Officials in the Department of Health indicated that they had conducted random checks on ammonium bicarbonate imported from China and detected as high as 70 to 300 parts per million (ppm) of melamine.
They said that the only company in Taiwan that imports ammonium bicarbonate from China is the Sesoda Company. The company has already imported 384 tons of ammonium bicarbonate since Jan. 2008.
Health Bureaus in Taiwan made a concerted effort to check its ammonium bicarbonate inventory, estimated to be over 128 tons, including 110 tons stored in Sesoda’s warehouses in Taoyuan, Kaohsiung, and Changhua. These warehouses been sealed off after being tested positive for melamine.
The Deputy Minister of the Department of Health, Shou-Hsia Cheng, said that Health Bureaus in many cities and counties, as well as Food Industry Research and Development Institutes have recently reported snacks tainted with melamine.
However, milk ingredients used in these snacks were not imported from China. They eventually narrowed it down to a common leavening agent used in making cookies—ammonium bicarbonate—and found that ammonium bicarbonate imported from China indeed contains high levels of melamine.
Sesoda Corporation’s spokesman Mr. Lin Hongzhong said that melamine should not appear in sodium bicarbonate, and that Sesoda had sent people to manufacturers in China to find out the details. He said that Sesoda will cooperate with the government and will stop importing related products from China
The Department of Health said that food companies should switch to using baking soda, yeast powder, or natural yeast and that it will offer help to import safe leavening agents from other countries.
It also said that it will invite the Consumer Protection Commission, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Council of Agriculture, the Ministry of Justice and Government Information Office to hold a dedicated meeting before Monday to discuss the melamine contamination in the food industry.
The Taipei Health Bureau reported that high levels of melamine—as high as 1,410 to 2,470 ppm were found in ammonium bicarbonate sold under the brand name Earth, which was found in three chemical engineering companies located on Dihua Street.
The three companies have all been selling ammonium bicarbonate to food companies to use it as a leavening agent in making cookies or the popular fried breadstick known as “youtiao.”
Hsinchu’s Bureau of Health visited a raw material company on Dongda Road yesterday and successfully sealed and banned 925 kilograms of ammonium bicarbonate. The wholesaler had already sold 3,575 kilograms of ammonium bicarbonate since last April, and was very surprised to learn that high levels of melamine were found in their ammonium bicarbonate.
Miaoli County’s Bureau of Health visited Daijo Company, Ltd. in Jhunan Township yesterday and sealed and banned 1,050 kilograms of ammonium bicarbonate.
Tainan County’s Bureau of Health sealed and banned 7,775 kilograms of ammonium bicarbonate found in three companies, which were mainly used in manufacturing leathers. Tainan City issued a recall on 5,600 kilograms of ammonium bicarbonate which were mostly used in manufacturing leathers or washing kelps, although some were used by food companies.
Read the original article in Chinese
