Taipei City conducted spot checks on commercially sold cold drinks and ice products; TKK Fried Chicken and OK Mart exceeded E. coli standards
On the 16th, the Taipei City Department of Health announced the results of the second round of testing of commercially sold cold drinks and toppings. Of 186 items, a total of 10 cold drinks still failed to meet hygiene standards for coliform bacteria or total viable counts after retesting, including the latte coffee from OK convenience stores, the black tea slush from TKK Fried Chicken, the grass jelly ice from Douhua Zhuang, and the vanilla soft-serve ice cream from the Tingzhou branch of Qiandu Shabu Shabu, among others. Among them, the Yuanqi black tea sold by Yuanqi Q Nai exceeded the standard for coliform bacteria and total viable counts by 4.3 times and 1.8 times respectively, indicating that the hygiene handling during the production process was relatively poor.
In addition, another type of Da Zhong He tapioca pearls exceeded the limit for preservatives. The Department of Health has immediately removed the non-compliant product from shelves, and at the same time requested the New Taipei City Department of Health to investigate the upstream supplier of the tapioca pearls, Cheng'en Foods, to determine whether other beverage shops also use the same type of tapioca pearls. Wang Mingli stated that this type of tapioca pearl exceeded the limit through the combined use of benzoic acid and sorbic acid. Although these are preservatives of relatively low toxicity, excessive addition may still affect organs such as the liver and kidneys. According to data from the Taipei City Food Ingredient Registration Platform, this type of tapioca pearl is used only by "Lan Bai Tuo Handmade Beverage Shop."
The Department of Health also announced today the inspection results of commercially sold packaged (dispensed) drinking water. Among the 39 sampled products, only the Lai Lai Convenience Store D618 Natural Mineral Water was found to have bromate at 0.022 ppm, exceeding the standard (standard: 0.01 ppm) and failing to comply with regulations. It is understood that the upstream supplier of this packaged drinking water is Xingfu Mountain Co., Ltd. The Department of Health has requested the Nantou County Department of Health, under whose jurisdiction the company falls, to conduct an investigation. Wang Mingli stated that "bromate" is a byproduct produced when drinking water is disinfected with ozone, and is not an additional additive. According to research, excessive accidental ingestion can cause acute toxic symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.
Wang Mingli reminded the public that when purchasing packaged drinking water products, they should pay attention to the water type, water source location, and whether the product labeling includes the manufacturer's name, factory address, telephone number, and whether the product is within its expiration period. If suspended matter or impurities are found in the product's appearance, do not drink it again. In addition, she emphasized that any purified water will deteriorate after long-term storage or preservation, and that after opening, packaged water placed at room temperature or in the refrigerator will increase in bacterial count. Therefore, the public should pay attention to whether packaged drinking water is intact and store it in a cool place.
For the detailed list of non-compliant items, please see: http://health.gov.taipei/Default.aspx?tabid=36&mid=442&itemid=34796