ANN/THE STAR – Thailand’s Public Health Ministry urged instant noodles importers to inspect their products for the possible contamination of ethylene oxide residue.
The ministry’s Medical Sciences Department successfully developed a technique to detect ethylene oxide in food products, Public Health Ministry Deputy Permanent Secretary Yongyos Thammawut said yesterday.
Yongyos said ethylene oxide is categorised as a dangerous substance by the 1992 Hazardous Substance Act.
The chemical which has no odour, was initially used to sanitise medical equipment that cannot withstand extreme heat, he added. Yongyos said the substance was found to cause cancer by mutating genes and can also affect the reproductive system.
