Beverage shops selling Taiwan’s trademark tea drinks have continued to post strong sales in Singapore even though many of the ingredients used in the drinks have been engulfed in the contamination scare that erupted in Taiwan last month.
Tea beverage sales in Taiwan have suffered from the snowballing food safety scare sparked by the discovery of industrial chemicals such as di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, or DEHP, in a wide array of foods, beverages and dietary supplements, but the situation in Singapore is very different.
Long lines continue to build up outside tea houses selling Taiwanese tea drinks, such as bubble tea, a Taiwanese beverage made from different flavors of tea, milk and tapioca balls, known as “pearls.”
The KOI Cafe Group, owned by the same family that operates Taiwan’s “50 Lan” tea store chain, has been operating tea houses in Singapore for three years, with eight shops at present.
KOI Cafe chief executive Avon Ma said yesterday that sales were affected to some extent when the DEHP-contamination scare came to light in Taiwan.
“Customers have returned in droves since we put those products back on store shelves after they passed safety examinations by Singapore’s Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority [AVA],” she added.
The company now displays the latest AVA certification document at all eight of its retail stores.
Huang Hsiao-chien (黃筱倩), the chief executive in Singapore of another noted Taiwanese tea store chain, Reach Tea & Cafe, which just began operations in the Southeast Asian city state, said she was not at all worried by Taiwan’s food safety scare.
Producing a large pile of AVA certificates vouching for the safety of the chain’s products, Huang said that whenever consumers question the safety of the chain’s beverages, sales clerks point to the certificates to set their minds at ease.
Market surveys show that most Singaporean consumers are aware of the DEHP contamination scare in Taiwan.
However, many said their love for Taiwanese tea drinks would not be affected by the incident because they were confident in the Singaporean government’s ability to prevent foods and beverages tainted by harmful substances from reaching store shelves.
Citing the latest publication from the Singaporean health authority, meanwhile, Singaporean media yesterday reported that Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority has ordered a recall of two Taiwan-made dietary supplements after they tested positive for DEHP.
The two products are Naturext Immune+ Probiotic 50B and Brand’s Alpha Tank Chewable Multi Vitamins and Minerals, according to Singaporean media reports, adding that although the DEHP levels discovered in the items do not pose a health risk, the Singaporean health authority ordered their recall as a preventive measure.
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