Saccharin in Rice and Medicinal Wine

Saccharin that cannot be used in alcoholic drinks has been found in rice wine and medicinal wine distributed in the market.

The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) said on Jan. 23 that after it recently tested 782 bottles of rice and medicinal wine whether or not they contain saccharin, it found the chemical in 67 products of 36 businesses (8.6% of the total) and requested the National Tax Service (NTS) to take an administrative action on the involved companies.

The concentration of saccharin this time was minimum 0.03 and maximum 299 mg per kilogram.

Saccharin is an artificial sweetener, 300 times sweeter than sugar, and once brought about a carcinogen controversy.

Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) says the acceptable daily intake of saccharin is 5 mg per 1 kilogram of weight. Accordingly, an adult of 60 kg can intake 300 mg a day.

Currently, the food additive standard of the nation allows the addition of saccharin below a fixed standard only in 8 kinds of food, such as Kimchi, pickles, drinks, and processed food of fish and meat, while prohibiting in alcoholic drinks.

“Saccharin cannot be used in alcoholic drinks, but some companies seem to have used it to cut down expenses, because the price of saccharin is only one sixth or one eighth of other sweetners for alcoholic liquors like Aspartame and Stevioside,” said the KFDA.

The KFDA added rice and medicinal wine to the list of special inspection from this year, collecting and testing them all over the country each month.

Sang-Keun Song songmoon@donga.com