The Department of Health’s Food and Drug Administration has set a limit of less than 2.5 parts per million (ppm) on the density of melamine that has dissolved in food after being put in melamine resin containers, sources said, adding that the new regulation might be enacted as soon as the end of this year.
At present, only the EU and China have food limits on the amount of melamine dissolved from melamine resin, with the EU’s standard set at below 30ppm.
Although Taiwan’s planned standard seems to be stricter than in other countries, Wu Chia-cheng (吳家誠), a chemistry professor at National Taiwan Normal University, said the health department “did not do the good deed all the way.”
Melamine resin is a plastic material made from melamine and formaldehyde through polymerization.
Wu said that melamine resin should not be used to make kitchen utensils and food containers in the first place, and especially not for children’s food containers.
“The quality of melamine resin containers is unstable,” Wu said.
He said the department’s method of examining dissolved melamine density is by using 4 percent acetic acid on containers made from melamine resin, then subjecting them to 95°C temperatures for 30 minutes.
However, there are substances in food other than acetic acid that can dissolve melamine, he said, adding that the containers used for testing are all new, while old resin containers with scratches could dissolve more melamine.
Lin Ja-liang (林杰樑), a clinical toxicology specialist at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in New Taipei City (新北市), said that when melamine-resin containers are of poor quality, placed under high temperatures or come in contact with highly acidic foods, they might not only dissolve melamine, which can cause bladder stones, kidney stones and other kidney damage, but also formaldehyde, which could cause cancer.
Therefore, strict regulations are needed, he said.
Department officials said there were regulations on how much formaldehyde may be dissolved from melamine-resin containers, which does more harm to the body.
Because the health risks of melamine have become well known in recent years, with the WHO setting a tolerable daily intake limit, department officials said related standards were being planned in Taiwan after studying regulations in other countries.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS