On Friday, a supervisory body in Beijing had exposed the presence of a cancer- causing plastic additive, DEHP, among a wide range of edible products in Taiwan, spread to the Chinese mainland. Besides Cancer, the DEHP can also impart a long term affect on the liver and kidney. Further, it is also known to be a responsible factor for female sexual precocity and harm male reproductive capacity. Sports drinks, fruit juice along with dried fruit were observed to be contaminated with the additive.

A food safety lawyer and the China representative of the Global Food Safety Forum, Sang Liwei, commented on the issue and said that the use of illegal food additives should be considered as serious offense as it imparts negative effects on health.

"The news from Taiwan was a shock, as people usually believe pricey imports have less quality problems”, added Mr. Liwei. "It gives us grounds to question the effectiveness of China's import-export inspections. DEHP should have been detected before entering Shanghai in March”.

Meanwhile, the authorities from the Taiwan Department of Health had pointed the Shanghai Shunda Food Seasoning Co Ltd. and claimed its involvement in the DEHP scandal while notified that dried fruit and vegetables of Trikot with DEHP tainted product are still present in Shanghai market, including at City Shop in Nanjing Xi Lu.