A Taichung-based company was found to have sold chemicals meant for industrial use to several downstream companies for the manufacture of seasoning powder products, affecting more than 200 food companies nationwide, the Changhua County Public Health Bureau said yesterday.
Taichung’s Changhua District Prosecutors’ Office began investigating the Yi Hsing Trading Company (誼興貿易) after it was notified of health bureau findings in November last year that the Ching Hsing Hang Powder Manufacturing Factory (進興行製粉廠) and Junn Shing Pepper Powder Factory Ltd (進興製粉有限公司) had allegedly added magnesium carbonate intended for industrial use to pepper powder, the health bureau said.
On Monday, prosecutors and health agency officials raided seven locations in Changhua City and in Taichung’s Dali (大里), Taiping (太平) and Cingshuei (清水) districts.
“The raids led prosecutors to the discovery that Yi Hsing proprietor Lin Chung-chu (林中柱) had allegedly been selling magnesium carbonate for industrial use to Ching Hsing Hang and Junn Shing since 2003,” the office said in a news release issued yesterday.
The office said that the two companies then used the chemical to manufacture gourmet powder products, including pepper, chili and curry powders.
Magnesium carbonate — an inorganic salt — is a drying agent that can prevent clumping, it added.
Officials said that Lin confessed to charges of fraud and violations of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法) when he was brought in for questioning on Monday night.
The office added that he was released on NT$50,000 bail.
The bureau’s Food Safety Section director Lin Yu-fen (林毓芬) said that the agency has traced Yi Hsing sales to a third downstream company, Changhua-based Cheng Ching Gourmet Powder Manufacturing Co (澄清製粉行).
“According to business records of the implicated companies from 2012 to last year, it is estimated that they have used the substance in question to produce 81 tonnes of seasoning powder involving 39 different products, including white pepper powder, black pepper powder, food colorings No. 6 and No. 7, and steamed meat powder,” Lin Yu-fen said.
A preliminary investigation showed that the questionable seasoning powders have been sold to 207 firms in 16 cities and counties, she added.
Lin Yu-fen said edible magnesium carbonate is a legitimate food additive primarily used to absorb moisture in seasoning powders.
“However, magnesium carbonate that is intended for industrial applications could contain heavy metals such as lead and arsenic because it is less refined. Long-term consumption of the substance can lead to liver and renal impairment,” she said.
The price difference between food-quality magnesium carbonate and that meant for industry could be the cause of the alleged transgression, Lin added.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS