Swift Justice for Unscrupulous Plasticizer Users

Swift Justice for Unscrupulous Plasticizer Users
China Times editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)
A Translation
May 31, 2011

Apparently the degree to which toxic plasticizers have harmed the public is greater than previously imagined. They have been found not just in food, but in cosmetics. Food and cosmetics are commercial products. Unscrupulous businesses knowingly violated the law. Innocent people spent good money only to buy poison and damage their health. The government must severely punish those companies that engaged in such malicious behavior.

Health officials and prosecutors have investigated for days. The story behind the world's first case of plasticizer food contamination is becoming increasingly clear. The two main upstream "drug connections" were the Yu Shen Chemical Company and the Pin Han Perfumery Company. Yu Shen has been in business over 30 years. It is the largest supplier of toxic emulsifiers. The number of midstream and downstream industries affected is difficult to determine. Almost all domestic food industries, large and small, have been affected. Like the public, they too have become victims.

An inter-ministerial team is currently investigating. It has already discovered over 500 types of contaminated products. These 500 plus products, in turn, have affected other food companies. If hundreds, perhaps even thousands of food companies intentionally added plasticizers, then the safety of domestic food products is in serious question. But based on food industry reactions, the volume and cost of plasticizers used in the food manufacturing process is minimal, It is unlikely that the food industry intentionally added poisons and harmed people. Many of the food companies named are listed or highly reputable companies that have been in business for years. Amidst this turmoil, the government must quickly identify the flow of raw materials and assign blame. Some food manufacturers are innocent. The public must not be forced to constantly wonder what it can eat.

Yu Shen and Pin Han's evil deeds deserve universal condemnation. Five major product categories have been affected, including sports drinks and fruit juices. Even baby foods and health foods have fallen victim. Many purchasers of health food already have weak constitutions. Infants and young children are even more vulnerable. Those who sold raw materials containing plasticizers to these segments of the food industry deserve the harshest condemnation. How can these suppliers sleep at night?

There are 16 kinds of plasticizers. According to prosecutors, Yu Shen began using DEHP plasticizer a few years ago. This kind of plasticizing agent is metabolized by the body within a day or two. As soon as one ceases eating the problem food, one will be just fine. But Yu Shen over a period of at least 25 years prior to that, it used DOP, a more toxic plasticizer. This plasticizer cannot be metabolized and excreted. It accumulates in the body. These deadly toxins were actually added to legal emulsifiers that people put into their bodies. Companies violated the law. Their actions may not amount to murder. But they could be seen as attempted murder.

The plasticizer tempest has provoked panic among the public. The food industry is losing money. The storm has raged for several days. We now see which government agencies made mistakes and must be forced to improve.

First, the Health Department imposed stringent standards for many toxic substances. It stipulated that they "may not be added," and "must not be detectable." But the government cannot merely lay down the law. A law written on a piece of paper will keep the public safe. Otherwise, plasticizers would not have been found in thousands of food products.

First, plasticizing agents, environmental hormones, antibiotics, and chemical additives, must be prohibited by law. Then the government must conduct spot checks. It must engage in an ongoing battle of wits with opportunistic businessmen who deliberately seek out loopholes. It must do everything in its power to eliminate harmful substances from peoples' lives.

The EPD is responsible for poison control. Plasticizers are currently classified as class four poisons. Many experts and groups are hoping to reclassify them as class two poisons. Reclassification would enhance control efforts. Once the illegal industries have been uncovered, the punishments can be increased. The EPA has never had a positive attitude. Given its negative attitude, how can it respond appropriately to public demands for increased food safety?

According to a recent EPA investigation, among the 300 domestic sellers of plasticizer ingredients, 20 have not filed import and export product transaction reports. These 20 companies constitute less than 1/10th of the industry as a whole. But as long as a few kilograms of illegal plasticizer find their way into the food industry, the harm will remain unimaginable. If not for the current turmoil, these 20 raw material suppliers would have slipped through the net. The EPA must establish more rigorous inspection methods.

During the current turmoil, food companies and [channel operators?] have complained that the government lacks standard operating procedures. First it demanded that food companies submit reports proving their products were free of DEHP, Later it demanded that they be free of six kinds of plasticizers, But domestic testing capacity was inadequate. Food companies found themselves in a giant traffic jam. In the future the public will demand even stricter food safety and supervision. The government agencies' inadequate testing capacity must be addressed, as soon as possible.

The Mainland authorities are closely following the progress of the plasticizer turmoil on Taiwan. Mainland China's Supreme People's Court and the courts at all levels, punish criminals who endanger food safety harshly, in accordance with the law. The plasticizer incident has undermined the health of the nation, and the livelihood of food companies. Swift justice is one of the principles the government must ensure.

中時電子報 新聞
中國時報 　2011.05.31
社論－從重、從速處理塑化劑不肖業者
本報訊

　塑化劑毒害民眾的範圍似有擴大蔓延趨勢，如今不只食品，連化妝品也有！「食品」和「化妝品」都是商品，也就是說，在不肖業者有意違法之下，無辜的民眾等於花錢買毒，健康受損。業者這麼惡質的行為，政府一定要從重處罰！

　經過衛生單位和檢調連日追查，這起全球首見的食品被塑化劑汙染事件的眉目逐漸清晰，主要「毒頭」來自昱伸香料和賓漢兩家上游原料業者。而昱伸已經營卅年以上，成為國內最大含毒起雲劑供應商，中下游供貨對象難以計數，以致國內大大小小食品業者幾乎都中毒，和民眾一樣，成為這起事件的受害者。

　目前經過政府跨部會小組的稽查，已經發現五百種以上的商品淪陷；而五百種以上商品，又涉及更多的食品製造業者，若說成百上千的食品業者都是故意添加塑化劑，那麼，國內食品安全問題就非同小可。但根據食品界反應，塑化劑在食品製造過程中，所占份量與成本微乎其微，業者不太可能有意添加毒物害人。而許多中鏢的食品業者是股票上市櫃公司，或經營多年的老字號，在這一波風暴中，政府有必要迅速查清毒原料流向與責任，還食品製造業者清白，也能讓民眾不再遑遑終日，不知道吃什麼才好。

　昱伸與賓漢的惡行，可以用「天地不容」來形容！不止運動飲料、果汁等五大產品遭毒害，連嬰幼兒食品與健康食品都難逃毒網；會吃健康食品的人，也許本身就體質孱弱、嬰幼兒就更不用說了，把含塑化劑的原料賣給兩種食品業者，其心可誅，原料業者夜裡怎麼能睡得著！

　塑化劑有十六種，根據檢方調查，昱伸使用ＤＥＨＰ塑化劑是近幾年的事，這種塑化劑一、二天就能被人體代謝，民眾停止吃問題食品就好了。但昱伸承認，之前至少廿五年的時間中，是使用更毒的ＤＯＰ塑化劑，這種塑化劑不能被代謝排出，而是一直累積在人體內。這麼毒的東西，竟然被加進合法的食品添加物起雲劑當中，以致被民眾吃進體內，業者觸犯的法律，即使構不成殺人罪，也可以殺人未遂視之。

　塑化劑風暴掀起民眾恐慌、食品業者經營損失，但連吹幾天之後，我們也看到政府單位的疏失，必須一併檢討改善。

　首先，衛生署對很多毒性物質以最嚴格的標準「不得添加」、「不得檢出」來規範。但政府施政不是定了規定，以為薄薄一紙法律、公文，就能保障民眾安全了。否則，現在怎麼會在成千上萬的食品中檢出塑化劑？

　對於塑化劑等環境荷爾蒙、抗生素、化學添加物，有了不准添加的法律後，政府還要不定期抽查，和存心鑽漏洞、取巧投機的不肖商人鬥法，儘可能的杜絕有害物質進入民眾生活中。

　對於負責毒物管制的環保署，目前很多專家和團體都希望能將塑化劑由第四類毒物管制，提昇到第二類，如此可以加強管制力度；查獲業者違法後，懲處也更重。但環保署一直沒有正面表態，這種消極態度，如何能回應要求食品安全的強烈民意？

　根據環保署最近的稽查，全國三百家販售塑化劑的原料業者中，仍有廿家沒有依法申報產品進出口與交易紀錄。雖然廿家還不到整體業者的十分之一，但只要有幾公斤的塑化劑違法流向食品界，危害就難以想像。如果不是這一波風暴，這廿家原料業者就一直是防毒大網中的漏網之魚，環保署也必須建立更嚴密的稽查方式。

　在這一波風暴中，食品與通路業者也抱怨，政府沒有標準作業流程，一開始是要求業者提出不含ＤＥＨＰ的報告，後來又追加到要不含六種塑化劑，而國內檢驗能量又不足，業者送驗大塞車。今後民眾對食品安全的要求與監督將更趨嚴格，政府有關單位對於檢驗能量的問題，必須極早規畫因應。

　台灣發生塑化劑風暴後，大陸也密切觀察事件發展，中國最高人民法院並要求各級法院，依法從重、從速嚴懲危害食品安全的罪犯。塑化劑事件關係全國民眾健康與大批食品業者生計，「從重、從速」的確是政府可借鏡的處理原則。