Clipping Board » Illness Enters through Mouth ─ The information that has been made public is often just the tip of the iceberg...
Reported by Chen Deyu, He Haoyi
The level of plasticizers in the bodies of Taiwanese people is five to seven times higher than in advanced European and American countries. Many attribute this to the recent scandal of unscrupulous clouding agents, where plasticizers were used as food additives and unknowingly consumed by the public. However, experts also point out that Taiwan, as a petrochemical kingdom, is flooded with plastic products everywhere—from supermarkets and convenience stores to small stalls. Misuse and accidental ingestion by consumers allow plasticizers to enter the human body through plastic food packaging.
Yet, the long-standing issue of misuse and abuse of plastic food packaging has been consistently overlooked by the government, with regulations in place but no enforcement. Moreover, no one can prove how many toxins are released from the plastic bags wrapping sandwiches or holding hot soup. It’s only a matter of time before a second wave of the plasticizer crisis erupts.
At lunchtime, office workers return to their buildings with bags of hot noodles bought from street corners, sharing them with colleagues. Outside elementary schools, parents carry lunchboxes packed in plastic containers for their children. At a street-side stall, a crowd gathers, each holding a plastic bowl filled with steaming noodles. In convenience stores, clerks heat plastic containers of dumplings in microwaves.
This is the most common scene in Taiwanese society—plastic bags, bowls, cups, and utensils have long been part of our food culture. In reality, most of these plastic products have never been tested or certified as safe for heating or food contact.
Europe’s packaging standards are far stricter than Taiwan’s. ScinoPharm is one of the few Taiwanese pharmaceutical companies capable of exporting active pharmaceutical ingredients to Europe. Deputy General Manager Shi Younan shared their experience dealing with German authorities.
The German authorities not only required them to provide test reports for the drug contents but also demanded explanations for the packaging. "We told the Germans the packaging was pure," Shi said. "They asked, ‘How can you prove the packaging is pure?’"
As a result, ScinoPharm spent a significant sum conducting over 20 to 30 tests to prove the packaging’s purity and submitted the reports to German authorities, who then published them online for all of Europe to review.
Different Codes, Different Heat Resistance
No matter how safe food hygiene controls are, if the packaging is problematic, contamination will occur, and consumers eating tainted food will still be poisoned. However, the Taiwanese government has long been absent from this critical oversight role.
Source: http:/ / news. chinatimes. com/ c……content/ 170201/ 00061010. html
Did You Eat Plastic Today? Toxic Storm over Plastic-Packaged Foods
The level of plasticizers in the bodies of Taiwanese people is five to seven times higher than in advanced European and American countries. Many attribute this to the recent scandal of unscrupulous clouding agents, where plasticizers were used as food additives and unknowingly consumed by the public. However, experts also point out that Taiwan, as a petrochemical kingdom, is flooded with plastic products everywhere—from supermarkets and convenience stores to small stalls. Misuse and accidental ingestion by consumers allow plasticizers to enter the human body through plastic food packaging.
Yet, the long-standing issue of misuse and abuse of plastic food packaging has been consistently overlooked by the government, with regulations in place but no enforcement. Moreover, no one can prove how many toxins are released from the plastic bags wrapping sandwiches or holding hot soup. It’s only a matter of time before a second wave of the plasticizer crisis erupts.
At lunchtime, office workers return to their buildings with bags of hot noodles bought from street corners, sharing them with colleagues. Outside elementary schools, parents carry lunchboxes packed in plastic containers for their children. At a street-side stall, a crowd gathers, each holding a plastic bowl filled with steaming noodles. In convenience stores, clerks heat plastic containers of dumplings in microwaves.
This is the most common scene in Taiwanese society—plastic bags, bowls, cups, and utensils have long been part of our food culture. In reality, most of these plastic products have never been tested or certified as safe for heating or food contact.
Europe’s packaging standards are far stricter than Taiwan’s. ScinoPharm is one of the few Taiwanese pharmaceutical companies capable of exporting active pharmaceutical ingredients to Europe. Deputy General Manager Shi Younan shared their experience dealing with German authorities.
The German authorities not only required them to provide test reports for the drug contents but also demanded explanations for the packaging. "We told the Germans the packaging was pure," Shi said. "They asked, ‘How can you prove the packaging is pure?’"
As a result, ScinoPharm spent a significant sum conducting over 20 to 30 tests to prove the packaging’s purity and submitted the reports to German authorities, who then published them online for all of Europe to review.
Different Codes, Different Heat Resistance
No matter how safe food hygiene controls are, if the packaging is problematic, contamination will occur, and consumers eating tainted food will still be poisoned. However, the Taiwanese government has long been absent from this critical oversight role.
Source: http:/ / news. chinatimes. com/ c……content/ 170201/ 00061010. html