The Environmental Quality Protection Foundation (EQPF) said in their latest report of dioxin and dioxin-like polychlorinated byphenyls (PCBs) that all nine samples of fresh milk contained acceptable amounts of the compounds.

The foundation tested full-fat fresh milk samples of major brands Uni-President, Wei Chuan, Kuang-Chuan, Foremost, I-Mei and I-mei's Australian Rangeland, Ying Chuan, Chiang Chun, and National Taiwan University.

The dioxin content in the samples taken ranged between 0.13 and 1.65, and averaged 0.91 picograms of the World Health Organization's toxicity equivalent per gram of fat (pg WHO-TEQ/g fat), which were below the maximum allowable amount of 3 pg WHO-TEQ/g fat, explained Ling Yung-chien, Chemistry professor at National Tsing Hua University. A picogram is a one-trillionth of a gram.

As for dioxin-like PCBs, the contents found ranged between 0.05 and 0.9, and averaged 0.51 pg WHO-TEQ/g fat. The government has yet to set standards or regulations concerning the allowable amounts of PCBs in food products, but according to the foundation, the amounts are comparable to those found in fresh milk samples in other countries such as Austria and Ireland.

Despite overall positive results, the EQPF called for the government to step up its efforts in testing the content of the toxic substances in food products and to establish more and stricter standards, especially for food products consumed by infants and pregnant women.

"Ninety-five percent of human exposure to dioxin results from the intake of food," explained Liu Ming-lung, president of the EQPF.

"The biggest problem is that the government sees (checking for dioxin levels in food) as a temporary task. There needs to be a long-term commitment to regulate dioxin levels in food products," said Liu.

In the past two years, excessive dioxin levels have been found in duck eggs sold in Changhua County as well as lamb meat in Lingkou and Bali districts in Taipei County, which "should serve as warnings," according to Liu.

Liu also urged the government to require that all imported products be tested for dioxin levels before entering the country, so that products with excessive amounts, like the fish liver oil products from Canada imported last August, do not end up being sold in the country.

"In this case, the government only confirmed that there were excessive levels of dioxin in the fish liver oil, but did nothing about it," said Liu.

"The government needs to take responsibility and not try to push responsibility away," Liu added.

Dioxin is a toxic byproduct of certain industrial processes, such as waste incineration, chemical and pesticide manufacturing and pulp and paper bleaching. The major sources of dioxin in food are dairy, beef, fish, pork, poultry, and eggs.

Exposure to dioxin can cause a variety of health problems, including cancer, severe reproductive and developmental problems, and can damage the immune system and interfere with hormonal systems. Dioxin-like PCBs are also toxic and research has shown that it may cause cancer, according to the foundation.