Food additive manufacturers, processers and importers have been served with a notice by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requiring them to register with health authorities by May 1, the FDA said yesterday.
The move is in accordance with the newly amended Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法).
A string of food scandals involving problematic additives prompted lawmakers to carry out a food law overhaul, aiming to put food additive manufacturers and related businesses on a tighter leash.
The FDA said yesterday that by May 1, food additive manufacturers, processers and importers must complete their registration with health authorities, while the deadline for food additive sellers is Oct. 1.
Another announcement would be made soon to introduce the new regulations on registration details for food additive products, the FDA said.
FDA Deputy Director-General Chiang Yu-mei (姜郁美) said all food additives need to be monitored.
“The amendment [to the Act] allows us to undertake ‘registration management,’ in which all food additive manufacturers, processors or sellers have to register their company names and the services provided,” she said.
“What also needs to be registered are the food additives they [manufacture, process, import or sell]. This is to say that we will have all of the food additives used by the industry and consumed by Taiwanese listed and subject to supervision,” she added.
Chiang said that the new measures would allow the source of substandard food products to be traced quickly in any future incidents of tainted food.
HSINCHU CASES: Five people among 35 who were reported being sick were still in hospital after eating at a vendor in a market in Jhubei, the local health agency said Thirty-five people have sought medical treatment for acute symptoms after allegedly eating banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) from a vendor in Jhubei City (竹北), the Hsinchu County Public Health Bureau said yesterday. The bureau said that since Saturday, it has received several reports of suspected food poisoning from hospitals. The vendor has been ordered to temporarily suspend its business, it said, adding that tests were being conducted to determine whether the people had food poisoning, with results expected in about two weeks. A preliminary investigation showed that the people who sought treatment had recently eaten banh mi at a vendor at a retail market
IMITATING OTHERS? Tsai Ing-wen’s office said the former president rents a commercial unit for her personal office and had never used election funds to purchase real estate Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday confirmed that he used about NT$43 million (US$1.35 million) from his presidential election subsidy to purchase an office unit near the Legislative Yuan in May. Ko made the remarks after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) earlier in the day told a news conference that she received a tip-off that the TPP chairman had purchased a 48.76 ping (161.2m2) office unit at Jinan Building (濟南大樓), a commercial building in Taipei’s Zhongzheng District (中正). Lin said that Ko purchased the unit on May 10, paying about NT$43 million in cash,
China lacks the ability to “fully” invade Taiwan as it does not have the equipment, but is bringing online advanced new weapons and has other options to threaten Taiwan, such as inspecting foreign cargo ships, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday. In an annual threat assessment of China sent to lawmakers, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, the ministry said Beijing continues to hone skills such as joint command operations. “However, the use of tactics and strategies against Taiwan is still limited by the natural geographical environment of the Taiwan Strait and insufficient landing equipment and logistic capabilities,”
A joint declaration by Pacific leaders was reissued yesterday morning with mentions of Taiwan removed after China slammed an earlier version as a “mistake” that “must be corrected.” After five days of talks in Tonga, a “cleared” communique was released on Friday that reaffirmed a 30-year-old agreement allowing Taiwan to take part in the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). However, the wording immediately raised the ire of Chinese diplomats, who piled pressure on Pacific leaders to amend the document. The forum reissued the communique without explanation yesterday morning, conspicuously deleting the paragraph concerning the bloc’s “relations with Taiwan.” “It must be a