TAIWAN BANS SALE OF 2 INSTANT NOODLE BRANDS FROM MALAYSIA, INDONESIA – AFTER FINDING ‘CANCER-CAUSING’ SUBSTANCES

Business, Politics | April 25, 2023 4:20 pm by | 0 Comments

Taipei halts sale of instant noodle brands from Malaysia, Indonesia

The city health department said a cancer-inducing substance was found in the two brands.

Taipei’s health department has ordered retailers to remove instant noodles brands from Malaysia and Indonesia.

TAIPEI: Two types of instant noodles made by Southeast Asian brands have been found to contain a cancer-inducing substance, Taipei’s health department said today.

The department said ethylene oxide was found in a batch of “Ah Lai White Curry Noodles” from Malaysia and a batch of “Indomie: Special Chicken Flavour” noodles from Indonesia, CNA reported.

The chemical compound is associated with lymphoma and leukemia.

The department said testing revealed that ethylene oxide was detected in the noodles and flavour packet of the Malaysian product but in only the flavour packet of the Indonesian product.

The retailer from which the samples were collected has been asked to pull the two products off their shelves, and the products’ importers will be fined between NT$60,000 (RM8,700) and NT$200 million (RM29 million), the department said.

Ethylene oxide is poisonous when consumed or inhaled.It can seriously irritate the skin and eyes of anyone who comes into contact with the substance and even trigger birth and hereditary defects.

Health official Chen Yi-ting said the city’s instant noodles inspection was conducted by randomly selecting 30 products from supermarkets, convenience stores, hypermarkets, traditional wet markets, Southeast Asian food shops and wholesale importers in the city.

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