The recent series of food safety scandals has sparked a chain reaction of product boycotts that is spreading continually. However, it must be considered whether an all-out boycott against a company is an overreaction.
As sensational reports fill newspapers, the question to bear in mind is: Will a campaign aimed at eliminating Ting Hsin International Group (頂新集團) resolve the nation’s food safety problems? These issues have hurt public health, but the current push for an overall boycott could have a negative impact on employees, who may suffer or lose their jobs.
It is easy to say that the group should go out of business, but little thorough consideration has been given to this stance. When unsafe products appear in the market frequently, the biggest problem is production management. Because the government failed to learn from the plasticizer crisis of 2011, some food companies overlooked the importance of food safety. Raw materials are either being checked carelessly or the inspection system as a whole is flawed. The result is that similar problems keep recurring, endangering public health.
If food companies continue to shirk responsibility for basic production management, the government must take a tougher stance by amending regulations and increasing penalties. It should also regularly review regulations and make amendments as needed, and should not tolerate any wrongdoing. Beefing up food safety laws would help Taiwan regain its reputation as a country with great food products.
Moreover, the public should push legislators and the authorities to make full use of their powers and improve crisis management procedures. The results of every investigation should be released truthfully and in a timely manner to assuage public fears.
There is still time to fix the problem: Earlier this month, Ting Hsin said it would donate NT$3 billion (US$99 million) to help the government set up a food safety fund. It also said it wants to set up a food safety committee led by prominent members of society to evaluate the nation’s “food safety loopholes.” This is good timing, considering the government’s lack of funds and resources for food safety inspections.
Examination Yuan data show that there is a serious shortage of staff for food safety inspections. If the government uses the fund to comprehensively review the demand for food safety inspectors, it would be able to systematically enhance the quality and quantity of food safety checks and officials. This would also help resolve unemployment among the so-called “stray postgraduates” — people with a doctorate or master’s degree that cannot find compatible jobs.
The government could also consider upgrading food safety inspectors to “food safety police,” with more power to carry out raids and investigations. At the moment, inspectors merely examine samples submitted by companies. In the future, they should have the initiative to carry out random inspections at manufacturing sites. With the fund, the government can also establish a food safety information group and a hotline for the public to report misconduct.
The ongoing tainted cooking oil scandal has hurt the nation’s image and public health, and bred panic among Taiwanese. The case highlights the significance of amending food safety laws, ensuring concrete product management and making food safety supervision more stringent. More merciless criticism does not help solve the problem and may affect the jobs of innocent employees.
Now, the focus should be on whether the government can devise a thorough production management mechanism with stringent food safety checks to prevent these problems from occurring over and over again.
Charles Yu is an assistant professor in Tungnan University’s department of leisure management.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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