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In 2013, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore recalled tapioca balls from bubble tea shops after 11 kinds of Taiwanese starch additives that contained maleic acid were discovered. Maleic acid, when ingested, is known to induce kidney damage. An experiment done on dogs and rats also found kidney and liver damage when they were given daily doses of maleic acid for two years.

In June 2019, there was a case where a 14 year old girl from China was admitted to the hospital after she described her stomach pain and constipation. After Dr. Zhang Louzhen, from the Zhuji People's Hospital, gave her a CT scan, he saw over one hundred small, grey spheres sitting in parts of her abdomen. The starch that tapioca balls are made of, in combination of thickeners and other additives, when consumed in large amounts may lead to bowel obstruction.

Environmental Issues
Tapioca is not a natural product, as it is processed from cassava. See manufacturing. There is an issue with tapioca because a large amount of water is needed in order to produce it. One factory reports that it uses around 60 m3 for one ton of tapioca starch just in the first step of processing. With this much water being used, properly disposing of the wastewater is a priority. Tapioca contains cyanide, and depending on whether or not the tapioca is made for human consumption or industrial purposes there will be less or more cyanide. The wastewater used to process the tapioca contains this cyanide and if the wastewater is leaked into bodies of water containing aquatic life, due to the contaminated water's low pH, there is a direct effect on fish and possibly other animals that live on the shores of the polluted water. Water pollution from tapioca has been a problem in many countries in Southeast Asia.

Tapioca consists of mostly carbohydrates-one cup contains nearly 550 calories and 135 carbs. Some benefits of tapioca are that it is a source of iron, dietary fiber, and manganese. In addition, tapioca is a good option for those that have allergies to gluten, nuts, or grain since it does not contain any of them. Tapioca also contains very little cholesterol, fat, or sodium.