China bans tainted food imports from Taiwan

 

 

AFP – A worker displays a sports drinks containing a platicizer called DEHP after removing it from a supermarket …

BEIJING (AFP) – China on Wednesday banned imports of some food products and additives from Taiwan after authorities in Taipei warned they were tainted with a chemical used in plastics, prompting a health scare.

The ban affects products including sports drinks, fruit juices and jams that Taipei said contained excessive amounts of DEHP, China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a statement.
DEHP is normally used in the manufacture of plastics and, if consumed, can lead to a hormone malfunction in children.

The quality watchdog also published a list of Taiwanese companies whose exports to China were banned and would upgrade it in due course, according to the statement.
South Korea announced a similar ban on Wednesday. Hong Kong on Tuesday banned two Taiwanese drinks after tests showed they contained excessive levels of DEHP.

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.

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. He faces up to six months in jail.