The refreshing bubble tea became an instant hit most especially with the young professionals. The drink that first started in Taiwan back in the 1980's became a leisure drink all over the world. It is normally made with tapioca pearls, fruit or milk flavorings, and various toppings such as pearls and jellies could be added.
Sweet tasting as it may seem, news broke out that everybody's favorite drink might have been made of rubber! As per the Telegraph, tapioca pearls being used in some drinks use synthetic ingredients which are chemically made in factories. Tapioca pearls are normally made with sweet potato, cassava starch, and brown sugar.
As per the Open Mind website, a reporter from Qingdao consumed the said "chemically made tapioca" from a local shop in their area, he then goes to a nearby hospital to have a CT Scan. To his surprise, the CT Scan revealed a stomach full of unidentified white objects, which what could have been the undigested tapioca pearls.
Scientists from Qingdao University's Chemical Experimentation Center seem puzzled with their findings. They were not able to pinpoint what the components were, but they did describe the substance as "highly adhesive."
Numerous undercover interviews were done to further investigate on the claims. A stunning revelation then surfaced after one manager made a shocking confession stating: "They're all made at chemical plants. To put it bluntly, they're made from the soles of leather shoes and old tires."
Another bad news for the bubble tea lovers emerged after studies claims that it has the capability to cause cancer. As per Huffington Post, researchers from the University Hospital Aachen were able to found subtle traces of the carcinogenic chemical in the pearls.
As per Daily news, the tapioca was acquired from a chain that manufactures the pearls in northwest Germany which originated in Taiwan.
As per Manfred Moller, a scientist from the Institute of Hygiene and Environmental Medicine at the University Hospital Aachen shared their findings on The Local.
"What we found includes in particular styrene, acetophenone, and brominated substances that shouldn't be in food at all,"
