Maleic Acid In Your Bubble Milk Tea

It has finally happened. The Tapioca balls, yes, those cute little chewy black balls in those sweet Taiwanese franchised tea house, has received bad rapport again. Again? Yes, this is not the first time that issue pertaining to food safety of these drinks has surfaced and the only reason why these are mushrooming and surviving in the country is due to one simple reason - denial by the consumer.
What Are The Scandals?
As early as 2009, it was reported in a Vietnam paper that the balls served in the "Bubble milk tea" contained "plastic polymers". The truth, as they say, can't be more strange.

Chewy? Heh http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/Health/2009/8/73253/

It was then about two years later, the news finally start hitting the masses. The plastic compound was later identified as DEHP.

DEHP -diethylhexyl phthalate http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/6/17/nation/20110617211015&sec=nation

It rocked the Taiwan food industry and you know it become a problem when a country like China, that can manufacture almost ANYTHING (including FAKE MEAT) start banning importation of those food to their country. 

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5g-Y-qQW4qShi4KS9D7ol3QQyFjYQ?docId=CNG.4110b3e99956903bdf5fbd9d268ff9c0.1e1

More news came out about these, and even the land of "Plastic surgery", South Korea, begin to shun the products.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/ban-on-taiwan-food-drink-after-scare/story-e6frf7jx-1226067594074

Bridge Under Water
When the issue of plastics in food subsided, it did not take more than a year when suddenly more Taiwan Bubbletea stores opened in Klang Valley. Most, if not all claimed that their "Pearl and Tapioca Balls are REAL FOOD and Natural".

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2012/3/19/central/10803399

To be honest, I myself had at one point of time, subscribed to this idea of  "Natural food". Well, that was until I chance upon a cup of leftover when walking my dogs and started to observe the content (that was Natural Tapioca Balls) and realised it looked the same for days, and then weeks. I then found another one about two weeks later and it looked fresh, perhaps a day or two old. I then did the unthinkable - took it home, placed it where the sun, rain and elements will so call accelerate the composting and record it from time to time.

Day 1, March 5. 

After about 2 weeks, I noticed there were no ants, no flies, no smell. One may argue that not having any ants simply meant there is no ants around the home. I agree. But no flies? I have two dogs and I clean the home twice a day of the feces...some flies got to land there and lay eggs, no?

Two weeks later. The balls looked intact, short of those that was soaked at the bottom due to rain. But you can see the shape is still there

Yeap, NO. No flies, no ants, no smell. That was worrying. These balls were made to last. One may argue that the acidity in the tummy may digest them, after all, these are well, "natural". However, I am yet to see any homemade tapioca ball, such as the Tong Yuen, actually lasting longer than...errmm...two days and not having/being slimy.

Winter Solstice 2012. Deliver to me by my Mum 

So, did the drink finally lasted the whole 4 weeks of scrutiny? It very well did. And if something that claimed to be "natural"  can last that long, either we are missing a Superfood inventory or the food is just fake. When I publicised this, i received many negative comments. Some came up with scientific explanation why my testing/experiment is wrong. Many say i should had spit and let the saliva "eat the pearls to simulate digestion". Sometimes, the comments given goes to show just how much you actually paid attention in school...or reinforced that "common sense ain't too common after all".

Day 35. Woohoo!

The Scandal Is Back
I was having a conversation with my mum just two days ago. That was when she told me that she has been eating these tapioca balls on weekly basis as a way to spend time with my dad. Sweet of them. The secrecy was because they know I would not approve of it. And it came up as the news was on the newspaper - the Chinese paper that she read, that is. And just yesterday (May 29), my ex-colleague shared this with me.

Oh my...

Good news and bad news. The Good news is that there is no more plasticisers (DEHP) in the food. However, to counter that, the ingenious food tech came up with something else, introducing Maleic Acid into the food to help with the texture (bitey eh?).
Maleic acid, not to be confused with Malic Acid, is a chemical that is used extensively for some industrial process. Fancy eating the same stuff that make up your vehicle plastic parts and paint? Or how about being able to synthesise benzene with this chemical compound?
If you are interested, search for the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) of Maleic Acid and learn about it. Myself being involved with consulting and project development over the past 6 years has taught me to look at MSDS of any substance and identify it's risk. Needless to say, Maleic acid is considered and classified as toxic. Maleic acid is classified under NFPA as "3" for Health, which meant a short exposure will cause temporary and moderate residue injury.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/5/29/nation/20130529175155&sec=nation

It was interesting to see how a few of these stores has even gotten lab reports to claim that their pearls are free from Maleic acid. I say that's very good. However, I also found an article online, by the same lab that did the test, notifying that there are many unknown inside the Tapioca balls. 
Having said all that, and reading through all the paper reports, I would say there are two approach to this. You can continue to buy and eat them, after all, it is your own body, OR, you can avoid and not take it anymore. Either way, the choice is yours.