As of Tuesday, a total of 24 batches of imported chili powder tainted with Sudan red dye — an industrial additive banned in foods — had been confirmed, and 547,238.2kg of the powders and food products that used them had been sealed or removed from shelves, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday.
The chili powders that failed inspections so far include 10 batches imported by Bao Hsin Enterprises Co (保欣企業) in New Taipei City from Sanhe Drug Co (三禾藥業) in China’s Henan Province.
Eleven batches were imported by Gin Zhan International Co (津棧國際貿易) in Kaohsiung and its affiliates, including one batch by Chia Guang International Co (佳廣國際貿易) and one by Kwang Yuan Co (廣元), which bought them from China’s Kavin Shipping Ltd, Eastrong International Co and Long Hai Tong Ji Foods Co (龍海同記食品).
Photo courtesy of the Taitung County Public Health Bureau
One batch was imported by Great Agar Enterprise Co (葛瑞特洋菜企業) in Tainan, which purchased the chili powder from China’s Zhecheng County Hengfeng (柘城縣恒豐食品) food company.
Two batches were imported by Chan Gu Products Co (長谷農產) in Yunlin County, which also sourced the chili powder from Hengfeng food company as well as Liability Limited Pacific Co in Vietnam.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare has promised to complete inspections and testings of tainted products by the end of the month, and work by the agency and local health departments are progressing on schedule, FDA Deputy Director-General Lin Chin-fu (林金富) said.
Moreover, members of the public are encouraged to report suspected food items, such as those that have chili powder with unnatural colors, he said.
The FDA will continue to accept reports and tip-offs after this month, he said.
Meanwhile, Wu Ying-cheng (吳映澄), a dietitian, wrote on her Facebook page that while many people are surprised that Sudan red tainted chili powder was found in shacha sauce, pepper powder, curry powder and other spices, the dyes have also been found in palm oil in other countries.
Citing data from FDA border inspections from 2015 to this year, Wu said that 53 food items were found to contain Sudan red, including rose petals, chili powder and chili oil, but not yet in palm oil.
Asked about Wu’s comment, Lin on Monday said that from 2021 to Sunday, Taiwan had only imported 13,051kg of palm oil, all of which have passed their expiration date by now.
As such, none are being sold at retailers now, but the agency will start batch-by-batch inspections of imported red palm oil and test them for Sudan red, Lin said.
Additional reporting by CNA
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
Police have issued warnings against traveling to Cambodia or Thailand when others have paid for the travel fare in light of increasing cases of teenagers, middle-aged and elderly people being tricked into traveling to these countries and then being held for ransom. Recounting their ordeal, one victim on Monday said she was asked by a friend to visit Thailand and help set up a bank account there, for which they would be paid NT$70,000 to NT$100,000 (US$2,136 to US$3,051). The victim said she had not found it strange that her friend was not coming along on the trip, adding that when she
INFRASTRUCTURE: Work on the second segment, from Kaohsiung to Pingtung, is expected to begin in 2028 and be completed by 2039, the railway bureau said Planned high-speed rail (HSR) extensions would blanket Taiwan proper in four 90-minute commute blocs to facilitate regional economic and livelihood integration, Railway Bureau Deputy Director-General Yang Cheng-chun (楊正君) said in an interview published yesterday. A project to extend the high-speed rail from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝) is the first part of the bureau’s greater plan to expand rail coverage, he told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). The bureau’s long-term plan is to build a loop to circle Taiwan proper that would consist of four sections running from Taipei to Hualien, Hualien to
RSS