The Thai Foundation for Consumers has recently concluded its study and found that all 15 popular brands of Thai milk tea used food colours, to varying degrees depending on the brand.
The foundation said that its Smart Buy online magazine collected samples of 15 popular Thai milk tea brands in March for testing at a laboratory with ISO 17025 standards.The sample tests unveiled the following key results:
- Food colours, approved for use in food & beverages, were found in all samples
- Each sample contained between 1 to 4 colours, including Sunset Yellow FCF, Tartrazine, Ponceau 4R, and Carmoisine (also known as Azorubine)
- Sunset Yellow FCF was found in all samples, with amounts ranging from 7.90mg per kg of drink to as much as 291.41mg per kg
- The 3 highest amounts of Sunset Yellow FCF detected were 291.41 mg/kg, 250.20 mg/kg, and 222.26 mg/kg
Dr Kaew Kangsadan-ampai, an advisor to Smart Buy magazine, mentioned that although these food colours are permitted for use in foods, consuming chemical additives could still pose health risks. As such, he advised consumers to choose tea products bearing the FDA’s approval licence numbers.
Kaew also urged Thai consumers to study tea labels carefully and recommended that they either reduce their consumption of tea containing food colours or make tea themselves using colour-free ingredients.
