The tapioca balls found in bubble tea, a colorful drink originating from Taiwan and increasingly popular in the States, have been found to contain known carcinogens, according to a new German study.
The?Huffington Post?reports that German researchers from the University Hospital Aachen performed tests on the drink's distinctive tapioca balls and discovered that they carried polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). PCBs are chemicals that ?shouldn't be in food at all.?
The tapioca tested originated in Taiwan and was taken from an unnamed chain selling bubble tea in Germany. Whether or not that same tapioca made its way to the States, or to any other countries, has not yet been addressed.?
According to the Post, PCBs are a class of man-made chemicals that have been banned in the U.S. since 1979. Prior to that, Greenfacts reports PCBs were used to make electrical equipment, surface coatings, inks and adhesives. The site estimates that about 10 percent of all PCBs remain in the environment today due to leakage from landfills, trash incineration and contaminated water bodies.
The Post reports that the chemicals are known to cause cancer as well as other health issues like reproductive and nervous system damage.
As if that weren?t enough, this news comes on the heels of another health warning regarding bubble tea. Reportedly, it poses a choking risk for children four and under. Authorities from the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment warned that the gummy tapioca balls could accidentally enter a child?s lungs when they?re sucked up through a straw.
Bubble tea has been a well-known dessert drink the U.S. for some time and that trend has recently spread to Western Europe. However, until more studies are done on the tapioca sold in here, it might be wise to avoid it.
Will you keep drinking bubble tea, or does this recent news mean that it?s off your menu for now? Let us know in the Comments.
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