http://sg.news.yahoo.com/tapioca-pearls-bubble-tea-contain-carcinogens-german-study-102858555.html
AFP Relax – Wed, Aug 29, 2012
German health authorities and researchers have come out swinging recently against the Taiwanese drink bubble tea, warning that the popular dessert beverage presents a choking hazard to children and may contain cancer-causing chemicals.
The warnings, released separately, come as Europe, and Germany in particular, begin to catch on to the bubble tea trend which has already swept major urban centers in North America to become a popular dessert beverage.
After analyzing the tapioca balls which make up the ‘bubbles' in the drink, researchers from the University Hospital Aachen, for instance, found that the pearls contained polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs such as styrene, acetophenone, and brominated substances, chemicals that shouldn't be in food at all, researchers told German paper The Local.
Samples were taken from an unnamed chain in Mönchengladbach, in northwest Germany and the tapioca balls were made in Taiwan.
The study comes on the heels of a public health warning from the country's German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment earlier this month, which warned that the tapioca balls also present a choking risk to children.
"Especially with children aged up to four years, there is a risk of foreign objects accidentally entering the lungs," said Dr. Andreas Hensel in a statement. "And that is precisely what can happen when the bubbles are sucked up through a straw."
Meanwhile, the institute says no bubble tea-related accidents have yet been reported.
Got unknown extra chemical inside anot, I dunno. But pearl entering the lungs???
have anyone drink ice tea with the ice inhaled into the lungs b4?
besides, with the size of the pearl, at most it get stuck in the windpipe... for a pearl to enter a toddler's lungs is abit hardcore...
If fluid entered your lungs, you would die immediately from drowning.
Almost everything has carcinogen.
Even if you avoid all carcinogen, still does not mean you will not get cancer.
Taking carcinogen does not mean you will get cancer.
Moderation.
Mostly it will mean, instead of living an average of 85years, you may live only 84years.
No guarantee you won't be run over by a truck earlier either.
The pearl doesnt taste very nice either....
I dun take them because they are not healthy and stick to my teeth.
Originally posted by Rednano:http://sg.news.yahoo.com/tapioca-pearls-bubble-tea-contain-carcinogens-german-study-102858555.html
AFP Relax – Wed, Aug 29, 2012
German health authorities and researchers have come out swinging recently against the Taiwanese drink bubble tea, warning that the popular dessert beverage presents a choking hazard to children and may contain cancer-causing chemicals.
The warnings, released separately, come as Europe, and Germany in particular, begin to catch on to the bubble tea trend which has already swept major urban centers in North America to become a popular dessert beverage.
After analyzing the tapioca balls which make up the ‘bubbles' in the drink, researchers from the University Hospital Aachen, for instance, found that the pearls contained polychlorinated biphenyls or PCBs such as styrene, acetophenone, and brominated substances, chemicals that shouldn't be in food at all, researchers told German paper The Local.
Samples were taken from an unnamed chain in Mönchengladbach, in northwest Germany and the tapioca balls were made in Taiwan.
The study comes on the heels of a public health warning from the country's German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment earlier this month, which warned that the tapioca balls also present a choking risk to children.
"Especially with children aged up to four years, there is a risk of foreign objects accidentally entering the lungs," said Dr. Andreas Hensel in a statement. "And that is precisely what can happen when the bubbles are sucked up through a straw."
Meanwhile, the institute says no bubble tea-related accidents have yet been reported.
???thought the bubbles was sago thing soaked in coloured flavourings???i believe the manufacturers could have used chemical synthesising to make bubbles cheaper.thus styrene and other toxic monomers are present using the high energy chem disint5egrating method which usually gives an accurate graphical layout to all known materials.
but im not sure about the bubbles being ingested to lungs.maybe they should lpike make bubble tea way more expensive until 4 yr olds cant have em to solve issues.
They should be made larger, so you really have to chew them to bits.
Or make them smaller, so they get swallowed before they even get chewed on, which is honestly quite stupid.
I have tried smaller pearls, so small you could drink it with the common straw, i totally regretted that purchase.