Health authorities have begun investigating whether a third manufacturer may be guilty of using illegal food additives after di-n--butyl phthalate, or DBP, was found in a health supplement under the brand name Zoeyen, which is distributed by CPC Biotechnology (中油生技), a subsidiary of the state-run petroleum refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油).
The manufacturer, Vitalife BioMed Co (優活醫藥生技有限公司), which is based in Taipei, tested the product and immediately informed Taipei City’s Bureau of Health that it was contaminated, officials said on Tuesday.
In the past two weeks, health authorities and prosecutors have tracked down two companies — Yu Shen Chemical Co (昱伸香料有限公司) and Pin Han Perfumery Co (賓漢香料公司) — who allegedly used di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, or DEHP, and di-isononyl phthalate, or DINP, respectively, in food additives that are supplied to food and beverage manufacturers.
This was the first discovery in consumable products of the chemical DBP, which is an industrial-use plasticizer that should not be added to foods.
The Department of Health said that while DBP has not been proven to be a cancer--causing agent, exposure to the chemical above legal limits could cause feminization in boys and premature development of sexual organs in girls.
Hsu Ming-neng (許銘能), deputy director-general of the department’s Food and Drug Administration, said yesterday that after the discovery, health authorities suspected that a third company producing food additives laced with industrial chemicals has yet to be found.
Health officials said that initial investigations point to possible contamination of jujube powder, which is an ingredient used in the Zoeyen capsules.
Health authorities are tracking down which of CPC’s suppliers, whether domestic or foreign, produced the problematic material that went into the Zoeyen capsules. The capsules tested positive for DBP at 19 to 24 parts per million, Hsu said.
As of May 31, the department has required that companies producing five categories of consumable products — sports drinks, juices, tea drinks, fruit jams or syrups, and tablets or powders — provide proof that their products are free of DEHP, DINP, DBP, di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP), diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) and butylbenzyl phthalate (BBP).
Companies that fail to produce certification will have their products removed from the market or face fines of up to NT$300,000 for violating the Act Governing Food Sanitation (食品衛生管理法).