Gov't orders withdrawal of DEHP-tainted food worldwide

The China Post May 26, 2011  -Premier Wu Den-yih yesterday called on officials to hold manufacturers of plasticizer-tainted beverages and foodstuffs liable and pull all such products from both domestic and international markets. The Department of Health (DOH) has lost no time reporting the issue to the World Health Organization (WHO) to alert other countries of the existence of such products.The harm done to people by plasticizer-tainted beverages and foodstuffs cannot be undone by a simple apology, Wu was quoted as saying. Only when we get to the root of the issue and hold the manufacturers liable is social justice upheld, he said, calling for a ban on the use of poisonous plasticizer Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, commonly abbreviated as DEHP, in the manufacturing of food additives. Wu however, cautioned officials against incriminating the entire food industry indiscriminately, saying officials should set their crosshairs only on those who have used the plasticizer in their food products and beverages. Commenting on the sale of such products overseas, Wu said withdrawing such imports from overseas is Taiwan's obligation.Young Energy Source Co. Ltd., maker of Taiwan Yes products, apologized to the public on May 24 for its negligence.

WHO, Mainland China Alerted  Kang Jan-jou, director general of the DOH's Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said yesterday the government had reported the issue to the WHO on May 24, in the hopes of minimizing the possible harm done to people in other countries, after ordering that beverages and foodstuffs laced with the plasticizer-tainted food additive be removed from store shelves nationwide, that consumers be refunded and that all such unsold beverages and foodstuffs be impounded and destroyed.According to Tsai Shu-cheng, another FDA official, the FDA also has notified mainland Chinese food safety departments about the issue.During questioning, Lai Chun-chieh, manager of the Yu Shen Company (?R??), which has been selling DEHP to food and beverage manufacturers for a long time, owned up that his company had branch offices and factories in mainland China producing such food additives, Tsai said.

The Implicated Manufacturers  In the meantime, local health authorities in several counties and cities suspect that the products of several big-name manufacturers are also tainted. These manufacturers include the Tainan-based Taiwan Bifido Foods Inc. (?x?W????), a producer of health foods; S.S.J. (?±????), a Taichung-based company known for its dried melon seeds and other snacks; Chang Gung Biotechnology Corporation Ltd. (???°??§?), a maker of health foods; and Presotea (?A¯??D), which operates a tea house chain. According to Tsai, these manufacturers have bought raw materials from downstream distributors supplied by Yu Shen Company. All products containing food additives produced by Yu Shen, whether or not such additives contain DEHP, must be removed from store shelves immediately, Tsai stressed, adding that the DOH was trying to track down all such additives. S.S.J. has admitted to buying problematic food additives and reselling them to Vietnam, but denied using it in the manufacturing of products marketed under its brand. In another development, the DOH yesterday announced that several of the products marketed by King Car Group under the Nature House brand were found to be made from raw materials containing an illegal additive. The company is withdrawing these products from the market, promising consumers a refund.