Test shows 15 popular Thai milk tea brands contain synthetic colours
A TEST undertaken by “Chalad Sue magazine, Consumer Foundation” of Thai milk tea sold at 15 popular beverage outlets showed that they all contained synthetic colours and while these are officially allowed to be used in food a doctor warned that no such thing as safe in terms of chemical toxicity that enters the human body, Naewna newspaper said this evening (Apr. 28).
This magazine posted a photo and a message on its Facebook page that this test was undertaken to raise product safety standards and protect consumers through a product test supported by Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth).
The magazine collected samples of Thai milk tea from these 15 high-profile beverage shops in March with the sample consisting of one glass of milk tea and ice.
The 15 brands as shown in the labels are Cha Tra Mue, Café Amazon, All Café, Punthai, Inthanin Coffee, True Coffee, Fire Tiger, Arigato, Ochaya, Kudsan, GAGA, Karun, I Will Consume Iced Tea Everyday, Pang Cha and Gu Roti Cha Chak.
They all were sent to an ISO 17025 laboratory for testing with the result being as follows:
(1) Synthetic colours were found in every sample, but these colours are allowed to be used in food;
(2) One to four synthetic colours were found in the samples including Sunset Yellow FCF, Tartrazine, Ponceau 4R and Carmoisine or Azorubine;
(3) Sunset Yellow FCF was found in every sample, the least being 7.90 milligrams/kg and the most 291.41 milligrams/kg;
(4) Thai milk tea with a high amount of Sunset Yellow FCF synthetic colour are True Coffee – 291.41mg/kg; Gu Roti Cha Chak – 250.20mg/kg; and Pang Cha – 222.26mg/kg.
Monitoring the quality and standards of Thai tea drinks is even more necessary today because increasing popularity of consumption has led to many types of tea products, including leaf tea, instant tea powder and ready-to-drink tea. However there are still problems in terms of clarity on the standards used for controlling colour in tea and labelling issues, the magazine said.
Dr. Kaew Kangsada-ampai, adviser to Chalad Sue magazine, Consumer Foundation warned about the dangers of food additives and synthetic colours, saying, “There is no such thing as safe in terms of chemical toxicity that enters the human body. There is only the word ‘risk’, which means high or low risk, and assess yourself whether it is acceptable to risk consuming non-nutrient additives.”
Her three recommendations are as follows:
(1) Choose products with FDA registration numbers;
(2) Read the product label;
(3) Choose a variety of beverages to reduce exposure to the same type of food colouring repeatedly.
The magazine itself had five more recommendations:
(1) When buying a drink choose only a small cup or glass. If possible brew the tea yourself and choose only those without synthetic food coloring;
(2) Don’t drink it too often;
(3) Choose a less sweet type to comply with Public Health Ministry’s recommendation;
(4) It is not recommended that children be allowed to drink this beverage because their excretion system is not yet fully developed;
(5) Be aware of more than one type of colour being used because there is a chance that the colours will interact with each other, and it is difficult to predict whether the effect is harmful to the consumer or not.
This is so because assessment of chemical toxicity is usually of a single substance not a mixture of substances.
Photo: Thai Rath
This report was originally published by www.thainewsroom.com
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