Taiwan's food safety measures under scrutiny after DEHP scare
By Channel NewsAsia's Taiwan correspondent Victoria Jen
TAIPEI: 32-year-old Huang Jen Chieh thinks she may be a victim of the plasticiser DEHP. Recently diagnosed with cancer, she suspects it is caused by the contaminated enzyme she has been taking for seven years.
She said: "At first I thought it was a (safe) food product because it had FDA certification, so I was really surprised to find out this could cause cancer."
While there is no direct evidence that links her cancer to DEHP, her case is causing panic across the island.
That is because Yu Sheng, the company responsible for the scare, is Taiwan's biggest supplier of emulsifier - a food additive often used in fruit juice, jelly and sports drink.
Media reports said it has been selling the plasticiser as a food additive for five years. More than 300 tons have been sold mostly in Taiwan and overseas.
Shiu Ming Neng, Deputy Director General of Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration, said: "Affected countries include the US, Hong Kong and China. Plasticiser made by Yu Sheng has been shipped to the Philippines and Vietnam."
Products by big names in Taiwan like King Car, HeySong and Taiwan Sugar have been found to be tainted and the contamination is spreading from beverages to children's vitamins.
Stores across the island are frantically pulling products off the shelves but that is not enough to assure the public as some have started expressing concern about Taiwan's food safety measures.
Taiwan's health authorities said the contamination should be contained in a few days, but the damage done to public confidence in Taiwan's food safety, at home and abroad, may not be restored for a long time to come.
-CNA/ac
Kong Carol
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