Mandatory checks for plasticizers expand to pharmaceuticals

 2011/06/02 Taipei, June 2 (CNA) The Department of Health has ordered the local pharmaceutical industry to check its raw materials for toxic chemicals within three days as part of efforts to calm a worsening food scare. The order came one day after products from Standard Chemical and Pharmaceutical Co. and China Chemical and Pharmaceutical Co. were found to have contained toxic plasticizers. The health department decided to ask more than 160 pharmaceutical companies in Taiwan via the Taiwan Pharmaceutical Manufacuturer's Association to find out if their raw materials include clouding agents from Yu Shen Chemical Co. and Pin Han Perfumery Co., the department's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director-General Kang Jaw-jou said Thursday. The two raw material suppliers were found in the last two weeks to have used a chemical plasticizer, instead of palm oil, to make a clouding agent used in many food products, including sports drinks, jams, and dietary supplements.