Taiwan News
Date: 2017/06/07
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
TAIPEI (Taiwan News)–We almost consume flour every day as many foods are made
Taiwan’s Department of Health and Welfare is now mulling over banning these two additives, BPO and ADA, which have been legal food additives in Taiwan
of flour, but what most people in Taiwan don’t know is that flour in Taiwan is usually laced with two health-harming flour treatment agents to whiten it and shorten the process of “ripening.” However, Taiwan’s Department of Health and Welfare is now mulling over banning these two additives, Benzoyl peroxide
(BPO) and azodicarbonamide (ADA), which have been legal food additives in Taiwan for 20 years.
BPO is used to whiten flour, while ADA is added to shorten the ripening process of flour from three or four weeks to three or four days, thus reducing electricity cost. ADA is also used in the manufacturing of rubber sole and yoga mattress.
These two additives, which can induce asthma, harm liver, and even cause cancer, have been banned by the European Union, China, New Zealand and Australia long ago. [FULL STORY]
