Clipping Board » Illness Enters through Mouth ─ The information that has been made public is often just the tip of the iceberg...
China Times Electronic News / Huang Tianru / Taipei Report - May 14, 2013
Tapioca pearls and fish cakes made from toxic starch are circulating nationwide! The Department of Health, in collaboration with prosecutors, discovered that two suppliers—Xieqi in Tainan and Yihe in New Taipei City—had illegally added industrial adhesive maleic acid to starch, which was then used to produce foods like tapioca pearls, flat rice noodles, and fish cakes that many people consume almost daily. Currently, 25 metric tons of raw materials and related products have been seized, but the amount already consumed by the public is incalculable.
Feng Runlan, Deputy Director of the Food and Drug Administration's Food Division under the Department of Health, stated that between March and April this year, the agency received reports alleging that some manufacturers were adding unapproved maleic acid to starch to enhance the chewy texture of food products. These products had already flooded the market in large quantities. The Department of Health promptly developed testing methods and began sampling commercial products.
Out of 74 samples of starch and related products tested, five were found to contain maleic acid. Tianyou Food’s oden fish cakes had the highest concentration at 496 ppm, followed by Changsheng Food’s frozen authentic fish cakes at 481 ppm, Rizheng Food’s boba tapioca pearls at 386 ppm, Lianfa Food’s Jiufen taro and sweet potato balls at 352 ppm, and Lianfa Food’s Meinong flat rice noodles at 46.4 ppm.
Lin Jieliang, Director of the Clinical Toxicology Department at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, stated that maleic acid is a toxic industrial raw material. Adding it to starch for human consumption turns it into "toxic starch." "It’s despicable to add such substances for profit, even in small amounts," he said.
Further upstream investigations revealed six major suppliers of toxic starch or final products, including Liuji Tapioca Pearls (small and pearl tapioca), Jianmei Food (thick and thin flat rice noodles), Shangweijia Food (Jiufen taro and sweet potato balls), Changsheng Food (oden fish cakes/Changsheng fish cakes), Yihe Starch (sweet potato starch), and Xieqi Starch (modified starch). The maleic acid content in their raw materials or products ranged from tens to hundreds of ppm, with Xieqi’s modified starch reaching an alarming 4,862 ppm.
However, Feng Runlan noted that based on current data collected by the Food and Drug Administration, maleic acid has low acute toxicity and does not pose reproductive, genetic, or carcinogenic risks to humans.
According to EU assessments, the tolerable daily intake (TDI) of maleic acid for adults is 0.5 mg per kilogram of body weight. For a 60 kg adult, this translates to 30 mg per day. Most of the detected products contained less than 800 ppm. Even consuming 30 grams of food made with toxic starch daily would remain within safe limits.
However, the public has raised concerns: a single bowl of taro balls or oden far exceeds 30 grams. If these products are made with toxic starch, would they still be safe?
Feng Runlan stated that health authorities will interview and conduct administrative investigations into the six major suppliers—Xieqi, Yihe, Changsheng, Shangweijia, Jianmei, and Liuji. If manufacturers knowingly used illegal modified starch, their raw materials and products will be removed from shelves and confiscated. They will also face fines ranging from NT$30,000 to NT$150,000 under the Food Sanitation Management Act.
Source: http:/ / n. yam. com/ chinatimes/ ……20130514/ 20130514474200. html
Nationwide Raid Seizes 25 Tons of Tainted Tapioca and Fish Cakes
Tapioca pearls and fish cakes made from toxic starch are circulating nationwide! The Department of Health, in collaboration with prosecutors, discovered that two suppliers—Xieqi in Tainan and Yihe in New Taipei City—had illegally added industrial adhesive maleic acid to starch, which was then used to produce foods like tapioca pearls, flat rice noodles, and fish cakes that many people consume almost daily. Currently, 25 metric tons of raw materials and related products have been seized, but the amount already consumed by the public is incalculable.
Feng Runlan, Deputy Director of the Food and Drug Administration's Food Division under the Department of Health, stated that between March and April this year, the agency received reports alleging that some manufacturers were adding unapproved maleic acid to starch to enhance the chewy texture of food products. These products had already flooded the market in large quantities. The Department of Health promptly developed testing methods and began sampling commercial products.
Out of 74 samples of starch and related products tested, five were found to contain maleic acid. Tianyou Food’s oden fish cakes had the highest concentration at 496 ppm, followed by Changsheng Food’s frozen authentic fish cakes at 481 ppm, Rizheng Food’s boba tapioca pearls at 386 ppm, Lianfa Food’s Jiufen taro and sweet potato balls at 352 ppm, and Lianfa Food’s Meinong flat rice noodles at 46.4 ppm.
Lin Jieliang, Director of the Clinical Toxicology Department at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, stated that maleic acid is a toxic industrial raw material. Adding it to starch for human consumption turns it into "toxic starch." "It’s despicable to add such substances for profit, even in small amounts," he said.
Further upstream investigations revealed six major suppliers of toxic starch or final products, including Liuji Tapioca Pearls (small and pearl tapioca), Jianmei Food (thick and thin flat rice noodles), Shangweijia Food (Jiufen taro and sweet potato balls), Changsheng Food (oden fish cakes/Changsheng fish cakes), Yihe Starch (sweet potato starch), and Xieqi Starch (modified starch). The maleic acid content in their raw materials or products ranged from tens to hundreds of ppm, with Xieqi’s modified starch reaching an alarming 4,862 ppm.
However, Feng Runlan noted that based on current data collected by the Food and Drug Administration, maleic acid has low acute toxicity and does not pose reproductive, genetic, or carcinogenic risks to humans.
According to EU assessments, the tolerable daily intake (TDI) of maleic acid for adults is 0.5 mg per kilogram of body weight. For a 60 kg adult, this translates to 30 mg per day. Most of the detected products contained less than 800 ppm. Even consuming 30 grams of food made with toxic starch daily would remain within safe limits.
However, the public has raised concerns: a single bowl of taro balls or oden far exceeds 30 grams. If these products are made with toxic starch, would they still be safe?
Feng Runlan stated that health authorities will interview and conduct administrative investigations into the six major suppliers—Xieqi, Yihe, Changsheng, Shangweijia, Jianmei, and Liuji. If manufacturers knowingly used illegal modified starch, their raw materials and products will be removed from shelves and confiscated. They will also face fines ranging from NT$30,000 to NT$150,000 under the Food Sanitation Management Act.
Source: http:/ / n. yam. com/ chinatimes/ ……20130514/ 20130514474200. html