Food safety scandals and public health issues dominate the headlines in China as a top concern. Some say one of the reasons the country is beset with food scandals so frequently is because health and safety standards are so low.

That’s one of the findings of the Jiangsu Bureau of Product Monitoring, which concluded that current regulations are not strict enough when they began investigating the dangers of using drinking straws made in China.

The bureau found that Chinese-made brightly colored straws are prone to releasing harmful chemicals when they heat up in warm weather or warm drinks, and advised the public not use them.

The prime material used in the straws is polypropylene, which when properly made can withstand temperatures of up to 80 degrees Celsius without problem. However, when improperly made, drinking straws will release a smell if a chemical reaction occurs.

To conduct its test, the Jiangsu Bureau of Product Monitoring procured 100 drinking straw samples that were not identified. Nineteen samples did not meet the standards for initiating a chemical reaction when coming into contact with several types of drinks and liquids. Six samples broke government standards for heavy metals, while three were found to contain micro-organisms.

The bureau also referenced standards employed by the European Union for drinking straws, and found that if the samples were judged by EU standards, 44 of the samples would receive a failing grade, while a full 56 percent would be deemed “problematic”.

China produces around 15 billion straws a year. It is estimated that they meet government standards only 77 percent of the time.