Recent food scares in Taiwan

Leaving the issue of arsenic-laced frying oil aside, there are a couple of food related news that should be monitored for one’s safety:

-Ovaltine recalled for bacteria content

-87.5% of cold noodles are riddled with bacteria in worrisome levels. (including 7-11’s and other mayor and minor brands)

-Those who have relatives/friends at hospitals, watch out:

[quote]Almost half of hospital shops and food courts recently tested by the Consumers’ Foundation, Chinese Taipei were found to have airborne formaldehyde levels in excess of the suggested safety limits set by the Environmental Protection Administration.

The Consumers’ Foundation conducted air quality tests at 11 major hospitals in May of this year to measure concentrations of airborne particulate matter, carbon dioxide, formaldehyde and bacteria.

Five of the hospitals, including Taipei Medical University-Wan Fang Hospital, Tri-Service General Hospital in Neihu District, National Taiwan University Hospital, Koo Foundation Sun Yat-sen Cancer Center and Taipei Medical University Hospital, were found to have formaldehyde concentrations of more than 0.1 ppm (parts per million) per hour, according to a foundation official.

Exposure to formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, may lead to asthma, allergies, liver and lung problems, damage to the immune system, and even chronic poisoning in severe cases.
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-There was a meat recall at COSTCO in the US recently. Dunno if it will affect our imports.

The last time I ordered cold noodles at a local eatery, the lady took my money, then used the same hands to pull out the noodles and put the toppings on. I of course never ate there again. I guess I should have demanded my money back or something, but sometimes I just roll my eyes and walk away shaking my head. You can’t fight half the country, after all.

Any idea where the arsenic is coming from?

Same with the formaldehyde?

Do restaurants use these for something?

Carbon Dioxide? Oh, Snap! One can only wonder what will they find in the air there next…

I just hope they also checked for Dihydrogen monoxide (also known as DHMO, see dhmo.org) as well. I heard in taiwan especially hotpot and watermelons contain a lot of this deadly stuff :stuck_out_tongue:

Yeah, I’ve heard that this substance is a powerful industrial solvent used by chemical companies and nuclear power plants! This chemical has even been used for torture. A tiny bit of this substance in a person’s nose and mouth has them gasping for air in seconds, and if it gets in your lungs it could kill you! :smiley:

With regard to the health reports of ordinary foods, hardly a day goes by without some report saying that something else we eat every day are bad for you. I’ve concluded that everything is bad for you. But not eating anything will kill you much faster.

A bit more on the candy front:

[quote]A second batch of Ovalteenies candy tested Monday by Taipei City’s Department of Health has been found to contain unacceptably high levels of bacteria, a city official said later that day.

It was the second time in the last month that imported Ovalteenies had been found to contain Bacillus cereus, an opportunistic pathogen that causes food poisoning manifested by diarrhea or emetic syndrome, according to Lin Chin-fu, director of the department's food and drug division. 

Ovaltine, from which the candies are made, is a brand of milk-flavoring product made with sugar, malt extract, cocoa and whey. 

The bacteria in the first batch was found during an inspection July 2. After the check, the department immediately ordered the local distributor, Taiwan Hsin Lin Enterprise Co., Ltd, to recall 304,128 packs of the candies, according to Lin. 


The distributor said the product was imported from Thailand and that it has asked the supplier in Thailand to make improvements, Lin went on.

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From CNA

Now the food inspectors are going for the ice: shaved ice, icy drinks, the works.

Latest casualty: 85C, with up to 5 times the allowed amount of bacteria in their ice.

Oh, and Taida’s Ice King, too.

The “Consumers’ Foundation, [color=#FF0000]Chinese Taipei[/color]”? :astonished:

Hhhhhuuh? Exactly how is this organization affiliated with the Olympics?

This is what we call culeiformes in Spanish:

[quote]A recent academic study found excessive levels of bacteria in beverages sold over tea stands across the nation, with drinks from a popular bubble tea chain based in Taipei County carrying viable bacteria numbers 2,100 times the accepted norm, local media reported yesterday. Hsieh Ming-zhe, a professor with the College of Public Health and Nutrition at Taipei Medical University, was cited as saying that sanitation reports found that 92 percent of red, green or oolong teas sold over refreshment stands showed unsatisfactory levels of the bacterium colon bacillus, while 100 percent of drinks that contain milk, cream, tapioca balls or coconut jellies fell significantly short of the accepted bacteria content range.
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http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2009/07/31/218520/90%25-of.htm