food scandal in taiwan?

it has been widely disseminated through the media that Taiwan's health authorities announced just a few days ago that DEHP* had been found in some bottled beverages and dairy products, and has demanded 168 food processors recall more than 1 million tainted items.

what is even more scary is the fact that the affected products has been exported to many other countries but none (as of this date) to our tiny red dot nation.

there are real health concerns if any of the affected products are consumed and one example is 32-year old ms Huang Jen Chieh who believes she may be a victim of the plasticiser DEHP as she was recently diagnosed with cancer, and suspects it is caused by the contaminated enzyme she has been taking for seven years.

She said: "At first I thought it was a (safe) food product because it had FDA certification, so I was really surprised to find out this could cause cancer."

although there is no direct link that DEHP causes cancer, the announcement of the latest food scandal in taiwan has sent shock waves to consumers in all affected countries.

*from wikipedia:

DEHP has a low vapor pressure, but the temperatures for processing PVC articles are often high, leading to release of elevated levels, raising concerns about health risks (see outgassing). It can be absorbed from food and water. Higher levels have been found in milk and cheese. It can also leach into a liquid that comes in contact with the plastic; it extracts faster into nonpolar solvents (e.g. oils and fats in foods packed in PVC). Food and Drug Administration (FDA) therefore permits use of DEHP-containing packaging only for foods that primarily contain water. In soil, DEHP contamination moves very slowly because of its low solubility in water. Therefore, leaching from disposed plastics in landfills is generally slow. The US EPA limits for DEHP in drinking water is 6 ppb. The U.S. agency OSHA's limit for occupational exposure is 5 mg/m3 of air.

my comments:

yup, another massive food scandal and this time, originating from taiwan. i'm sure our ava (agri-food and vetinary authority will do their 'homework' to ascertain none of the affected products is found within our shores.

until then, are there any assurances that none of the dehp contaminated food/drinks from taiwan has penetrated our tiny red dot nation? until then, we shall have to await the findings of our ava.

this may be yet another example of the underlying risks in terms of what we take for granted when we ingest food and drinks on a daily basis.

taken collectively, the everyday risks to our health and life can be said to be multi-faceted and multi-fold.

which raises the question of how much is the value of an individual's life and whether the need to insure one's life as well.

obviously for the masses of people, the need is there but the inertia of doing anything is also there.

i hope for yourself and your loved ones' sake, u can overcome the inertia and place importance and priority on wealth protection planning (for a start).