The Ministry of Health and Welfare yesterday announced that it would spend NT$1.85 billion (US$57.66 million) over the next four years on improving food safety, most notably by expanding the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
The ministry at a Cabinet meeting briefed Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on its AI-enhanced food safety plans focusing on three key areas: food source risk management, chain of custody certification and community monitoring.
The Executive Yuan approved the new food safety management plan in August, the ministry said.
Photo courtesy of the Executive Yuan
Food safety is central to the government’s agenda, Cabinet spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) quoted Cho as saying during the meeting, as he urged the ministry to carefully carry out the initiative.
The plan requires a budget increase of about 73 percent from NT$186.2 million this year to NT$321.4 million next year, a NT$135.1 million difference, Lee cited Cho as saying.
The policy is part of a broader agenda termed the “five strikes and seven safeties,” which refer to five types of crime — organized, financial, gun, drug and fraud — the government wants to tackle, and seven safety issues — public, food, road, occupational, school, housing and cybersecurity — that the ministry is to uphold, she said.
The project uses AI and digital technology to promote four key tasks: export development; improved management of specific industries such as cold chain storage; monitoring of heavy metals in food products; and analysis of international food advertising regulations, the ministry said.
AI would also be used to optimize risk management and early warning mechanisms for food safety incidents, in addition to providing services for the public and regulating food advertisements, it said.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it would continue to improve its food safety management policies, including enhancing cooperation with local officials on food inspections, increasing its capacity for inspections, refining management of imported food sources and expanding its international food risk alert monitoring.
The FDA said it would also coordinate cross-ministerial inspections to support digital initiatives, and reinforce food safety and hygiene precautions.
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