The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday announced that food products from five Japanese prefectures that were banned after the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster in 2011 can now be imported to Taiwan, effective yesterday.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare on Feb. 8 promulgated draft measures for “types of food, and their production or manufacturing areas in Japan where imports are suspended,” saying that “designated foods imported from Japan shall be accompanied with a certificate of radioactive examination results for import inspection,” before opening a period of public comment.
“The proposals take effect immediately,” the FDA said.
Photo: CNA
The measures prohibit the importation of certain products, instead of banning all products from specific regions; require importers of high-risk food products to submit a certificate of origin and a certificate of radiation inspection; and require that food products from the five prefectures be inspected batch by batch.
About 17,000 imported food items are inspected for radioactive contamination each year, and an estimated 8,000 additional items would need to be inspected after the ban is lifted, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said.
Taiwan has the capacity to conduct radioactive contamination inspections on up to 69,000 imported food items per year, so consumers need not worry, Chen said.
Food labels would indicate products imported from the five prefectures and inspection certificates would be included for certain food products, he said.
Asked whether 10 days were too short for public comment, Chen said that a referendum was held on the issue in 2018 and millions of people cast their votes, so it is not a new issue.
An adequate number of public comments was collected, he added.
The online Public Policy Participation Network Platform gathered 36 public comments: 17 in support of the policy, four against, and 15 that offered suggestions or inquired about the policy, he said.
The policy is based on scientific evidence and international food safety standards, Chen said, adding that public health would be safeguarded.
Asked when the first batch of food products from the five prefectures might arrive, Chen said he did not know any details, but had heard that some companies planned to import the products.
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
WARNING: China has stepped up harassment of foreign vessels after its new regulation took effect last month, an official said, citing an incident in the Diaoyutai Islands The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday linked China’s seizure of a Taiwanese fishing vessel illegally operating in its territorial waters to Beijing’s new regulation authorizing the China Coast Guard to seize boats in waters it claims. Chinese officials boarded and then seized a Taiwanese fishing vessel operating near China’s coast close to Kinmen County late on Tuesday and took it to a Chinese port, the CGA said. The Penghu-registered squid fishing vessel Da Jin Man No. 88 (大進滿88) was boarded and seized by China Coast Guard east-northeast of Liaoluo Bay (料羅灣), 17.5 nautical miles (32.4km) from Taiwan’s restricted waters off Kinmen,
DETERRENCE: Along with US$500 million in military aid and up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees, the bill would allocate US$400 million to countering PRC influence The US House of Representatives on Friday approved an appropriations bill for fiscal year 2025 that includes US$500 million in military aid for Taiwan. The legislation, which authorizes funding for the US Department of State, US foreign operations and related programs for next year, passed 212-200 in the Republican-led House. The bill stipulates that the US would provide no less than US$500 million in foreign military financing for Taiwan to enhance deterrence across the Taiwan Strait, and offer Taipei up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees for the same purpose. The funding would be made available under the US’ Foreign Military
As eight basketball-playing international students appealed to the Taiwanese basketball industry after they were excluded from the draft of an upcoming new league merging the P.League+ and the T1 League, the new league’s preparatory committee spokesperson Chang Shu-jen (張樹人) yesterday said the committee would tomorrow discuss the supplementary measures and whether the international students can join the draft. The students on Tuesday called for support on their right to play in the upcoming new league, after a merger involving the two leagues impacted their eligibility for the draft. The international players from the University Basketball Association (UBA), led by first pick prospect