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Toxic Starch Scandal Expands as Health Department Remains Unaware
pine Webmaster of Pineapple
2013/06/17 07:49
508 topics published
May 31, 2013, China Times [By Guo Shicheng]

The toxic starch scandal is escalating, leaving vendors struggling and consumers panicked. Singapore has also detected 11 well-known starch-based food products labeled "made in Taiwan" containing maleic acid, embarrassing Taiwan on the international stage. This is a bitter irony for an island that prides itself as a "culinary tourism kingdom."

Toxic starch refers to starch containing maleic acid, which enhances the chewiness of food. Maleic acid is an industrial adhesive, and such a toxic industrial material should never be added to food, as it can harm the kidneys.

In this scandal, nearly all starch-related foods have been implicated, proving that unscrupulous businesses have been illegally adding maleic acid for at least one or two decades—a "secret that couldn’t be told." The Department of Health’s negligence is inexcusable.

The Department of Health might blame the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) for insufficient manpower, but the TFDA is the highest administrative authority responsible for food safety in the country. From the casual release of information to the shocking professional misconceptions, the TFDA’s handling of the toxic starch incident has been appalling.

Rewinding to May 13, the first day the scandal broke, the Department of Health hastily notified the media in the evening, downplaying the issue by stating that "a few businesses may have used unapproved maleic anhydride-modified starch." The media immediately recognized the severity, suspecting it could surpass the plasticizer scandal.

While plasticizers are more toxic than maleic acid, they were only used in beverages, which are not daily necessities. In contrast, starch-based foods containing maleic acid are staples for many people, meaning three meals a day could involve "eating poison."

Meanwhile, the TFDA claimed that maleic anhydride was "not very toxic" and was an indirect food additive approved by the U.S. FDA and the EU. They stated that maleic anhydride converts to maleic acid when exposed to water and that the detected maleic acid in some foods was due to the use of unapproved maleic anhydride-modified starch.

This statement was astonishing. Maleic acid is explicitly banned as a food additive in many countries, including Taiwan. Yet the TFDA twisted the facts, exaggerating the U.S. FDA and EU’s allowance of trace amounts leaching from food containers to mislead the public into thinking, "Don’t worry, it’s not that toxic!"

The first to denounce the TFDA’s flawed reasoning was Lin Jieliang, director of the Clinical Toxicology Department at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. He condemned maleic acid, stating that, like plasticizers, even trace amounts should never be artificially added to food ingredients—this is a repeat of the plasticizer scandal.

Over two weeks since the scandal erupted, the damage has proven no less severe than the plasticizer crisis. Affected products include sweet potato starch, taro starch, tempura flour, fish cake flour, and various other starches. Hard-hit food items include tapioca pearls, taro balls, flat rice noodles, processed fish products (such as oden and fish cakes), meatballs, tofu pudding, and rice cakes.

As the crisis worsened, the Department of Health only launched the "0527 Food Safety Special Project" two weeks later, requiring vendors to post safety certifications—effectively shifting the responsibility for food safety onto innocent vendors. This mirrors their response during the plasticizer scandal: bureaucratic posturing only after the fire had already spread.

Clearly, the Department of Health has not learned from the plasticizer scandal. Now, with back-to-back food safety incidents—toxic starch, soy sauce containing excessive 3-MCPD, and I-Mei’s expired puff pastry ingredients—they blame businesses for lacking self-discipline and deflect responsibility by citing the stalled Food Safety Act amendments in the legislature, forgetting that food safety inspections are their duty.

In such a major food safety crisis, the authorities first misjudged the situation, then reacted sluggishly. To date, no official has taken administrative or political responsibility, let alone publicly apologized to the public.In contrast, Dr. Lin Jie-liang, who had for years encouraged kidney disease patients to consume low-protein foods like rice noodles, flat noodles, and meatballs, felt deep guilt and remorse toward his patients. He had no idea that Taiwan had such toxic starch, indirectly harming those under his care.

The conscience-stricken self-reproach of a nephrologist reveals just how many "unspeakable secrets" illegal food additives still hold. However, apart from holding an international press conference, the Ma administration couldn’t even be bothered to offer a single word of "apology" for how toxic starch has shamed the kingdom of culinary delights and severely damaged the reputation of MIT food products.

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