Test your dried tofu yourself: Taipei City offers free hydrogen peroxide and metanil yellow test reagents
With Qingming Festival approaching, past inspections by the Taipei City Government Department of Health found that soybean products, wet noodles and processed fish and meat products commonly used for ancestral worship contained residues of "hydrogen peroxide" (commonly known as hydrogen peroxide solution), and in recent years large dried tofu has also been found to contain the industrial dye "metanil yellow." The Department of Health testing laboratory has prepared "FS Food Safety Reagents," and from next Monday (March 23) to Friday (March 27), 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., it will distribute "hydrogen peroxide" and "metanil yellow" dual reagents at the health service centers in Taipei City's 12 districts and at the Department of Health testing laboratory, with a limit of 300 sets per district, one set per person, while supplies last, allowing the public to conduct their own preliminary screening and help safeguard food safety.
Wang Hui-ying, director of the Taipei City Government Department of Health testing laboratory, said that hydrogen peroxide is often used for sterilization, bleaching and extending shelf life. Although it is permitted as an additive in certain foods, it must not remain after use. Consuming a 3% concentration may trigger symptoms of acute gastroenteritis, such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal bloating and diarrhea. Metanil yellow, on the other hand, is an industrial dye that must not be added to food, but some operators may still use it to boost color, making salted fish look excessively bright yellow, and eating it may damage liver cells.
Hydrogen peroxide and metanil yellow may still remain after high-temperature cooking, so the public can first use rapid screening reagents for preliminary checks.
Wang Hui-ying said that the public can drip the hydrogen peroxide reagent onto soybean products, wet noodles and processed fish and meat products; when the food turns yellowish-brown, it indicates possible residue. For dried soybeans and salted fish that are excessively bright yellow, the metanil yellow reagent can be used for testing; if the food turns purplish-red, metanil yellow may have been added.
Photo: Provided by Taipei City Government Department of HealthDo not eat food that has already had reagent dripped on it. If after preliminary screening you suspect the safety of that food, it is recommended not to eat the entire batch either, Wang Hui-ying said. For food you have doubts about, the public can provide information to the Taipei City Government Department of Health, including the product source, purchase time, location, vendor, etc. If violations are confirmed after investigation, the Department of Health will handle them in accordance with food safety and sanitation management regulations.
Wang Hui-ying also reminded that after receiving the reagents, they must be used according to the instructions and stored in a safe place to prevent misuse by young children and the elderly.
Contact phone number for this activity: 02-28280102 ext. 5988. If the public has food safety and sanitation questions or consumer doubts, they can call the Taipei City citizen hotline: 1999 or check the Department of Health website http://www.health.gov.tw/ for related information.
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