Clipping Board » Illness Enters through Mouth ─ The information that has been made public is often just the tip of the iceberg...
February 25, 2013 [Taipei, Taiwan Awakening News reporter Jiang Kaijun reports]
People who love eating plums should be careful—consuming too much may harm their health! The Consumers' Foundation tested 24 commercially available plum products and found that nearly 40% contained excessive artificial additives, with some exceeding the standard by more than three times. Overconsumption could potentially damage the liver, kidneys, and urinary system. Among these, bulk plum products had the most severe cases of excessive additives, with over half failing to meet standards. Chen Zhiyi, chairman of the Consumers' Foundation, advised consumers to choose clearly labeled and certified products for safety but still cautioned against eating too much at once.
The Consumers' Foundation inspected 24 plum products in Taiwan, including seedless plums, tea plums, preserved plums, ice plums, Shaoxing plums, and tangerine peel plums. Among them, 12 were bulk plum products, with six found to contain excessive amounts of saccharin and sodium cyclamate, and one with excessive sodium cyclamate alone. Even seemingly safer packaged plum products had issues—two out of 12 tested exceeded the limits, bringing the overall failure rate to 37.5%.
Chen Zhiyi noted that most non-compliant products were bulk items, indicating a serious problem with excessive artificial flavoring additives in bulk plum products. He urged manufacturers not to prioritize cost-cutting by replacing sugar with additives that could harm consumers' health.
Ling Yongjian, a member of the Consumers' Foundation’s inspection committee and a professor at Tsinghua University’s Department of Chemistry, pointed out that past animal studies have shown excessive saccharin intake may lead to bladder cancer. While it has not yet been confirmed whether the same risk applies to humans, Taiwan’s Department of Health stipulates that plum products should contain no more than 2 grams of saccharin per kilogram. Some products in this inspection exceeded the limit by more than three times.
Ling further explained that sodium cyclamate, also known as cyclamic acid, can burden the kidneys if consumed excessively. Nine products in this inspection exceeded the standard for this additive.
The Consumers' Foundation stated that manufacturers violating regulations could face fines ranging from NT$30,000 to NT$150,000 under the Food Administration Act. Repeat offenders within a year may have their business licenses revoked.
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ % E6……2% B7% E8% BA% AB- 095200926. html;_ylt=AgKdRXl37px2gbrYb4PzvXGVBdF_;_ylu=X3oDMTQ4ZGRucjNtBG1pdANkYXkgYW5kIG5pZ2h0IG5ld3MgMSBGUARwa2cDZDM5YzM5NjYtNTBkMS0zMmJhLThjNjUtODU0ZGFlODU5OGVkBHBvcwM0BHNlYwNNZWRpYVNlY3Rpb25MaXN0BHZlcgNkZjcwZThhMC03ZjMxLTExZTItOGVlZC04OTNlNWZkZWJhY2Q-;_ylg=X3oDMTF2dGdnZWI3BGludGwDdHcEbGFuZwN6aC1oYW50LXR3BHBzdGFpZAMEcHN0Y2F0A.aWsOiBnummlumggQRwdANzZWN0aW9ucw--;_ylv=3
Excessive Additives in Plum Products May Harm Health
People who love eating plums should be careful—consuming too much may harm their health! The Consumers' Foundation tested 24 commercially available plum products and found that nearly 40% contained excessive artificial additives, with some exceeding the standard by more than three times. Overconsumption could potentially damage the liver, kidneys, and urinary system. Among these, bulk plum products had the most severe cases of excessive additives, with over half failing to meet standards. Chen Zhiyi, chairman of the Consumers' Foundation, advised consumers to choose clearly labeled and certified products for safety but still cautioned against eating too much at once.
The Consumers' Foundation inspected 24 plum products in Taiwan, including seedless plums, tea plums, preserved plums, ice plums, Shaoxing plums, and tangerine peel plums. Among them, 12 were bulk plum products, with six found to contain excessive amounts of saccharin and sodium cyclamate, and one with excessive sodium cyclamate alone. Even seemingly safer packaged plum products had issues—two out of 12 tested exceeded the limits, bringing the overall failure rate to 37.5%.
Chen Zhiyi noted that most non-compliant products were bulk items, indicating a serious problem with excessive artificial flavoring additives in bulk plum products. He urged manufacturers not to prioritize cost-cutting by replacing sugar with additives that could harm consumers' health.
Ling Yongjian, a member of the Consumers' Foundation’s inspection committee and a professor at Tsinghua University’s Department of Chemistry, pointed out that past animal studies have shown excessive saccharin intake may lead to bladder cancer. While it has not yet been confirmed whether the same risk applies to humans, Taiwan’s Department of Health stipulates that plum products should contain no more than 2 grams of saccharin per kilogram. Some products in this inspection exceeded the limit by more than three times.
Ling further explained that sodium cyclamate, also known as cyclamic acid, can burden the kidneys if consumed excessively. Nine products in this inspection exceeded the standard for this additive.
The Consumers' Foundation stated that manufacturers violating regulations could face fines ranging from NT$30,000 to NT$150,000 under the Food Administration Act. Repeat offenders within a year may have their business licenses revoked.
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ % E6……2% B7% E8% BA% AB- 095200926. html;_ylt=AgKdRXl37px2gbrYb4PzvXGVBdF_;_ylu=X3oDMTQ4ZGRucjNtBG1pdANkYXkgYW5kIG5pZ2h0IG5ld3MgMSBGUARwa2cDZDM5YzM5NjYtNTBkMS0zMmJhLThjNjUtODU0ZGFlODU5OGVkBHBvcwM0BHNlYwNNZWRpYVNlY3Rpb25MaXN0BHZlcgNkZjcwZThhMC03ZjMxLTExZTItOGVlZC04OTNlNWZkZWJhY2Q-;_ylg=X3oDMTF2dGdnZWI3BGludGwDdHcEbGFuZwN6aC1oYW50LXR3BHBzdGFpZAMEcHN0Y2F0A.aWsOiBnummlumggQRwdANzZWN0aW9ucw--;_ylv=3