Hong Kong bans Taiwan sports drink

HONG KONG, June 14 (Xinhua) -- The Center for Food Safety of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government said here on Tuesday that it will prohibit from Wednesday noon the import and supply of Taiwan's DrinkaZine Energy Watt Sports Drink, due to the plasticizer contained exceeding the set standards.

The center also ordered the importer, distributor and retailer to completely recall all of the drinks, which are manufactured by Tai Hwa Oil Industrial in Taiwan, within 30 days. The sports drink sample was collected for testing during the center's surveillance checks. The test result indicated that the sample contained the plasticizer Dibutyl phthalate at a level of 0.97 parts per million (ppm), exceeding the limit of 0.3 ppm.

If someone were to drink about four-fifths of an 800 ml bottle of this drink daily, it could pose a risk to their health, the center said. The center has notified the trade of the arrangement and urged them to take the initiative to stop the sale of any food or drink that might be affected. It will issue timely food alerts to keep them abreast of the latest information released by the Taiwanese authority.