Lo, who refused to divulge Yang’s full name to maintain her privacy.
Yang became concerned about contamination traces when she saw abnormal wave-shaped signals on her gas chromatography screen as she was inspecting some sports and soft drinks, including brand-name ones, Lo said, adding that Yang spent two weeks identifying the signals as being caused by Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, or DEHP, which to her knowledge had never been used before as a food additive.
“No medical or food-processing archives from Taiwan or abroad have indicated that DEHP has been added to food or drink products,” Lo quoted Yang as saying.
Over the ensuing several weeks, Yang discovered that the amount of the suspected carcinogen in each contaminated bottle or carton topped 600 parts per million, far exceeding the allowable daily intake of the chemical through other channels, including plastic film wrap, nail polish and plastic containers.
The Department of Health said on Monday that DEHP had been detected in 16 samples of sports and soft drinks, including Sunkist Lemon Juice, Taiwan Yes energy-boosting drink and a sports drink manufactured by Young Energy Source Co. The drinks have been pulled from stores.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
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