Controversy
Originally invented in the 1980s in the Eastern Asia region, bubble tea has since become popular in Australia, USA and Europe. Despite its popularity with young consumers, it is critically discussed in European media, NGOs, political parties, and market surveillance regarding its nutritional values, choking hazards, and traces of unwanted chemical substances.
Boba pearls, milk powder, and juice syrups may contain banned chemical additives in order to reduce costs. In May 2011, a food scandal broke out in Taiwan where DEHP (a chemical plasticizer and potential carcinogen used to make plastic) was found as a stabilizer in drinks and juice syrups. Some of these products may have been exported and used in bubble tea shops in the US and around the world. DEHP can affect hormone balances. In June 2011, the Health Minister of Malaysia, Liow Tiong Lai, instructed companies selling "Strawberry Syrup", a material used in some bubble teas, to stop selling them after chemical tests showed they were tainted with a carcinogen identified as DEHP.
In August 2012, scientists from the Technical University of Aachen (RWTH) in Germany analyzed bubble tea samples within a research project in order to look for allergenic substances. The result indicated that the products contain chemicals which could be seen as undesired in food. These chemicals are styrene, acetophenone and brominated substances. The report was published by German newspaper Rheinische Post and caused Taiwan's representative office in Germany to issue a statement, saying food items in Taiwan are monitored under the laws. Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration confirmed in September that in a second round of tests conducted by German authorities, Taiwanese bubble tea was found to be free of cancer-causing chemicals as the German media reports alleged. The products were also found to contain no excessive levels of heavy-metal contaminants or other health-threatening agents.
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