June 13, 2011

The Centre for Food Safety said today it would prohibit from noon tomorrow the import and supply of DrinkaZine Energy Watt Sports Drink, manufactured by Tai Hwa Oil Industrial in Taiwan. It has also ordered the importer, distributor and retailer to completely recall all of the drink available in the market within 30 days.
 
The sports drink sample was collected for testing during the centre's surveillance checks. The test result indicated that the sample contained the plasticiser Dibutyl phthalate at a level of 0.97 ppm, exceeding the limit of 0.3 ppm.
 
If someone were to drink about four-fifths of an 800ml bottle of this drink daily, it could pose a risk to their health.
 
If the drink is accompanied by a certificate issued by the relevant Taiwanese authority stating that the levels of plasticiser do not exceed 0.3 parts per million, it will be exempted.
 
The centre also found another eight samples of Chuang's Square Cookies produced in Taiwan had the plasticisers Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and Diisononyl phthalate. A sesame oil sachet included in a sample of roast chicken flavour instant noodles, Wei Lih hand-made noodle, also contained Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate.
 
Though the levels were so low as to not pose a health risk from consuming the products, the centre instructed the supplier to stop supplying all batches of the concerned products and to contact the exporter/manufacturer to follow up. Retailers should also stop selling the products.
 
The centre has notified the trade of the arrangement and urged them to take the initiative to stop the sale of any food or drink that might be affected. It will issue timely food alerts to keep them abreast of the latest information released by the Taiwanese authority.