A Taipei City resident complained yesterday about finding a "few hundred" insects in a box of "Mueslix" produced by Kellogg's, a famous US cereal company. The victim is asking for NT$2 million in compensation. Kellogg's issued a press release saying that the company is "very sorry," but also insisted that it must investigate the case before accepting any responsibility.
Taipei City Councilor Chen Hsueh-Fen (
Wei bought the box of cereal, which showed an expiration date of May 25, on April 9. She discovered "a lot of bugs creeping around" when she attempted to pour out some of the contents of the box.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
"We are looking for Kellogg's to respect the need to protect customers. We will donate the compensation to charity if we get any," said Wei's representative.
Kellogg's has taken some of the cereal as a sample for chemical examination. The company claims that there is no problem with the production process but that Taiwan's humidity could be a cause of the problem. It says that it will accept responsibility if the problem is found to be the result of a defect with the merchandise itself.
"The bugs might be caused by Aftatoxin, which could lead to cancer. If the condition is serious, we would ask Kellogg's to recall all unsold boxes of Mueslix and we might even officially force the company to close its business in Taiwan," said Kuo Chuan-nan (
"We want to ask the public to take its consumer protection rights seriously. Western companies pay high compensation when they are held liable," said Taipei councilor, Chen Hsueh Fen (陳雪芬).
Under the Consumer Protection Law (
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
RSS