ROC Legislature passes food safety law revisions

2014-11-20

Revisions to the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation passed legislative review Nov. 18, underscoring the government’s commitment to enhancing food safety management, ensuring public health and promoting consumer rights in Taiwan.

“The regulatory change will deter violators by imposing severe penalties and strengthening law enforcement,” Cabinet spokesman Sun Lih-chyun said. “The government is committed to cracking down on unlawful activities and safeguarding food safety nationwide.”

Under the revisions, individuals can be fined up to NT$80 million (US$2.6 million) for producing or selling products posing a major hazard to public health, and up to NT$200 million when such acts result in death. These numbers increase tenfold for corporate violators.

Publicly listed companies and those with medium-scale operations will also be required to set up in-house laboratories to enhance self-management procedures.

The changes stipulate that separate facilities are required for food processing activities and manufacturing of nonedible products. In addition, there is a protection clause for whistleblowers.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the revisions are one of the eight key measures implemented by the Cabinet after recent lard-based oil scandals undermined confidence in Taiwan’s food safety and impacted its reputation and foreign trade.

Other measures include a food source tracking and management system, new management mechanism for waste oil products, independent regulations for edible, animal feed and industrial oils, and a three-tier quality control system. An Office of Food Safety was also set up to coordinate public efforts in this regard.

Sun said the government has earmarked NT$1 billion per year for rewarding local governments that outperform others in implementing and upholding food safety standards and enforcement.

“Such performances will be a key consideration when the Cabinet makes its annual allocation of tax revenues to the local governments,” he added.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=224157&CtNode=413)