Issued from Nanjing Xianou Instruments Company(http://www.xo-instrument.com): Begin with 23rd, May,the whole food industry in Taiwan went through a drastic earthquake of plasticizing agent DEHP. "This is the first global DEHP contamination case , and the contamination scope is rare in the world, its another version of Chinese Melamine Case."Said by Professor.Ling who is long-term researcher of plasticizing in Taiwan Tsinghua University.

By report, plasticizing agent existed in Taiwanese food for more than 30 years, how it was discovered by this time?To reveal this cover was only a accident.

A Attentive Mother Uncover The Black Hole

A 52 years old lady called Mrs.Yang who is the discoverer, Mrs.Yang is a common inspector worked in TFDA(Taiwan Food And Drug Administration). On one day in March, Yang was processing probiotics inspection for a company, and suddenly, she noticed there was a abnormal signal, this wasn't her responsibility range, but this two-child mother still spent two months, comparing with all kinds of material's spectrum, finally, she discovered the abnormal signal was DEHP(phthalate) that shouldn't be existing in the foodstuff. But the coming information was more surprising: the DEHP concentration in the probiotic food reached up to 600ppm, farther more the per capita daily intake standards 1.029ppm.

The Department of Health informed the news to the police, according to the clues that provided by the probiotics manufacturer, policemen searched out that a flavors company named "Yushen" put DEHP into the food additives "Up Cloud Agent". Yushen is the biggest "Up Cloud Agent" supplier in Taiwan, on 23rd, May, Junjie Lai who is the principal of Yushen took away by policemen, this black hole was presented for publics. After Yushen submerged, raising a big shake in Taiwanese food industry. Lai confessed that adding DEHP into the Up Cloud Agent nearly 30 years.

Plasticizing Agent Is Regulatory Gap

Such event was wondering by most people,why DEHP is appearing in the foodstuff, why it can avoid the supervising of Taiwan Food Safety Management System?

As far as we know, there are about 100,000 kinds of chemical substances in Taiwanese market, and most of them are toxic, but ranked as toxic chemical substances by Taiwan EPA(Environment Protection Administration) are only 271 kinds, and only 78 kinds of them belong to the fourth toxic chemical substances.

DEHP belongs to the fourth toxic substances, the management adopts " For Late Reported", such means manufacturers shouldn't put on records in the supervision bureau, and the supervisors believe manufacturers won't abuse, so none of the factories will go to supervisor bureau to record. As a result, no body is charge of the fourth toxic substances.

Citizens take the food to the health department to detect DEHP

Spearing To The Inspection System Directly

Prof.Ling points to the inspection system:"Our inspection center unable to detect DEHP, because it doesn't exist in the inspection list." As we know, in Taiwan, the common food inspection is to just to find out whether there is or isn't of the listing substances, other substances exist or doesn't, no one cares.

However, though it's a small probability event, but it affects far and important among food industry. "Today we uncovered DEHP by accident, maybe there are something unknown or ignored will appear,"Ling said,"so, we should establish perfect laboratory test system, strengthen college and research institute labs professional detection, so as to remedy the common detection insufficient of governmental inspection bureau." And he suggested to detect foodstuff every year and build its Ester Grain Photo Gallery, so we can compare and find out whether there are new chemical substances.