Clipping Board » Illness Enters through Mouth ─ The information that has been made public is often just the tip of the iceberg...
May 29, 2013 / Reporter Li Hongdian / Special Report
Do you still remember the plasticizer incident that made your heart skip a beat with every sip you took? Counting the time, it’s been exactly two years. But who would have thought that just as we were finally moving past the plasticizer scare, we’d be hit with the toxic starch scandal—and with new revelations every day? The authorities simply tell us to drink more water to flush out the toxins. What’s even more shocking is that the Food Safety Act, which was promised to be revised, is still languishing in the halls of Congress!
The plasticizer scandal, which erupted in 2011 and caused nationwide panic, began when Jin Guowang Company sold juice ingredients contaminated with "black-hearted clouding agents" produced by Yu Shen Company, as its owner sought to make dirty profits. This not only devastated Taiwan’s beverage market and related industries but also tarnished the island’s international reputation overnight.
Chen A-he, the owner of Jin Guowang and the mastermind behind the production of plasticizer-laced concentrated juice, was initially prosecuted under the "Thousand Faces" clause, with prosecutors seeking a 12-year heavy sentence. However, the Supreme Court upheld the second-instance ruling, sentencing him to just one year and two months on May 16 for violating the Food Sanitation Management Act and other lesser charges, finalizing the verdict.
Yet, according to related reports, the toxicity of plasticizers is 20 times that of the 2008 melamine-tainted milk powder scandal, affecting as many as 489 products. The Jin Guowang owner, who triggered the plasticizer storm, was ultimately sentenced to only 14 months, leading to public mockery that the government "raised the hammer high but landed it softly." Many are left wondering: with such lenient penalties, unscrupulous businesses have no fear, resulting in a climate of food safety panic. Doesn’t this make the judiciary an accomplice? Lei Lifen, Secretary-General of the Consumers’ Foundation, bluntly gave the government only 50 points for its handling of the incident.
The toxic starch scandal has now been raging for over two weeks. It wasn’t until the media identified "Teacher Wang" as the alleged originator of the toxic starch that the public realized the practice of adulterating starch with maleic acid has been circulating in Taiwan for 42 years. In other words, you and I may have been poisoned for a long time.
Lin Jie-liang, a toxicology expert who once encouraged kidney patients to eat more low-protein foods like rice noodles and flat noodles, also said he had been tracking kidney disease patients. He found that despite consuming low-protein foods like flat noodles, their conditions worsened inexplicably. After the toxic starch scandal broke, he speculated that this might be the reason for the increasing number of dialysis patients.
Faced with the almost daily revelations about toxic starch, the Department of Health stated that maleic acid is not an "acute toxin" and is not carcinogenic, urging the public not to panic and assuring them that drinking more water would help flush out the toxins. But how many people can take such advice to heart?
Seeing the severity of the situation, the Department of Health urgently launched the "0527 Food Safety Special Project" on the 27th. Minister Chiu Wen-ta announced that all local health bureaus would conduct another comprehensive inspection of domestic starch manufacturers and distributors within three days to ensure all non-compliant products are recalled and no new illegal products are being made. Additionally, any manufacturer found with违规 products by the Bureau of Foreign Trade must now provide a government-certified laboratory test report before being allowed to export, to protect the reputation of "MIT: Made in Taiwan."
The Department of Health emphasized that, effective immediately, all starch suppliers must provide a safety affidavit to businesses selling starch-based products, including eight major categories: flat noodles, meatballs, oden, tapioca pearls, tofu pudding, rice cakes, taro balls, and sweet potato balls. Starting June 1, stores must also display these safety certificates prominently for consumers to inspect.However, in just a few short days, businesses such as meatball stalls, century-old meat soup restaurants, and beverage vendors have all suffered significant impacts, with sales plummeting. People are eagerly asking: what is still safe to eat? As food safety concerns once again raise alarm bells, the public wants to know whether the government has any effective deterrent measures in place.
It’s worth recalling the nationwide shock caused by the plasticizer scandal years ago. At the time, lawmakers across party lines unanimously agreed to amend the law, proposing to increase fines for unscrupulous businesses knowingly adding illegal substances—from a maximum of NT$150,000 to NT$3 million—while also considering harsher criminal penalties, raising sentences from up to seven years to crack down on wrongdoing. However, after the plasticizer incident broke out in May 2011, the Executive Yuan’s draft amendment to the Food Safety Act wasn’t submitted to the Legislative Yuan until August 2012—and since then, it has remained stalled with no progress.
Fortunately, under public pressure, the Legislative Yuan temporarily revised its agenda on the 29th, intending to fast-track amendments to the "Food Sanitation Management Act." Kang Jaw-jou, Director-General of the Food and Drug Administration under the Department of Health, stated that both ruling and opposition parties, as well as the executive and legislative branches, are aligned in comprehensively increasing penalties. For cases resulting in death, the proposed amendment includes life imprisonment as a severe punishment. Hopefully, this time, all parties are serious—after all, food safety transcends political affiliations and concerns everyone.
Source: http://www. nownews. com/ 2013/ 05/ 29/ 11867- 2944649. htm#ixzz2WdtmNt9i
42 Years of Poisoning: Just Drink More Water? Toxic Starch Follows Plasticizer as Food Safety Laws Fail?
Do you still remember the plasticizer incident that made your heart skip a beat with every sip you took? Counting the time, it’s been exactly two years. But who would have thought that just as we were finally moving past the plasticizer scare, we’d be hit with the toxic starch scandal—and with new revelations every day? The authorities simply tell us to drink more water to flush out the toxins. What’s even more shocking is that the Food Safety Act, which was promised to be revised, is still languishing in the halls of Congress!
The plasticizer scandal, which erupted in 2011 and caused nationwide panic, began when Jin Guowang Company sold juice ingredients contaminated with "black-hearted clouding agents" produced by Yu Shen Company, as its owner sought to make dirty profits. This not only devastated Taiwan’s beverage market and related industries but also tarnished the island’s international reputation overnight.
Chen A-he, the owner of Jin Guowang and the mastermind behind the production of plasticizer-laced concentrated juice, was initially prosecuted under the "Thousand Faces" clause, with prosecutors seeking a 12-year heavy sentence. However, the Supreme Court upheld the second-instance ruling, sentencing him to just one year and two months on May 16 for violating the Food Sanitation Management Act and other lesser charges, finalizing the verdict.
Yet, according to related reports, the toxicity of plasticizers is 20 times that of the 2008 melamine-tainted milk powder scandal, affecting as many as 489 products. The Jin Guowang owner, who triggered the plasticizer storm, was ultimately sentenced to only 14 months, leading to public mockery that the government "raised the hammer high but landed it softly." Many are left wondering: with such lenient penalties, unscrupulous businesses have no fear, resulting in a climate of food safety panic. Doesn’t this make the judiciary an accomplice? Lei Lifen, Secretary-General of the Consumers’ Foundation, bluntly gave the government only 50 points for its handling of the incident.
The toxic starch scandal has now been raging for over two weeks. It wasn’t until the media identified "Teacher Wang" as the alleged originator of the toxic starch that the public realized the practice of adulterating starch with maleic acid has been circulating in Taiwan for 42 years. In other words, you and I may have been poisoned for a long time.
Lin Jie-liang, a toxicology expert who once encouraged kidney patients to eat more low-protein foods like rice noodles and flat noodles, also said he had been tracking kidney disease patients. He found that despite consuming low-protein foods like flat noodles, their conditions worsened inexplicably. After the toxic starch scandal broke, he speculated that this might be the reason for the increasing number of dialysis patients.
Faced with the almost daily revelations about toxic starch, the Department of Health stated that maleic acid is not an "acute toxin" and is not carcinogenic, urging the public not to panic and assuring them that drinking more water would help flush out the toxins. But how many people can take such advice to heart?
Seeing the severity of the situation, the Department of Health urgently launched the "0527 Food Safety Special Project" on the 27th. Minister Chiu Wen-ta announced that all local health bureaus would conduct another comprehensive inspection of domestic starch manufacturers and distributors within three days to ensure all non-compliant products are recalled and no new illegal products are being made. Additionally, any manufacturer found with违规 products by the Bureau of Foreign Trade must now provide a government-certified laboratory test report before being allowed to export, to protect the reputation of "MIT: Made in Taiwan."
The Department of Health emphasized that, effective immediately, all starch suppliers must provide a safety affidavit to businesses selling starch-based products, including eight major categories: flat noodles, meatballs, oden, tapioca pearls, tofu pudding, rice cakes, taro balls, and sweet potato balls. Starting June 1, stores must also display these safety certificates prominently for consumers to inspect.However, in just a few short days, businesses such as meatball stalls, century-old meat soup restaurants, and beverage vendors have all suffered significant impacts, with sales plummeting. People are eagerly asking: what is still safe to eat? As food safety concerns once again raise alarm bells, the public wants to know whether the government has any effective deterrent measures in place.
It’s worth recalling the nationwide shock caused by the plasticizer scandal years ago. At the time, lawmakers across party lines unanimously agreed to amend the law, proposing to increase fines for unscrupulous businesses knowingly adding illegal substances—from a maximum of NT$150,000 to NT$3 million—while also considering harsher criminal penalties, raising sentences from up to seven years to crack down on wrongdoing. However, after the plasticizer incident broke out in May 2011, the Executive Yuan’s draft amendment to the Food Safety Act wasn’t submitted to the Legislative Yuan until August 2012—and since then, it has remained stalled with no progress.
Fortunately, under public pressure, the Legislative Yuan temporarily revised its agenda on the 29th, intending to fast-track amendments to the "Food Sanitation Management Act." Kang Jaw-jou, Director-General of the Food and Drug Administration under the Department of Health, stated that both ruling and opposition parties, as well as the executive and legislative branches, are aligned in comprehensively increasing penalties. For cases resulting in death, the proposed amendment includes life imprisonment as a severe punishment. Hopefully, this time, all parties are serious—after all, food safety transcends political affiliations and concerns everyone.
Source: http://www. nownews. com/ 2013/ 05/ 29/ 11867- 2944649. htm#ixzz2WdtmNt9i