TAIPEI: Around 15 percent of Chinese New Year specialities tested recently by the Consumers' Foundation were found to contain excessive levels of germicides and preservatives, the foundation said yesterday.

With less than a week to go before the first day of the Year of the Tiger Sunday and consumers shopping feverishly for popular holiday foods, the foundation tested 38 randomly selected samples of rice, noodle, bean and processed products for germicides and preservatives.

Four were found to contain the germicide hydrogen peroxide, and one had an excessively high level of preservatives. Two processed food products did not list the product's preservatives on the label.

The foundation said that although hydrogen peroxide has been confirmed to cause cancer in animals, it is not carcinogenic in humans.

But it will indiscriminately kill both good and bad bacteria in humans. If people are exposed to it in low concentrations, it could harm cells' chromosomes.

According to the foundation, food additive regulations stipulate that germicides can be used in processed fish products but not in other foods.

"The public should exercise caution by smelling items when purchasing foods for the Chinese New Year," one foundation official said.

Meanwhile, Taipei city's Department of Health said that nearly half of the bean curd products sold in local markets and 15 percent of steamed cakes and white radish cakes sold for New Year's festivities have excessive amounts of preservatives.

A health official said the random tests on 251 Chinese New Year food items from traditional and wholesale markets, and the Dihua business district found that 35 of them did not meet applicable standards.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 02/09/2010 page2)