Clipping Board » Illness Enters through Mouth ─ The information that has been made public is often just the tip of the iceberg...
Life Center / Comprehensive Report
A series of unscrupulous food ingredient scandals have been exposed. Previously, the unethical company Ligong Agricultural Industrial was found selling industrial-grade preservatives, which cost 60% less, as "agar powder" and "carrageenan." Well-known major manufacturer Uni-President was also implicated, urgently removing products such as puddings and ice cream from shelves while emphasizing they were unaware and also victims. On the 25th, Uni-President held a shareholders' meeting where General Manager Luo Zhixian stressed that food safety cannot rely solely on government oversight—consumers must also avoid prioritizing cheap products.
After the incident of industrial preservatives being sold as food ingredients, Uni-President's food production facilities were filled with sealed batches of their famous "Uni-President Pudding." The issue stemmed from ingredient supplier Ligong Agricultural Industrial, which blended industrial-grade preservative "ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt" (EDTA-2Na) into food ingredients before selling them to major manufacturers like Uni-President and Aik Cheong. Moreover, this industrial-grade EDTA-2Na was 60% cheaper than food-grade versions. According to seized accounting records, Uni-President may have been purchasing these toxic ingredients for as long as six years.
Additionally, some international studies suggest that "caramel color," an additive found in soy sauce and cola, contains a component called "4-methylimidazole," which has been shown to cause cancer in lab rats. California, USA, has set a daily risk threshold of 29 micrograms for 4-methylimidazole, requiring warning labels on products exceeding this limit. Coincidentally, "caramel color" is also an ingredient in Uni-President Pudding. The Department of Health stated that caramel color would be reclassified from a natural pigment to a food additive for stricter regulation, with defined usage limits.
As a major food manufacturer, Uni-President's General Manager Luo Zhixian stated after the shareholders' meeting that food safety is an issue all Taiwanese should care about. Although the government has implemented stricter regulations, relying solely on a single control point is insufficient. He emphasized that consumers should adopt the mindset of "you get what you pay for" and avoid chasing bargains. If both manufacturers engage in price-cutting competition and consumers continue seeking cheap products, progress in food safety will be difficult.
▼ Luo Zhixian said that if consumers only seek cheap products and manufacturers compete on price, food safety progress will be challenging.
Source: http://www. ettoday. net/ news/ 20130626/ 230676. htm#ixzz2ZDyADDAR
Uni-President GM Luo Zhixian: Consumers Only Want Cheap Goods, Food Safety Hard to Improve
A series of unscrupulous food ingredient scandals have been exposed. Previously, the unethical company Ligong Agricultural Industrial was found selling industrial-grade preservatives, which cost 60% less, as "agar powder" and "carrageenan." Well-known major manufacturer Uni-President was also implicated, urgently removing products such as puddings and ice cream from shelves while emphasizing they were unaware and also victims. On the 25th, Uni-President held a shareholders' meeting where General Manager Luo Zhixian stressed that food safety cannot rely solely on government oversight—consumers must also avoid prioritizing cheap products.
After the incident of industrial preservatives being sold as food ingredients, Uni-President's food production facilities were filled with sealed batches of their famous "Uni-President Pudding." The issue stemmed from ingredient supplier Ligong Agricultural Industrial, which blended industrial-grade preservative "ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt" (EDTA-2Na) into food ingredients before selling them to major manufacturers like Uni-President and Aik Cheong. Moreover, this industrial-grade EDTA-2Na was 60% cheaper than food-grade versions. According to seized accounting records, Uni-President may have been purchasing these toxic ingredients for as long as six years.
Additionally, some international studies suggest that "caramel color," an additive found in soy sauce and cola, contains a component called "4-methylimidazole," which has been shown to cause cancer in lab rats. California, USA, has set a daily risk threshold of 29 micrograms for 4-methylimidazole, requiring warning labels on products exceeding this limit. Coincidentally, "caramel color" is also an ingredient in Uni-President Pudding. The Department of Health stated that caramel color would be reclassified from a natural pigment to a food additive for stricter regulation, with defined usage limits.
As a major food manufacturer, Uni-President's General Manager Luo Zhixian stated after the shareholders' meeting that food safety is an issue all Taiwanese should care about. Although the government has implemented stricter regulations, relying solely on a single control point is insufficient. He emphasized that consumers should adopt the mindset of "you get what you pay for" and avoid chasing bargains. If both manufacturers engage in price-cutting competition and consumers continue seeking cheap products, progress in food safety will be difficult.
▼ Luo Zhixian said that if consumers only seek cheap products and manufacturers compete on price, food safety progress will be challenging.
Source: http://www. ettoday. net/ news/ 20130626/ 230676. htm#ixzz2ZDyADDAR