You know that common notion where everyone thinks “imported goods/products” are better than what we have locally? Well that’s not necessarily true because I feel that idea was something that indirectly arose out from the pricing tag issue. You see it’s quite obvious that imported products generally do cost more than local ones –but that’s because there’s the additional transportation costs, import duty and all those other extra bits to account for in the final $ tag. Thus imported goods are merely products which are not native to our country/state. It doesn’t necessarily guarantee quality…
So if you are huge fan of imported products, especially food products best be sure you’re able to read the labels and alert towards are product recalls there may be.
And so if you haven’t got the latest, here it is as at June 201. The current scare is over the chemical additive DEHP [di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate] which is one of a family of chemicals known to cause reproductive problems and linked to cancer.
DEHP which is banned substance (in most countries) to be added to food products has been found in selected Taiwanese brands of products. At the moment these products include teas, sports drinks, fruit jelly, fruit juices, enzyme powder, food supplements and food powders which are being recalled off the shelves. But just in case you’ve got some products made in Taiwan in your cupboard, it’s worth checking with your local authority if they are part of the banned and now recalled products list.
DEHP is a colorless viscous liquid that oil soluble but it is not soluble in water. It is a plasticizer chemical that is added because it can keep products smelling fresh even after being on the shelf for a really long time ( apparently especially true for breads and cookies – some experts say if the bread smells fresh even after being displayed for quite a bit then chances are it’s got DEHP amongst the ingredients)
So far DEHP has been reported to be found in the emulsifier mixture used by certain Taiwanese food manufacturers but before everyone goes into a state of mass panic, authorities are telling us that it take prolonged exposure to the chemical to result in any obvious health issues. So if you have any in your cupboard, just toss them or if you can return them at the store you got them from.
