Vendors of tainted starches indicted, could face heavy penalties
2014/02/10 23:45:44
CNA file photo
Taipei, Feb. 10 (CNA) Nine individuals were indicted by the Tainan District Prosecutors Office on Monday for their involvement in producing and selling modified starches containing maleic anhydride, an industrial chemical not approved for use in foods.
The nine defendants, six of whom were owners of starch manufacturers, were charged with fraud, producing and selling hazardous foods and violating the Act Governing Food Sanitation, the prosecutors office said.
The indictment asks the court to impose a heavy penalty on the defendants for the violations aimed at "profiteering at the expense of the people's health and Taiwan's international image as a kingdom of gourmet foods."
The scandal was triggered in May 2013 when health authorities announced they had found that some foods sold in local markets contained maleic anhydride. That led to an investigation that eventually tracked down six producers making the tainted modified starch -- a widely-used food additive to enhance food texture -- and culminated in Monday's indictments.
In the indictment, prosecutors accused the defendants of knowing that maleic anhydride was an industrial material used mainly to produce polyester resin and pesticides and was not authorized for use in foods.
Yet the vendors still added the chemical in liquefied starch so that it would "make foods more chewy," the indictment said. The prosecutors handling the case said the defendants sold modified starch with a maleic anhydride concentration of 1,589.6-4,862 ppm to retailers, food processors, restaurants and food vendors who were unaware that it contained the toxic ingredient.
The tainted starch was then used to produce odens, pearl tapioca and other popular local snacks.
Their investigation found that around 19.11 million kilograms of the tainted starch was sold at a price of NT$25 (US$0.83) per kilo, generating sales of NT$478 million, which the prosecutors called "profits."
(By Yang Sz-ruei and Elizabeth Hsu)
