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Strange brew: 60 percent of handmade drinks contain excessive levels of bacteria

62 percent of handmade drinks in southern Taiwan shops have excessive levels of E. coli and aerobic bacteria

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Milk tea drinks.

Milk tea drinks. (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- Random samples of handmade drinks from 50 drink providers in southern Taiwan showed that 62 percent of their beverages contained excessive levels of E. coli and aerobic bacteria, the Consumer Protection Association announced yesterday.

According to the association's deputy secretary-general, Hsu Pang-han (徐邦瀚), 31 out of the 50 drink stores sampled failed to meet sanitation standards, with levels of bacteria as much as eight to nine times the acceptable level of 200 colony-forming units per milliliter. Of the 50 drink shops randomly inspected, 14 were in Tainan, 23 were in Kaohsiung, and 13 were in Pingtung.

Hsu pointed out that the substandard drinks in question were pearl milk tea, fruit punch, black tea latte with pearls, and Guanyin milk tea.

Drinks that contain such excessive levels of bacteria can cause gastrointestinal discomfort, acute gastroenteritis and other diseases, according to Hsu.

Hsu said that the cause for such high levels of aerobic bacteria in the drinks could be the use of dirty ice cubes or the poor personal hygiene of the drink makers.

Article 48 of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation stipulates that food sold to the public as well as utensils, containers, and packaging for foodstuffs shall meet hygienic safety and quality standards. Offenders of this law are subject to fines of NT$30,000 (US$989) to NT$3 million.