KUALA LUMPUR: Plastic packaging should not be blamed for recent concerns over Taiwan food and beverage products contaminated by the Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), says the Malaysian Plastics Forum (MPF).
“In this case, DEHP was illegally used to replace the more expensive palm oil ingredient in the clouding agents.
“A clouding agent is a legal food additive to make food or drinks more visually appealing.
“It should be noted that this incident was the result of inappropriate and illegal use of DEHP and is similar to that related to the melamine scare, where the product was inappropriately in milk products,” MPF said in a statement, here yesterday.
DEHP, DINP and other kinds of phthalates are mainly used as plasticisers in making soft and flexible PVC articles.
“For food contact applications, it is mandatory for manufacturers to comply with food contact regulations such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), USA and the European food contact articles/packaging regulations,” it added. — Bernama