TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A type of travel mug imported from India by IKEA has been found to contain extremely high plasticizer levels, according to Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Results from a border inspection indicate that the TROLIGTVIS insulated travel mugs distributed by the renowned European furniture and home accessories group contain 1.6 ppm of dibutyl phthalate (DBP), a compound commonly used as a plasticizer, reported Liberty Times.
Taiwan has put a cap of 0.3 ppm on the chemical, which means the DBP levels detected in the product have exceeded five times the permitted level. Barred from entry, the mugs will be returned or destroyed, said the report.
Yen Tsung-hai (顏宗海), director of the Clinical Toxicology Center at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, pointed out that a human weighing 60 kilograms should not consume more than 0.6 milligrams of DBP a day. Excessive consumption of the plasticizer could be detrimental to the endocrine system as well as adversely affect the reproductive system, wrote MSN News.
Public awareness of the harmful effects of plasticizers on human health has increased in Taiwan over the years. In 2011, the island nation experienced a nationwide food safety scare involving the discovery of a wide range of plasticizer-contaminated food items.