Two pieces of pickled vegetables from Weixian Company were found to contain 5 times more benzoic acid than the standard

In May, the New Taipei City Government Health Bureau sampled 40 items of pickled vegetables sold in hypermarkets, supermarkets, traditional markets, restaurants and stalls in the area. Among them, two cans of pickled vegetables produced by "Weixian Catering Co., Ltd." contained benzoic acid that exceeded the standard by 5 times, which is harmful to the body. In addition to requiring the products to be removed from the shelves immediately, they were also fined NT$30,000 to NT$150,000 in accordance with Article 12 of the Food Sanitation Management Act and Article 33 of the same act.

The canned pickled vegetables produced by "Weishian Catering Co., Ltd." contain benzoic acid that exceeds the standard by 5 times, seriously affecting people's health. (Photo courtesy of New Taipei City Health Bureau)

Lin Guanzhen, chief of the Food and Drug Administration Department of the Health Bureau, said that benzoic acid, also known as benzoic acid, has low solubility in water, so most people use sodium and potassium benzoate salts as food chemical additives. According to WHO (1994), the limit for the use of sodium benzoate is 1.0g/kg, while Taiwan's food additive hygiene standards are even stricter at 0.6g/kg, in order to prevent people from overusing benzoic acid and causing physical harm.

After benzoic acid enters the human body, most of it can react with glycine to form hippuric acid and be excreted from the urine within 9 to 15 hours, and the remaining part combines with glucose to detoxify. Therefore, those that meet the standards are harmless to the human body. However, if the intake of benzoic acid exceeds the standard, it can easily cause symptoms such as drooling, diarrhea, stomach pain, rapid heartbeat, and even may pose a risk of cancer.

Section Chief Lin Guanzhen said that the inspection items this time were preservatives such as acetic acid (standard 2.0g/kg), benzoic acid (standard 0.6g/kg), and dehydrated acetic acid (standard: not allowed to be added). As a result, two pickled vegetables failed the test, namely the chopped melon and long melon (benzoic acid 3.081 g/kg and 1.171 g/kg) from "Weixian Catering Co., Ltd. (No. 19, De'an Street, Taishan District, New Taipei City)". In addition to immediately requesting the business to remove the products from the shelves, the upstream manufacturers are also being tracked down.

After investigation, it was found that the upstream manufacturer of the broken flower melon is a business in Changhua County. A letter has been sent to the local health authority to continue the investigation. The upstream manufacturer of the long flower melon is currently being investigated. The Health Bureau stated that long-term consumption of benzoic acid preservatives will mainly lead to poor appetite, liver damage, irritation of the gastrointestinal tract causing stomach pain, nausea or vomiting, and large amounts will cause metabolic acidosis. Therefore, when people buy pickled vegetables, it is best to purchase them from reputable manufacturers and avoid purchasing products from unknown sources or in bulk.

Even if pickled vegetables do not contain any illegal chemical agents, the excessive salt content in them can easily lead to cardiovascular disease if consumed too much. Therefore, pickled vegetable lovers are advised to reduce the amount they consume.