Using tea bags and spice pouches may produce good tea and tasty dishes, but people should use them with care to prevent harmful effects, the Consumer Protection Commission said yesterday.
The commission urged the Department of Health to amend regulatory standards for food and utensil packaging to protect public health.
A recent test of 30 items by the commission all met the “Sanitation Standards for Food and Utensil Packaging,” but the results were still worrisome because the regulatory standards do not take into account Taiwanese cooking habits, said Wu Cheng-hsueh (吳政學), a section chief at the commission.
Of the 30 items, 22 used plastic packaging and the other eight used paper.
The plastic packagings did not contain lead or cadmium solutes and their potassium permanganate levels of 1.1mg per liter to 7.9mg per liter were well within the legal limit of 10mg per liter, the commission said.
Neither were there traces of plasticizers, including Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP), diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP), diisononyl phthalate (DINP), butylbenzyl phthalate (BBP) and di-octyl phthalate (DOP) — in the packaging, it said.
The six chemicals were targeted because of the plasticizer scare that rattled the nation in May.
Current standards for plastic packaging stipulate that the packaging should not emit solutions containing lead or cadmium when cooked for 30 minutes at 95oC, nor plasticizers such as DEHP or DBP when cooked for an hour at 25oC.
The eight paper packaging products did not contain traces of optical brightening agents (OBA) or formaldehyde, the commission added.
Paper packaging regulations state that there should be no traces of OBA when the product is placed in liquid at or more than 95oC for more than 30 minutes.
However, the commission expressed concern over the fact that Taiwanese dishes are usually cooked over a matter of hours, which may result in elevated levels of the chemicals.
“We have already recommended that the Department of Health consider amending sanitation standards to take into account Taiwanese cooking habits,” Wu said.
The commission said it also found that the tags that come with tea bags or spice pouches are usually not labeled as part of the packaging. A casual test of the tags according to the standards of the Sanitation Standards for Food and Utensil Packaging yielded 11.7 parts per million (parts per million) of potassium permanganate, exceeding the legal amount.
Users of tea bags and coffee bags should avoid dropping or placing the tags in the water, the commission said.
The plastic packaging found in 22 of the 30 samples is a departure from the common expectation that spice pouches are wrapped in cloth or paper bags, the commission said, adding that it had recommended the department consider regulating material specification for foodstuff packaging being steeped or cooked at high temperatures.
Translated by Jake Chung, Staff writer
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