By Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNAThe Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is preparing regulations on a possible carcinogen in vegetable oils, glycidyl fatty acid esters, which if passed would make Taiwan the first nation in Asia to regulate the substance. FDA Food Safety Section head Liao Chia-ding (廖家鼎) yesterday said that the glycidyl fatty acid esters were only recently discovered and are created primarily during high-head deodorization and deacidification of plant oils. The US, Japan and Hong Kong have yet to regulate glycidyl fatty acid esters, while the EU is the only government with regulations regarding them, he said. After several meetings with firms in the food industry, the FDA plans to reference EU regulations for its draft legislation, setting 1,000 micrograms per kilogram (mcg/kg) as the maximum limit for glycidyl fatty acid esters in food products, Liao said. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies glycidyl fatty acid esters in Group 2A, meaning there is limited evidence a substance is carcinogenic in humans, but there is sufficient evidence it causes cancer in animals, he said.

Source: Taipei Times November 21, 2019 15:56 UTC