Chewing on sticky
tapioca balls right after you try to sip them with a big straw is all part of the
drinking experience. So I can’t imagine bubble tea without these starchy balls.
But ever
since news broke out that tapioca balls might contain maleic acid, the
wholesome image of the pastel-colored drinks, faded – just a little – for me. Again, I feel like a consumer betrayed.
This month,
the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration confirmed that certain local products,
including tapioca balls, were found to contain maleic acid. Following this
confirmation, the Agri-Food
and Veterinary Authority of Singapore began its own surveillance of
imported products. Out of 66 products from Taiwan, it has found 11 contaminated
with maleic acid. Needless to say, the news has affected several bubble tea
retailers there, and I’m assuming, elsewhere, retailers should be checking
their suppliers.
For those
who haven’t seen or tasted bubble tea – it is a drink that originated in Taiwan
in the 1980s, where it is known as boba milk tea. While there are many
versions, generally it is a cool tea-based drink with fruit (or fruit flavor),
milk, sugar, and the ‘boba’ or tapioca balls which are also called pearls.
Maleic acid is an acidulant and a
flavouring agent, and in small amounts, it is harmless, but the risk lies in
long-term consumption.
This is not the first time tapioca balls
have come under fire. An article
in the Huffington Post in 2012, reports of German researchers finding traces of
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in tapioca balls that originated in
Taiwan. The sources denied the
allegations.
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