Twenty-three food-related products have failed border inspections, including hamburger boxes for fast food restaurant TKK Fried Chicken (頂呱呱) that had evaporation residue levels 36.7 times the maximum allowable limit, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday.
The FDA yesterday released its weekly border inspection results, among them a 57.6kg shipment of boxes for TKK Fried Chicken imported from China.
Evaporation residue levels in dissolution tests — which simulate the effect of food on the boxes — using water at 95°C for 30 minutes, 4 percent acetic acid at 95°C for 30 minutes and ethanol at 60°C for 30 minutes resulted in 56 parts per million (ppm), 1,132ppm and 73ppm of paper residue respectively, FDA data showed.
Photo courtesy of the Food and Drug Administration via CNA
The Sanitation Standards for Food Utensils, Containers and Packages (食品器具容器包裝衛生標準) stipulates a 30ppm maximum allowable limit in all three tests for residue of polyethylene film in paper containers that are to have direct exposure to food.
FDA Deputy Director-General Lin Chin-fu (林金富) said that the dissolution tests simulate the conditions of containers holding hot food products that are acidic, oily, high in fats or have alcohol content.
Paper pulp and chemicals are used to make paper food containers, so if the dissolution tests show high residue levels, people face the risk of consuming the impurities, Lin said.
The 1,132ppm residue level in the acetic acid test was relatively high, one of the highest he has ever seen, he said, adding that the boxes have been stopped at the border and would not enter the domestic market.
The boxes would be returned to the exporter or destroyed in accordance with the law, he said.
A batch of High Spicy Chili Powder from China was found to contain 17 parts per billion of Sudan III, an industrial dye banned in food products in Taiwan, the FDA said.
The agency earlier this year tightened regulations on imports of chili powder — increasing inspection frequency to batch-by-batch and destroying all food products found to contain Sudan reds — meaning that the 4,995kg of High Spicy Chili Powder would be destroyed, Lin said.
Batch-by-batch inspections of imported chili powder have been extended until the end of the year, he said, adding that and even if an importer passes inspections, testing frequency would not be eased as has been done previously, he said.
Other items that failed inspections included melamine bowls, fresh kiwifruit, zanthoxylum and baked walnuts from China; fresh mandarins, kiwifruit, firefly squid, squid and marbled rockfish from Japan; disposable forks, frozen durian, mango pudding and asparagus from Vietnam; and frozen sticky rice and seasoning from Thailand.
Other items included fresh truffles from Croatia, wooden spatulas from South Korea, corn chips from the Philippines, fresh apples from the US, chocolate-flavored drink powder from Indonesia and coarse sea salt from Guerande, France.
Separately, norovirus was identified as the likely cause of a food poisoning outbreak at two Wowprime Corp (王品集團) restaurants, CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) said.
Specimens collected from the people affected tested positive for norovirus, but the main cause would be confirmed after comprehensive test reports return, Tseng said.
On Friday last week, suspected food poisoning was reported at a Truewow (初瓦) Korean restaurant and a Xiang La Spicy Hotpot (嚮辣和牛麻辣鍋), which are next to each other in the Taipei MRT Ximen mall.
The Taipei Department of Health said hospitals reported that 32 people who ate at Truewow and 50 who ate at Xiang La had symptoms including vomiting and diarrhea as of 8pm on Sunday.
People with symptoms after eating at the two restaurants last week between Tuesday and Friday can seek medical attention at a “food safety special clinic” set up in Taipei City Hospital’s Renai and Chung Hsin branches until Monday next week, the department said.
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