Clipping Board » Illness Enters through Mouth ─ The information that has been made public is often just the tip of the iceberg...
July 7, 2009, China Times [Central News Agency]
(Central News Agency reporter Chen Qingfang, Taipei, 7th) Taipei County today released a report on the inspection of fast-food cooking oils, revealing that McDonald's and Domino's frying oils contained heavy metal arsenic, with levels exceeding the safety limit by up to nine times. Even the Department of Health was shocked, suspecting contamination in the oil source. A toxicology specialist believes McDonald's should shut down all its stores.
The Legal Affairs Bureau of the Taipei County Government commissioned Taiwan-U.S. Testing Technology to conduct a second round of inspections on fast-food oils and bread. The results showed that McDonald's Tucheng Jincheng branch had arsenic levels of 0.923 ppm, McDonald's Tucheng Central branch had 1.038 ppm, and Domino's Yonghe Zhongzheng branch had 1.105 ppm.
Xu Jingxin, a senior technical specialist at the Food Hygiene Division of the Department of Health, Executive Yuan, pointed out that the "Edible Oil Hygiene Standards" stipulate safety limits for heavy metals such as arsenic, copper, mercury, and lead at no more than 0.1 ppm, 0.4 ppm, 0.05 ppm, and 0.1 ppm, respectively. The arsenic levels found in some fast-food chains this time were "simply too high!"
Xu Jingxin suspects the frying oil may have been contaminated but does not rule out the possibility of arsenic leaching into the oil from the fryer, fried food, or synthetic magnesium silicate filter powder. Wu Jiacheng, a professor in the Chemistry Department at National Taiwan Normal University and publisher of consumer rights reports, believes inferior filter powder could also be the culprit under high temperatures.
The Department of Health has instructed the Taipei County Health Bureau to conduct on-site inspections of the frying oil and send samples to certified laboratories for retesting. If contamination is confirmed, the oil suppliers will be fined between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000 under the "Food Hygiene Management Act."
Lin Jieliang, director of the Toxicology Department at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, explained that arsenic can be divided into inorganic and organic forms. Inorganic arsenic, commonly known as "arsenic trioxide," is a Group 1 human carcinogen, while organic arsenic is a harmless substance commonly found in seafood like shrimp and crab. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) can distinguish between the two.
Taiwan-U.S. Testing Technology personnel stated that the test results this time all reflected inorganic arsenic levels. Lin Jieliang believes that if fast-food chains' frying oils contain severely excessive inorganic arsenic, "it is absolutely unacceptable, and the stores should be shut down."
Additionally, Chen Kunrong, director of the Taipei County Legal Affairs Bureau, noted that all tested oils contained acrylamide. Lin Jieliang pointed out that acrylamide is a confirmed carcinogen in animals and a probable carcinogen in humans, calling for national standards to be established. The Food Hygiene Division of the Department of Health stated that this would be taken into consideration. 980707
Source: http:/ / news. chinatimes. com/ 2……12009070701865,00,focus. html
Fast Food Fry Oil Arsenic Severely Exceeds Limit, Health Dept Suspects Source Contamination
(Central News Agency reporter Chen Qingfang, Taipei, 7th) Taipei County today released a report on the inspection of fast-food cooking oils, revealing that McDonald's and Domino's frying oils contained heavy metal arsenic, with levels exceeding the safety limit by up to nine times. Even the Department of Health was shocked, suspecting contamination in the oil source. A toxicology specialist believes McDonald's should shut down all its stores.
The Legal Affairs Bureau of the Taipei County Government commissioned Taiwan-U.S. Testing Technology to conduct a second round of inspections on fast-food oils and bread. The results showed that McDonald's Tucheng Jincheng branch had arsenic levels of 0.923 ppm, McDonald's Tucheng Central branch had 1.038 ppm, and Domino's Yonghe Zhongzheng branch had 1.105 ppm.
Xu Jingxin, a senior technical specialist at the Food Hygiene Division of the Department of Health, Executive Yuan, pointed out that the "Edible Oil Hygiene Standards" stipulate safety limits for heavy metals such as arsenic, copper, mercury, and lead at no more than 0.1 ppm, 0.4 ppm, 0.05 ppm, and 0.1 ppm, respectively. The arsenic levels found in some fast-food chains this time were "simply too high!"
Xu Jingxin suspects the frying oil may have been contaminated but does not rule out the possibility of arsenic leaching into the oil from the fryer, fried food, or synthetic magnesium silicate filter powder. Wu Jiacheng, a professor in the Chemistry Department at National Taiwan Normal University and publisher of consumer rights reports, believes inferior filter powder could also be the culprit under high temperatures.
The Department of Health has instructed the Taipei County Health Bureau to conduct on-site inspections of the frying oil and send samples to certified laboratories for retesting. If contamination is confirmed, the oil suppliers will be fined between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000 under the "Food Hygiene Management Act."
Lin Jieliang, director of the Toxicology Department at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, explained that arsenic can be divided into inorganic and organic forms. Inorganic arsenic, commonly known as "arsenic trioxide," is a Group 1 human carcinogen, while organic arsenic is a harmless substance commonly found in seafood like shrimp and crab. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) can distinguish between the two.
Taiwan-U.S. Testing Technology personnel stated that the test results this time all reflected inorganic arsenic levels. Lin Jieliang believes that if fast-food chains' frying oils contain severely excessive inorganic arsenic, "it is absolutely unacceptable, and the stores should be shut down."
Additionally, Chen Kunrong, director of the Taipei County Legal Affairs Bureau, noted that all tested oils contained acrylamide. Lin Jieliang pointed out that acrylamide is a confirmed carcinogen in animals and a probable carcinogen in humans, calling for national standards to be established. The Food Hygiene Division of the Department of Health stated that this would be taken into consideration. 980707
Source: http:/ / news. chinatimes. com/ 2……12009070701865,00,focus. html