Taiwan foods pass safety check

June 17, 2013

The Centre for Food Safety has checked 20 samples of Taiwanese food products for maleic acid and all are satisfactory.
 
Taiwan authorities said that the chemical maleic acid had been found in a food ingredient, modified starch, and some starch-based food products.
 
No affected batches of the food products known to be involved in this food incident have been found on the local market so far.
 
As a precaution the centre took the 20 samples from different retail outlets for testing. They comprised rice vermicelli, bean vermicelli, wheat noodles and milk tea with pearl tapioca.
 
Maleic acid and its related chemical, maleic anhydride, are multi-functional chemical intermediates with many industrial applications. It can also be used in food contact materials or as a precursor for the production of food additives.
 
The centre will closely monitor the situation.