PH expands list of banned Taiwan goods

MANILA, Philippines—The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday advised consumers to avoid Taiwan-made jams and tea beverages, expanding an earlier warning that initially covered fruit juices, sports drinks, energy drinks and jellies from the same country.

The FDA ordered the recall of nearly 70 food brands being sold in local supermarkets believed to be tainted with a chemical used to make plastics pliable and considered dangerous to human health.

In an advisory, FDA Director Suzette Lazo sought the immediate pullout of “tentatively identified selected brands” of food imports from Taiwan found contaminated with Di (2-ethyexyl) phthalate (DEHP).

“Products whether registered or not with the FDA but identified on the list shall be recalled and disposed of accordingly,” Lazo said.

“To ensure the safety of our consumers, all Taiwan food products, particularly beverages, are being removed from the shelves,” Dr. Willie Ong, a consultant in the Department of Health, said in a phone interview.

Citing Lazo’s directive, Ong said other Taiwan-made products registered with the FDA but not identified in the list of high-risk products would be temporarily withdrawn from the market to be tested for DEHP content.

Provided by Taiwanese authorities, the list included over 200 food brands. Of these, 66 brands were found to be available in the local market, according to Ong.

The list covered sports drinks produced by Hyatt Brand Food Co.; fruit juices of various flavors produced by Bosi US International Industrial Co. Ltd. Kagawa Industrial Co. and Jing Wang Food Co.

Also recalled were fruit syrups manufactured by Lin International Trading Co., Ltd.; fruit juice powders by Wang Chun Industrial Corp. and Hip Shing Chemical Co. Ltd.; and fruit drinks by Sun Biotech Co. Ltd., among others.

The complete list is posted on the FDA website, www.bfad.gov.ph, where the brands are both in Chinese and in loose English translations.

Before the brands were identified, the FDA early this week warned consumers against buying sports drinks, soft drinks, fruit juices and jellies from Taiwan.

“After checking the list, there are two additional food categories that our consumers must avoid and these are teas and jams imported from Taiwan,” Ong said.

Major recall

Taiwan last month issued a major recall of products, including more than 460,000 bottles of sports drinks and fruit juice, over fears they contained the chemical which is widely used in manufacturing PVC products.

Taipei warned Manila last week that DEHP could have been illegally added to food products that were exported to the Philippines.

Taiwanese authorities have arrested the owner of a company that used DEHP rather than more expensive palm oil in products supplied to dozens of local drinks makers.

Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration reported that 465,638 bottles of juice, fruit jams, syrups, fruit and yogurt powders, tea beverages and sports drinks contaminated with DEHP have been recalled.

Over 136,000 boxes and 38,000 packs of powdered probiotics, among other products, have also been removed from the shelves, according to the agency.

It ordered local distributors and importers to stop selling the recalled products, and also reminded supermarkets and other food outlets not to serve the items.

Consumers who have already purchased the tainted products were asked to dispose of them “in a manner that prevents others from consuming them.”

Those who suspect they have fallen ill after consuming the tainted products were advised to see a doctor immediately.

Widely used

DEHP is widely used in the manufacture of plastic items like intravenous bags and tubes, gastric tubes and blood bags. Low doses of the chemical are considered safe, but prolonged exposure could have harmful effects on a person’s health.

High or repeated exposure to DEHP particularly among children could lead to testicular defects, toxicity in the kidneys and fertility problems.

Ong said DEHP may result in the underdevelopment of the testes among male children and early menarche (first menstrual bleeding) among young girls.

Also on Wednesday, South Korea banned tainted Taiwanese drinks and other products. Hong Kong also issued a ban on at least two Taiwanese drinks on Tuesday. With reports from AP and AFP