News Clipping 2011/06/02

I.

DOH tracing path of harmful food additive

The China Post   May 25, 2011

The Department of Health (DOH) is trying to track down a poisonous food additive sold by a chemical company to unwitting makers of beverages and foodstuffs after ordering the removal of contaminated products from store shelves.

According to a local news source, this is the world's first case of foods and beverages being laced with the plasticizer Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, commonly abbreviated as DEHP. DEHP is a carcinogen and can also disrupt the endocrine system and change hormone levels.

In the meantime, prosecutors are questioning Lai Chun-chieh (賴俊傑), manager of Yu Shen Company (昱伸公司), which has been manufacturing the additive for a long time. According to sources, the company's monthly sales total NT$3 million. Lai, 57, was in police custody but had not been charged with any crime as of press time.

Protecting the Consumer

DOH ordered on Friday, May 20, that beverages and foodstuffs laced with the additive be removed from store shelves nationwide, that consumers be refunded, and that all such unsold beverages and foodstuffs be impounded and destroyed.

Total consumption of DEHP by public and private organizations came to more than 200 metric tons last year, according to DOH, which is trying to find out how much found its way to the food industry. On May 19, Changhua County seized 127 barrels (25 kg each) of emulsifiers laced with plasticizers and about 10,000 kg of food product mixes from four food processing companies in Changhua County, Taichung City and New Taipei City.

Carcinogen's Harmful Effects

　According to media reports, the said additive, which contains the cancer-causing plasticizer DEHP, has been used as a substitute for palm oil, a legal ingredient but five-times more expensive, in the manufacture of an emulsifier. DEHP, an organic compound, is described as a cost effective general-purpose plasticizer which is used mainly for making plastic and PVC soft and pliable. While emulsifiers are a legitimate ingredient of food additives, plasticizers are not. Emulsifiers are added to sports drinks and fruit juices to give them a “clouded”and “rich” look.

Affected beverages and foodstuffs include fruit juices, jellies, yogurt drinks and yogurt tablets sold under such popular brands as Dahu Strawberry Farm, Sunkist, Taiwan Yes and others. The highest concentration found in these beverages and foodstuffs is 30 parts per million (ppm). An intake of 500 cc of such drinks could leave in the body enough of the agent to exceed the permissible amount in a 60-kg adult.

Young Energy Source Co., Ltd., maker of Taiwan Yes products, yesterday apologized to the public for its negligence in a press conference and in public statements published in the Chinese-language press. The company also told consumers to return the products they had bought for unconditional refunds.

Aside from causing cancer, long-time accumulation of DEHP in the human body could lead to feminization, said an official with the DOH's Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As such, women pregnant with male babies and boys in puberty among regular consumers of such products stand to be affected most, according to the FDA official.

However, according to Li Chun-chang, a professor with National Chengkung University, DEHP is a dangerous carcinogen, but would not accumulate if intake stops. Only long-term observation could determine whether a person's endocrine system has been affected, Li said, adding a urine test could readily reveal the amount of DEHP accumulated in the body.

II.

Bubble tea ingredients exported to U.K. may contain poisonous additive

The China Post      May 26, 2011

The China Post news staff--Bubble tea ingredients exported to the United Kingdom join a long list of products in a massive Department of Health crackdown suspected to be tainted with a dangerous plasticizer. The Taiwanese specialty has emerged as a wildly popular drink in the UK.

The latest DOH investigation found that the food additive, known as Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, known as DEHP, has been distributed in products from 46 different companies, although a major bubble tea ingredient exporter denies that theirs is one.

So far, the company identified as the main source spreading the food additive is Yu Shen Company (昱伸公司), a long-term manufacturer of the additive.

Possmei International Co., a producer of tea and tapioca ingredients bound for the U.K., said there is no evidence that their materials have been tainted with the carcinogenic DEHP. Possmei supplies key ingredients to Bubbleology, a London beverage shop opened by businessman Assad Khan that made the news earlier this year.

A Possmei spokesperson claimed their products do not contain additives manufactured by Yu Shen Company. However, to ensure consumer safety following the DOH announcement, Possmei has voluntarily sent product samples to leading inspection company SGS Taiwan for testing.

Meanwhile, Possmei has informed downstream suppliers to remove their products from the market and suspend operations until test results are conclusive. Results are expected today.

Possmei said that if traces of the food additive are found in current Bubbleology products, the source would be an upstream supplier or manufacturer with which the company has no direct contact.

Further, Kahn would currently be using bubble tea ingredients that have already undergone testing, which means U.K. customers have nothing to worry about, the company spokesperson said.

If the most recent shipment is found to contain DEHP, Kahn has been instructed to destroy it immediately, he added.

The wave of DEHP-tainted products has the DOH struggling to rein in makers of beverages and foodstuffs that may have unwittingly used the Yu Shen Company food additives. The department has already ordered both the removal of any contaminated products and refunds for consumers. All contaminated products are in the process of being impounded and destroyed.

According to a local news source, this is the world's first case of foods and beverages being laced with DEHP, which can also disrupt the endocrine system and change hormone levels.

III.

Gov't orders withdrawal of DEHP-tainted food worldwide The China Post    May 26, 2011 The China Post news staff--Premier Wu Den-yih yesterday called on officials to hold manufacturers of plasticizer-tainted beverages and foodstuffs liable and pull all such products from both domestic and international markets. The Department of Health (DOH) has lost no time reporting the issue to the World Health Organization (WHO) to alert other countries of the existence of such products. The harm done to people by plasticizer-tainted beverages and foodstuffs cannot be undone by a simple apology, Wu was quoted as saying. Only when we get to the root of the issue and hold the manufacturers liable is social justice upheld, he said, calling for a ban on the use of poisonous plasticizer Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, commonly abbreviated as DEHP, in the manufacturing of food additives. Wu however, cautioned officials against incriminating the entire food industry indiscriminately, saying officials should set their crosshairs only on those who have used the plasticizer in their food products and beverages. Commenting on the sale of such products overseas, Wu said withdrawing such imports from overseas is Taiwan's obligation. Young Energy Source Co. Ltd., maker of Taiwan Yes products, apologized to the public on May 24 for its negligence. WHO, Mainland China Alerted Kang Jan-jou, director general of the DOH's Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said yesterday the government had reported the issue to the WHO on May 24, in the hopes of minimizing the possible harm done to people in other countries, after ordering that beverages and foodstuffs laced with the plasticizer-tainted food additive be removed from store shelves nationwide, that consumers be refunded and that all such unsold beverages and foodstuffs be impounded and destroyed. According to Tsai Shu-cheng, another FDA official, the FDA also has notified mainland Chinese food safety departments about the issue. During questioning, Lai Chun-chieh, manager of the Yu Shen Company (?R??), which has been selling DEHP to food and beverage manufacturers for a long time, owned up that his company had branch offices and factories in mainland China producing such food additives, Tsai said. The Implicated Manufacturers In the meantime, local health authorities in several counties and cities suspect that the products of several big-name manufacturers are also tainted. These manufacturers include the Tainan-based Taiwan Bifido Foods Inc. (?x?W????), a producer of health foods; S.S.J. (?±????), a Taichung-based company known for its dried melon seeds and other snacks; Chang Gung Biotechnology Corporation Ltd. (???°??§?), a maker of health foods; and Presotea (?A¯??D), which operates a tea house chain. According to Tsai, these manufacturers have bought raw materials from downstream distributors supplied by Yu Shen Company. All products containing food additives produced by Yu Shen, whether or not such additives contain DEHP, must be removed from store shelves immediately, Tsai stressed, adding that the DOH was trying to track down all such additives. S.S.J. has admitted to buying problematic food additives and reselling them to Vietnam, but denied using it in the manufacturing of products marketed under its brand. 　　In another development, the DOH yesterday announced that several of the products marketed by King Car Group under the Nature House brand were found to be made from raw materials containing an illegal additive. The company is withdrawing these products from the market, promising consumers a refund. IV Food shares face pressure after DEHP additive scare The China Post    May 28, 2011 TAIPEI -- Shares of food firms were under pressure on the local bourse yesterday as more products in Taiwan were found to contain the potentially carcinogenic DEHP, dealers said. Food sector shares closed down 0.8 percent, underperforming the broader market, as the benchmark weighted index rose 0.24 percent to finish at 8,810.00. The toxic plasticizer scare surfaced earlier this week when local health authorities detected the banned chemical in a slimming supplement and then in sports and soft drinks. The scare has snowballed with more food products, including children's food supplements and vitamins as well as ingredients used to make bubble tea, found to be tainted. As of Friday noon, a total of 130 food products were confirmed by the Food and Drug Administration to contain DEHP, while 95 manufacturers were found to have used the banned ingredient. The incident has caused major product recalls at home and even in neighboring markets, such as Hong Kong and Shanghai. “More and more investors are turning away from food stocks at the moment amid fears that the contamination wave will continue to spread,” MasterLink Securities analyst Tom Tang said. Tang said beverage stocks encountered the heaviest pressure as investors feared the health scare would reduce consumption. “Summer is usually the peak season for beverage manufacturers because most of their drinks sales are generated during the period,” Tang said. “But the incident has undermined consumer confidence and many investors are worried about food makers' profitability.” With no sign of an immediate end to the incident, Tang said, the food sector is expected to face further selling over the next few trading sessions. Among the hard hit food stocks, Wei Chuan fell 2.55 percent to close at NT$32.45, AGV shed 1.56 percent to end at NT$12.65 and Uni President Enterprises closed down 1.10 percent at NT$40.55.  V Additive firms may get 30-year jail sentences The China Post     May 28, 2011 Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Shou-huang (陳守煌) yesterday said manufacturers that put toxic chemical Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate in food additives could face a maximum of 30 years in prison. “The Criminal Code stipulates that each offense is punished separately,” he said. Therefore, if prosecutors press charges against the owners of the manufacturers in question, the owners could face a maximum 30 years in prison with all the offenses combined, Chen said. Chen made the comments in a press conference held following a cross-ministerial meeting led by Vice Premier Sean Chen yesterday morning on dealing with the health concerns amid the worsening carcinogenic-additive crisis. A growing number of products have been found to contain toxic chemical Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, more commonly known as DEHP. Current Penalties Too 'Light' Currently, violations of the Act Governing Food Sanitation (AGFS) (衛生食品法) are punishable by a maximum fine of NT$300,000 and a maximum of 3 years in jail. The punishments are seen by many as too light and do not serve as a deterrence. In response to the demand for heavier fines and punishments, Vice Premier Sean Chen, who hosted the cross-ministerial meeting, said during yesterday's press conference that the combined sentence could be as severe as three decades in jail. Also, the maximum fine for violators will be more than NT$300,000 since related authorities can levy higher fines on those responsible since they have made illicit gains by selling the contaminated additives, Chen added. Meanwhile, ruling Kuomintang (KMT) legislator Hwang Yih-jiau (黃義交) has also proposed a bill to amend the AGFS to increase the penalties for violations of this nature. The proposal has been backed by the party, said Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑), KMT caucus whip, yesterday in a separate press conference held in the Legislative Yuan. Hsieh urged the opposition Democratic Progressive Party to join hands in approving the proposed amendment to pass the bill before June 14, the last day of the legislative session. Hsieh also proposed that manufacturers which intentionally put toxic chemicals in food additives or sell them even though they are aware of the potential threat should be indicted for homicide. The ongoing crisis was triggered when a Food and Drug Administration inspector uncovered the presence of DEHP in a food supplement, leading to discoveries that it was also contained in sports drinks and dietary supplements in Taiwan. The source of the contamination was traced to a food additive from Yu Shen (昱伸) Chemical Co. called cloudy agent, commonly used in fruit jelly, yogurt mix powders, juices and other drinks. Police Raid 12 Factories During yesterday's press conference, Deputy Justice Minister Chen Shou-huang noted that prosecutors in southern Changhua County, which are responsible for investigating the case, have already seized money from the company's owner, surnamed Lai, that he earned by selling the additives. The move came after authorities received intelligence that Lai had withdrawn all his money from several different bank accounts following the incident. Prosecutors also seized Lai's assets. Also yesterday, prosecutors in the county raided dozens of food and beverage manufacturers' factories that were found to be using Yu Shen's additive in their products. A total of 12 factories, including facilities in Taipei, New Taipei City, Changhua County, Nantou County and Pingtung County were searched yesterday, the prosecutors said. The raids were initiated to determine how many contaminated products are still available on the market, they noted. Prosecutors said they will turn over all documents seized during the raids to the Department of Health (DOH) and the Bureau of Health of each city and county government involved. The DOH will make public the names of these companies and demand that they recall and destroy all contaminated products, the prosecutors said. VI. FOOD SCARE WIDENS: Government mandates DEHP testing FOOD SCARE:：The Department of Health said 40,000kg of juice and jam have been recalled and thousands of kilograms of emulsifiers and food ingredients confiscated Taipei Times     May 28, 2011 The government yesterday ordered certain food and drink products that use emulsifiers to be removed from stores unless they can provide proof that their products are free of the chemical di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP). Affected items include sports drinks, juice, tea beverages, syrup and jams, as well as tablet supplements and powdered food products, Department of Health (DOH) Minister Chiu Wen-ta (邱文達) said. All products in the five categories need be certified to be free of the chemical before being put on the market, he said. According to Chiu, as of yesterday, a total of 40,000kg of juice and jam, 980,000 bottles of tea drinks and more than 2,000 boxes of powdered probiotic products had been recalled. Retailers in violation of the ban will be punished in accordance with the Act Governing Food Sanitation (食品衛生管理法), he said at a press conference held at the Government Information Office following an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Vice Premier Sean Chen (陳?) on the latest food scare linked to DEHP in bottled beverages. Because DEHP is not allowed to be used in food ingredients, Chen said the Environmental Protection Administration would also demand that importers and manufacturers of DEHP sign a statement that they do not sell DEHP to food producers. To calm people’s fears about food and drink safety, the DOH has set up a hotline and established a Web site for people to consult, Chiu said, adding that people can also get advice from 23 hospitals administered by the DOH on health risks caused by consumption of DEHP-tainted foods and undergo necessary check-ups. In Taipei yesterday, a city laboratory was swarmed by customers with various products after the city’s Department of Health started offering free tests for DEHP in food and drink products. The service, offered at the department’s laboratory in Shipai (石牌), will be held from 10am to 4pm until Friday next week, and will be available at 12 district health service centers and the service center at Taipei City Hall from June 7 through June 10. “I worry whether the drink products we bought are toxic or not and I no longer know what’s safe for consumption,” a customer surnamed Chen (陳) said. In addition to items that have been found to contain DEHP, such as jelly, yogurt sports drinks and juice, customers also brought products from soy sauce to cola drinks for examination. Lin Che-hsiung (林哲雄), a division chief at the department, said consumers can only ask for one item to be examined and should present valid ID for registration, adding that the items should be sealed and unopened. Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Shou-huang (陳守煌) said prosecutors with the Changhua District Prosecutors Office yesterday searched 17 companies where they confiscated 127.5 barrels of emulsifiers weighing about 25kg each and 9,906.45kg of food ingredients. The office will continue to investigate the case, while the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office will coordinate prosecutors in other districts to join the crackdown in other counties and cities, Chen Shou-huang said. The Food and Drug Administration added that as it tracks down more DEHP-tainted products, names of the items and their manufacturers will also be updated each day on the agency’s Web site.  VII. FOOD SCARE WIDENS: Firms worried over impact of food scare IMAGE:：As public concern over the harmful effect of DEHP mounts, beverage makers and drinks shops are worried it could destroy their hard-won reputations Taipei Times     May 28, 2011 The latest health scare involving the massive use of a chemical, di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), in bottled food and drinks has triggered concern among domestic food and beverage manufacturers that their image at home and abroad might be undermined by the incident. Initial investigations show that the tainted ingredients and products were either produced by Yu Shen Chemical Co or came from the company’s suppliers. The incident has so far embroiled nearly 170 upstream and midstream suppliers and manufacturers, including several famous brands, which have been busy recalling or changing the recipes for their products to protect their reputation and business. In Yunlin County, the government has ordered cooperative stores at 50 elementary and junior high schools to temporarily suspend the sale of sports drinks and juice pending final examination results. The National Sports Training Center in Greater Kaohsiung has also stopped selling sports drinks. The concern has spread to the general public and businesses are worried that their hard-won reputations might be destroyed overnight. Chen Mei-yen (陳美燕), general manager of Presotea (鮮茶道), a popular tea drink chain with more than 160 shops nationwide, said the company had recalled 7.4 tonnes of products allegedly tainted by DEHP after learning of the incident on Monday. All recalled products will be destroyed, Chen said. She said the tea house chain used a concentrated jelly from one ISO-certified supplier for making juice, but vowed that the company would only use fresh fruit in the future. Presotea spokesman Chen Shien-chieh (鄭仙玠) said that although specially prescribed juice was not their key drink item, business had shrunk by an average of 20 percent over the last three days. Possmei Corp, which exports raw materials and ingredients for Taiwan’s famous bubble milk tea to a tea shop in London, said eight ingredients that the company purchased from upstream suppliers were discovered to contain DEHP, but not the materials that were provided to the London shop. Two children’s health food products under the Taiwan branch of Cerebos Pacific have also been found to contain DEHP, the company said in a statement on Thursday. The contaminated products — a calcium supplement and a multivitamin tablet for children — were immediately pulled from store shelves after the chemical was detected, the company said. Cerebos Taiwan said the two products were manufactured by a local maker, Prince Pharmaceutical Co, which purchased its ingredients from Yu Shen Chemical.

About DEHP

Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is one of the most cost effective and widely available general purpose plasticisers. It is used mainly for making PVC soft and pliable and it accounts for around 18% of all plasticiser usage in Western Europe .

DEHP (CAS No [117-81-7]) is also known as di-octyl phthalate (DOP). It is the phthalate ester of the alcohol 2-ethyl hexanol, which is normally manufactured by the dimerisation of butyraldehyde, the butyraldehyde itself being synthesised from propylene.

DEHP is a plasticiser which offers a good all-round performance and is therefore used for a great many cost-effective, general purpose products including building material such as flooring, cables, profiles and roofs, as well as medical products such as blood bags and dialysis equipment.

DEHP possesses reasonable plasticising efficiency, fusion rate and viscosity (of great importance for plastisol applications).

The content of DEHP in flexible polymer materials varies but is often around 30% (w/w).

Production process

All manufacturers of phthalate esters use similar processes. DEHP is produced by the esterfication of phthalic anhydride with 2-ethyl-hexanol. This reaction occurs in two successive steps. The first reaction step results in the formation of monoester by alcoholysis of phthalic acid. This step is rapid and proceeds to completion.

The second step involves the conversion of the monoester to the di-ester. This is a reversible reaction and proceeds more slowly than the first.

To shift the equilibrium towards the di-ester, the reaction water is removed by distillation. Elevated temperatures and a catalyst accelerate the reaction rate. Depending on the catalyst used, the temperature in the second step varies from 140°C to 165°C with acid catalysts and from 200°C to 250°C with amphoteric catalysts. Variations in purity may occur depending on catalyst, reactant alcohol and process type.

Excess alcohol is recovered and recycled and DEHP is purified by vacuum distillation and/or activated charcoal. The reaction sequence is performed in a closed system. This process can be run continuously or batchwise.

DEHP → Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate

From Wikipedia

Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, commonly abbreviated DEHP, is anorganic compound with the formulaC₆H₄(C₈H₁₇COO)₂. It is sometimes called dioctyl phthalate and abbreviated DOP. It is the most important "phthalate," being thediester of phthalic acid and the branched-chain 2-ethylhexanol. This colourless viscous liquid is soluble in oil, but not in water. It possesses good plasticizing properties. Being produced on a massive scale by many companies, it has acquired many names and acronyms, including BEHP and di-2-ethyl hexyl phthalate.

Production

The process entails the reaction of phthalic anhydride with 2-ethylhexanol:

C₆H₄(CO)₂O + 2 C₈H₁₇OH → C₆H₄(CO₂ C₈H₁₇)₂ + H₂O

Approximately three billion kilograms are produced annually.^[1]

Use

Due to its suitable properties and the low cost, DEHP is widely used as a plasticizer in manufacturing of articles made of PVC.^[1] Plastics may contain 1% to 40% of DEHP. It is also used as a hydraulic fluid and as a dielectric fluid in capacitors. DEHP also finds use as a solvent in lightsticks.

Environmental exposure

DEHP has a low vapor pressure, but the temperatures for processing PVC articles are often high, leading to release of elevated levels, raising concerns about health risks (see outgassing). It can be absorbed from food and water. Higher levels have been found in milk and cheese. It can also leach into a liquid that comes in contact with the plastic; it extracts faster into nonpolar solvents (e.g. oils and fats in foods packed in PVC). Food and Drug Administration (FDA) therefore permits use of DEHP-containing packaging only for foods that primarily contain water. In soil, DEHP contamination moves very slowly because of its low solubility in water. Therefore, leaching from disposed plastics in landfills is generally slow. The US EPA limits for DEHP in drinking water is 6 ppb. The U.S. agency OSHA's limit for occupational exposure is 5 mg/m³ of air.

Use in medical devices

DEHP has been used as a plasticiser in medical devices such as intravenous tubing and bags, catheters, nasogastric tubes, dialysis bags and tubing, and blood bags and transfusion tubing, and air tubes. For this reason, concern has been expressed about leachates transported into the patient, especially for those requiring extensive infusions, e.g. newborns in intensive care nursery settings, hemophiliacs, and kidney dialysis patients. According to the European Commission Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER), exposure to DEHP may exceed the tolerable daily intake in some specific population groups, namely people exposed through medical procedures such as kidney dialysis.^[2] The American Academy of Pediatrics has advocated not to use medical devices that can leach DEHP into patients and, instead, to resort to DEHP-free alternatives.^{[citation needed]} In July 2002, the U.S. FDA issued a Public Health Notification on DEHP, stating in part, "We recommend considering such alternatives when these high-risk procedures are to be performed on male neonates, pregnant women who are carrying male fetuses, and peripubertal males" noting that the alternatives were to look for non-DEHP exposure solutions;^[3] they mention a database of alternatives.^[4] The CBC documentary The Disappearing Male raised concerns about sexual development in male fetal development, miscarriage (as DEHP is a pseudo-estrogen and a hormone modifier found in most plastic products such as PVC, polycarbonate, nearly all cosmetic chemical products, and many others), and as a cause of dramatically lower sperm counts in men. ^[5]

Metabolism

DEHP hydrolyzes to MEHP (mono-ethylhexyl phthalate) and subsequently to phthalate salts. The released alcohol is susceptible to oxidation to the aldehyde and carboxylic acid.^[1]

Effects on living organisms

Smaller penis size and other feminizing links

DEHP metabolites measured from the blood of pregnant women have been significantly associated with the decreased penis width, shorter anogenital distance, and the incomplete descent of testes of their newborn sons, replicating effects identified in animals.^[6] Approximately 25% of US women have phthalate levels similar to those in the study.^[6]

Obesity

A study on CDC data published in Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP), revealed that American men with abdominal obesity or insulin resistance (a precursor todiabetes) were more likely to have high levels of DEHP and DBP metabolites in their urine than men without those problems.^[7]

Toxicity

The acute toxicity of DEHP is 30g/kg in rats (oral) and 24g/kg in rabbits (dermal).^[1] Concerns instead focus on its potential as an endocrine disruptor. Some countries have banned DEHP from toys; see phthalate for legal status.

Cardiotoxicity

A clinically relevant dose and duration of exposure to DEHP has been shown to have a significant impact on the behavior of cardiac cells in culture. This includes an uncoupling effect that leads to irregular rhythms in vitro. This is observed in conjunction with a significant decrease in the amount of gap junctional connexin proteins incardiomyocytes treated with DEHP.^[8][9]

Alternative plasticizers

Manufacturers of flexible PVC articles can choose among several alternative plasticizers offering similar technical properties as DEHP. These alternatives include other phthalates such as DINP, DPHP, DIDP and non-phthalates e.g. DINCH and Citrates.

News clippings 2011.05.26

          

1.      Is this the inventor of bubble tea?

CNN      20 May, 2011

     

Lin Hsiu Hui says she invented bubble tea when she poured fen yuan into an iced tea drink in 1988.

In 1988, a dull meeting prompted Lin Hsiu Hui to pour her tapioca dessert into her tea. Asian snacking has never been the same since

表單的頂端

There’s much speculation on the Internet and elsewhere about the origin of bubble tea. But there is one tea shop, and one woman, who are generally accepted as being the true, bona fide creators of this most popular drink.

As a lifelong fan of bubble tea, I was thrilled to meet this woman when I visited her place of work, and the source of all bubbles teas it would seem, at Chun Shui Tang tea house in Taichung, Taiwan.

The founder, Liu Han-Chieh, first came up with the idea of serving Chinese tea cold in the early 1980s after visiting Japan where he saw coffee served cold. 

This propelled his fledgling chain into Taiwanese teahouse folklore.

Then, in 1988, his product development manager, Ms. Lin Hsiu Hui, was sitting in a staff meeting and had brought with her a typical Taiwanese dessert called fen yuan, a sweetened tapioca pudding. Just for fun she poured the tapioca balls into her Assam iced tea and drank it.

    

“Everyone at the meeting loved the drink and it quickly outsold all of our other iced teas within a couple of months -- even after 20 years on the menu, bubble tea makes up 80-90 percent of our sales and Taiwanese are proud of this home-grown drink,” says Lin. 

2.      Dominique Strauss-Kahn: Ex-IMF boss wins New York bail

    BBC       19 May 2011

     

Dominique Strauss-Kahn has been granted bail by a judge in a New York court, after being formally charged with trying to rape a hotel maid.

Mr. Strauss-Kahn had earlier resigned as the International Monetary Fund's boss.

His lawyers said he was honorable and would not try to abscond. Prosecutors said he had "incentive to flee".

Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus imposed $1m cash bail and said there must be 24-hour home detention, with an armed guard and electronic monitoring.

The judge said one armed guard must be deployed at all times, at Mr. Strauss-Kahn's expense, and the defendant must surrender all travel documents. In addition to the $1m (£618,000) cash bail, a $5m insurance bond would also apply.

Mr Strauss-Kahn will spend a fourth night at the notorious Rikers Island prison on Thursday before the bail papers are signed.

He will appear in court again on 6 June, when he will formally enter a plea. He has denied all the accusations against him.

3.      Tornadoes the most terrifying of natural disasters

CNN     April 30, 2011

        

 (CNN) -- I had to live all over the country before I realized that Americans everywhere live with some kind of fear hanging over their daily lives.

Those who live in river towns grow up with stories of floods. West Coasters joke about earthquakes to anesthetize themselves from the omnipresent reality of the real thing. Those who live in California and the Southwest can expect drought and horrific wildfires once or twice a decade, and anyone who lives a lifetime in the Gulf area must feel like they've lived through the plagues of the Old Testament. In the South and Midwest, of course, it's tornadoes.

Having experienced a flood in Pennsylvania and the 1989 Bay Area earthquake, I would argue that tornadoes are the most unsettling of all natural disasters and the most terrifying. When you have a torrential rain, you can anticipate a flood. In many cases, at least, the direction of wildfires can be predicted. Traumatic as earthquakes are, you don't have the agony of sitting and waiting for them.

But with tornadoes, there's a horrifying time span--ranging from several hours to mere minutes--when you know it may be coming, followed by the soul- wrenching knowledge that since you don't know which way it's going to turn, you can't flee from it.

Tornadoes teach us humility. For all of our scientific technology, there really isn't a thing we can do to protect those who are caught in their path. They are conscienceless killers, coldly democratic in where and how they strike.

The age of real time media has added a new and even more terrifying aspect: You can see the disaster forming then watch as it destroys.          

波克夏二當家─Charles Munger(查理‧蒙格)

   是他，幫巴菲特戒掉貪心、檢便宜的壞毛病
是他，點亮波克夏(Berkshire Hathaway)東方投資的明燈。
他，是發巴菲特50年來的智慧合夥人，
他大買南韓浦項鋼鐵與中國比亞迪，
沒有他，股神只是一般凡人。


他改掉巴菲特一直尊守的恩師班傑明‧葛拉漢(Benjamin Graham)學派所崇尚的
"菸屁股哲學"--再好標的一定要等到價錢低再不能低的程度，才能買進，出脫才能大撈一筆。
蒙格反對這種撿便宜貨哲學(戒貪)，他認為只要尊守"安全邊際"原則，平價好貨，比便宜爛貨更值得投資!要擴張，必須找當價格合理的偉大企業，追求價值而非價格，這就是波克夏文化的基石。


著有"窮查理的普通常識"一書。 

投資四心法:

主要關鍵在精、不在多，

1. 只打甜心球(fat pitch)

     價格落在好球帶內，才用力揮棒，提高打擊率

2.  能力圈法則

自己能理解的才可投資，所以巴菲特幾乎不碰科技股

3.護城河理論

具定價能力的公司，才是好標地

4. 找複利機器

貴的好股比低價股，更值得長抱

複利是世界第八大奇蹟，不到必要的時後，別去打斷它

給年輕人的話

想成功先想怎麼搞砸，採用逆向思考

要做學習機器，只靠既有知識，人生路走不遠

如果想變的聰明，你必須不斷問Why?  Why? Why?

巴菲特醒的時後有一半時間都在看書

建議年輕人必讀的20本書

1.  深奧的簡潔    約翰‧葛瑞賓

2.  23對染色體     馬特‧瑞德利

3.  巴菲特核心投資法   羅伯特‧海格斯壯

4.  10倍速時代  安迪‧葛洛夫

5.  自私的基因  理查‧道金斯

6.  溫度，決定一切    吉諾‧沙格瑞

7.  槍炮、病菌與鋼鐵: 人類社會的命運  賈德‧戴蒙

8. 第三種猩猩: 人類的身世與未來   賈德‧戴蒙

9. 蘇格蘭人如何發明現代世界 亞瑟‧赫曼

10. 血戰華爾街  法蘭克‧派特諾

11. 影響力:讓人乖乖聽話的說服術 羅伯特‧席爾迪尼

12. 我的生活模式  賀伯‧賽門

13. 生活在極限之內: 生態學、經濟學和人口禁忌  加勒特‧哈定

14. 巨人:洛克斐勒傳   朗‧契諾

15. 國富國窮    大衛‧籃迪斯

16. 談判力   羅傑‧費爾舍 、威廉‧尤里、布魯斯‧帕頓

17. 三位科學家和他們的神 羅伯特‧萊特

18. 冰川時代   約翰‧葛瑞賓、瑪莉‧葛瑞賓

19.  安德魯‧卡內基  約瑟夫‧沃爾

20. 班傑明‧富蘭克林傳   班傑明‧富蘭克林

本文取自商業周刊1223期

Grammar Focus1. Used to & Be used to

Used to:

Used to  refers  something that you regularly did in the past but don't do anything now.
used to(infinitive) +  原形V
used to be + n or adj 
ex: 
   I used to be very messy, but now I am very neat.
   I didn't used to collect anything, but now I collect art.

 Be used to or Get used to (become used to) :

to(preposition) n or Ving 
習慣於(一直都是)


He is used to getting up early.他習慣早起
 
I am used to the hot weather here. 我習慣這裡的炎熱天氣





 
 

Personality Test

You are:

• slightly expressed introvert
• moderately expressed intuitive personality
• slightly expressed thinking personality
• very expressed judging personality

 All Rationals are good at planning operations, but Masterminds are head and shoulders above all the rest in contingency planning. Complex operations involve many steps or stages, one following another in a necessary progression, and Masterminds are naturally able to grasp how each one leads to the next, and to prepare alternatives for difficulties that are likely to arise any step of the way. Trying to anticipate every contingency, Masterminds never set off on their current project without a Plan A firmly in mind, but they are always prepared to switch to Plan B or C or D if need be.
Masterminds are rare, comprising no more than one to two percent of the population, and they are rarely encountered outside their office, factory, school, or laboratory. Although they are highly capable leaders, Masterminds are not at all eager to take command, preferring to stay in the background until others demonstrate their inability to lead. Once they take charge, however, they are thoroughgoing pragmatists. Masterminds are certain that efficiency is indispensable in a well-run organization, and if they encounter inefficiency -- any waste of human and material resources -- they are quick to realign operations and reassign personnel. Masterminds do not feel bound by established rules and procedures, and traditional authority does not impress them, nor do slogans or catchwords. Only ideas that make sense to them are adopted; those that don't, aren't, no matter who thought of them. Remember, their aim is always maximum efficiency.
In their careers, Masterminds usually rise to positions of responsibility, for they work long and hard and are dedicated in their pursuit of goals, sparing neither their own time and effort nor that of their colleagues and employees. Problem-solving is highly stimulating to Masterminds, who love responding to tangled systems that require careful sorting out. Ordinarily, they verbalize the positive and avoid comments of a negative nature; they are more interested in moving an organization forward than dwelling on mistakes of the past.
Masterminds tend to be much more definite and self-confident than other Rationals, having usually developed a very strong will. Decisions come easily to them; in fact, they can hardly rest until they have things settled and decided. But before they decide anything, they must do the research. Masterminds are highly theoretical, but they insist on looking at all available data before they embrace an idea, and they are suspicious of any statement that is based on shoddy research, or that is not checked against reality.

News Clipping 2011.05.12

1.      Tsai to challenge Ma in 2012 presidential election

The China Post       April 28, 2011

       

The 2012 presidential election candidates from Taiwan's two major parties were revealed yesterday, with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen winning the party's primary, pitting her against incumbent President Ma Ying-jeou, who was officially nominated as the Kuomintang (KMT) candidate the same afternoon.

The KMT Central Standing Committee approved Ma's nomination yesterday at the party's weekly meeting, while Tsai will be formally nominated as the DPP's presidential candidate at the party's Central Executive Committee meeting on May 4.

While Ma was largely viewed as a shoo-in for the 2012 elections, Tsai's nomination was determined by DPP polls conducted by five separate polling agencies from April 25-26, each with at least 3,000 valid samples.

The DPP primary poll showed Tsai gaining an advantage over Ma, with 42.50 percent points to Ma's 35.04.

Upon her official nomination, Tsai will become Taiwan's first female presidential candidate in history when she represents the DPP in the country's presidential election to be held in January 2012.

2.      Osama bin Laden, the face of terror, killed in Pakistan

CNN       May 2, 2011

      

Osama bin Laden's legacy

(CNN) -- Osama bin Laden used the fruits of his family's success -- a personal fortune estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars -- to help finance al Qaeda in its quest for a new pan-Islamic religious state.

The Saudi-born zealot commanded al Qaeda, a terrorist organization run like a rogue multinational firm, experts said, with subsidiaries operating secretly in dozens of countries, plotting terror, raising money and recruiting young Muslim men -- even boys -- from many nations to its training camps in Afghanistan.

Bin Laden and his terrorist network were behind the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and are linked to others around the world.

The enormity of the destruction in the 9/11 attacks -- the World Trade Center's towers devastated by two hijacked airplanes, the Pentagon heavily damaged by a third hijacked jetliner, a fourth flight crashed in rural Pennsylvania, and more than 3,000 people killed -- gave bin Laden a global presence.

His death early Monday in Pakistan ended a nearly 10-year long manhunt for one of the world's most-wanted men.

Even before September 11, 2001, bin Laden was already on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

He had been implicated in a series of deadly, high-profile attacks that had grown in their intensity and success during the 1990s.

They included a deadly firefight with U.S. soldiers in Somalia in October 1993, the bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa that killed 224 in August 1998, and an attack on the USS Cole that killed 17 sailors in October 2000.

Bin Laden eluded capture for years, once reportedly slipping out of a training camp in Afghanistan just hours before a barrage of U.S. cruise missiles destroyed it.

On September 11, sources said, the evidence immediately pointed to bin Laden. Within days, those close to the investigation said they had their proof.

Six days after the attack, President George W. Bush made it clear Osama bin Laden was the No. 1 suspect.

"I want justice," Bush said. "There's an old poster out West that said, 'Wanted, dead or alive.'"

Bin Laden was born in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1957, the 17th of 52 children in a family that had struck it rich in the construction business.

His father, Mohamed bin Laden, was a native of Yemen, who immigrated to Saudi Arabia as a child. He became a billionaire by building his company into the largest construction firm in the Saudi kingdom.

As Saudi Arabia became flush with oil money, so, too, did the bin Laden family business, as Osama's father cultivated and exploited connections within the royal family.

The young bin Laden inherited a share of the family fortune at an early age after his father died in an aircraft accident.

The bin Ladens were noted for their religious commitment. In his youth, Osama studied with Muslim scholars. Two of the family businesses' most prestigious projects also left a lasting impression: the renovations of mosques at Mecca and Medina, Islam's two holiest sites.

As a young man attending college in Jeddah, bin Laden's interest in religion started to take a political turn. One of his professors was Abdullah Azzam, a Palestinian scholar who was a key figure in the rise of a new pan-Islamic religious movement.

Azzam founded an organization to help the mujahedeen fighting to repel the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

Bin Laden soon became the organization's top financier, using his family connections to raise money. He left as a volunteer for Afghanistan at 22, joining the U.S.-backed call to arms against the Soviets.

He remained there for a decade, using construction equipment from his family's business to help the Muslim guerrilla forces build shelters, tunnels and roads through the rugged Afghan mountains, and at times taking part in battle.

In the late 1980s, bin Laden founded al Qaeda, Arabic for "the base," an organization that CNN terrorism analyst and author Peter Bergen says had fairly prosaic beginnings. One of its purposes was to provide documentation for Arab fighters who fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan, including death certificates.

Al Qaeda, under bin Laden's leadership, ran a number of guesthouses for these Arab fighters and their families. It also operated training camps to help them prepare for the fight against the Soviets.

In the early 1990s, with the disintegration of the Soviet Union, bin Laden turned his sights on the world's remaining superpower -- the United States. War-hardened and victorious, he returned to Saudi Arabia following the Soviet retreat from Afghanistan.

In a 1997 CNN interview, bin Laden declared a "jihad," or "holy war," against the United States.

3.      A Traditional Royal Wedding, but for the 3 Billion Witnesses

The New York Times      April 29, 2011

       

LONDON — In the end, Friday’s wedding between Prince William and Kate Middleton may not have ushered in a new dawn for the frayed royal family or brought a renewed era of optimism to a country beset by financial woes, as some predicted in the overheated countdown to the big day. But it proved that the British still know how to combine pageantry, solemnity and romance (and wild hats) better than anyone else in the world.

It was an impeccably choreographed occasion of high pomp and heartfelt emotion, of ancient customs tweaked by modern developments (Elton John brought his husband).

Viewing estimates for the ceremony, at 11 a.m. British time on the dot, hovered in the three billion range, give or take 500 million. Australians held bouquet-throwing competitions; people in Hong Kong wore Kate and William masks; New Yorkers rose by dawn to watch the entrance of guests like Victoria Beckham, teetering pregnantly in sky-high Christian Louboutin heels, Guy Ritchie, the former Mr. Madonna, and assorted monarchs from European countries that are no longer monarchies, like Bulgaria.

In London, the Metropolitan Police said, a million people lined the route of the royal procession, and half a million gathered in front of Buckingham Palace to watch the bride and groom, now known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, kiss (twice) on the palace balcony.