Twelve frozen treats and drinks fail Taipei checks - 台北時報

ALERT: Food items from nine restaurants and beverage stores tested positive for bacteria and could result in fines of up to NT$3 million, the Taipei health department said

By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

Twelve frozen dessert and iced beverage items failed health inspections twice, representing a 14.5 percent failure rate, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday.

With many people buying frozen desserts and iced beverages amid a summer heat wave, the department said it conducted three waves of inspections on the hygiene and quality of the products.

A total of 299 items — 70 toppings, 97 frozen desserts, 29 ice cubes and 103 iced beverages — were tested, with 20 items failing to meet standards, or a 6.7 percent failure rate, it said.

Photo: Tsai Ssu-pei, Taipei Times

Eighty-three items were tested in a third round of inspections, with 21 items failing a first examination and 12 failing a re-examination, it said, adding that the sellers of the items could face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$3 million (US$996 and US$96,612).

The 12 items were all found to contain bacteria from the Enterobacteriaceae family exceeding the allowable limit of 100 colony-forming units per gram.

They include taro and taro ball milk-flavored shaved ice and peanut and taro shaved ice at Smoothie House (思慕昔) on Yongkang Street; iced spring tea and iced red oolong tea at Jiuyang (玖仰茶食文化) tea restaurant’s Yongkang branch; dark chocolate soft serve ice cream at Godiva’s Breeze Nanjing branch; and the Oreo chocolate smoothie at Movenpick Cafe’s Chingcheng branch.

They also include barley black tea at Ren Cong Zhong Steak’s (人??厚切牛排) Guangfu branch; the mung bean smoothie and adzuki bean smoothie at Jin Fa Jia (進發家) beverage store’s Daan branch; the mung bean smoothie at Ping Tea (三良品茶) on Yungchi Road; ice cream at Chien Tu Hot Pot’s (錢都火鍋) Neihu Chenggong branch; and the iced four seasons green tea at BlackBall (黑丸嫩仙草) beverage store’s Guting branch.

The restaurants and beverage shops should follow simple steps to ensure good food hygiene, including keeping the kitchen and sales area clean, by disinfecting containers regularly and keeping refrigerators and freezers at proper temperatures; and workers should maintain good personal hygiene, seek out regular health checkups, thoroughly wash and disinfect their hands, and properly dress wounds and wear gloves, the health department said.

Stores should also check the sanitary conditions of suppliers and their ingredients, including ice cubes and toppings, and maintain purchase records. They should also ensure that the water used is clean, by using filters and changing the filter cartridges regularly, it said.

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