Taiwan Saturday barred the import of Chinese-made ammonium bicarbonate, an ingredient used for baking, in yet another ban related to China's toxic chemical-tainted food scandal, a senior health official said.
"We have found concentrations of 70 to 300 parts per million of melamine in the Chinese-made ammonium bicarbonate, which is a rising agent used as baking soda," said Cheng Shou-hsia, deputy director-general of the Department of Health, reported dpa.
"For this, we have barred the import of ammonium bicarbonate from China and the use of such ingredient in any of our food products effective today," he said.
He ordered the removal of all food products using the ingredient from shelves immediately, and suggested that local food processors use regular baking soda instead.
Taiwan has barred imported of Chinese dairy and non-dairy products after several ingredients used in processing food were found to be contaminated by melamine last month.