Taiwan President wants additive makers punished

Fri, May 27, 2011 The China Post  President Ma Ying-jeou yesterday called on the Executive Yuan's Department of Health (DOH) to trace the food additive laced with a carcinogenic plasticizer to its origin, in order to ensure food safety.The entire food industry is likely to be engulfed in a worsening carcinogenic-additive crisis as a growing number of products have been found to contain Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, a plasticizer commonly abbreviated as DEHP. The additive has set off panic and tainted the reputation of made-in-Taiwan products, Presidential Office spokesman Fanchiang Tai-chi quoted Ma as saying yesterday. According to the spokesman, the president told Premier Wu Den-yih to instruct the Department of Health to get to the root of the matter and punish the culprits in accordance with the country's laws. To protect consumers and innocent manufacturers, the release of information about such products must be timely and transparent, Fanchiang added.

Food Industry in Crisis  The crisis has caught up with 168 food industry businesses over the last few days, forcing them to discard about 1 million units of their products and feeding fears that their business reputation may become tarnished. Even state-run enterprises such as Taiwan Sugar Corporation and the Taiyen Co. Inc. have to withdraw products made with plasticizers, including some best-sellers, and submit them for testing to SGS, a professional testing company. Already, Taiwan Sugar's Oligo Lactic Acidic Bacteria, a best-selling item, was found to be safe. Uni-President and Weichuan, two giants in the food industry, are said to be checking other products made with raw materials not sourced from Yu Shen Company, a long-time producer of the additive and the suspected source for the contamination. Uni-President, Taiwan maker of sports drink Pocari Sweat, says it does not use much plasticizer in its products. Brand's, maker of health food the Brand's Chicken Essence, yesterday announced the immediate withdrawal of a calcium tablet and a vitamin tablet, while promising consumers a refund. The two products, made by a Taiwan manufacturer for Brand's and marketed under the Brand's label, have been found to be laced with DEHP. Prince Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd,the manufacturer, has admitted to sourcing materials from Yu Shen while bracing for possible lawsuits against it by Brand's. Possmei, the company known for its export of the Bubble Tea, a version of the Taiwan-invented tapioca tea, also announced yesterday the withdrawal of eight products from both the domestic and international markets. Tapioca does not contain plasticizer and it is safe. According to Possmei, some of the eight products were made from materials sourced from other producers of food products, such as fruits juices from the Dahu Strawberry Farm in Taipei, and another food company in Taichung.

Product Withdrawals   According to Tsai Shu-cheng, an official with the DOH's Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 49 of 168 businesses that have purchased DEHP-tainted food additives from Yu Shen Company have confirmed use of the additive. All products containing the tainted additive must be removed from store shelves, and producers must submit such products to authorities for testing and let the public know what is happening, Tsai said yesterday. The supply chain between producers of such additives and their end users is quite complicated, Tsai pointed out, adding the government is hoping it can account for all such additives within this week. Of the businesses affected by the crisis, some big-name manufacturers have complied with government requirements by withdrawing their products and giving consumers a refund. Meanwhile, some beverages and foodstuffs have been cleared and returned to normal retail channels. These products include the Hey song FIN series, the 600 ml, 975 ml, and 1.5 L Super Supau and the 580 ml Pocari Sweat. Certified as safe by SGS, these products have been restored to major convenience store chains. Yesterday, convenience stores were refusing to retail sports beverages, and even fruit juices, not certified by SGS. Stocks of food industry businesses and convenience store chains took a beating on the stock exchange yesterday, but managed to close flat after a rally.