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# Toxic chemical found in foods made in Taiwan
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/toxic_chemical_found_in_foods_made_in_taiwan_0606111236/
- Published: 2011-06-06T01:34:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T16:04:08.000Z
- Description: News reports say the plasticizer DEHP turned up in hundreds of foods made in Taiwan, traced to a flavor company that used it as a clouding agent. A government analyst found it by chance in a probiotic product at 600 ppm. Affected foods include sports drinks, juices, tea drinks and jams.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Chemical, Food Safety, #vivvo-import

By David Liu, Ph.D. and editing by Elizabeth Hutchinson

Monday June 6, 2011 (foodconsumer.org) -- News media reported that Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, or DEHP, which is used as a plasticizer in plastics, has been found in hundreds of foods made in Taiwan.

DEHP is not supposed to be present in any food as it is toxic. However, reports say that this toxic chemical has been used illegally in the food and beverage industry for 30 years now.

The chemical was reportedly commonly used in clouding agents intended for beverages, but it has been found that this chemical has been used in many other types of foods.

A government analyst found, by chance, the chemical property of a pro-biotic product similar to that of DEHP, which led her to suspect there may be a case of adulteration.

It was later confirmed that DEHP was present in the product she tested at a dose of 600 ppm. This is compared to 1 ppm in other foods.

The government eventually found DEHP was used as a clouding agent by a flavor company, which seems to be the source of the widespread contamination.

According to media reports, there are about 100,000 chemicals on the market in Taiwan, most of which are toxic. However, the black list of the Environmental Protection Agency of Taiwan contains only 271 chemicals that are classified as toxic.

Six types of foods tainted with DEHP include sports drinks, fruit juice or fruit juice-based drinks, tea drinks, jam or jelly, capsule-like powdered foods, and additives.

"DEHP has been used as a plasticizer in medical devices such as intravenous tubing and bags, catheters, nasogastric tubes, dialysis bags and tubing, and blood bags and transfusion tubing, and air tubes," Wikipedia says.

DEHP can affect the development of sexual organs in males. Reports say the penises of Taiwanese men are 0.9 cm shorter than expected, leading many to believe that this has something to do with the illegal use of DEHP in foods. Exposure to the chemical can also drastically lower sperm counts in males.