Following the discovery by Singaporean authorities of maleic acid in a third batch of Taiwan-made food products, the ROC Department of Health said June 9 it was important to determine how the substance entered the food before taking further action.
Maleic acid is legally permitted in food containers and packaging and could have leached from the packaging into the food, and it is also present at low concentrations in permitted food additives such as malic acid and fumaric acid. It could also have been produced by a chemical reaction during the production process, the DOH said.
“Maleic acid could have entered the food from the production process due to repeated use of food processing equipment for different recipes,” said Chen Chin-cheng, a professor in Tainan City-based National Cheng Kung University’s Department of Chemical Engineering. “What’s important is to set a safety limit for the presence of such substances in food.”
The EU sets a limit of 30 parts per million for the presence of maleic acid in containers or packaging materials, the DOH said, adding that there are several ways the maleic acid could have entered the product in a legitimate manner.
In addition to a possible presence in malic acid and fumaric acid, as well as leaching from the packaging, maleic acid may be produced by fermentation or by the Maillard reaction, a natural browning process resulting from a chemical reaction between an amino acid and a reducing sugar.
Different countries have different standards for the presence of additives in food, the DOH said. It cautioned importers and exporters be aware of and adhere to destination countries’ standards, adding that discrepancies between nations can be resolved through formal trade negotiation channels.
The DOH stressed that it will continue to investigate if any unapproved additives are being used in food. If such illegal use is determined, offenders will be prosecuted in accordance with the law, no matter what levels of illegal substances are found, and the products will be destroyed.
The latest Taiwan food products discovered by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore to contain maleic acid were three types of noodle produced by Sun Chi Foods Industrial Co. Ltd. (SDH)
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