twitchyzero
05-29-2011, 11:06 AM
OTTAWA — Food and drink ingredients from Taiwan tainted with a toxic chemical may have found their way into Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned Sunday as a local food-safety scandal goes global.
Taiwanese authorities have already found hundreds of products containing the potentially cancer-causing plasticizer DEHP sold in Taiwan and on the Chinese mainland, including tea ingredients exported to Britain. And now food inspectors in Canada are working overtime to find out if tainted products or ingredients were also shipped to Canada. The investigation could lead to a flood of recalls here.
DEHP, one of six phthalates and part of a family of chemicals known to cause reproductive harm and considered a possible human carcinogen, is banned in children’s toys in Canada and elsewhere.
It is strictly prohibited to use the plasticizer in food and beverages, but Taiwan authorities suspect at least one unscrupulous food manufacturer added the banned industrial plasticizer to an emulsifier as a cheap substitute for the more expensive palm oil.
The resulting product, called cloudy agent, which stabilizes emulsions, is often found in fruit jelly, yogurt mix powder, juices, sports drinks and other beverages.
The revelation is dominating news headlines in Taiwan and comes a few years after China’s food scandal involving melamine-tainted dairy products.
So far, CFIA has identified certain flavours of the juice brands Possmei and Trojan as possibly contaminated with the chemical, declared toxic over a decade ago under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.
The Kuo Hua Trading Company Ltd. distributed the juice products to retail, hotel and institutional establishments in British Columbia and Ontario, the agency says.
Currently, the agency considers these items as part of Class 3 recall — meaning the products are not considered a safety risk but the juices don’t comply with Canada’s food regulations.
This initial Canadian recall comes after Taiwan authorities ordered last week a massive recall of six categories of high-risk beverage and food products suspected of being tainted with DEHP, or di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate.
They include fruit juices, sports drinks, teas, fruit jams and preserves, food powders, and food or food supplement tablets.
This was on the headlines in Taiwan the last couple of days. I didn't think there would be tainted shit from Taiwanese import :(
This DEHP chemical could possibly be served in drinks of local bubble tea businesses
http://www.vancouversun.com/Canadian+Food+Inspection+Agency+tracking+Taiwan+im ports+tainted+with/4859083/story.html
Taiwanese authorities have already found hundreds of products containing the potentially cancer-causing plasticizer DEHP sold in Taiwan and on the Chinese mainland, including tea ingredients exported to Britain. And now food inspectors in Canada are working overtime to find out if tainted products or ingredients were also shipped to Canada. The investigation could lead to a flood of recalls here.
DEHP, one of six phthalates and part of a family of chemicals known to cause reproductive harm and considered a possible human carcinogen, is banned in children’s toys in Canada and elsewhere.
It is strictly prohibited to use the plasticizer in food and beverages, but Taiwan authorities suspect at least one unscrupulous food manufacturer added the banned industrial plasticizer to an emulsifier as a cheap substitute for the more expensive palm oil.
The resulting product, called cloudy agent, which stabilizes emulsions, is often found in fruit jelly, yogurt mix powder, juices, sports drinks and other beverages.
The revelation is dominating news headlines in Taiwan and comes a few years after China’s food scandal involving melamine-tainted dairy products.
So far, CFIA has identified certain flavours of the juice brands Possmei and Trojan as possibly contaminated with the chemical, declared toxic over a decade ago under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.
The Kuo Hua Trading Company Ltd. distributed the juice products to retail, hotel and institutional establishments in British Columbia and Ontario, the agency says.
Currently, the agency considers these items as part of Class 3 recall — meaning the products are not considered a safety risk but the juices don’t comply with Canada’s food regulations.
This initial Canadian recall comes after Taiwan authorities ordered last week a massive recall of six categories of high-risk beverage and food products suspected of being tainted with DEHP, or di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate.
They include fruit juices, sports drinks, teas, fruit jams and preserves, food powders, and food or food supplement tablets.
This was on the headlines in Taiwan the last couple of days. I didn't think there would be tainted shit from Taiwanese import :(
This DEHP chemical could possibly be served in drinks of local bubble tea businesses
http://www.vancouversun.com/Canadian+Food+Inspection+Agency+tracking+Taiwan+im ports+tainted+with/4859083/story.html