Since the Council of Agriculture’s (COA) announcement that fipronil has been found in domestic chicken eggs, eggs tainted with the insecticide have been found on 44 farms. Others had already entered the market and been consumed.
Although the COA has tried to downplay the health risks posed by fipronil, saying that it is applying the strictest EU standard for the insecticide when testing eggs and that only 1.59 percent of all chicken eggs have been found to be contaminated, the number has now risen to 3 percent, and consumers must be reassured that all eggs being sold are safe to eat.
The fipronil crisis is an opportunity to see how well the government’s food safety policy is working.
The policy focuses on five areas, the first being assurance that food is free of unsafe chemical substances and environmental pollutants during production by establishing a toxic-substance control agency that conducts food testing.
However, fipronil, which has been illegally used by many Taiwanese chicken farmers to kill lice and ticks, was not routinely tested for. The government did not screen any eggs for fipronil until it was found in South Korea.
The government’s delayed response, ignorance of farmers’ use of the pesticide and passivity suggest there is room for improvement, especially regarding its ability to collect information.
Nevertheless, once the government realized fipronil was a problem, its traceability programs allowed it to quickly identify the sources of contaminated eggs, preventing more people from consuming them. In other words, the government’s ability to track down unsafe foods and quickly recall them has improved.
A second focus of the policy is to re-establish a system of effectively managing means of crop cultivation and animal breeding.
The government is strongly promoting organic farming practices. However, since most egg farms have open structures, if they are not properly cleaned, the chicken droppings will quickly become hotbeds of pathogenic bacteria and disease-carrying insects.
As global warming pushes up the temperature, bacteria and insects are more likely to grow, and maintaining hygiene on farms will become more difficult. Chicken farmers need pesticides to control flies, lice and ticks, but there are no legal ones on the market. They therefore rely on the recommendations of pesticide companies, feed providers and other farmers rather than the government’s advice.
If the government wants to reform the egg industry, in addition to improving farm equipment and hygiene, it must also overhaul the regulations for pesticides and other chemicals to prevent farmers from using unsafe products.
The policy’s third focus is to significantly increase food inspections.
Having greatly emphasized that suppliers must provide safe food, the government has increased its budget and personnel resources to conduct food inspections.
However, the egg inspections carried out by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did not find any fipronil, as it was not included in daily tests. This flaw in the inspection program suggests that inspections alone cannot ensure food safety.
The FDA has little knowledge of what farmers do to their crops or animals on a daily basis; they believe that to be the COA’s responsibility. This has prevented the agency from getting a full picture of the food supply chain and from developing a better system to ensure food safety.
The lack of coordination between agencies — which became clear when the COA found fipronil in eggs days after the FDA had proclaimed all domestic eggs safe to eat — is a heavy blow to Taiwanese confidence in the government’s food safety controls. It also shows that the policy to increase food inspections is not going to prevent unsafe foods from entering the market.
A fourth focus of the policy is to impose heavier punishments on businesses involved in food scandals.
Officials of the company that allegedly sold fipronil to farms in violation of the Veterinary Drugs Control Act (動物用藥品管理法) has already been summoned for questioning by the Pingtung District Prosecutors’ Office. If found guilty, the company could receive a heavy fine.
The means of crop cultivation and animal breeding are critical to food safety. As Confucius (孔子) said, no one should be killed for mistakes that they have never been taught not to make.
The government should improve its educational programs for farmers to increase their awareness of food safety, focusing on how it benefits producers as well as consumers. Of course, there will always be those who would rather risk breaking the law and claim ignorance once they are caught.
The government must thoroughly investigate each food safety scandal and not let its sympathy for farmers interfere. Anyone who deliberately breaks food safety laws must be properly punished based on the law and the evidence at hand. Overly lenient punishments will not be a deterrent. It is important that the government educate farmers to help them take more responsibility for their products.
The final focus of the food safety policy is to enhance the role of the public in helping to monitor food safety. To encourage Taiwanese to participate in ensuring food safety, the government has set up a 1919 hotline for reporting unsafe foods.
While reports from the public have proven to be helpful, effective government policies remain the most important measure in ensuring food safety.
Lee Wu-chung is an academic specializing in agricultural economics.
Translated by Tu Yu-an
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